“Jesus! Get back!”
He slammed the door shut, staring at me. He opened his arms and I ran into them, my chin tucked against his chest.
“We can’t go out there. I can’t protect you from that. You could get hurt.”
I squeezed him tighter, closing my eyes as hard as I could.
We stood there like that for a while before we recognized what was happening. Before the silence started to make sense. I leaned back and stared into Dean’s eyes.
The moment that we held each other, the birds had stopped.
Chapter 13
Dean
I opened my eyes and immediately reached for Krista. I frowned as my fingertips found only cool sheets. I had a moment of panic before I realized she was probably outside with her sketchpad. I smiled, relaxing again.
It was one of my favorite things about Krista. She was such a talented artist. She liked to draw when she woke up, recreating everything she saw in her travels.
I closed my eyes, frowning.
Last night I had dreamt, I was almost certain of it. All I could remember was a warmth surrounding me, and a feeling of floating. Almost like I was suspended in some sort of wonderful, healing goo.
I shook my head.
Goo, Dean? Don't tell Krista that. She'll probably think you're an idiot.
Then again, she did seem to be rather fond of me...
She’d spent the night in my arms, neither of us able to sleep for a long time. We both knew that there were hundreds of dead birds outside. They had flown unerringly into the house.
Not just to the cabin.
To us.
The wind whistling all night through the cracks in the windows had made it hard to forget what had happened. I realized I definitely wasn’t getting my security deposit back.
I stretched and reached for my shirt. I’d left my jeans on in bed, sleeping in them to protect Krista’s modesty. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable.
Still, holding her against my chest all night was giving me a warm glow.
This wasn't the power surge I’d been feeling when I woke up lately. This was something else. I felt soothed almost. It took a minute before I realized what it was.
The beast inside me was quiet.
It was all because of her. Something about being with her was more than exciting. I felt calm in a way I never had before.
Complete.
Of course, we'd barely slept last night. Once we’d crawled into bed, we’d just lain there, not even talking.
We hadn't even eaten dinner.
Eventually though, she’d fallen asleep. I had watched her for hours before catching a few minutes of sleep myself.
I smiled, thinking about how she'd made these soft little sounds in her sleep. A few tiny snores. And then some coos, almost like a baby.
It was the cutest damn thing I'd seen in my life.
Plus, we had the whole weekend to be together.
I padded down the stairs in my bare feet. I stepped out onto the porch. Just as I'd suspected, she was curled up in a rocking chair. Her shiny brown hair spilled over her shoulders as she bent diligently over her pad.
"What are you working on?"
She jumped in her chair. I smiled and walked over to her.
"Didn't mean to scare you. Good morning sweetheart."
She turned her head to meet my kiss.
My eyes slanted to the side while I kissed her, noticing that she shut the pad secretively. What was she hiding in there?
Krista was blushing when I finally pulled back. My voice was husky as I asked her what she wanted to do today.
"Maybe we could go for a walk? It's so peacful here."
She tucked her hair behind her ear. I stared at her graceful neck, thinking about how badly I’d like to bite it. I shook it off. This was my girlfriend. I didn’t need to slobber all over her all the time.
If the lady wanted to walk, we were going to walk. And anything else she wanted. Not just today either.
Forever.
That’s when I noticed it.
The dead birds. They were gone.
“Where are the…”
She swallowed nervously, looking around.
“They were just… not here when I came outside.”
I tried to cover my confusion.
“Maybe it was an animal.”
She just stared at me. I could tell she wasn’t convince. Neither was I, to tell the truth.
"I think I saw a path out back. Breakfast before or after? I'm cooking."
She smiled at me.
"After. But maybe some coffee first?"
I leaned down and kissed her neck.
"Already brewing. I'll grab some cups and we can take them with us."
She nodded, looking shy. I wanted to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to bed to snuggle with me all day. But I was not a caveman. I was a gentleman.
Well, maybe I was a little bit of both. Half caveman, half gentleman.
"Get your shoes on and I'll meet you out here in five."
"Alright. Thank you, Dean."
"So formal, Ms. Thomas."
I chucked her on the chin and laughed, pulling her into my arms for a kiss. It went on a little longer than I meant it to. But that was just the way it was. I had a hard time controlling myself around her.
I forced myself to stop before I got too carried away. Instead, I just rubbed my nose against hers. Then I set her down and went to get my sweet lady some coffee.
Chapter 14
Krista
"Here. Rub some of this on your neck, wrists and ankles."
Dean took the small package from me and sniffed it. He was so cute, I wanted to kiss his nose. I restrained myself though.
I didn't want him to think I had changed my mind about what was on the menu this weekend.
Like my v-card.
"Soap?"
I nodded.
"It's eucalyptus. My Gran makes it from scratch. It keeps the bugs off."
I shrugged shyly.
"One of my family's old tricks. It works."
