Moon Shadows

by Neena Jaydon

  And then things went still beyond the shifting and cracking of the broken tree and Deep Murky's sense of satisfaction. Max's body wasn't even out of breath. Seconds went by with nothing but silence from Deep Murky. Max waited impatiently; he wanted desperately to get back to check on Theo.

  They're gone. The deal is done.

  No done in that deal, Deep Murky scoffed.

  No! I never offered you that. I didn't say forever!

  You didn't specify. Deep Murky turned his head, surveying his surroundings. Through heightened senses, Max was aware of the life forces in the house. They kept him from total panic.

  He's safe. He should be safe now, everybody should be okay, the fuckers are gone. Maybe if it's just me… Intense resistance crashed over the rest of that thought. No. I don't want to go. I'll never see my family again, and I'll never—

  It shocked him how heavy this blow was, equal to thoughts of his family. I'll never see Theo again. Never get him back. Never touch him. Never tease him until he gets mad at me but doesn't say anything, just sits there and sulks until I make him smile, and man I love that smile. No, you twisted monster, I'm not letting you do that to me! His passion was met with contempt as Deep Murky sauntered toward the back of the property. But Deep Murky paused and turned back.

  A dark shape shot across the snow, coming to an uneven stop at a cautious distance. Theo shook his head, then focused on him. His muzzle wrinkled, revealing fangs that gave Max a turn to see aimed his way.

  No, Theo. You can't. He'll hurt you.

  Clearly unsteady on his feet, Theo nevertheless dodged Deep Murky's first attack. He ran in a half-circle, trying to get in behind. Deep Murky whipped around and slapped him with wind. With a yip that tore at Max, Theo tumbled and rolled over several times. He got up again and shook himself, then feinted and lunged. Deep Murky dodged, imperfectly; Theo's mouth closed around his wrist, and Max was flung off his feet. Now he was glad to be cut off from his sense of touch. Snarling, Deep Murky jabbed his fingers into Theo's sides; Theo yelped, leaping off like he'd been burned. As Deep Murky got up, a golden streak passed in front of him. The wolf next to Theo was smaller, but her snarl was determined.

  You can't get them both. Give up. Max got disgust in reply. The wolves leapt in opposite directions as a line of wind tore up the grass. Deep Murky started when Kelsie—Max didn't know who else it could be—leapt at him. Her teeth snapped together right next to his cheek. His hand cut through the air toward her. She snarled wildly as she jumped straight up, twisting in midair and limping out of the landing. At the same time, Deep Murky sent another of those nasty blades winging toward Theo, who'd been creeping up on the other side. But the two werewolves kept on the move, dodging attack after attack, forcing Deep Murky to twist and turn.

  Max bore down with his will, frustrated by his own helplessness. Deep Murky snarled in response; then, teeth gripped his right calf, and weight hit him in the back. He fell forward. Deep Murky immediately turned his head and tried to get his hands under him, but two pairs of paws stomped on his wrists and shoulders. Kelsie's fangs were right in front of his eyes. Another set of teeth closed around the back of his neck. Max could barely feel the pressure and the hot saliva dripping onto his nape. He shook off his instinctive fear and focused on Deep Murky again.

  They're giving you a choice. This body dies, what happens to you? I bet nothing good.

  Only inarticulate anger came back at him. He desperately suppressed the certainty that Theo wasn't going to kill him. That certainty was tested, but not shaken, by the terrible growling that started low in Theo's chest. Kelsie's voice joined in, a lighter echo. The sound grew and grew until it didn't seem very distant to Max, as isolated as he was. Abruptly Theo bit down and gave a shake.

  They're serious! Do you want to see what dying's like? He was aware of his heart pounding; it rattled his invisible prison. Knowing intellectually that Theo and Kelsie wouldn't kill him wasn't the same as convincing his adrenal glands. He numbly felt how his body trembled. Theo's teeth broke skin as he worried Max's neck again, and that did it. Deep Murky howled in silent fury, but he went.

