Tangled Moon

by Stocum, Olivia

  “Danielle, wait.”

  She shut the front door in his face.

  He made to open it, but Lothar beat him to it, glaring at him from the other side. Nick could see Danielle behind him, wet and frazzled. There was no chance of talking to her now, not without causing more harm than good.

  “I do not know what you did to her,” Lothar said, his voice low with quiet authority. “But I suggest you leave.”

  “Yeah, all right,” Nick said, backing off. It was one thing if the guy was trying to control her, but what if he wasn’t? What if he had his reasons for guarding over her like he did?

  Nick needed answers before proceeding.

  “Another time,” he said, backing off.

  Chapter Nine

  Late morning the next day, Danielle found herself stirring cream in coffee she couldn’t remember having poured in the first place. She realized she was flying on autopilot.

  She and Lothar had spent all night in the forest. A heavy rain had made hunting for vampire by scent impossible, so they’d settled on a quick meal of small game and then patrolled the forest around town, keeping it safe until sunrise.

  She sat at the table and over-stirred her coffee, wondering if she should go into town and make sure Nick was all right. She only needed four hours of sleep, but if she made a habit of spending all night in the forest and all day watching Nick, she would lose her edge.

  Lothar glanced up from his laptop. “Male will come for you.”

  “I wasn’t thinking about him.” She set aside her spoon and took a sip. “Well, I was, but not like you’re thinking.”

  “What is it I think?” He looked at his computer screen, effectively avoiding eye contact.

  “That I have an obsession with him. But I don’t. I’m just trying to keep him alive.” She needed to change the subject. “Find anything?”

  He turned the laptop so she could see the screen. He was studying a topographical map of the surrounding wilderness. He pointed. “They must spend daylight hours here. There is a network of caves that go on for miles. They catch scent around sleeping quarters, they abandon them.”

  “No point in our searching.”

  “Best watch exits, and be ready when they wake.” He brought up the weather report. “Rain for next few days.”

  Danielle tapped her finger on the tabletop. “Hopefully it’ll keep Nick out of the forest.”

  His brows lifted.

  “How am I supposed to focus when I’m busy keeping him alive?”

  “Females with mates do not hunt monsters.”

  “Yeah, because they abandon hunting to rear offspring. But what if I really don’t want to leave my job.”

  “It is illegal not to.”

  “No kidding.” She sighed. Didn’t they already have this conversation? Of course, she’d probably confused the heck out of him by spending time with Nick. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell whose side you’re on here,” she said more quietly.

  “What were you hoping?”

  “That you’d be on my side, obviously.”

  He smiled wryly. “Always on side, Darling. I want to see all your side.”

  She was sure that hadn’t come out right, so she let it go. “Thanks . . .”

  She sighed, staring at her coffee, not drinking it, even though it was the one human habit she actually enjoyed. Too bad Lothar had never come out and told her he wasn’t interested in her physically. Then she could mourn the loss of her fantasy and be done with it.

  When they’d returned tired and wet that morning, he’d patiently stayed up with her while she vented about Nick, mortals in general, and how annoying it was to have pheromones in the first place. Now he was practically pushing Nick on her.

  “You look at Nick like you hate him, but you . . . This morning you were willing enough to let me spew. Now you act like everything’s decided with him. But it’s not.”

  “I do hate him.”

  There it was again. His need to protect her. But was it out of duty as her alpha, or was there more?

  “I think that’s illegal too,” she said.

  “You are strong,” he continued, that r of his rolling until her stomach flipped. His eyes darkened a shade. “And willful. Your children are needed.”

  “Being pregnant with two or three little bundles of joy at the same time sounds more like a curse than a blessing.”

  “Matter of perspective,” he said. She thought she saw something behind his eyes. Pain, perhaps. “Do best, but I know you will be divided.”

  “Yeah. That’s for sure.”

  Danielle took in Lothar’s face, with his aristocratic cheekbones and sculpted mouth that she suddenly wanted to taste badly. She ran her tongue over her teeth.

  He’d kissed her a grand total of three times. The first, she’d been young and alone. Her adoptive parents had rejected her. It had been a really nice kiss.

  The second had been right after she’d broken up with Henry. Being a werewolf had put a damper on their relationship. That kiss had started with a really long sympathy hug, followed by hands that seemed to take her in like he was committing the shape of her to memory. It had gone on so long that she’d seriously wondered if he planned to leave her a virgin. Yet he had.

  The third one had been desperate—just thinking about it made her heart pound. They’d had a falling out and parted ways for three weeks. Longest three weeks of her life. Lothar’s sister, Vesper, had talked her into forgiving him for being an arrogant snob.

  Still a virgin.

  She’d decided to set the confusion aside, assuming it had to do with his uncle. They didn’t need the kind of judgment being intimate could bring on them.

  It lingered though, in the back of her mind. In her heart. Why hadn’t he slept with her when he’d had the chance? Other partners did. It was so common in hunting pairs that it was practically expected. She needed some answers. But that meant working up the courage to ask.

  Maybe later.

