Dark Guardian #2: Full Moon Read online

  “Yeah.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Makes this hard.”

  “I guess you’d challenge and kill him otherwise, right?”

  “If he was a jerk—in a heartbeat.”

  My own heart sped up. “Well, don’t,” I ordered sternly. “I don’t want him hurt. And if you’re looking for a mate, Brittany is available.”

  “I don’t feel for Brittany what I feel for you. Don’t you get that?”

  “Rafe, maybe if we’d noticed each other sooner—”

  Another burst of harsh laughter came from him. “I’ve noticed you since middle school, but you were always hanging out with Connor. You never gave anyone else a chance.”

  Until this summer I hadn’t even considered anyone else, hadn’t wanted anyone else. What was wrong with me? It had always been Connor.

  “You told me that you didn’t notice me until this summer,” I reminded him.

  “The strong feelings I have for you didn’t hit me until this summer, but I’ve always noticed you. When the full moon comes, and you’re with Connor, think about what you could have had,” he said.

  Then he kissed me deeply and thoroughly. I knew I should have protested, should have pushed him away. Instead I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, knowing this would be the last kiss we’d ever share. I wanted it to last forever, even though I knew it couldn’t.

  When he drew back, I felt what I always did with Rafe: confused. Maybe I should do what Brittany suggested, I thought. Just go through the transformation by myself and decide later who should be my mate. But then I remembered what Kayla had said about how wonderful it was to go through it with someone you cared for, someone you loved.

  “Good-bye, Rafe,” I said quietly and walked away from him.

  He didn’t try to stop me. And I thought that probably said it all.

  Because I knew deep down that Connor would have tried to stop me from walking away.

  SEVENTEEN

  “Your dad and I will be here when you get back,” my mom said as she hugged me tightly. “You won’t regret your decision,” she whispered near my ear.

  I really could have gone my entire life without that comment. It started to raise those stupid doubts again that Connor was her choice and not mine.

  Dad embraced me. “My little girl.” Then he shook Connor’s hand, and Mom hugged Connor.

  When Connor and I were finally walking through the woods, I said, “Glad that’s over.”

  “They’re just worried about you. How are your wounds?”

  “Not bad.” I was limping a little and my shoulder ached, but I’d heal during the transformation. I was feeling much stronger, but neither Connor nor I were pushing ourselves to our hiking limits.

  We were traveling quietly, remaining alert. Every now and then, he would hand his backpack and clothes to me, shift while I closed my eyes, and search a wide circle around us. Although his senses were heightened as a human, as a wolf they were even more so.

  That night, we took turns keeping watch. The second night a deer approached our camp—it was the only stranger we encountered.

  In the afternoon, we arrived at our destination. We climbed the escarpment and followed a winding trail into the small valley that was enclosed by two mountains. On one side of the clearing was the waterfall. On the other was a forest that swept back and up to the other mountain. This was a well-hidden place, not easily found unless someone knew the way. We weren’t concerned that Mason and his group would find us. They had no reason to look for us here.

  And in just a few hours, after the full moon rose in the night sky, I’d have the ability to shift and escape just as quickly as Connor could.

  Connor took my hand and led me around the pond to where the waterfall emptied with a mighty rush of cascading water. It was noisy here, and as we grew nearer the water’s power created a gust that blew my braids around my shoulders. We slipped behind the waterfall into a cavern.

  This was my favorite of all the lairs. Food and essentials were stacked in crates. Connor turned on a battery-powered light. Shrugging out of my backpack, I walked around finding comfort here. It seemed there were a thousand things that Connor and I should say to each other, but we’d barely talked at all as we traveled.

  I thought about Brittany and wondered where she’d gone to experience her first transformation. I wondered if she was afraid to be alone. I didn’t think I’d be scared, exactly, but I’d definitely be nervous.

  “What are you thinking?” Connor asked.

  “About Brittany. She’s going to go through this alone.” I glanced around. “Do you think she’ll be okay? Should she have come with us? Could you have helped her, too?”

  “I don’t think we can bond with two people.”

  My stomach knotted up. I knew I was supposed to be concentrating on my own transformation, my own needs, but something about Brittany was bothering me. I was really worried about her. I wondered if Rafe might be with her, then selfishly wished he wouldn’t. If he can’t be mine, I thought, I don’t want him to bond with anyone. And that made me a cold bitch. What if I’d made a mistake choosing Connor? I didn’t believe I had, but suddenly there was this niggling concern…probably just nerves as the moon’s arrival approached.

  “Here’s everything that we’ll need,” Connor said, removing a large crate from the stack. He opened it.

  As I walked over, he removed a black robe and then handed me a beautiful silvery-white robe. It looked like something fairy queens always wore in the movies.

  “Makes it easier for us to shift. We’re not encumbered with clothes,” he said.

  “I’d heard about that,” I said, taking the robe. It was soft and silky; how nice it would feel against my skin.

  “We have a few hours yet. What do you want to do?” he asked.

  “I’m really tired. Could I take a nap?”

  “We probably both should. Tonight will be…draining.”

  I watched as he arranged sleeping bags and quilts to create a soft place for us to sleep. We were only going to sleep, and yet I felt nervous about it. My skin suddenly felt incredibly sensitive, as though I could actually feel dust motes landing on it. I knew it was probably my body preparing for the upcoming transformation, but it was a strange sensation, and I imagined Connor holding me, his hands skimming over my back or along my face. I thought I’d be able to feel every groove of his fingertips.

  “What do you like best about being in your wolf form?” I blurted, wondering why I was suddenly so skittish. This was Connor. My mate. My destiny. Hadn’t we been together forever?

  He stopped what he was doing. Still crouching, he rested his forearms on his knees and looked up at me. “I like the way everything seems more alive. Sounds are sharper; colors are brighter. I can hear my own heart thundering. It’s a trip—probably like tripping, in a way. Not that I’d know.”

  “You’ve never done drugs?”

  “No. Why would I? Why would any of us when we can shift? That’s an indescribable rush of its own.”

  “Do you ever lose sight of who you are?”

  “No. You still think human thoughts; they just tend to have a slightly savage edge to them. In human form, if I were attacked, I’d think about beating the guy up. In wolf form, I’d probably think about killing him. It’s all about survival when we’re in animal form.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling self-conscious about the thought of sleeping in Connor’s arms, which was silly because I’d slept in his arms before. “I never talked about this with my parents.”

  “Me, either.” He patted the quilts. “Come on. You look like you’re about to drop dead.”

  I stretched out on the padding and he lay down beside me, letting me use his shoulder as a pillow.

  “I feel like I want to crawl out of my skin,” I told him.

  “It’s just your body preparing for the transformation.”

  “Does it feel this…sensitive all the time?”

  “Yeah, but you get used to it.”