Dark Guardian #4: Shadow of the Moon

by Rachel Hawthorne

  My stomach dropped as though I’d just reached the apex of a roller coaster and was careening down at the speed of light. I didn’t think I’d be safe at Wolford. But I wasn’t certain I was safe here anymore either.

  SIX

  Later that afternoon a light snowstorm hit, and I blinked as the snowflakes landed on my lashes while Daniel walked with me to the Hot Brew Café. I prepared him a double-chocolate hot chocolate, which he took to the sitting area by the fireplace. Again he turned so he was watching me. I must have been growing accustomed to his presence, because it didn’t irritate me.

  Then the rush started, and I didn’t have time to think about Daniel, full moons, or harvesters. It was a little weird that working hard was so relaxing, but it actually relieved some of my stress.

  It must have shown on my face because when we began closing up, Daniel walked over to me and said, “You actually enjoyed that.”

  “Yeah, I did.” I liked being around people—human people. I wished I could experience the same sort of connection with my own kind.

  When we were finished closing for the night, Spike let Lisa, Daniel, and me out the front door. A guy in a silver Range Rover was waiting for us. His name was Chip, and he was apparently Lisa’s main squeeze for the night. He was husky and had a beard that made him look like an authentic mountain man. After introductions were made, Daniel and I climbed into the backseat and Lisa buckled up in the passenger seat.

  “This is going to be so much fun,” Lisa said. “Chip packed a picnic basket for us. We’ll take it to the top of Devil’s Grin.”

  “What’s Devil’s Grin?” Daniel asked.

  “The tallest slope,” Lisa explained. “Skiing down it is for the more experienced skiers. You can decide when we get there if you want to give it a try.”

  “So we can ski?” I asked.

  “If we want. My friend Jake is a ski patroller. He’s sorta throwing an unauthorized party on the slopes tonight. Lights will be lit but only on the lower slopes. His girlfriend, Trish, has access to the rental equipment. No charge for us.”

  “I can’t believe how many people you know,” I admitted, in awe that one person could have so many friends. Or how much they were willing to do for her.

  “Oh, you know. I’m the party girl. Can’t party alone.”

  But when we arrived, we discovered the party had been canceled. The ski patrollers were out in force, and they were far from relaxed. Some were pulling toboggans.

  “Sorry, Lisa,” Jake said. He was tall and slender. Like all the other patrollers, he wore a red jacket to identify himself. “Just before we closed the slopes, we learned that a nine-year-old boy got separated from his dad up on the mountain. We had the dogs out searching, but they’ve had no luck. We’re pulling everyone in to regroup.”

  “That’s awful,” Lisa said. “What can we do?”

  He gave her a tired grin. “Go home so I don’t have to worry about you getting lost.”

  I exchanged a glance with Daniel, and while I couldn’t read his mind or sense his emotions, I knew what he was thinking. But if the dogs hadn’t had any luck, how could he?

  I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced back. A couple was sitting on a bench. The man had his arm around the woman, who was staring blankly at the snow and turning in her hands what looked to be a blue knitted cap.

  “Are those his parents?” I asked.

  “Yep,” Jake said. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith, if you can believe it.”

  “Is she holding her son’s hat?”

  “Yeah, the dad found it near a tree. Unfortunately the storm that came through this afternoon erased any tracks.”

  I turned back to Jake. “Surely there’s something we can do. We could make hot chocolate for the search patrols, if nothing else.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Lisa exclaimed. “Let us do that.”

  “Okay, yeah, sure,” Jake said. “They’re actually filling thermoses at the first aid station. Just go introduce yourself. Trish is there. I’ve got to get back to the patrol.” He glided away on his skis.

  “You go on,” I said to Lisa. “We’ll join you in a minute.”

  She furrowed her brow, and I jerked my thumb over my shoulder and mouthed, Restroom.

  Thankfully she didn’t ask why I needed Daniel to stay with me if I was going to the restroom. I figured she was so upset by the boy’s disappearance that she wasn’t thinking clearly. She and Chip walked away.

