Christmas Moon (2 page)

“I’ll go get another sponge.”

Hunter shook his head. “No. I got this.”

Shock radiated off of her and Hunter had to
turn his head to hide the hint of a smile on his lips. She didn’t
seem like she was used to kindness anymore. A damn shame too.

“Then I’ll at least make some hot
chocolate.”

She didn’t ask, she told, and damn but he
liked that about her. This time when he looked up at her, he
grinned. “Now that I can accept with a clear conscience.”

Whether it was the cold touch of the wind or
a blush, her cheeks were tinted red when she turned back toward her
front door. He watched the sway of her rump as she walked away. She
paused at the door, glancing back his way. “If you finish before
I’m done, just let yourself in.”

Hunter nodded. “Will do.”

The moment she stepped inside he set to work,
scrubbing hard and furious. He wanted to know what lay behind that
door, what he could learn about that woman from simply being in her
house, her space.

More than anything, he wanted a chance to get
to know her.

Chapter Two

Bree frowned as she stepped inside, pushing
the door shut behind her to block out the cold wind. Hunter Reed
wasn’t the kind of man she’d been expecting. After her meeting with
quite a few of the White Pine wolf-shifters, she’d been sure their
alpha wouldn’t be any different. He wouldn’t want her here anymore
than they did. She scrunched her nose at the memory.

She sure as heck hadn’t been expecting the
Good Samaritan routine when he’d pulled up in her driveway. Nor had
she expected that heart-melting smile. Damn. Her heart pounded at
the image that flashed through her mind—all strong jaw, white
teeth, and dazzling wolf-gold eyes. She shivered. Everything about
Hunter had appeal. He looked every inch the alpha male she’d
expected—tall, lean, muscled. Strong. No doubt he could hold his
own.

She could see the muscles moving under his
jeans as he’d crouched in front of her garage. A flush heated her
cheeks as she pushed the memory away. She’d been on her own for far
too long if a simple smile had her this off-kilter. She set her
coat on the hook beside the front door and bustled into her
kitchen. She’d almost settled into this lifestyle—quiet,
unassuming, solitary.

No one else to turn her world upside
down.

Of course, even in the middle of nowhere her
past followed. She stared down at her hands, still cold from the
morning wind, and frowned. There were just some things a person
couldn’t leave behind. And even if everyone else would just forget
that she had been a part of that whole mess, Bree was never going
to. She should have
known
her husband had been hit that hard
by the death of their daughter, so hard that he’d want revenge. But
she hadn’t seen the signs. And so many had died because she’d been
blind.

It was a fact she was never going to escape.
So she’d decided to live with it.

Heating the stove, she started the water,
letting it simmer over the heat while she dug out a pair of mugs.
Why Hunter was helping her, she didn’t know, but the kindness he’d
shown was refreshing. She heard the door creak open and boots
stomping in the foyer. “Over here,” she called out.

She turned, just as Hunter appeared in the
doorway his gaze open and curious as he looked around. Bree gripped
the counter behind her, her heart pounding.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had
someone in her house. Never in this particular house, that much she
was sure of. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth just as
Hunter turned to look at her.

He tilted his head in the direction of her
garage. “I know who’s been vandalizing your property. I’ll have a
talk with him. He’s just a pup, he could use some manners.”

Bree shook her head. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.” He took another step into
the kitchen, then paused to shed his coat. His lean shoulders
bunched with strength as he slipped the winter jacket off and laid
it over a wooden chair. “It’s vandalism for one. I’m shocked you
haven’t reported it to Shifter Town Enforcement.”

He looked at her as he spoke the last, his
eyes hooded, assessing.

Bree hated looks like that. The ones that
said they wanted to understand. Like she was some piece of a puzzle
that needed figuring out. She turned away, drawing her attention
back to the stove.

Silence stretched between them for another
breath before he continued. “And secondly, you’ve done nothing to
deserve the attack. I expect my pack to have better manners.”

He took a step closer and Bree tilted her
head toward him.

“Anything I can do to help?” Hunter asked,
his voice warm, friendly.

