Hidden Moon

by K. R. Thompson

  I wanted to go back to Adam, but I still had one more to go, which meant I had to get into the mind of this man in front of me. I took one deep breath in and found my resolve. I focused on him.

  The football game was ending. We won, but I couldn’t care less. I wasn’t there for the game. I was there for her. I was always drawn to her. I always knew how to find her. She was with her friends. They were laughing and making plans for the graduation party. The wind blew her long, brown hair around her shoulders, sending her scent to me on a soft breeze. I inhaled. The wolf inside me stirred. I had to be closer to her. There was no way to ignore her now. Her friends were saying their goodbyes, now was my chance. If I could just go over and talk to her, ask her to the prom, maybe…

  I shook my head trying to get out of his, I’d had enough.

  “You were thinking about your wife when you asked her to the prom after a football game,” I said, relieved to be finished.

  “No. I never had asked my wife to a prom. I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken.”

  I took several steps back and shook my head in disbelief. “But…”

  He stood and smiled. “I’m sorry, but that isn’t at all what I had thought. I don’t agree with the others. I don’t believe in your Sight.”

  Adam came to stand beside me and linked his hand in mine. He faced the smaller man, who looked away. The motion didn’t go unnoticed. I felt Adam tense and a black mist edged him as if his wolf had come to see what was happening.

  The silence went unbroken until the old man sighed and spoke, “I am sorry, child, but without the agreement of all elders, we cannot permit you to be one of the tribe. You are welcome to stay. We just can’t acknowledge you as our Seer yet.” He stood, “We shall give it time. Maybe your Sight needs to be stronger and you simply misunderstood. Time will be the answer. It always is.” He turned and disappeared from the circle.

  A low growl emanated from Adam as he watched Reuben’s retreating back.

  “Easy, son.” The sheriff came over to us as the crowd began to disperse. “Losing your temper and letting your wolf try to solve the problem won’t help anything right now. Just calm down. I’ll talk to Reuben later and try to find out what happened. You should take Nikki home. Her mother will be worrying about her.” He turned to me. “It was nice to meet you, Nikki. I’m sorry you had a rough evening. I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding and we’ll get it worked out soon. Please don’t think too badly of us.”

  “No, sir,” I smiled, but it was weak. “I don’t.”

  Black mist edging around his body, Adam grabbed my hand. “Come on, lets go. I need to get away from here.”

  I saw Jenna start to come toward us as he pulled me to the edge of the forest. She stopped and smiled at me and gave a little nod as if to say we would talk later and that she understood Adam’s need to leave.

  Safe inside the canopy of trees, Adam slowed down enough that he wasn’t pulling me like an unwilling puppy on a leash. He walked, moving through the forest as quiet as a ghost, while I followed beside him, sounding like a bulldozer in a construction zone. Anger radiated from him, but this thoughts remained quiet, which was a blessing and a curse within itself. It was nice for a change to hear nothing but my own footsteps, even if the whole forest could hear me coming. I took a deep breath and let out a huge sigh, breaking the silence.

  “What’s wrong?” Adam asked as a frown deepened the little wrinkle between his brows.

  “Nothing.”

  “I’ve told you before. You’re a terrible liar.” He tilted my face to make me look at him. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I will be, although I don’t think my going back to the Res would be such a good idea,” I murmured.

  “Why not? Everyone knows you belong there, and everyone knows you belong to me. There won’t be any problem.” The air picked up and sparked around us.

  “But Reuben…”

  “You will always be welcomed there, no matter what.”

  You are part of me now, so wherever I am, you are welcome.

  It’s too bad this works one way, I thought, staring back up into his amber eyes, I wish you could hear my thoughts, too.

  The black mist dissipated, and Adam’s eyes were clear, their onyx specks no longer pulsed and swirled. I knew the wolf was back under his control. He had been ready to fight for me, I realized. He would have defied the elders, and had been ready to break tribal tradition, had it been necessary. At that moment, I knew I could go back to the reservation when I needed to. Where he would go, I would go. It no longer mattered where.