  “So you want to help fill thermoses?” Daniel asked.

  “No, that was just a ploy so Lisa doesn’t leave without us and we have an excuse to hang around. Do you think you can find the boy?”

  “I don’t know. The dogs couldn’t, but I’m willing to give it a try. I’ll need you to stay close, though. Carry my clothes so I’m not stranded without them.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  “Let’s talk to the parents, then.”

  We walked over to them. They barely noticed our arrival, their worry was so intense. Daniel crouched in front of the mother and I knew it was because he wanted to get closer to the cap, to smell the scent of the boy. Wolves, like dogs, have incredible olfactory senses. They can pick out individual scents. It was the reason they were so good at tracking.

  “We’re sorry for what happened to your son,” Daniel said quietly.

  The mother, with tears in her eyes, just nodded.

  “What’s his name?” I asked.

  “Timmy,” the dad said.

  “Tim,” the mom corrected with a wavering smile. “He decided he was getting too big for Timmy.”

  “Thought he was big enough to go off on his own,” the father added.

  “Which slope were you on?” I asked. I could have asked Jake, but I was trying to provide Daniel with the time he needed to hone in on the scent he wanted.

  “Misty Trail.”

  “I’m sure they’ll find him,” Daniel said.

  Again the parents just nodded. I felt so helpless as we walked away, but I was grateful that I couldn’t feel what they were feeling. We stopped by a map of the area that had all the slopes marked. “There it is,” I said, touching a trail far to the north.

  “We’re going to need to get you a flashlight, so you can follow my paw prints,” Daniel said.

  “I actually have a penlight in my pocket.” He looked at me, and I shrugged. “Never know when it’ll come in handy.”

  Daniel, though, with his keen senses would be able to see in the dark. I didn’t want Lisa to worry about us, so we went to the first aid station. I told her that Daniel had search and rescue experience and we were going to join in the search. One of the workers showed us on the map exactly where the father had last seen his son. I grabbed a hot thermos, and we headed out before anyone realized we weren’t sanctioned to be searching for Timmy.

  We started up the mountain. I didn’t have any worries about getting lost. I knew Daniel would find me, and I knew he would be able to lead us to safety. Strange how this afternoon I’d contemplated for a brief time that maybe he couldn’t be trusted and now I was putting my life in his hands.

  We hit the ski lift that would take us to the top of Misty Trail. It was still running so the patrollers could use it. We took up our position and dropped onto the bench when it hit the backs of our legs. I wasn’t sure how it happened, but Daniel’s arm ended up around my shoulders. I wondered if all guys were as into touching as he was. I’d gone so much of my life without the touch of Shifters that in some ways I was starving for the intimacy. And Daniel seemed to be so good at providing it.

  “Do you ski?” he asked as we swung out and up over the slope. There was a little more moon tonight. It was almost to its first quarter. A little more moonlight glittered off the snow. It was stunning. I wanted to be out here sometime when I had no worries.

  “Yeah. You?”

  “Some.” He lifted the hand that had been resting on my shoulder and stroked my cheek. “I think tonight could have been fun.”
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br />   A shimmer went through me as I realized he was focused on my lips, which suddenly parted of their own accord. I’d read about smoldering gazes, but wow, his was enough to warm me from my head to my toes.

  “Get ready,” he said.

  “For what?” I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be warned that he was going to kiss me. I just wanted him to do it.

  “To stand.”

  “Wha—”

  Then my feet were touching the ground. If Daniel hadn’t practically lifted me off that bench with his one arm around me, I would have either face-splatted or continued back down the slope as the bench swung around to begin its journey downward. He then moved me out of the way of the next swing.

  “This way,” he said, taking my gloved hand in his and leading me down the incline.

  It took me a moment to come out of the haze, to get my bearings, and to remember we were searching for a lost boy. Part of me wondered if Daniel was manipulating me to make sure I didn’t run off or if he was finding himself as intrigued with me as I was with him.

