Ain’t that the truth.
Concern has him pulling his lips down in a slight frown.
“Are you sure—”
“That I don’t want to talk about it? Absolutely.” I hug the bow to my chest. Not gonna lie, I feel even better having it close. “Forget it. Just… I didn’t wait for you to get here because I wanted to chat, Hunter. I assume you know a safe place to go to sleep. I’m beginning to feel it. I gotta lay down soon.”
“I know the perfect spot. It’s not too far. I can take you right there.”
“Lead the way.”
He doesn’t move.
I don’t like the curious look in his eyes. He’s watching me too closely, like he’s searching for something. Artemis maybe? I huff, the thought making my stomach tighten the instant it pops in my head. If possible, my headache throbs even harder.
“What?” I demand. He still hasn’t looked away or moved or anything.
His lips curve. “You did wait for me, didn’t ya?”
I refuse to answer that. Let him wonder about my motives. I sure as hell am.
After maneuvering my bow so that it won’t hit me with every other step, I start off. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be right behind me. He came after me for his own reasons. I’ll leave him to them.
Because, you know what? I don’t want to know. I really don’t.
A loud splash has me turning around to look at the lake. Hunter is so close behind me, we almost collide. He steps to the side, following the direction of my stare.
My mouth opens in surprise.
There’s a head peeking out of the water. Female. Her face is gorgeous, with dark blonde hair that has little pink flowers woven into the wet ringlets. Though I can only see a little past her neck, she’s obviously topless. She smiles and flicks her fingers at us, sending small splashes in our direction.
“Naiad,” Hunter tells me in a low voice. “Water nymph.”
With a giggle and a wave, she disappears back into the lake. I get the strangest idea that she was saying goodbye to me.
I close my eyes.
You’ve gotta be kidding with this crazy place.
I managed to take away some guy’s humanity for getting a peek at my tits when, all along, I was bathing in the same lake as some other naked chick and I didn’t even have a clue.
Wonderful.
21
We walk in silence.
I don’t have any idea where Hunter is going. Instead of asking, I just follow him. I’ve totally lost track of time today, but the infrequent glimpses of the sun through the dense trees proves that it’s much later than I thought. It’s getting darker out. Staying outside all night by myself isn’t an option.
Besides, I can always head off by myself in the morning. When it’s light out and I don’t feel like I’m about to keel over.
Welcome back, déjà vu. Like that first night, I’m friggin’ exhausted. Emotional whiplash and a killer migraine have left me so tapped out, it’s a struggle to keep up with his freakishly long legs.
I don’t understand why I’m suddenly so blah. It started almost immediately after I walked out of the lake. I was fine as I dried off using my ruined nightgown after wringing out my sopping wet underwear. By the time I was tugging on my hair, trying to tame it and braid it, my hands were shaking. Then the headache started up and I tried my best to ignore it.
Until it blossomed into a migraine. My head is pounding. The longer we walk, the limper my legs get, and now it feels like I’m walking around on wet noodles.
No surprise, really, when they buckle suddenly and I stagger and tumble, dropping to the ground and landing on my knees. My bow goes flying. Momentum knocks me forward and I fall onto the palms of my hands.
“Shit!”
I don’t know what catches Hunter’s attention: the curse, or the thud when I hit the ground hard.
He turns around, his pale eyes flashing as he finds me in the dirt. Suddenly, he’s at my side.
Lowering himself in front of me, he holds out his hand. “Let me help you, darlin’.”
I don’t take it. Call me stubborn, but I have this irrational idea that, if I let things go back to the way they were this morning without making him pay for it, I’ll never get my answers.
I might never get home.
“Move, Hunter. Give me space.”
He knows I’m pissed at him. Following him in the hopes that the monsters in the forest attack him before me hasn’t changed anything. He shouldn’t be surprised when I give him an “are you kidding?” look when he refuses to step back. And, yet, he is.
