Mirror Lake Wolves 02 - Moon Hunted

by Jennifer Snyder

  I headed to the kitchen, thankful for something to do. It helped keep everything I was feeling at a distance a while longer. If not, I might break down in front of everyone.

  Once I gathered a mug of hot water and the herbs Gran had requested, I watched as she created a dull amber-colored tea.

  “Lift her head. She needs to drink this,” Gran insisted.

  Eli lifted Violet’s head, and I watched as Gran coaxed her to drink the tea. Once she was finished, Violet lay against the pillows and snored softly. Gran shifted her attention to me next.

  “Follow me,” she insisted as she stood.

  I followed her to the kitchen where she proceeded to fix my nose. Her touch sent pain radiating through my head, but I knew she wasn’t trying to hurt me. She was only assessing the damage.

  “It’s broken,” Gran insisted. Without warning, she reached up and popped it back into place.

  White hot pain shot through me as blood trickled down my face onto Eli shirt again. If it hadn’t been ruined before, it damn sure would be now. He needed to throw in the trash or burn it. I, for one, didn’t want any reminders of this night lying around.

  “There. Now you need a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Both of you,” she said as she shifted her attention to Eli. She cleaned the cut above his eye and leaned forward to give him a kiss on the forehead before motioning for me to step closer for one too. “I’m proud of you two. I don’t know the whole story, and I’m sure you can’t tell me, but I want you to know I’m proud of you for rescuing that little girl. Her parents will be so happy you did. The entire pack will be. You did a good thing tonight, and I thank you.”

  I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what to say. We’d killed a man tonight in our efforts to rescue one of our own. Was that something to be proud of?

  “Thanks,” Eli said as he ran a hand through his hair. Was he as distraught as I was over the night’s events? “I think I’m gonna head home. I’ll talk to you later, Mina.”

  Eli started toward the front door, and I wasn’t sure if I should go after him. I took too long deciding, and he slipped through the door and out of my view.

  “Go take a shower, honey. Give yourself some time to decompress. I can sense you’ve been through a lot tonight.” Gran gave me one more kiss on the forehead before gently pushing me toward the hall.

  I gave in to what she was suggesting and grabbed my favorite tank top and a pair of jogging shorts before heading to the bathroom. My nose pulsed with my heartbeat as I bent over the bathtub to adjust the water. I was grateful for speedy werewolf healing, knowing tomorrow I’d wake up and my nose would be fine, or at least close to it. Pain was not something I could tolerate.

  I peeled my clothes off and stepped into the shower without glancing at myself in a mirror. There was no way I wanted to see myself. I could feel how awful I looked.

  As soon as the warm water hit my shoulders, I relaxed for the first time all night. This slip up caused emotions I’d been fighting to keep at bay to bubble to the surface. They washed over me in massive waves before I could secure my wall back in place. Images of Eli snapping Drew’s neck flashed on repeat behind my closed eyes. I knew he’d done it to protect me and the pack, but I couldn’t help but feel sick. Killing Drew made us no better than him.

  My mind drifted, repeating the horrible sound and the look on his face as I washed.

  A knock at the door sounded.

  “Mina, honey, are you all right?” Gran’s soft voice filtered through the door.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I shouted as I turned the water off.

  I was okay. I was safe. I was home.

  “Okay. Just checking.” Her retreating footsteps sounded and I exhaled a slow breath.

  How long had I been in the shower? It didn’t seem like it would have been long enough to worry her.

  I dried myself off and pulled on my clean clothes. With my hair still dripping, I glanced at myself in the mirror.

  Failure glistened behind my eyes.

  Not because we’d been forced to kill Drew, but because I knew this wasn’t over with yet. We weren’t able to rescue Glenn.

  We’d saved one pack member, but not the other.

  Glenn hadn’t been there. How on earth were we going to find him?

  Violet. Maybe she would be able to tell us something once she finally came to.

  My feet propelled me out of the bathroom and toward the couch where she slept. It would probably be another day or two before she woke, and even then, who knew when she’d be ready to talk.

  A knock at the front door startled me.

  “Could you get that for me, dear?” Gran asked from where she stood at the kitchen sink, washing the ceramic bowl we’d used earlier.

  “Yeah. Sure.” My voice was flat. I was numb as I started toward the door. Exhaustion was creeping through my body, but not through my mind. It was still churning.

  When I opened the door, the last person I expected to see again so soon stood there.

  Eli’s hair was wet, dripping down his neck onto the collar of his shirt as he stood on my porch. He’d changed clothes and I could smell his shampoo, or was that his body wash, on him. I loved that smell whatever it was. It had things stirring to life inside of me I didn’t think should be considering our night.

  “You forgot this in my truck,” he said, holding out my cell. “There are a few messages I thought you might want to answer.” His eyes dipped to his shoes.

