Moon 01 - Leopard Moon

by Jeanette Battista

  Kess looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "Why not?"

  "My stuff isn't dry yet." She sounded tempted though.

  "I can wait." He ticked off a finger. "Next."

  "I'm not dressed right." She plucked at her sweatshirt half-heartedly.

  He shook his head."It's the Parkway, not dinner with the President. Next."

  "You're kind of annoying." She was smiling when she said it.

  "Well aware of that. Next." He watched as she looked down, biting her lip like she was trying not to laugh. "Is that it?"

  "Are you always like this?"

  When there's something I want, yeah. Aloud he said, "It's just probably one of the last really nice days we'll get up here before winter kicks in for good. Living up here, I know you don't waste a day this nice. I'd hate for you to miss it being cooped up inside."

  "What if I like being cooped up inside?" Her voice was teasing.

  "After three months of snow, sleet and icy rain, I bet you'll change your mind. It drives my sister nuts." She shuddered at the mention of the winter. He'd been right. She wasn't much of a cold weather person.

  He watched the expressions on her face as she turned his words over in her head. Cormac was amazed at all the flashes of emotion that crossed her features. She looked eager to go one moment and sad the next; her features hardened, then softened.

  He thought he'd add another argument in his favor when it looked like she was wavering. "It won't-" He broke off when he heard his phone ring. "Hang on a sec." He pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his backpack and saw it was Burke calling. "What's up?"

  Burke's tinny voice came through the phone. "Mac, we've got a bear on the property. Need you up here now."

  "On my way." He snapped the phone closed. Of course, it would have to be now.

  "Everything okay?" Kess' brows were drawn down in concern.

  He nodded. He'd been so close. "I'm really sorry, but it looks like the Parkway has to wait. Family stuff. Raincheck, okay?" She nodded and he was out the door, sprinting down the street towards his Jeep.

  Cormac made it to the Lodge in record time. Bears were serious business, dangerous and unpredictable at this time of the year. It was probably a black bear. But even a black bear, though small, would prove a problem to the pack if allowed to remain in the area. They’d need to relocate it to somewhere safe and make sure that nobody went near it.

  Everyone was already there when he pulled in. Most of the pack had grouped off into twos and threes. No one had changed yet, all still waiting for orders from the Alpha. Cormac’s father, Alaric, was striding around giving out orders. Cormac went over to stand by Burke and Finn.

  "What’d I miss?"

  Burke didn’t take his eyes off of the Alpha. "Patrol sniffed out a bear in the upper reaches of the forest on the western side of the property. We’re going to see if we can’t scare it off to a better location."

  "Let’s just get going already." Finn fidgeted in place. Cormac nodded in agreement. Now that they were all here, he couldn’t wait to run. It wasn’t every day that they all got to work together.

  His father came over to their little group. The man was tall, as tall as Bran, but not as broad. He was more rangy in the shoulders and chest. But he was still imposing. He had chiseled features and the grey eyes that Cormac had inherited. His dark hair was threaded thickly through with silver now and there were lines around the keen eyes, but he was still a powerful presence that took up most of the available space in any given room.

  "You three head straight up the mountain. You guys are on the bear's last trail. The other groups will be heading up either side." He looked at Cormac, Finn, and Burke individually. He stared especially long at Finn, as if to drive home the seriousness of what they were doing. "If any of you see or smell anything, howl to bring the rest of us." Alaric clapped Cormac on the shoulder and moved off to the next group.

  Cormac led the way over to the copse of trees where they’d change. "I’ve got point," he said.

  "Why you?" Finn sounded petulant.

  "Because I’ve got a better nose, that’s why." He shucked off his clothes quickly.

  "Bigger maybe."

  Cormac grinned. "So you finally admit your, ah, shortcomings." And then he triggered his change so Finn couldn’t have the last word. It was swift, his body collapsing in on itself, his muscles and bones pushing out into new configurations. It hurt, but the pain was gone quickly, followed by an intense pleasure, like finally being allowed to stretch after being folded up too long in one position.