  She peeked at the computer screen. He was moving money around. Lothar and his sister both played the stock market. Even old money could be exhausted these days, and the Ludvitski twins made sure there was plenty to go around. She scooted her chair a little closer, not that she cared about the stock market. She just wanted to sit by him.

  “When we leave, what do you think Nick will do?” she asked.

  He looked up, watching her curiously, then he leaned back in his chair. “It depends on strength of bond.”

  “If it’s only chemical, when I leave he’ll forget why he was interested in the first place.”

  “I doubt any man could forget you.” He smiled until his incisors showed.

  She growled back in automatic response.

  “If it is merely chemical, then yes, he will.”

  Lothar seemed unusually focused on her eyes, confusing her even more. She looked away.

  What if . . . maybe . . .

  Stop obsessing, Danielle. Be reasonable.

  If they had to part ways, he would miss her friendship, and that was all.

  * * *

  Danielle stood looking over the ravine near the cabin. Beams of fuzzy sunlight filtered through the damp forest canopy around her as rain misted. The ground was soft and cool beneath her paws. She lifted her muzzle and smelled the wet air.

  Yes, Nick was out there.

  She’d settled for calling Kendra the day before, to keep an eye on Nick for her, that way she could work on the cabin with Lothar. Kendra had called half an hour ago to let her know Nick had gone out looking for bears. Kendra knew he’d used the word figuratively.

  Danielle picked her way down to the water. Too bad she didn’t have a change of clothes stashed somewhere. Then again, maybe it was for the best that she didn’t. It was better she watch out for him like this.

  She splashed through and sniffed the ground on the other side. When she found Nick’s trail she picked up her pace to a ground eating lope. Trees blurred past.

  Part of her really did want
to throw everything away for a man she hardly knew. The other part wanted nothing but to run forever. If she never spent another minute as a human, theoretically, she could live forever, since she didn’t age as a wolf. Assuming she wasn’t in a fatal confrontation with another werewolf, a vampire, or any number of other monsters that humans could only dream about.

  Every moment she spent in her frail human body brought her closer to death. She had never asked him, but she guessed Nick was about thirty. Chronologically, she was older than him, but he was ahead of her human body.

  Lothar was ahead of her too, both chronologically and in human form. She remembered the day he had walked into her high school homeroom, posing as an exchange student from Lithuania. He’d looked young enough for that at the time. Barely. They were both seniors. Lothar had stared at her for so long that day that Henry had threatened to have the football team hang him by his Italian leather belt from the bleachers. She’d calmed Henry down after school, promising she would never talk to Lothar again.

  That had lasted about two hours.

  Instinctively, she must have known he was the same species as her.

  Danielle leaped onto a boulder. She could see Nick below, sitting on a fallen log eating his lunch. She sniffed the air. Turkey and Swiss cheese on whole wheat. She checked again, then sneezed and wiped her nose with her paw. Hot peppers.

  She plopped onto her stomach. Nick was wearing another tight t-shirt, this one green. She curled back her lips as she thought about him taking his time to dress the other day, strutting around shirtless for her viewing pleasure.

  Maybe he wouldn’t forget her when they moved on. Maybe he would dedicate himself to hunting her down.

  That could be fun.

  It would also get him tangled up with vampires.

  Nick looked up, looked again, and then stood, staring slack-jawed in her direction. She inched backwards, preparing to run away, then changed her mind and stopped. What would it matter if he saw her like this? He wouldn’t know. Her identity was perfectly safe.

  Taking a deep breath, she came fully to her feet and looked down from her perch at him.

  Nick’s eyes widened impressively.

  Well, she was pretty impressive. If he knew what she really was, he would never complain about her going into the forest alone.

  The direction of the air changed, carrying his scent and ruffling her fur. Wanting to be closer to him, Danielle took a good solid stance on the boulder and launched herself, landing ten feet away. He took an immediate step back, then corrected himself, holding his ground instead. Danielle cocked her head and tried to look as unthreatening as possible.

  “Sure are a friendly one, aren’t you?” he said. She wagged her tail and he broke off a piece of his sandwich, tossing it at her. “I really shouldn’t be doing this.”

  He had to be kidding. He thought she was after a handout? What kind of self-respecting wolf begged for food like a common dog? She sniffed at the scrap, then sneezed so hard she blew it aside.

  “I forgot about the peppers.”

  Danielle inched slowly toward him. The top of her head came to the top of his shoulder. He stretched out his hand and she sniffed it politely, since he would expect that.

  “You must’ve been raised by people,” he said. “Either that, or you plan to eat me for lunch.”

  She shoved the top of her head under his hand. His fingers wove into her heavy fur as if analyzing the texture. Knowing him, he was already trying to place her genus and species.

  Hoping she could lead him out of the forest, she pulled back, whining for him to come. He followed, Danielle staying ahead of him until they reached the road where he’d parked his truck.

  “Yeah, I got it. You want me off your turf.” He reached his hand out and she stuck her head under it. Nick rubbed her ears. “This has got to be the second strangest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Second? Danielle was offended. She backed up and yelped at him.