  I took my cell from him but didn’t check to see who they were from. Instead I clutched it in my hand and crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly aware I was standing before him braless. Not that it should matter, he’d seen me naked before, but somehow it did.

  “So…are you okay?” Eli asked. There was a weight to his words. I knew why.

  “Yeah. I mean, as okay as I can be, I guess.” I shifted around on my feet. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while, though. I’m still pretty keyed up.”

  The ghost of a smile quirked at the corners of his lips. “Me either. You’re always welcome at my place. I don’t think I’ll be heading to bed anytime soon.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. Violet was still passed out on the couch and Gran was in the kitchen.

  “You don’t need my permission,” Gran said as though she could feel my eyes on her.

  I licked my lips and shifted back to face Eli. “Let me get some shoes.”

  “Okay. I’ll wait here.”

  I headed to my room and slipped on a bra and some flip-flops. My phone called out to me. I was curious if it was Gracie or Alec who’d messaged me.

  It was Alec.

  Movie was great. You would have liked it. Call me tomorrow. Maybe we can do something?

  I set my phone on top of my dresser. I’d reply tomorrow. I didn’t have it in me tonight to talk to him. There was so much more on my mind than the latest movie playing at the theater.

  Smoothing my fingers through my wet hair, I made my way back to the front door. Gran didn’t say a word when I left. Eli stood at the hood of my car, waiting when I stepped outside.

  “Want to have a fire?” Eli asked as we walked side-by-side to his trailer.

  I tucked my wet hair behind my ears and glanced at him. “Where?”

  “My place. I found a big burn barrel leaning up against the trailer when I moved in.” Eli grinned. “There’s some evidence we need to get rid of tonight, don’t you think?”

  I remembered the dingy shirts of Drew’s we’d used to clean up the scene of his death. “Can you burn a rag with bleach on it?”

  “It’s probably not the healthiest thing to burn, but as long as we aren’t huffing the smoke, I think we’ll be okay.”

  “I doubt I’ll be doing that.” I chuckled.

  “Me either. I think will be good.” He motioned for me to sit in one of the bag chairs he’d bought recently once we reached his place. “Take a seat. I’ll drag the barrel around.”

  I sat and folded my legs
beneath me. My gaze drifted to the star speckled sky as I inhaled a deep breath. I couldn’t believe how my night had gone. I’d watched the life fade out of Shane’s brother’s eyes and helped to rescue Violet. God, I’d been so worried about her when I learned she was missing.

  “All right,” Eli muttered as he dropped the barrel in front of me. “Let me get the rags from inside. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll be here,” I said, tucking my hands beneath my thighs. It was cooler out now that my hair was wet and I was in a tank top and shorts. Part of me thought maybe I should head home for a sweater and the blood-soaked T-shirt Eli had let me borrow earlier tonight, but I was too comfortable to move.

  “Want me to grab you a sweater?” Eli asked when he stepped out. “You look cold.”

  “Yeah, that would be great. I’m a little chilly.”

  “Sure.” Eli tossed the rags in the barrel and started up the stairs again. He came back a few minutes later with a gray hoodie draped over one arm and a jar of moonshine in his hand. I was pretty sure it was one we’d taken from Drew’s. “I think we deserve a drink after everything we’ve been through tonight. I know you might be upset still about what happened, but we made damn sure no one in our pack would be hunted by Drew again. And we rescued Violet from who knows what horrendous things she might’ve had to endure once she was sold to whoever Drew’s buyer was.”

  I swallowed hard, ignoring the comment about Drew’s death, and nodded in agreement instead. “Yeah, I think a drink is in order.”

  Eli handed me his hoodie. I pulled it on, and inhaled the scent of him that lingered in the woven fabrics. There was something about it that calmed me in a way I couldn’t explain.

  I watched as he struck a match and tossed it into the barrel. The t-shirts went up instantly and relief trickled through my shoulders and chest at the sight of them burning. All traces that could lead to Eli, me, or the pack were now gone.

  “There, now we can put tonight behind us,” Eli said as he made his way to the chair beside me. He sat and stretched his long legs out in front of him before opening the moonshine. He held it out to me before taking a sip himself. “Here, have a sip and then tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”

  My lips worked into a small smile as I took the jar from him. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” He flashed me a skeptical look.

  “Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on in my head right now,” I said as I put the jar to my lips. I downed a large gulp, not caring what flavor it was. My throat burned as the white lightning slipped down. The apple pie had burned, but this crap felt like lava.

  “Whoa, take it easy.” Eli laughed. “Maybe I should’ve warned you it wasn’t flavored. No apple pie this time, just straight up Southern moonshine.” He took the jar from me and put it to his lips. When he took a swig, I noticed his eyes water. “Whew, that crap is strong.”