  He raced off, his cousins behind him. They all knew this land by heart, could find their way through it blindfolded, using only scent as a guide. Cormac led them up, loping tirelessly, scenting the smells of the forest. Burke and Finn followed behind him so they formed an inverted V, also sniffing at random intervals in case he missed something.

  They were halfway up the mountain when Cormac caught it. The heavy musky scent of bear was strong, and fresh. He barked once to his cousins and took off, following where the trail led. The bear was on the move; he’d expected to run across the scent much farther up the mountain.

  Burke howled, telling the other groups they had found something. Cormac followed the bear, nose only for the scent that kept pulling him forward. He smelled water too. The bear may be heading for the stream to get a drink, or possibly to try to fish. He slowed his pace.

  Finn shouldered his way forward and Cormac snapped at him. He had point and he knew what he was doing, but Finn was impatient. Cormac glanced over at Burke, who had also slowed. He knew how dangerous a cornered bear could be. They didn’t want to get in a fight with the thing; they only wanted to herd it out of their territory.

  The trees opened up a bit and Cormac stopped. He growled instinctively and heard an answering one from Burke and Finn. It wasn’t a black bear that dipped its great head to the water, but a huge grizzly bear. He'd seen enough nature shows to recognize one when he saw it. They were much larger than black bears and far stronger. And, usually, a whole lot meaner.

  Cormac could feel his hackles rising. Grizzly bears weren’t native to the North Carolina mountains. Where the hell had this one come from? And how were they supposed to relocate it without getting killed?

  The bear lifted its head, watching them now. Cormac stayed still, not wanting to rile it. He saw that Burke was doing the same. But Finn was creeping forward to get a closer look or something--sometimes Cormac had no idea why his cousin did the things he did. He barked at his cousin, trying to get him to draw back and wait for the others.

  The bear charged and they scattered. Cormac was amazed; he’d seen bears move, but seeing something so big move that fast was impressive. He and Burke dodged one way and kept moving. Finn ran the other way. The bear chose to go after Finn. Cormac and Burke looked at each other, communication flashing in eyes and facial muscles. If a wolf had an expression equivalent to dumbass, Cormac was pretty sure that’s what Burke’s look was conveying.

  They ran after the bear, barking and growling, trying to distract the thing. Burke sent up another howl, this one asking for help. Cormac swerved dangerously close and nearly got swiped for his troubles, but at least the animal was no longer after Finn. It stopped and the three wolves circled it, trying to contain it until the rest of the pack got there.

  The bear didn’t like that at all. It reared up on its back legs, letting out a roar that shook the trees. It towered above the three of them and Cormac realized that they were in a world of shit. There was no way they’d be able to herd this thing, not without losing some of their pack in the process.

  Cormac and his cousins kept up the circle, running around the bear, wary of its claws and massive paws. It tried to move out of the circle, lumbering slowly and Finn snapped at it in warning. That was the wrong thing to do. The bear lunged forward, taking a huge swipe at Finn. Cormac crashed into his cousin, sending them both rolling, but at least their h
eads were still attached to their bodies. The bear was moving, running back toward the stream, Burke hot on his heels.

  Cormac untangled himself from Finn and stepped on him as he got up to show Finn he was unhappy. Cormac barked once and took off after Burke. The bear had turned and was taking swipes at Burke who was weaving in close and then dodging away in an effort to keep the bear distracted until the reinforcements came. Cormac joined him, snapping his jaws at the bear’s flank and dancing away. The bear roared again.

  Someone behind them yelled, "Wait!" Cormac didn’t take his eyes off the bear, who was still swinging.

  "STOP!" Alaric’s human voice echoed in the woods and Cormac and Burke both froze. There was no denying the voice of the Alpha. Cormac turned his head to look behind him and the bear caught him with a half-hearted backswing, sending him flying across the small clearing. He smashed into a tree and crashed down to the ground, dazed.