  The air warmed around us as he traced along my jaw with his fingertip. He looked like a cross between an avenging angel and an ancient Indian warrior, beautiful and lethal. His hair draped around his shoulders in a thick, silky curtain of glossy black. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were still taut, every curve announced the power he was capable of.

  “You’re beautiful,” I whispered, looking up at him.

  “Umm, no,” a small smile tugged at the side of his mouth, “that would be you.”

  He took a step closer to me and the air snapped around us and got warmer. His hands went down to my waist to draw me closer to him, so that my body brushed his. Something vulnerable lingered in his eyes for a second, and then vanished as resolve took its place.

  “Nikki.”

  “Yes?” My heart beat quicker, as my sides tingled from the warmth of his hands.

  He leaned his head down towards mine. His lips were inches away, parted. He looked into my eyes. My hands went to the hard muscles of his chest, where I could feel his heartbeat. He drew in a sharp breath and his hands tightened on me.

  Nikki, I have something to tell you.

  “Yes,” I whispered, somehow feeling as if my entire life would change in this moment. I stared deep into his eyes, losing myself in their depths.

  “Nikki, I…”

  “Click, click, click, snort, click, huff,” said an impatient voice in front of us.

  I found myself airborne and set down behind Adam with a small thump. I tried to peek around his shoulder through the black mist that had appeared.

  “Click, click, grumble, click.”

  Adam straightened back up, and the mist left as quickly as it had appeared. I looked at the huge Sasquatch that stood a few feet away from us. It took a hesitant step closer and kept up its clicking repertoire, then stopped and looked behind itself.

  “Is he the same one we saw before?” I asked from behind my sanctuary of Adam’s shoulder.

  “Yes.”

  “He isn’t acting the same as he did before. He looks worried.” I stated the obvious, watching it turn around and look again.

  “No, something is wrong. He’s asking for help.” He switched over into his own lulling language and took a step closer.

  Thinking that we understood the dilemma, the creature turned and took a step back the way he had come, looking back over his shoulder as if to say “Are you coming?”

  “Get on,” Adam spoke a mere second before his wolf waited where he had stood.

  He will be quick. This is the only way we’ll be able to keep up with him.

  I knotted my hands up in his soft fur as Adam leapt up and started a run to catch up. The creature took large, hurried steps as Adam trotted us along a few feet behind him. Every few seconds, it would huff as if worried, and quicken its step a little more.

  A few seconds later, I heard soft keening sounds. The Sasquatch made a low, grumbling moan. Over a small embankment, lay a form curled into a ball. The high keening only got higher-pitched as we got closer. The Sasquatch clicked a couple times, and the balled up form sat up. Two beady eyes looked at us.

  “Chewy’s got a baby,” I said, awestruck, as I watched the miniature version scoot back in fear.

  Chewy? Adam asked, You named him Chewy?

  “Yeah,” I grinned. “I think it fits him.”

  Adam’s laugh echoed in my head as I slid off his back and his wolf melted awa
y.

  The baby, if you could call it that, had tried in vain to scoot back farther and caused a metal chain at its foot to rattle. It cried out as all the slack left the chain. A metal, tooth lined trap was clamped shut around its little hairy ankle. Blood had matted the dark brown fur and stained the ground beneath. The teeth from the trap had broken the bones and small bits of white peeked through the flesh.

  “Oh, you poor baby,” I moved to get closer to help. The baby started its keening again, higher-pitched in fright. The other one gave a loud, aggravated snort.

  “Better wait, Nikki,” Adam said. “I don’t know if they trust you. Let me go to her. Just stay right here.”

  He walked over as Chewy stayed close behind him, as if guarding its little one from any more harm. Adam knelt beside her, speaking in his soothing tongue. The keening stopped and the baby stared at him. Her worried parent seemed less anxious when the cries stopped and he sighed and came to stand opposite Adam, though he still kept watch.