“No. I got it.” She turned off the stove and
poured the steaming water into mugs sitting on the counter. Digging
out the hot cocoa mix, she put a few spoonfuls in each cup and
passed one to Hunter. “I appreciate the help, though. I don’t mean
to sound ungrateful.”

And she had, she knew she had. But damn. She
kept waiting for a remark to spill out of his mouth that he
couldn’t take back. She found herself holding her breath, just
waiting for him to tell her she wasn’t welcome in White Pine, that
maybe she should have gotten the hint already.

Instead, he eased down into one of the
kitchen chairs, his mug on the table in front of him as he idly
swirled the spoon.

“You don’t sound ungrateful. You sound like
someone who has a stranger in her house that she doesn’t quite know
what to do with.” One corner of his mouth hitched up in a
half-smile and Bree felt her stomach twist.

It’d been so long since she’d let someone
into her life. Not since her ex-husband... She turned away,
focusing on swirling the clumps of cocoa into the hot water.

“You okay?” Hunter’s voice was soft when it
came, a soothing murmur that seemed to stretch around her small
kitchen, as if it could wrap her in its arms. Comfort her.

Bree jerked her head in a slight nod just as
the phone rang and she jumped, hating the spike of fear that shot
through her. Damn prank callers.
Just a kid,
she reminded
herself.

She forced a smile to her face and turned to
face him, cradling her mug in her hands as she brought it to her
lips. “I’m fine.”

The phone rang again, like nails over a
chalkboard. The shrill tone lifted every hair along her neck.
Something about the static that always greeted her on the other end
of the line, the slow, steady breathing, unnerved her. Another
ring.

Hunter arched an eyebrow. “You need to get
that?”

“No. Prank call.” She forced her voice to be
light, but the scowl that crawled over his face told her that her
attempt at humor had failed.

“Like the writing on your garage?” A dark
undercurrent filled the question and he seemed to still, the wolf
in him simmering just under the surface. She could see the animal
in his eyes, the quick flash of irritation. He tilted his head
toward the phone. “Do you mind?”

She opened her mouth to tell him not to
bother, but as the phone rang again a growl slipped out of him. His
pack, he could deal with it. And it was better than going to
Shifter Town Enforcement. “Have at it.”

He made a gruff sound as he reached for the
phone. “I will.”

***

Hunter held back the wolf snarling inside him
as he picked up the phone. Not only were these brats vandalizing
her house, but they were harassing her too? Oh, he was going to
have a word with them. Hell, it might not even just be words.
They’d be shoveling his driveway
and
hers for the rest of
the winter.

He pressed the phone to his ear and waited.
Silence greeted him, and then slow, steady breaths. In. Out. He
waited, listening for anything that would give the runt away.
Nothing. He opened his mouth to let the growl snake out when the
phone clicked off. He glanced at the phone. Blocked number. Hunter
ground his teeth as he tried to dial it back. Nothing.

Now that was odd. He couldn’t think of anyone
in his pack with a blocked number. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t find out
though. He’d go through everyone’s phone records tonight. Hunter
jerked his gaze up to hers.

Breanne watched him, calm. Assessing. Nothing
like the woman who’d jumped at the sound of the phone, or the woman
who had looked so vulnerable when he’d walked into her kitchen.
Standing with her hip braced against her counter was the woman he
could easily see being a Hound. Someone he’d have dreaded knocking
at his door.

There was an intensity that flitted through
her gaze, snaring his every move, and Hunter took a step toward her
before he realized what he was doing. Just like that, the strength
faded and uncertainty stole across her face.

“I’ll figure this out,” he told her.

“I’m not worried.” She tried for bravado, but
he’d thrown her off with that step toward her. He wondered what
she’d do if he took another. Then another.

“You jumped when you heard it ring.”

A laugh sprang from her lips, but it wasn’t a
happy sound. Fake, tinny. It felt wrong and his inner wolf winced
at the sound. “It’s not like the phone rings all that often.”

He heard her heartbeat pick up as she spoke
the words. A lie. “Breanne,” he said softly, taking another step in
her direction and she stiffened. “How often do you get these
calls?”