  Cormac shook his head to clear it, shaken but not badly hurt. He would have a stellar set of bruises, but at least it had only been the back of the bear’s paw. If those claws had caught him, he’d probably have been seriously injured or dead. Burke came over to him and sniffed at him. Cormac snapped his jaws with a click, indicating that it wasn’t a big deal.

  He watched his father and this other man approach the bear. The man was saying, "Sorry, Alaric. He’s new to all of this and it just got away from him." Cormac wondered who the man was and how he knew his father.

  "He needs to be accompanied by you at all times until he learns what he’s capable of." Alaric's voice was tight and clipped, almost strangled. Cormac recognized the restrained anger in it. "He almost took my son’s head off."

  Thanks for the concern there, dad, Cormac thought. If he hadn’t used his Alpha voice, Cormac might have been able to dodge out of the way. But his father wouldn’t see it that way. He knew his dad would just say that Cormac should never have taken his eyes off the bear. They were both right, but try getting his dad to admit that. It was never going to happen.

  The man was speaking to the grizzly, slowly and softly. The bear snuffled, coming back down on all fours and lowering its huge head so that the man could pet him. Okay, this was going from confusing to really strange. Then the bear was shrinking, changing, and before long a naked teenage boy stood before the group of men and wolves.

  Cormac stared. A werebear? Here?

  "This is my charge," the man was saying, hugging the boy. "He didn’t mean any harm."

  "I’m really sorry." The kid ducked his head. "I didn’t know about wolves being up here. I got scared." He looked at Cormac. "Sorry I hit you."

  Cormac rolled his shoulders in the wolf approximation of a shrug. His mind was too caught up trying to process werebear to be angry. If the kid was new to changing, and it looked like he was, he hadn’t even known his own strength. It made him more dangerous, but not necessarily malicious.

  "Go on home, boys," Alaric said, dismissing them. Cormac, Burke and Finn turned and melted into the woods, leaving the werebear and the Alpha behind to sort things out.

  They made decent time back to the Lodge, despite Cormac’s slower pace. He was starting to get sore now that the adrenaline was wearing off. He dropped back behind the other two, content to walk and let his mind wander.

  Finn was already babbling when they got to their clothes. "Holy crap! That was a werebear!"

  Cormac triggered his change back to human. It was more painful this time, the change readjusting already sore bones and muscles. He pulled on his pants, leaving his shirt off so he could test out his ribs to make sure none of them were cracked.

  "Yes Finn, we know. We were there." Burke came over and inspected Cormac's ribs and back. "How’s it feel?"

  "Nothing broken." Cormac raised his arms above his head, checking for range of motion. There was a twinge of pain, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He’d be all healed up in a day or two.

  "Dude, you should have seen the way you flew when he hit you!" Finn sounded giddy and Cormac had to resist the urge to punch him. "It was awesome!"

  "I felt it, thanks. And awesome is not how I would describe it." Cormac pulled his shirt on.

  "Right, right. Sorry."

  They trooped to the house in silence. Cormac was tired and starving. Two changes in a short time had ramped up his metabolism. Lunch was a distant memory and dinner was far too many hours away. He knew his cousins would be feeling the same.

  His mom was prepared. She may be out with the pack, but she knew what would be needed most when they returned. Tray after tray of cold cuts and rolls were laid out on the counters in the kitchen. Burke went to the fridge and pulled out giant buckets of potato salad, coleslaw and macaroni salad. Cormac peeled the plastic wrap off the trays while Finn grabbed condiments and sodas.

  They took their plates into the living room, propping themselves up on various couches, feet up on low tables and ottomans. Finn took a huge bite of one of the five sandwiches piled on his plate and asked between chews, "What are we doing now?"

  "Eating," Burke answered.

  Finn shot his brother a dark look. "I meant after, jackass."

  Cormac swallowed a forkful of potato salad. "I had talked about going to the Parkway."

  "With who?"

  "Kess," Cormac mumbled into his sandwich.