  Adam’s hands ran from the ground up the length of the chain to the trap, a frown of concentration etched on his face as he searched and prodded for the springs. He bit down on his lower lip as his fingers ran feather-light around the little foot.

  “There, there, now,” he soothed when the baby gave a small start. “Just a minute more, little one. Everything’s alright now, just another minute.”

  His fingers found the springs and he stood, setting his feet on either side of the trap as he pulled the jaws of the trap apart. Her little leg now free, the baby, which was nearly half as tall as I was, jumped up and limped over to her parent, clicking her joy. She was picked up and held close.

  I stared at her leg that was hanging in the air. From the time she was released to the time she was picked up, the wound had started healing. The small, raw bits of flesh moved and repositioned themselves. The white, boney parts had disappeared and fur started growing back over the skinned, bare places.

  It was magic. I stood in awe, watching them as they backed away. The one still carrying the other, they melted back into the forest as if they had never been there.

  Adam was still kneeling in the same spot. He was looking down at the opened trap. He stood up and picked up a dead branch that lay on the ground a few feet away. He poked the end down into the middle of the trap.

  It clamped shut with a loud clang that made me jump as the metal teeth smashed the wood to bits. Adam stood still, still holding the end of the branch, which was now much shorter. It swung free in his hand, dangling back and forth. He dropped it on the ground, and bent over to pick up the trap.

  “Trappers,” he muttered with a contained rage that seemed to pulse through his body. He jerked to the side, snapping the chain as if it had only been a small piece of string.

  He took a step closer to the water, as if ready to send the metal-jawed prison to a watery grave, then stopped and tucked it under his arm. Turning on his heel, he came back to me, took my hand, and laced his fingers between mine.

  “What are we going to do with it?” I asked.

  “We’re not leaving it here, that’s for sure. Whoever left it will be looking for it. These traps are hard to come by. They are also illegal,” he murmured, gripping my hand tighter.

  “What were they hoping to trap?”

  “I don’t know, but if I had to guess, probably bear. I’ll give it to Dad and let him look into it. He hasn’t said anything about trappers, but at least now he’ll know to start looking. I’ll get the guys to watch this part of the forest. Hopefully between us, we’ll find whoever it is.” He looked up at the darkening sky. “Nikki, I’m sorry. I’m probably going to be getting you into trouble with your mom. I didn’t realize it was this late. It’s going to be dark soon.”

  “She knows I was at the Res. As long as she doesn’t call over there to check on us and they tell her we left a good while ago, we should be okay,” I said, hoping that I was right, and that she hadn’t called. After all, what was I going to tell her? Sorry Mom, can’t come home just yet, I’m busy with Adam. We’re saving Baby Bigfoot. Yeah, I didn’t think that was going to make for a good conversation. I would end up being grounded until I was eighty for lying.

  Please, don’t let her have called, I thought. If I was grounded, it would mean no more Adam. And that was not a happy thought. Being away from him was not an option. It would kill me. Well, okay, maybe not literally, but it wouldn’t be pleasant.

  “If I can find a place to leave this trap so I can come back and get it, then I can shift and get you home quicker,” Adam said.

  He pushed the bulky metal trap under a scrubby, little bush, and then shoved some dead leaves over the gleaming metal to camouflage it. A second later, his wolf was padding over to me and then I was clinging to his fur as the trees raced by us in greenish blurs as he hurried to get me home.

  I closed my eyes and buried my face in his warm fur in an effort to keep from getting sick. We had never went this fast before, and while he still ran fluidly, the sensation of the air whipping against my skin, confirmed the fact that we were going fast.

  I remembered the motorcycle ride that my cousin had given me a few years before, the way the air had stung as it hit my face, and how my nose didn’t seem to be getting enough air. Just as I had opened my mouth to take a big breath, a huge bug of unknown origin had flown into my mouth. I had swallowed. My stomach lurched and I found myself praying for the second time in minutes—with my mouth clamped shut.