The surprise turns to determination in a heartbeat. That dazzling face gets a hard edge that, God help me, is so friggin’ sexy. My breath catches in my throat. Before I can warn him a second time, he’s grabbing me.
I slap at his hands. He tightens his embrace and shifts his weight, preparing to stand.
I’m about to tell him that I’m fine, that I don’t need his help when he swoops me up, pausing only to pick up my fallen bow.
He doesn’t set me on my feet. Tucking the hand clutching the bow under my ass, his other arm around my back, it’s undeniably a bridal-style hold. And it doesn’t seem like he’s only repositioning me because, as soon as he senses that I’m not struggling, he starts to move again. It’s a much quicker pace than we were using. My weight doesn’t slow him at all.
You know what? He wants to carry me?
Fine.
As drained as I am, I don’t fight Hunter once he starts motoring through the trees. We’ll get wherever he’s going a lot faster this way. Besides, that look he gave me is seared into my aching brain. I’d be lying to myself if I said that I didn’t want this excuse to be so close to him. I can’t help it. I don’t even try.
I have no shame as I loop my arms around his neck and snuggle close. He smells amazing. Masculine and musky and so comforting that I bury my nose in his shirt and close my eyes.
His steps are light, yet sure, and the steady, rocking motion lulls me into a daze. I’m not sleeping, even if he probably thinks I am. My mind is racing.
I wonder if Alex is out there watching us. I guess because he’s convinced we’re related somehow and I obviously can’t stand him, it makes sense that he’s bothered by how close I’ve gotten to Hunter. Of the two, Hunter is the lesser of two evils, and I know that, despite his less-than-stellar record when it comes to being open and honest, I’d choose Hunter over my “brother” in a heartbeat.
Not that I’m done with being angry. I’m not. I’m still super pissed at him. When I get my strength back, he’s in for it. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him get away with keeping the truth about this wacko place from me. And, if I’m being honest, he might’ve been able to convince me about this whole I-might-be-some-kind-of-goddess thing if he tried a little harder.
My lips purse. On second thought, maybe not.
When he pauses for a beat before resuming his hurried walk, I wonder what made him stop. It hits me an instant later that Hunter’s shirt is pretty thin and mouth is pressed against his chest. My cheeks heat up. I hope he didn’t think I just kissed him.
Mischievous Noelle takes over. He couldn’t have—could he?
I do it again. This time, I part my lips slightly so that the heat of my breath might make it a little more obvious.
Hunter stumbles.
My body jerks and dips. I take one of my arms from around his neck, clutching his shirt as my eyes spring open. Hunter braces his feet in the dirt, gritting his teeth before he steadies us both. He lets out a long, shaky exhale. In the waning daylight, I swear I see pinkish highlights on his bronze cheeks.
“Sorry, darlin’.” The words are a harsh groan. “Misstep. We’re fine now. Get some more rest.”
He tightens his arms around me, then starts to walk again. I can’t tell if he’s trying to prove that I’m secure or if he only did that because he wanted to hold me closer.
I decide either answer works for me. I stop messing with him,
though. The weak sensation in my arms and legs added to the consistent throb in my head has me worried. If he does drop me—and I don’t think he would on purpose—then I’ll be down for the count.
I don’t like this feeling. It reminds me of the last time I came down with the flu. It had to be close to ten years ago, when I slept three days straight and woke up with a fever so high, everything I saw was covered in a hazy orange color. Without the IV in the emergency room, I might’ve been hospitalized.
Right now? I feel slightly less shitty than that. I struggle to come up with an explanation. Up until the whole man-stag fiasco, I was fine. Annoyed at Alex, pissed at Hunter, but physically fine.
I’m probably hungry. This is the longest I’ve gone without snacking in forever. My metabolism is too fast and God knows what’s going on with my blood sugar. The idea of eating, though? Ugh. I might hurl again.
And that’s definitely not like me.
