Hunter Moon (The Moon Series) (18 page)

“Laila?”

One press of the button.

A pause as Finn seemed to gather his thoughts. Laila waited, wondering what was coming next. He’d been doing so well too.

“This is probably the wrong time to say this and you probably don’t want to hear it, but I think you need to.” Another pause. Laila figured it had to be bad if he was taking this long to work up to saying it.

“I’ve never said this to anyone before, dating-wise, and I never actually expected to. I mean, I kinda figured I wasn’t cut out for that type of thing. But then I met you. Your drive me nuts sometimes, but I’m pretty sure I’m no picnic either…” he trailed off, obviously working himself up to something.

“I’m worried about you, Laila, and I want to help you, if you’ll let me. Because I kind of love you, okay? And I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Laila felt her throat closing up and her face felt hot. She gritted her teeth to keep from crying; her eyes seemed to have too much water in them. She blinked quickly.

“Look, I’m probably saying this all wrong, but all I really want you to know is that I’m here if you need me. Okay?”

One. Even if she’d wanted to talk, the words wouldn’t have made it out of her mouth anyway. She could barely manage to swallow around the enormous lump in her throat.

Finn waited a few minutes. Laila tried to get her breathing back under control. Damn it, he wasn’t supposed to do this to her, not now. But there was warmth suddenly inside her, buffering the near-constant cold ache that was the loss of her brother. Finn had done that. He’d made her feel that.

“Good night, Laila,” Finn said, his voice subdued.

“Kinda love you too,” Laila managed to get out before disconnecting the call.

She turned the phone off and rolled over to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kess sat on the couch, watching Cormac as he flipped through channels. They’d been studiously avoiding discussing the thing they needed to talk most about, and it was beginning to drive her a little bit nuts. They couldn’t pretend their fight hadn’t happened, she couldn’t ignore the words that he’d said to her in anger, and he couldn’t come down here and expect that nothing had changed. After the initial joy and rush of seeing him, the things left unsaid were still a problem.

“You want to go for a walk?” she asked, determined to get everything squared away between them. She hated feeling like she was navigating some kind of emotional minefield with him. It felt…unnatural.

Cormac looked at her, a question in his eyes. “Sure,” he said, shutting off the television. He stood and offered her his hand. Kess took it.

She waited until they were out of the house before she said anything. It wasn’t that she had anything to hide from Finn or Rafe; she just wanted privacy for what might be a very uncomfortable conversation. The less of an audience she had for it, the happier she’d be.

They walked the backyard, circling the guest house. Cormac finally spoke. “What’s on your mind, Kess?” His voice told her that he already knew.

“We left things kind of,” she flailed her hands, at a loss for words, “questionable between us when you left.”

Cormac didn’t say anything, just ran a hand through his hair. Kess continued, her eyes focused on their path and not on him. It was easier to talk if she wasn’t looking at him. When had that happened? “I think we should really talk about what was said.”

“Okay.” He paused. “I told you I was upset—finding out your sister has been kidnapped will do that to you. I’m sorry I took it out on you.”

“And you apologized for it before you left,” Kess reminded him. It wasn’t about an apology. She wasn’t worried about that. It was the other things he’d said, and the way he’d blamed her for not following his suggestions that concerned her. If he couldn’t accept her role as a leader of her clan, than they didn’t have much of a future together.

“I wish I could take back what I said.”

Kess led them toward the boat dock, taking them around the side of the house. “But you can’t. And that’s the problem, because now I’m wondering if you really have always felt that way. About me.”

“I don’t remem…” Cormac trailed off as he tried to recall exactly what was said. Kess waited quietly, walking steadily beside him. She saw his eyes widen as he remembered. “Oh.”

“Oh,” Kess agreed. “Bringing up Sek like that and basically saying that I don’t know the bond between a brother and a sister because my family was too warped is not something I expected to hear from you. But if you really feel that way, I want to know it.”

Cormac made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. “I don’t have a problem with it, or with you. I love you, Kess, and that includes all the parts of you. I was just angry and upset. And scared, I guess.” He tried to put his arm around her, but Kess held up her hand to forestall him.

“Don’t you think the truth is more likely to come out when you’re angry?” she asked him.

“You did have a messed up relationship with your brother. That is the truth,” Cormac said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kess led them down the wooden stairs to the dock that bobbed in the water. “And that wasn’t my fault. But it sure felt like it was my fault when you threw it in my face.” She paused, letting her hair fall across her face like a screen so she could hide a bit. Talking about all of these feelings made her feel uncomfortably exposed. “So I guess what I’m wondering is if every time we have an argument, are you going to bust that out to hurt me. Do I know for sure that you won’t bring that up?”

Cormac was quiet for a few minutes, obviously digesting what Kess had just told him. She waited for his reply, unable to look at him. The silence stretched between them, but Kess didn’t feel like Cormac was angry; it felt more like he was trying to choose his words carefully. She appreciated the time he was taking.

Finally he took her hands in his. “You don’t.”

Kess was startled at his admission. Her eyes flashed up to meet his. “What?”

He squeezed her fingers. “I’m telling the truth. Things get said in the heat of anger that otherwise wouldn’t get said. I know that. And as much as I wish I won’t ever lose my temper like that again, I can’t guarantee it. If you want me to make a false promise, I can, but I kind of thought you’d want honesty.” He pulled Kess down to sit beside him. “Look, neither of us has a crystal ball that will tell us what the next day might bring. I can’t predict what might happen. The only thing I can do is try to do better if it happens again.”

She weighed his words, wanting to give what he said the same consideration Cormac had given hers. “You also seemed to have some trouble with my decisions and not taking your advice.” She met his silver eyes and continued. “I’m the head of the council and a clan leader. That means I’m going to do what I think is best for my people and my territory and that may not always agree with what you think. Are you going to be okay with that?”