  How had this happened in only one day? Yesterday we’d been virtual strangers, and now I was yearning to know the flavor of his kiss. It was like he was doing whatever he could to make me want to be his mate. But was it out of obligation to the elders or desire for me?

  We walked several minutes before we reached the slope we were searching for.

  “Okay,” Daniel said, releasing my hand. “I’m going behind that brush over there. Give me five minutes, then come get my clothes, and follow my trail.”

  “Five minutes?”

  “Hey, until you accept me as your mate, I’m not taking any chances that you’ll see my bare butt.”

  In spite of the circumstances I smiled. We stared at each other for several moments, and I wondered if he was going to finish what he’d seemed to want on the ski lift.

  He turned away, then twisted back around and cradled my chin, holding me steady, his eyes looking deeply into mine. He leaned in. “Warning. If you use this opportunity to run, I will find you.”

  Before I could respond, he was loping to the bushes, his long legs eating up the distance. “It never occurred to me,” I finally called out.

  Although it had. With him concentrating on finding Tim, I could be long gone before he realized I wasn’t following him. But how would I ever look at myself in the mirror if I took advantage of a tragic moment like this?

  I heard the rustling in the bushes, knew he was removing his clothes. When things got silent, I waited for several minutes. Then I turned on my flashlight, walked to the bushes, and gathered up his garments. I stuffed them beneath my jacket to keep them warm and to give myself a little more insulation. Then I dropped his coat over my shoulders.

  I started following his trail. The snow was deep, and he was moving fast, so the paw prints weren’t distinct, but I could see the path he was taking clearly enough. I searched up ahead, trying to catch sight of him, wanting to know what he looked like in wolf form. Before yesterday I’d had little interest in him. Now I wanted to know every detail.

  The going was rough in spots. The wind howled down from the mountains. Occasionally I’d take a small sip of hot chocolate, just to circulate a little warmth. But I wanted to leave the majority of it for Tim.

  I’d been walking at a brisk pace for almost an hour when I heard, “Hayden.”

  I spun around, wielding the flashlight until its beam fell on Daniel standing behind some brush. “Did you find him?”

  “Yeah. Toss me my clothes.”

  I did, and although I couldn’t see anything, I turned my back to give him a little more privacy. Didn’t want him thinking I’d accepted him as my mate. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s in a little enclave, not too far from here. He was out of it at first, really cold, but I built a small fire, then curled around him until he started to stir.”

  I knew after he’d prepared the fire that he’d returned to wolf form to comfort Tim. Daniel’s fur and the warmth of his wolf body would have been heavenly to the little boy. He would have left when Tim started to wake up.

  Daniel came out from behind the bushes and grabbed my hand. “Won’t take us long to get back to him.”

  Fewer than ten minutes later I saw the boy sitting in the small natural shelter, his arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees, his eyes wide.

  “Hey, buddy,” Daniel said as he draped his coat over the boy. “Ready to go home?”

  Tim nodded his head briskly. I’d never served as a forest guide, but a lot of the Dark Guardians did. Their covert job was to keep campers away from Wolford, but often they had to go in search of lost campers. Watching Daniel with Tim gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, and I wondered how many campers he may have helped.

  While I gave Tim his fill of warm hot chocolate, Daniel made sure that the fire was completely out. Then he boosted Tim onto his back. Tim was wearing Daniel’s jacket over his own ski jacket.

  “You’re going to get cold,” I told Daniel.

  “Nah, we’ll move fast.”

  And we did. I wished we’d thought to borrow someone’s radio. As it was, no one knew we’d found Tim until we got to the ski lift. Some of the members of the ski patrol were standing around talking, trying to determine their next move when they spotted us. A shout went up. I heard the crackle of a radio as someone called down to the first aid station.

  Jake took Tim from Daniel, handed Daniel his coat, and moved to a better-lit area so they could check Tim over before taking him down the slope on a sled.