  Please, oh please, don’t let me puke.

  I didn’t think Adam would appreciate vomit in his fur, not to mention that it would be embarrassing, gross and unromantic. I tried to think of something other than racing through the trees, while my stomach groaned in protest. At the very second that I didn’t think I could take anymore, Adam slowed down to a walk. I breathed a sigh of relief as my house came into view and he stopped. I slid off him in a heap and gulped in the warm, summer air.

  Uh-oh, Nikki. I’m sorry. I didn’t know I made you sick. You should have said something. He walked over and head-butted me in the shoulder.

  “I’m okay.” I got to my feet, pushing against his head for support.

  Are you sure? You look a little green.

  “I’m fine,” I said firmly.

  He gave me a wolfish grin, sat back on his haunches and watched as I turned and walked toward the house. Once at the porch, I turned in time to see him turn and dart back through the trees as a big, black blur. I hoped we hadn’t been going that fast. My stomach revolted, sending me doubled over in my attempt to back as far as I could get away from the house.

  I made it as far as the nearest rhododendron bush before I retched.

  THE SEER. HER? They must be joking. He hoped it was all just a big joke, but he had a sense of dread that weighed heavy in his belly. She could undo everything, if she had the gift. He had a hard enough time keeping everything from Jenna White Hawk. Sometimes she would give him an odd look, as if she suspected something wasn’t right. But she never knew.

  The girl was a bigger threat than she’d been before. It would be so much harder to get rid of her now. It was bad enough with the boy sniffing after her all the time, but now there were two of them vying for her attention. How was he ever to get her alone? He didn’t know the boy that well, but he did know the wolf. He wouldn’t stay away from her. He was unrelenting in anything he set his mind to, just as his father and grandfather before him. And one thing was certain; Adam had no doubts as to who she was. He had been ready to fight for her, against the entire tribe if it came down to it.

  No, the boy wouldn’t be a threat, and the girl would be easy to kill if she was alone. His challenge lay in Adam. In a way, he admired him. He had such rigid control, only letting his wolf out to hunt when humans were away. If he had been able to control his animal when he was his age, everything could have been so different.

  No sense in looking back, he chided himself. After all, animals weren’t meant to be controlled. They were wild things,
meant to run loose and free. It wasn’t his fault that he was always stronger than his prey. And after all was said and done, when the animal inside him was sated and content, so was he.

  “YOU KNOW, I wish you guys wouldn’t think so loudly,” I grumbled, sitting down beside of Adam with my tray. I gave Erik a cold look. “I know you’re worried about that Biology exam, but you’re projecting it so hard that I can’t concentrate. Mr. Webb doesn’t think I’m paying attention, and I’m not. I’m too worried about you passing your classes instead of my own.”

  “Sorry, Nikki, I can’t help it. They want me to cut up that pig heart.” Erik grimaced, his face looking as gray as his shirt. “I know it’s dead already, but butchering the poor thing for no reason other than satisfying someone’s morbid curiosity just seems wrong to me.” He shrugged, gave me a weak smile, and then started into his first plate of food.

  “I don’t know, Erik, but you’ve got to deal with it somehow. I’m not trying to sound unsympathetic or anything, but how can you eat right after you came out of Biology class? Especially if you’ve been messing with pig guts.”

  “Pig hearts. It’s not that I want to eat, it’s because I have to. And yes, I realize that biology shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I’m sensitive,” he mumbled through a mouthful of hot dog, leaving me to wonder if he had lost his mind. He kept chewing and swallowing more food, without any other explanation.

  “What he’s trying to say, Nikki, is that we use massive amounts of energy anytime we shift into wolf, and energy requires fuel. We patrol at night as a pack; it uses a lot of energy. It helps if we hunt in wolf form, but often we can’t, so we have to eat two or three times more than a regular person would soon after we shift back,” Ed explained, squirting more ketchup onto his fries.