  Finn leaned forward, dark eyes interested. "You dog! Have you gotten her number yet?"

  Cormac shook his head. "I thought I might be able to get her to come out with me, but then the call came."

  "Sorry, man." Burke shrugged.

  "No problem. Pack business comes first." Cormac understood that, but he still felt like he had missed a chance with her. She’d seemed pretty close to saying she’d go when Burke had called.

  "Have you made any headway with her?" Finn thought he was the resident ladies man. Cormac thought he had a very limited view of male/female relationships.

  Cormac shoveled another bite of coleslaw into his mouth. He thought he had. He’d helped her fix her car. She didn’t seem to hate him for the staring thing. He had sat with her while she ate dinner and walked her out to her car. These were all good things, right? Then why did he feel like he was no closer to her than before?

  When Cormac didn’t answer, Finn laughed. "You are so screwed."

  "What? Why?"

  "She’s not interested, man. And you’re obsessing over her. Just give it up. There are plenty of other girls out there that aren’t as much work."

  "I’m not obsessed. I just think she’s…intriguing."

  Finn rolled his eyes, then bit into his sandwich. "Whatever."

  "Don’t listen to asshat over there," Burke said from his corner of the couch. "If she’s who you want, then she’s who you want."

  Cormac nodded to himself. Now if he could just figure out if he was who Kess wanted. That was going to be the harder part.

  ***********

  It was Monday evening when he finally got a chance to see her again. It was towards the end of the dinner shift, so he waited in the bar until she was free. He sat drinking a cup of coffee and folding and unfolding a cocktail napkin into freeform origami shapes. Here's a goat and this one's a pterodactyl and this one's a remarkably accurate depiction of the Buddha during his moment of Enlightenment complete with tree and snake. Cormac dropped his head into his palm and hoped he wouldn't make an ass of himself.

  He scanned the bar for what felt like the hundredth time and saw her sit down at her usual table in the corner. He waved to catch her attention. She looked surprised to see him, but then she waved him over.

  "Hi," he said, taking the seat across from her.

  "Hey, how'd everything go the other day? With the family stuff?" She took a bite of steak.

  "Oh that. Fine. Totally fine." If you count a teenager turning into a really pissed off bear that can hand me my ass fine, then yes, the family stuff was a rousing success. "So, um, about that family stuff. I believe I offered you a raincheck on the Parkway."

  "I nev
er said I'd go with you, if you remember." A slight smile played around her lips. She rested her fork on her plate and tucked her hands under her chin. She looked positively devilish and Cormac had to resist the urge to touch her lips with his fingertips to feel her smile.

  "Ah, but you never said you wouldn't." Cormac took a breath and plunged on. "And since the weather is somewhat erratic this time of year…"

  "It rains all the damn time…" She sounded grumpy.

  "…I thought raincheck coffee would be a better, drier option." He waited.

  Kess sat there for a second. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

  Cormac tried not to grin stupidly. "Yes. Yes I am."

  She toyed with one of the chopsticks she'd been wearing in her hair. He wanted to put his hand over hers, to somehow reassure her. She seemed to be holding some kind of inner debate and Cormac wondered what she could be thinking about. It was coffee and him. She was either into one or both of those things or she wasn't.

  "I don't know if that's such a good idea. I mean, I work for your uncle." Her hands had stilled.

  "Oh, are you talking about the Finn rule? Don't worry about that." He waved his hand around dismissively.

  "What Finn rule?" She sounded amused.

  "Finn's not allowed to date the servers here. Griff says none of us are, but it's really just so Finn doesn't feel bad about it."

  Kess burst out laughing. "Seriously? There's a rule for him?" Cormac nodded, pleased that he'd gotten her to laugh. "He's that bad?"

  Cormac nodded. "Burke and I are the good ones." That wasn't even remotely true, but he tried to look angelic.

  He saw Kess shake her head. "Yeah, right. You just don't get caught." She smiled, as if coming to some kind of decision. "Okay. I'll get raincheck coffee with you."