He lay back, pillowing his head on his arms so he could watch the sky. There were a few cottony wisps of clouds, but nothing that was big enough to go shape spotting. “I probably deserve that one.” He blew out a breath. “You’re the alpha. I understand that. It took me a little while to wrap my head around it, but I get that now. This is your show to run, Kess. I’ll offer my advice when you ask for it, and I’ll try to be more reasonable when you decide not to take it.” He turned his head so he could gaze at her. “Is that fair enough?”

“Yes.” It was more than she hoped for. “You’ve been thinking a lot about this, haven’t you?” She knew Cormac. He’d probably run his thoughts by Finn’s brother, Burke, before he’d left.

“Yeah, pretty much since I left at the end of the summer. And I didn’t exactly have much else to occupy my attention up in the mountains except for school.” He grinned at her.

Kess surprised herself by grinning back. “You know, it’s grossly unfair that your family is so perfect. I have absolutely no ammunition to throw back at you when we fight.”

“Jealous much?”

“Um, yeah.” She dug an elbow into his side. “I miss your mother’s cooking.”

“I was in such a hurry to get down here that I didn’t think to have Mom pack up some food for you. Finn just called to say there was trouble, so I came.”

“Finn’s pretty smart sometimes,” Kess said, wriggling around to find a more comfortable position.

“Come here,” Cormac ordered, holding his arm out. She put her head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. “Much better.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Just don’t tell Finn you said that. We’ll never hear the end of it.”

Kess felt something uncoiling in her chest. It felt good to be lying next to Cormac, safe in his arms. But, as nice as it was, she was still a little worried. After a few minutes of quiet with nothing but the water lapping at the dock pylons, she asked, “Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle me running things?”

She felt him sigh. “I can only try, Kess. I’m an alpha’s son and I’m supposed to be Alpha myself someday. It kind of goes against my instincts, but I’ll do my best.” He thought for a moment. “Still, it’s probably best if you don’t involve me directly in any council business. I don’t want to step on Finn’s toes either.”

“I always told you that you were bossy,” Kess teased, nuzzling his neck.

“You’ve met my dad,” he shot back. “I come by it honestly.”

And with that Kess was content to let the matter drop.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Lukas did not enjoy the Everglades. He preferred the heavy and dark forests of his homeland, which offered better cover and better comfort. The Glades were sticky, marshy, and filled with bloodthirsty mosquitoes that would latch onto any visible skin at the first available opportunity. Still, it was to be expected. If he wanted the kills, he had to go to where the creatures he hunted were.

And he wanted the kills very badly.

What he was leaving behind was his legacy. Lukas knew the time for his deal with Zamiel was almost up—the demon popping up never failed to remind him of how many days, hours, and minutes he had left until the three-year debt came due. But he wasn’t worried about the payment; he was worried about his legacy. He wanted his father to realize what he’d thrown away. He wanted to be known as the greatest hunter in his family—the greatest in a line of great hunters.

He wanted vindication.

To get that he needed only a few more specimens. His hope was that Kess would round out his collection.

Hunting in the swamp was a challenge. Not only was he fighting against an animal capable of human thought with a were, but he was in competition with other animals as well. The gators were not shy about snapping up a meal if one got too close to the water’s edge, and there were plenty of large snakes that could take out a smaller animal. Hunting the jackal had been exciting, especially because it had been so unpredictable. Lukas was almost curious what it would have been like to hunt the man rather than the jackal.

Lukas stilled as the faint sounds of movement breaking through the underbrush began to sound close by him. A small wild pig broke from the cover of the scrub and ambled its way towards a watering hole nearby. He raised his regular rifle at the beast out of instinct, then stopped. He wasn’t here to bring down mediocre game, and there was no sense in alerting whatever might be out there of his presence with a rifle shot. Discretion was his only goal. He would do nothing to endanger his final hunt. He watched the pig for a few moments more, his mind on another time. Another hunt.

As he was lowering his rifle, Luka caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He’d learned to trust his peripheral vision over the course of his hunting career and this was no different. He sat there quietly, letting his eyes rove the area. Sure enough, there it was: a large black cat, stalking the pig. He thought there might be more, just out of range of the pig’s senses—it felt like there was more than one.

He watched closely as the cat stalked the pig. It moved low to the ground, slowly pacing closer and closer to its quarry. The cat was large with a blocky body and head. Jaguar maybe, or leopard. All black though, and not the normal golden color. Not a species that was indigenous to the Everglades or Florida as far as Lukas knew.

The pig’s head reared up suddenly. It made a squealing sound and tried to run, but the cat was fast. It had closed on the pig and with a powerful twitch of its back legs it had sunk its claws into the hind end of the pig. It used its claw-hold to crawl up the pig’s back and sink its teeth into the pig’s neck. The cat’s weight propelled the pig to the ground, where it lay writhing and squealing as it tried to get away. Lukas saw the cat change its grip on the pig, biting down on the animal’s throat. It hung on there until, eventually the pig’s struggling slowed, then stopped.

A couple of wolves seemed to melt out of the surrounding scrub bushes and walked over to the cat. The cat released its hold on the pig’s throat and stepped delicately away from the kill. Odd. There wasn’t any kind of dominance posturing or species aggression. Lukas smiled slightly to himself. He might have just hit the were jackpot, so to speak.

Another cat stalked into the small clearing. The animals made quick work of the pig meat, tearing through it at an impressive rate. When the pig was nothing but a carcass, the small group moved on. Lukas waited for them to get far enough away that his scramble from his perch wouldn’t be heard, then he began to track them.