Dean didn't look at me like a backwoods bumpkin. Instead, he looked impressed. I sighed in relief.
"Cool."
We helped each other apply the soap to our skin and then walked out to the porch. Dean locked the door and took my hand. He kissed the back of it softly, sending shivers down my spine.
The path was narrow so Dean took the lead, warning me when to step over a branch or a rock. He lifted me up and over a fallen log as we headed down a slope towards the sound of a babbling brook.
I sipped my coffee from the travel mug he'd brought me. It was good coffee too, not like the cheap stuff they served in the dorms. He'd added just a touch of sugar. Exactly how I liked it.
It was the little thoughtful things he did that made me wonder. Maybe there was such a thing as taking things too slow.
He kept kissing me, little teasing kisses that left me wanting more. But he was a perfect gentleman other than that. He didn't push me.
I wasn't so sure I would mind if he had...
We walked for a while until we found a pretty spot. A huge rock was poised over a bend in the stream. There was a crystal clear pool of water that had formed here. It was a nice spot to sit down, and we did.
"I want you to meet my parents. They're rich assholes. But they are my rich assholes."
I laughed.
"Dean! You shouldn't call your parents names!"
He shrugged.
"I can't help it. It’s the truth. I never want to lie to you."
I had a sudden strange feeling. I looked down at my arms and saw I’d broken out in goosebumps. It was an almost oppressive sense of foreboding.
I hadn't told Dean about the beast with the silver hair that had been in my dreams. Maybe he already knew, maybe he didn't. It was hard to say what he was capable of perceiving when he was… changed.
But for some reason I just wasn't ready to talk about it.
So he was being honest.
And I wasn't.
I opened my mouth and there he was, kissing me deeply. I sighed, relaxing against his chest. The rock was smooth and soft with moss underneath us. I let him ease me onto my back.
We’d never kissed like this before. I was just starting to feel like maybe I knew what I was doing. I relaxed completely and the kiss went wild.
Dean stopped kissing me abruptly, his hands like vices around my wrist.
"Shhh... don't move."
We turned our heads towards the stream.
A bear stood on its hind legs staring at us. It didn't come closer or attack. It just stood there.
In fact, it looked almost afraid.
How an enormous wall of muscle could look afraid was beyond me. But that was my first thought. My second one was ‘RUN!’
I knew it would catch us though.
Dean's hand seemed to grow where it held mine. I was afraid to look at him. Afraid of what I might see.
Then he growled.
The bear stood up straighter, towering over us. He was well above us, even where we were high up on the rock. The animal roared in fury and Dean pushed me back behind him. I knew he was trying to protect me, but what chance did we really have against an angry bear?
I was sure this was the end of us. I cursed myself for suggesting a walk. I'd just gotten us both killed.
For what? Because I wanted to delay another conversation about sex? Because I was abnormally shy and embarrassed about the way Dean made me feel?
This was all my fault.
The bear was enormous, well over ten feet tall. It could very easily have finished both of us with a single swipe. I braced myself for the inevitable, scooting backward towards the tree line.
But Dean didn't move an inch.
In fact, he stepped forward. I wanted to cry out, to stop him, but I was too frightened to make a sound.
Dean growled again, sounding like an animal, not a man. The bear swung it’s arms without moving. It was as if they were sizing each other up before a fight.
That bear would kill Dean. I knew it. I had to stop it.
Even if I had to sacrifice myself to do it.
I stood up and stepped forward. I reached my hand out, feeling an unspeakable power swell and flow through me. I said something that I didn't quite understand.
"Zeforauva. Zeforauva gomanda."
The bear stared at me, frozen in place. Then it dropped to all fours and ambled away. It looked back at us and made a strange mournful sound. I had the crazy thought that it was apologizing.
Then it was gone.
I stared at my hand, wondering what had just happened.
Dean grabbed me and I started to faint. I noticed his eyes were bright red. I watched as they faded back to their usual gray blue.
I think I was in shock because he kept saying the same thing over and over again and I didn't answer him.
I couldn't.
"Are you alright? Krista? Are you alright!"
I seemed to snap out of it then. I looked at him. At his handsome, worried face.
"Yes."
"Thank God. I was so scared he might hurt you, Krista. I wasn't going to let him get past me though."
He brushed the hair out of my face, staring at me in awe.
"That was amazing, Krista. How did you do that? What did you say to him?"
I shook my head. I was as surprised as he was. I'd been expecting to get eaten, not to speak in tongues.
"I- I don't know. I guess I really am a freak."
"Are you kidding? You're incredible!"
I stepped back before he could kiss me. I didn't feel incredible. I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.
"I think... I want to go home, Dean."
He dropped his arms and stared at me. He looked disappointed. He opened his mouth as if he might argue but he didn't.
"Okay. Okay. We can do that.”
We went back to the cabin and packed up. We didn't have those eggs after all. We just got into the car and left.
The sunny beautiful Fall day felt mournful somehow.