  “They’ll take care of him now,” Daniel said as he guided me toward the ski lift, and I realized he was anxious to leave before we drew too much attention to ourselves. They’d no doubt start asking questions that we didn’t really want to answer.

  As soon as my butt landed on the ski lift bench, exhaustion claimed me. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush of searching for and finding Tim finally waning. Or the effort of hiking through the snow, trying not to get too far behind Daniel.

  Somehow his arm was once again around me. This time I gave in to it and leaned into him, placing my head in the nook of his shoulder.

  “You were awesome,” I said.

  “Couldn’t have done it without you. You were great at keeping up.”

  “I wanted to see you in wolf form,” I said wearily.

  “You’ve seen one wolf, you’ve seen them all.”

  “Not true. Each wolf looks different. Are you solid black?”

  “Yes. Well, except for my eyes.”

  “I’ll bet you’re beautiful.”

  He didn’t say anything to that. Maybe he understood that exhaustion was making me say things I wouldn’t say under normal circumstances. I was so lethargic that I almost felt a little drunk.

  He skimmed his thumb along my chin. I tilted my face to look up at him and discovered that his mouth was incredibly close to mine.

  “I promised myself if I found him, I’d take a reward,” he said softly.

  I furrowed my brow. “His parents were offering a reward?”

  “No. But I’ve been denying myself something I wanted.”

  His lips brushed across mine, so soft, so gentle. I could feel him holding back. I wasn’t certain I wanted him to, but I also knew that I shouldn’t encourage him, that I shouldn’t lead him to believe I’d accept him as my mate.

  I was still facing uncertainty and danger when the next full moon would roll around. I didn’t want him sharing in it, risking his life for mine.

  He drew away, a possessiveness in his expression that thrilled and terrified me. I wasn’t going to get rid of him easily.

  The problem was I was no longer certain I wanted to.

  I lay in bed, staring at the moonlight filtering in through the window. How could something that looked so lovely and harmless be fraught with such dangers?

  We’d joined Lisa and Chip at the first aid station. Lisa had been amazed that Daniel had found Tim. Daniel had modestly told her that it was nothing, that he’
d done a lot of tracking in the woods. Which he probably had.

  We’d returned to the condo and had our picnic on the floor in the living room. Wasn’t quite as romantic, but I wasn’t the only one who was tired and cold. Shortly afterward, Chip had left, Daniel had stretched out on the couch, and Lisa and I had gone to bed.

  Only I couldn’t sleep. One more day. One more night. And we’d be leaving.

  I wasn’t convinced going back to Wolford was the best move.

  I got out of bed, threw on some sweats, and crept down the stairs into the living room. Daniel was staring at the ceiling, his hands shoved behind his head. His gaze came to rest on me. I padded over and sat on the coffee table.

  “I’m afraid if I go to Wolford that I’m going to put others in danger. I’m afraid if I have a mate that the harvester will snatch its soul when we shift. I’m not sure Wolford is safe. I just…I don’t know. If I accepted you as my mate, we could stay here. I could face my full moon here.”

  Slowly, so very slowly, he sat up, twisted around, and faced me. “Do you trust me?”

  Did I? He was the type of person who cared enough to rescue a little boy. I nodded.

  He took my hands. “If the harvester comes here, I can’t save either of us. At Wolford we stand a fighting chance of defeating it, of surviving. The Dark Guardians are there. The elders. We know what we’re up against now. They didn’t know with Justin.”

  What he said made sense. If the harvester found me and I was alone, I wouldn’t stand a chance in hell. The first time we couldn’t prevent our transformation. It happened, whether or not we wanted it to, when the moon dictated it would happen. The only thing I could control was where I was when it happened.

  “Okay. I’ll go back to Wolford. But I’m not going to accept you as my mate.”

  He squeezed my hands. “Hayden—”

  “No. I’m not comfortable with it.”

  “You have to have someone. If not me, then select someone else.”

  Strangely, I suddenly couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d rather be with. Not that I was going to confess that realization. Instead I just said, “Let’s see what happens when we get to Wolford.”