  “Yeah, I can’t feel my tongue, and I think my throat might actually be on fire.” Each breath seemed to flame it.

  Eli agreed, then we lapsed into silence. My eyes zeroed in on the orange flames licking the inside of the barrel.

  “I can’t believe we found her,” Eli whispered after some time had passed. “But what I really can’t believe is that she was stuck in a damn cage like an animal.”

  “I’m sure that’s how Drew thinks of us,” I said, unable to keep the disgust I felt toward him from leaking into my words. “I’m upset Glenn wasn’t there, though. I feel like we let him down.”

  “We didn’t let him down,” Eli insisted. His warm gaze drifted over my face. “We’re closer to finding him now than we were before.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “We rescued Violet. She has to know something.”

  I pulled the sleeves of his sweater over my hands. “Yeah, but who knows when we’ll be able to ask her anything about it. She’s passed out, and I’m sure she’ll be shaken when she does wake.”

  “She’ll come to soon. Of course she’ll be shaken, but she’ll talk. I’m sure of it.”

  I wished I could be as calm and collected about all of this as he was, but I couldn’t. I felt like we’d let Glenn down from the beginning. I didn’t see how we could be any closer to finding him than we were before.

  “We already know he wasn’t at Drew’s,” Eli said, pulling me from my thoughts. “We have the other brother’s address. All we need to do is check his place.”

  “And what if Glenn’s not there? What then?”

  “We’ll figure something out.” Eli reached for my hand. I slipped it free from the sleeve of his sweater and let him intertwine his fingers with mine. His warm touch was like a sedative. One that was instantaneous, and I knew would end up being highly addictive. “We’re going to find him, Mina. We’ll bring Glenn home like we did Violet, even if it means taking down the other brother and whoever the hell is in charge of this whole thing along the way.”

  I nodded, agreeing with him, because deep down, I knew this wasn’t a situation I could let my emotions get the best of me in. I could only let them fuel me.

  Our pack was being hunted, and I needed to find out why and who was running the show.

  I leaned back in my chair and gazed up at the sliver of a moon hung low in the night sky, knowing that whatever it took I’d find the answers to both questions.

  Even if it killed me.

  THANK YOU

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  PROLOGUE

  Wind is a force of nature I’ve always found to be magical, something you can physically feel but never actually see. It can be tame… barely light enough to ruffle your hair. Or it can be powerful… strong enough to rip a tree straight out of the ground. Either way, it is unpredictable and entirely uncontrollable.

  The same can be said about love.

  ONE

  I noticed him the first moment he stepped into the diner, along with every other female both young and old. There was something about him that made it hard to look away. Maybe it was the smooth confidence in his stride, or his boy band good looks. Whatever the reason, I found it nearly impossible to not stare, even in the presence of my boyfriend.

  His eyes shifted to mine and lingered long enough to make my heart flutter. There was something in their glint that struck me as lonely, but it was overshadowed by something else swirling beneath the surface of the rich honey color, something intriguing I couldn’t name.

  “Is it love at first sight, Tessa? Because it sure looks like it to me and I’m not the only one noticing. Sam seems lik
e he could crumble the table with his bare hands right now,” Rachel said, refilling a sweet tea pitcher.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Sam. Rachel was right; he didn’t seem happy. I’d better get a grip on myself or else we were bound to have another argument.

  “Hardly,” I muttered, grabbing out a menu and tucking it under my arm before picking up Sam and Kyle’s tray of food.

  “He is eye candy, though, don’t deny it,” she said with a shit-eating grin.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not, but I’m not about to go there either.”

  “Oh, I would.” She glanced over at Kyle. “Well, maybe just a little, not full force or anything.”

  “Yeah, well not everyone can be as bold as you.”

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

  “Nothing.” I winked and headed toward Sam’s table.

  During the length of space from behind the counter to Sam and Kyle’s table, I allowed myself one glance in Mr. Dreamy’s direction and that was all it took to make my heart start racing again. Golden blond hair, tanned skin, a muscular build—he was the total package.

  I fumbled setting their tray of food down, nearly dumping crinkle-cut fries in Sam’s lap.

  “What’s up, Tessa? Pretty boy over there got you all flustered?” Sam asked with a slight chuckle, but I could see the seriousness pooling in his baby-blue eyes.

  “Whatever.” I grinned, attempting to seem nonchalant. “You guys need anything else?”

  “Nah, we’re good,” Kyle answered, glancing between Sam and me nervously.

  “I need you to stop staring at Prince Charming over there,” Sam muttered under his breath.

  I put a hand on my hip. “Really, Sam? Are you seriously that jealous?”

  “Maybe,” he said firmly.

  “It’s part of my job to notice when people come in and where they sit,” I snapped. “I’m gonna go hand him this menu; don’t have a heart attack.”