I stared out of the window at the passing landscape, wondering if I should have stayed. I'd enjoyed the time away from school, being away from the realities of our differences, from what had happened two weeks ago that night after the game.
But every night, every time I closed my eyes, it came back to haunt me.
It wasn't just that we were even more spiritually connected than I had previously thought. It wasn't that he seemed to be in some sort of trouble in the dreams. I knew he could handle it.
I couldn't handle telling him about the other beast I'd seen. Gray beard had been showing up in my dreams. Each night he came closer, more insistent, more demanding.
But he hadn’t tried to hurt me. He wanted something, but I had no idea what it was.
Every morning I woke up in a cold sweat, even last night, with Dean's strong arms around me.
He couldn't protect me from this. In fact, I had a feeling no one could. It felt like it was up to me to protect him.
Telling him any of what I’d seen would only make him worry.
"You're awfully quiet."
I turned and looked at him. His handsome profile. His strong arms on the steering wheel. So confident and sure.
Meanwhile, I wasn't sure of anything.
"I'm fine. Just thinking..."
He glanced at me with a wolfish grin before turning his attention back to the road.
"Yeah, me too."
I felt my cheeks get warm. I knew what he meant. He was thinking about sleeping together. It hadn’t been what he wanted, but it had still been the most intimate thing I’d ever done. By morning, we’d been wrapped around each other, entangled completely.
It was nice. More than nice. I’d been surprised how much I’d liked sleeping snuggled up with him. I’d liked it a lot.
That didn't mean I wanted to talk about it. Or what might happen if we made a habit of sharing a bed. I sighed, realizing there were a lot of things I did not want to talk about. This was not a great start for our relationship.
Too many secrets.
Chapter 15
Dean
We’d won. Again. But that wasn’t what was making my blood sing.
I stood in the locker room, covered in sweat, dirt, and grass stains. A little blood too. But I knew none of it was mine.
I was shaking hands with alumni, the Dean, reporters and the parents of the other players. Through the crowd I saw Krista standing uncertainly by the door. I crossed the room in long strides, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
I pulled her back over to stand in front of my locker, ignoring the stares of the other players. None of them realized that the quiet, stunningly beautiful girl who worked in the team dining hall was their star quarterback's girlfriend. But they would now.
It wasn't just homecoming, it was also our coming out party.
I threw my arm around her and grinned for a photographer snapping a picture.
Krista looked calmer than I expected, even though I could tell it was partially an act. I was relieved. I had been so worried she would freak or back out when it came time to make our relationship public.
I rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. I didn't blame her for being nervous. After all, it was going to be the first time she met my parents, never mind the rest of the community that buzzed around the team constantly.
It was a big community. It wasn't just the people who were actually involved with the team or the sport. There were hangers-on a plenty. Groupies, sponsors, alumni, local business owners. Even out of state recruiters and agents who were looking for the next big thing.
I was well aware that I was it.
"Son!"
A heavy hand slapped my back. I turned, my hand sliding down to clasp Krista's in mine. I squeezed her dainty little hand, and held on tight. I was half afraid she was going to run off on me, truth be told.
I felt her tense up
beside me. She was so worried. I swear I could almost feel her emotions sometimes.
From what I could tell, she was definitely not looking forward to this moment.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Krista."
I watched as my parents froze, identical looks of unhappy surprise all over their faces. My dad covered it quickly but my mom still had that pinched look of disapproval that she got when something was not to her liking or expectations. Which was often.
They were pretty much staring at Krista as if she were a fish with wings.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Westen."
Her sweet voice cut through the silence with a charming twang. But they didn't say a word in reply. Krista raised her chin as my parents continued to stare at her oddly.
I started to get angry. I just shook my head at my parents’ blatantly rude behavior.
There was no way I was going to let them treat Krista this way.
"Let's get out of here, sweetheart. Mom, Dad, you disappoint me. Have a nice night."
I brushed past them, pulling Krista in my wake. I could feel my parents behind me. They were calling my name. Krista tugged against my hand.
"Dean, wait."
I only stopped because Krista wanted me. Not for them. It was far too late for that. They could go to hell for all I cared.
My mother caught up with us and smiled tremulously.
"We were just surprised, dear."
"Yeah, right."
His father wore a stern expression on his face.
"You didn't tell us you had a new friend, Dean."
"She's my girlfriend, Dad. And I want to bring her home with us for Thanksgiving in the morning."
"We'll have to talk about that first. In private."
"Dean, it's fine. I have to go see Gran anyway."
Krista turned stiffly to face my parents. I could tell how much it cost her to look them in the eye. She held her head up like the brave girl she was.
"It was very nice to meet you."
I glared at my folks, utterly disgusted. I wanted her with me over the break. I wanted her with me all the time. It wasn’t just a crush. It was a primal emotional need.
Moon Bound (Dreamshifters Book 2) Page 5