“That’s none of your business.” She turned
and set her mug on the counter, and he could see the inner war she
waged with herself. The intensity was back in her eyes when she
turned to face him, and this time her spine was straight with
confidence rather than fear. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d like
you to leave.”

Hunter cursed under his breath as he set the
phone down on the table. His hands gripped the back of the chair
where his coat hung. “You should report that. It’s harassment.”

“And if it’s just a kid?” Breanne folded her
arms over her chest, not at all impressed. Damn, but a Hound with
morals. He’d never before known a Hound that cared whether the
shifter was a kid or an adult, if they did something wrong, they
deserved the punishment Enforcement could dish out. But here she
was, willing to let it all go.

Hunter nodded. “Thank you. I’ll see if I
can’t get them in line. I’m sorry I pushed.” He tugged his coat off
the chair and slipped it on. “Thanks for the hot chocolate.”

“Thank you for the help.” She walked him to
the door, no sign of the nervous woman he’d seen before. This was
the woman he wanted to know. The one who’d been strong enough to
survive in a world where her husband had murdered so many people
right under her watch. The one strong enough to put her life back
together.

The one who still cared enough to protect a
few shifter kids from getting in trouble with the local law.

He touched her arm as she reached for the
door. “Thank you for what you’re doing for them, but please. If
they do anything else, let me know. You don’t deserve the
bullshit.”

And with that, he let himself out the door
and headed back for his truck, trying to get the look of stunned
disbelief that had flashed across her face out of his mind.

Apparently he surprised her as much as she
did him.

Chapter Three

Bree leaned back into the warm spray of the
shower, her eyes closed as she rinsed the last of the conditioner
from her hair. The house was quiet, sometimes almost too quiet. It
wasn’t something that had bothered her, not until today. Turning
off the water, she reached out and snagged a towel from the rack
and pressed her face into the soft fabric.

Letting Hunter Reed into her house had
probably been a mistake.

He wasn’t the kind of man who let things go
easily. He probed and prodded. Had to know details. A small smile
curved her lips. He’d have made a damn good Hound. The need for
control, to know the facts, was no doubt what also made him a good
alpha. It didn’t, however, make him the kind of person she needed
in her life.

A soft snort sounded from her as she patted
her body dry and wrung out her hair. Helping her with the garage
and a cup of hot cocoa did not make him
in her life
. Except
for the small fact that she couldn’t shake him from her mind. She
kept replaying their conversations, the expressions that had
flitted over his face, and most of all, the hard look that had
stolen his eyes when he’d realized his pack had been harassing
her.

Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped the
towel around her hair and knotted it neatly on her head. She tugged
out another and tied it around herself. A soft tap sounded on the
window and Bree turned, her gaze automatically scanning the window.
Nothing.

A tree scratched the window again as she
headed into her bedroom. It felt empty as it often did. She paused
in the doorway, her gaze on the new comforter she’d purchased
before moving to White Pine. She hadn’t brought anything with her
that could remind her of Caesar and yet somehow, staring at her
bed, she could still see the man she’d once loved.

The one who’d laughed and teased. He’d read
crime thrillers before bed every night. Had loved Brazilian coffee
every morning. She closed her eyes against the pang in her heart.
He’d killed so many people, but that hadn’t been the man she’d
known. Before Arianna’s death, Caesar had been warm, loving. No one
had ever made her feel so comfortable to be herself before him. And
when they’d had Ari...

A soft cry lodged in her throat and she
pressed her face into the doorjamb. Bree swallowed down a deep,
shuddering breath. Her little girl. She’d loved to listen as Caesar
told Ari stories of princesses and dragons and fairy tales. God,
but the two of them had made her so happy.

Her fingers tightened on the towel tied above
her breasts. Bree took another breath and pushed away from the
wall. Dwelling on the past would never bring them back and the man
that Caesar had become before he’d died wasn’t the kind of man she
wanted back. But for once in a long time, she wanted someone in her
life. She was tired of the solitude. Of being alone.