I re-close my eyes if only because watching the world bob up and down as he carries me is making my nausea even worse. I’ve never been prone to motion sickness so that kind of sucks. I’ve also never been carried around by a gorgeous giant, either, so there’s that.
Despite my intentions, I might’ve dozed a little. I don’t even realize it until Hunter nudges me awake with his chin. He rubs it gently over the top of my head, turning his cheek so that he’s stroking my hair.
It’s so soothing that I keep my eyes shut a few seconds longer. Then, letting out a soft sigh, I move my head and look up at him.
“Hmm?”
“We’re here. Do you think you can walk now? Or should I hold you a bit longer?”
I might be a touch woozy and maybe half-asleep because I could almost swear that he sounds anxious, like he wants to keep on carrying me.
I push against his chest. “I’m good now, thanks. I’ll walk.”
He lets me down without a word. I immediately miss his warmth, the protection of his arms. Trying like hell to pretend I don’t, I look around.
It’s another reminder of my first night here. The clearing is small, yet cozy, and the trees have it blocked enough that it’s probably safe from outside predators for the night I’ll be spending here. It’s got a tent, thank goodness, and what has to be a makeshift fire pit.
“Where are we?”
“Another one of my campsites. It made more sense to come here than head back to the cabin. We’ll get a better jump in the morning from this camp. I— you still want to go to the mountain, right?”
The fact that he asks that, like he thinks somehow I’ve changed my mind about going home makes me snap back, “You still going to take me?”
“I told you I would.” Hunter hesitates, then adds, “I just wanted to say that—”
I’m already shaking my head. Nope. I don’t care what he wants to say. I’m not ready to hear it yet. When we have that conversation, I’m gonna need to be wide awake and running on all cylinders, not two seconds away from dropping with a headache that makes me want to rip my skull off.
“I still don’t want to talk about it,” I tell him. “Not yet.”
He nods and doesn’t say anything else.
I know my role. When he gestures to the fire pit, I tuck my cloak under me and sink down onto the ground. The landing is so rough, I can now add my poor behind to the “it friggin’ hurts” list. At least I’m sitting.
Hunter takes off his cloak, folding it neatly and placing it out of reach of the fire pit. I can see that he’s still wearing his array of knives, plus his stupid sword. The sight of it makes me grit my teeth.
That’s not all he brought with him. He’s got a pack tossed over his back. A leather bag hangs off of his belt, right next to his canteen. A second, smaller pouch is tied off at the side.
His back to me, Hunter does something with the larger bag. He grabs a couple of supplies before closing it and tossing it on top of his cloak.
“Stay here,” he says.
Yeah. Like I’m going anywhere.
He returns a couple of minutes later, his arms full of tinder and some dry grass. I have to squint in the coming darkness to see what he has. I exhale softly. He’s gonna make a fire for us.
Good. Ever since I left the hot spring, I haven’t been able to shake off a chill. The cloak helped, but a fire sounds amazing.
When he’s done, Hunter removes the smaller leather pouch from the side of his belt. He opens it and pulls a handful of dried meat out.
“Eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
His brows draw together. Yeah, Hunter. I’m well aware that’s out of character for me, too.
He squats down, leaning in close to press the meat into my hand. It’s some kind of jerky. The deer meat he smoked? I think so.
“You need it. Come on.” His tone is soft, cajoling. “Just a few bites.”
I almost want to throw it into the fire. I can’t waste food, though, not when I think of the noble deer who gave its life so that I could eat. I can’t let its sacrifice be in vain.
“Thanks.”
I take the jerky, chewing on it automatically. A second later, I’m frowning.
That was another thought that wasn’t mine. They’re coming more frequently now, and it’s getting easier for me to recognize them. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Now that I know I’ve got something to do with this Artemis chick, it’s a relief that I’m not crazy.
Well, crazier.
Hunter doesn’t eat. He stays squatting, his muscular thighs massive. My fingers itch to stroke him. I have to remember that I’m still mad and he still wants Artemis. At any rate, until I get him to tell me the truth, he’s off limits.