  “You’d easily be the first, if it wasn’t for this.” He rubbed his shoulder, over her bite mark.

  Danielle felt like a fool. What if he figured it out, now that she’d been careless enough to approach him? He might even recognize her scent.

  Stupid, stupid girl. Stop letting your hormones lead you.

  Most humans believed werewolves were fictional, and the ones who didn’t, assumed her kind were grotesque beasts of the full moon. An entire town could come to arms after a single sighting, all hunting werewolf.

  She’d have to tell Lothar what she’d done. Just in case there was trouble.

  Oh, the humiliation!

  Chapter Ten

  Nick sat at the counter in Kendra’s diner, checking his phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. He’d left three messages for Danielle as soon as he’d gotten back to town, because he missed her like mad and couldn’t hold out any longer, and because he was dying to tell her about the wolf he’d seen. He’d had his fair share of wildlife encounters over the years, but this one had him baffled.

  He’d never seen a wolf like the one today. Not only was it huge, but it possessed a keen, almost human intelligence.

  A wild animal that had lost all fear of people was dangerous, and this one was definitely not afraid. Bears were known to knock down birdfeeders for seeds and garbage cans for scraps. They’d even invited themselves onto the porch at his parents’ house looking for a handout.

  What if he was wrong about Jason? His brother had never put any hardcore criminals away, never made any enemies that Nick could think of. What if he’d been attacked by one of those wolves? All it would take was a few seconds of careless awe, and a man could lose his life.

  Or a woman.

  His phone chimed and he checked it. It was a text from Danielle. She was on her way over for dinner. He smiled to himself. She was safe, and soon she would be with him.

  Kendra leaned over the counter. “By the look on your face, I’d say a certain someone is on her way to make up with you.”

  Nick eyed her. There was no escaping this woman. She would have made a great mom, had she and Jason been able to have children.

  “She only called me five times,” Kendra said.

  “What?”

  “She wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  Maybe Danielle was more interested than she’d let on to. He tucked his phone into his back pocket. “Yeah, she’s on her way. Get her a steak. Rare. Hold the salad.”

  “Yes, sir. And you?”

  “What’s Greg’s having tonight?”

  “I’ve no idea. He went out of town on a date.” Kendra glanced over her shoulder. Steph was coming out of the kitchen with a tray.

  “Does she know,” Nick mouthed.

  “Unfortunately. She’s broken three plates today.”

  “Poor girl.”

  “I’m trying to keep my nose out of it, but it’s hard.” Kendra followed Steph with her eyes then sighed. “How about the special? Meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”

  “Works for me.”

  “Can I give you a word of advice?”

  “I assume you will anyway.”

  Her blue eyes narrowed, but it didn’t stop her mouth from moving. “Danielle’s a nice girl. Decide if you’re serious. If you’re not, let her go. If you are, then I suggest you don’t change your mind a week from now.”

  Nick thought he should be offended. “My dating history isn’t that bad. Genevieve aside.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Her expression softened. “But Danielle is shy. Don’t make me have to defend her.”

  “Shy?” Secretive, maybe, but not shy.

  “For a detective, you can be dull, Nick.”

  “Not as much as you’re insinuating.”

  Kendra gestured to an empty corner booth. “Go sit there. I’ll send her over when she gets here.”

  “Thanks.” He slid off the stool.

  “And Nick, if you decide she’s the real deal, take her out of town on a real date.”

  He
spread his arms. “This isn’t a date, we’re just having dinner.”

  “And the distinction would be?” Kendra lifted her chin and walked away.

  At least she had something to occupy herself with besides the diner, even if it was at his expense. It could be good for Kendra and Danielle to get to know each other. A female friend in town might give Danielle incentive to stick around awhile.

  Assuming he wasn’t enough incentive. Nick chose not to explore that line of thinking.

  He was sitting in the corner booth playing Space Invaders on his phone when Danielle walked in. Nick didn’t need anyone to tell him she was there. He just knew. It wasn’t her scent. His sense of smell couldn’t distinguish her across a people and food filled diner. Nick watched her scan the room, see him, and then tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

  She crossed toward him, all the good old boys rubbernecking over their drafts to see. Nick couldn’t possibly glare them all down at once. He settled for standing and meeting her half way—and then staring at her like she was all his. It was unnecessary, really, because the good old boys were gray-haired and bushy-bearded anyway.

  But Nick felt like being barbaric. So he was.

  He slid his fingers through hers. When she didn’t pull away he led her to the table. Yeah, he could see the benefit of taking her out of town, but he could also see the value in staking his territory right there on home soil. Her fingers twitched against his as they slid into the booth opposite each other.

  She looked at their interlaced fingers, then slid hers away and tucked her hands underneath.

  “I ordered you a stake,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  “I meant to call you earlier.” He had meant to, and then he didn’t, because he thought he should let her come to him.

  “I had to work anyway.”

  “Yeah, about that.” He took a breath, knowing this would not go over well. “I really think you should let Lothar and I deal with the wildlife around here. And that’s not my ego talking.”