Dark Guardian #4: Shadow of the Moon Read online

  “But you knew him, because you’d grown up together.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “I don’t know Daniel. My body, my heart reacts to him, but there is so much that I don’t know.”

  “So you’re going to go out in the woods tonight and play Twenty Questions?” She arched a dark brow in a way that said I was kidding myself.

  “Maybe Five Questions,” I said.

  She laughed. “Two. Then you’ll be kissing and…” She shrugged.

  “It just seems that I should know my possible mate before my transformation. It binds you, right?” I grimaced. “Sorry.”

  She waved her hand. “That’s okay. Sometimes I mourn that I’m not a Shifter, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference to Connor. He says he fell in love with me the human way, which is slowly and over time, instead of the Shifter way, which too often is simply bam!”

  “With Daniel it’s something in between that. For the first time in my life I want to feel someone’s emotions and I can’t even guess what’s he’s feeling most of the time.”

  “And you think tonight…”

  Might be all I ever had.

  Daniel and I headed out after dinner. The moon, a bright silver orb in the night sky, looked so close that I thought I could almost reach out and touch it. The stars were like diamonds spread across velvet. It was such a clear night. The air brisk. Not a hint of wisps, fog, or clouds to mar the brightness.

  We didn’t take the snowmobile; we hiked. Maybe Daniel worried about alerting the elders to our unsanctioned leaving. But I thought the reason we were walking rested in the camaraderie that came from our trudging along together. We were holding hands, and I realized how much I liked that aspect about him: that he was so comfortable touching, that he seemed always to yearn for it. He never missed an opportunity to touch me.

  I’d gone so much of my life not being touched by Shifters. While I’d sometimes embraced girls at school, it wasn’t the same. Their history, their world, was so different from mine.

  The moon was high in the sky when Daniel finally led me into a cave. It was pitch-black. I felt the chill of the air against my cheeks.

  “Wait here,” he said quietly.

  A click sounded, and the flame from a lighter illuminated his face as he bent and lit a candle. Something magical unfurled around me as I watched him circle the room, lighting the various candles, and the flames began to flicker, slowly revealing the haven he’d created for us.

  I knew he must have come here earlier in the day to prepare everything. A mound of blankets formed a pallet on the floor, wide enough that we could sleep separately if that was what I wanted. I knew Daniel wouldn’t push for anything tonight. Tonight was just about us growing closer, learning more about each other. Choosing a mate wasn’t to be taken lightly. And it certainly wasn’t a decision that resided with the elders. I knew they meant well, but in the end a connection had to exist between the two Shifters who were destined to be mates.

  I knew I cared about Daniel. Knew he cared about me. But was that enough?

  He returned to my side, took my backpack, and carried it to the corner, where he deposited it along with his own. Then he returned to me. “It’s not cold once you get used to it.”

  “When did you arrange all this?” I asked.

  “First thing this morning before everyone else was awake.”

  Taking my hand, he led me into another chamber. I heard the familiar click of the lighter. As he lit the candles, the flickering flames unwrapped his gift to me. An underground pool, with steam rising from it. Stacked neatly along the rocky ledge were towels.

  “This is what amazes me,” he said, his voice echoing off the cavernous walls. He flicked on a flashlight and shone it in the pool. The water was astonishingly clear. I could see clear down to the rock-covered floor.

  “No gunk,” he said. “No algae, no crap. It’s the kind of place that health nuts would have used a hundred years ago.”

  “No critters or creatures?” I asked.

  “I’ve never seen any, and I’ve been here quite a few times since I discovered it.”

  “For solitude?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I…Sometimes I need my space. I love Wolford, I appreciate that everyone has accepted me, but groups aren’t really my thing.”

  I remembered how my impression of him that first day in Athena was that he was a loner. He’d done nothing to dispel that notion, but it seemed more profound when he put the idea into words. Being alone wasn’t the way of our kind. Although I’d spent a good deal of my time away from Shifters, there was always that yearning to rejoin them, to belong. It was the reason that I subjected myself to visits every summer and winter. “But being a Shifter is all about being part of the pack.”

  “Yeah, I know. But it’s never been that way for me. Which is why what I feel for you is so special. I’ve never before wanted to have someone with whom I belonged.”

  Before I could even think of a response, he flicked off the flashlight, set it aside, came back to my side, and took my hands. Although I still wore my gloves, I could feel that his hands were steady and sure. “I thought you’d like to go swimming,” he said tenderly, his voice filling the small cave. “It’s almost like a hot tub. In some areas you can feel the water bubbling up from somewhere even farther underground.”

  I squeezed his hands, tried to look sassy but probably only appeared ridiculous. I’d never anticipated anything so much in my life, and I wanted to do it right. “Are you going to join me?”

  I saw the appreciation for my invitation in his eyes. Maybe I hadn’t sounded totally silly with my efforts.

  “Once you’re in the water. Just call for me,” he said.

  “All right. I can do that.”

  He brushed his lips over mine. It wasn’t enough, but I figured once we were in the pool together, we’d share more. Much, much more.

  He left me alone. Removing my gloves, I crouched and skimmed my fingers along the surface of the pool. The water was incredibly warm, almost like a sauna. Hard to believe in the middle of winter, but it was probably coming up through an underground hot spring.

  Quickly I removed my clothes and slipped into the pool. It felt wonderful as the silky moisture wrapped around me. I wasn’t going to think about tomorrow night. I wasn’t going to think about the dangers headed our way or how scared I was when my mind slipped off-task and I thought about the harvester. I was going to make the most of this gift from Daniel. I was going to enjoy it as though my life depended on it. Treading water, I relaxed, allowed the warmth to ease the tension in all my muscles. Then I called out, almost giddy with anticipation, “Daniel!”

  I watched as a shadow appeared on the wall near the entryway. Low. Four legs. He was coming to me in animal form. At last I was going to see him as a wolf. My breath backed up in my lungs and I glided over to the lip of the pool.

  But what stalked into the small cavern wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t a wolf. It was a panther. The panther. The one I’d seen in the woods that first night after we left Athena. I was sure of it. But it couldn’t be Daniel. That night he’d been back at the camp—

  After the panther had sprinted away. Daniel had seemed surprised by my revelation that I’d seen a panther. But if he was the creature, then his response had simply been a ploy to throw me offtrack. “Did it frighten you?” he’d asked. I was beginning to understand why he’d been interested in my reaction then. And I had a feeling he was gauging my reaction now.

  The panther was as sleek and beautiful as I remembered. It prowled over to me. Its sinewy muscles undulated with its movements. Its strength and power were evident in each motion. It purred low, a rumble in its throat that echoed around me.

  Only when it came to a halt before me and lowered its head did I get a good clear look at its eyes. Green. Like emeralds. And I saw more. So much more.

  Because when we shift, everything changes except our eyes. They’re the window to our soul. More than our fur, more than the c