Two days, I remind myself. It’s only been two full days and Alex proved this morning that I don’t really know Hunter at all.
He’s hovering, watching over me like a mother hen. I take another tiny nibble and he frowns.
“I can hunt for fresh meat, if you want.”
I shake my head. He’s lucky I’m eating this.
His frown deepens. I focus on my deer meat. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his hand reach out, fisting when he gets close enough to touch. And then he growls under his breath.
Hunter friggin’ growls.
My eyes widen.
“Come on, darlin’.”
Jeez. What’s got his panties in a twist? “Are you talking to me?”
He turns away, glancing at the fire. The light throws the rest of his face in shadow, but he’s close enough to me that I can see the agitated rise and fall of his chest. Hunter relaxes his fists for a moment before clenching them tight again. He lets out a long sigh.
“You won’t let me explain and I know you don’t want to hear any apologies,” he says. He’s picking and choosing his words so carefully, I can barely catch his accent. “I can wait as long as I have to for you to forgive me ‘cause it was my wrong-doin’ and I know that. But you’re obviously not okay. A blind fella could see that. Let me help you.”
I stiffen. “Drop it, Hunter.”
“I can’t.”
“You will.”
“Please, Noelle,” he says, and it’s close enough to pleading that I can’t help myself.
Noelle.
Damn it if Hunter hasn’t figured out my weakness. He did it when he got me to pull Alex’s arrow out of his shoulder. And now he’s going to get me to admit that—
“I turned a man into a stag,” I blurt out. “Okay? Happy now?”
Hunter’s reaction catches me entirely off guard. Rather than look at me like I’ve grown three heads or something—the way I would if someone told me that—he actually seems relieved.
I squint again. The firelight must be messing with me. How can he be relieved?
He lets out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, well, that would do it, darlin’. Here. Have some more meat. By tomorrow, you’ll be good as new.”
That’s the last thing I thought he’d say.
“What?”
�
�It was bound to happen eventually. Seein’ as how strong she is in you, I don’t know why it took this long. You’re definitely a stubborn one.” He blinks, cluing in to my absolute shock and confusion. “Let me guess. Right before it happened, you started glowin’.”
How did he know that? “Maybe.”
“You had to be,” Hunter confirms. “The silver light, see, it’s the biggest clue that the power’s runnin’ through you.”
I goggle at him. I’ve been glowing like I’m some radioactive freak since I landed here and he’s just telling me this now? “Power? What are you talking about?”
“Artemis’s power. Her magic and her strength. See, darlin’, you tapped into her power before you were ready to. Explains your weakness, and the headache that knocked you out. The power’s too much for you yet.”
My stomach flip flops. “No. No way.”
He nods eagerly. “The glow? It’s like moonlight, right? You’ve got her strength, her power. You used too much of it and left yourself as weak as a newborn chick. A little glow ain’t much. You’ve got a ton of strength on your own. But to transfigure a stag, even in the Other? It’s dang impressive.”
“It’s fucking terrible, that’s what it is,” I tell him, horrified. He sounds so proud of me for turning a man into an animal. “I couldn’t change him back.”
“No. You wouldn’t be able to. That’s not how that story goes.”
That story.
It’s the worse thing he could’ve said.
That story.
Seriously?
Waste or not, I throw the last of my deer meat into the flames. “It’s happened before.” My tone is flat. If Hunter knows me at all, warning bells should be going off. “To… to your Artemis.”
A tiny part of me wants him to deny that this Artemis is his. When he doesn’t, I stand up on shaky legs. Hunter stays down low, watching me move, looking like he’s itching to come at me but something is holding him back.
I don’t know how long Hunter has been out in these woods alone, going from campsite to cabin and back. Long enough for him to be oblivious to that fact that he’s facing down a ticked off Jersey girl whose one wrong word away from losing it?
Stalk the Moon Page 18