  Abruptly feeling everything, Max nearly howled too. He felt himself get thrown from side to side, hitting the restraint of very heavy paws on his arms each way.

  "Wait, wait, wait, he's gone!" he yelled, dizzy, cold, and drenched in sweat. Theo whined as he immediately let go. Every muscle and joint protesting, Max pushed himself up out of the snow. He groaned as he got himself to his feet. Disoriented, he tried to stay upright.

  A flash of light later, Theo was right there next to him.

  "I'm sorry," he said hoarsely, hands reaching out to Max's neck. "I'm so, so—" Feet tangling, Theo fell against him. They hit the ground together, Theo's weight bending his ribcage painfully. This pain was rather beautiful, making Max laugh on an explosion of breath. He felt a damp nose on his forehead and heard snuffling.

  "We'll be okay for a sec," he told Kelsie, tilting his head back to look at her. "Adrian needs you more." She licked his cheek, then trotted out of sight. "Theo?" He turned to look into Theo's face and found his eyes were closed. "Theo? Can you hear me?"

  "Wolfsbane," Theo mumbled. "Hits us like anes...aness..."

  "Hang in there," Max said, fully aware of the irony of his words; he'd gone limp, completely drained. "It'd really help if you could walk to the house, because I'm not doing so hot myself, and werewolves are heavy buggers." He saw Theo's mouth quirk slightly and kissed him on the forehead. "How could you think I'd do something like that to you? Ever?"

  "I didn't," Theo whispered, eyes still closed and chin dropping to his chest. Max ran his hands over his shoulder in a desperate caress, gratified by the response. "I wanted it to be. Knew you'd stop."

  "God, Theo."

  Theo made only a tiny noise. As Max held him, he found that he had far too many words, and they had to come out.

  "I'd be willing to bet a lot of money we've both had ancestors burned at the stake. And we both had a million times in school when people called us freaks or looked at us and told us even without saying a goddamn thing how weird and unwelcome we were. And maybe that turned us into different people, but... At some point I said to hell with it and decided to be who I wanted to be. And I figure you probably did the same, right?

  "And you know what? Maybe we both hang on to ourselves a little too hard sometimes because of it. Maybe we should let other people in more. Maybe we should even change what we do once in a while." Tears started to drip from his eyelashes. Theo's head turned, and his eyelids twitched. "So I'm going to admit some stuff that's hard for me right now, Theo. Yeah, when we first met I thought you were a freak. But you were a freak it was so easy to be around, it was like I could finally breathe." He gulped in air as if to demonstrate. "But I've never had someone I needed to keep before, and any time you took a step back from me, stuck to being geeky old Theo, it made me nervous. And today, the sight of you... The thought of what was happening to you was too much. I couldn't handle it. I can't handle the fact that I'm never strong enough to help you, but that's not the worst thing. Never being here to try would be the worst thing."

  "Max, I can't understand what you're saying," Theo mumbled. Heart leaping in his chest, Max squeezed Theo against him.

  "I think you're it for me, Theo."

  When Theo's eyes opened, he was frowning. He dragged his bleary gaze up to Max's face.

  "Caught you again," Max said, smiling through tears of relief and so many other things.

  "No." Theo's voice was gravelly and slow. "This time I caught you."

  Relief and exhaustion and joy swooped down on Max, stealing his ability to speak. They remained slumped against each other, Max's arms locked around Theo's torso, until he heard his sister's frantic voice. In fact, even when she found them, Max had a hard time letting go. But he finally did, because he knew Theo wouldn't run away again.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  "No! No fucking hospitals!" Adrian's voice rang out in
the yard, drawing answering barks from the kennels.

  Leaning on each other, Theo and Max made their way around the end of Max's ruined trailer. Theo's head was still reeling, and his knees didn't want to behave, so Max was having to do most of the supporting. He was also a vitally important source of heat.

  Below the shattered bay window, more drama was going on. He frowned at Louis Wilson, who came over to throw a blanket around both of their shoulders; Louis' presence didn't make sense. Theo felt too weak to do more than watch as Anastasia gamely hurried over to help Kelsie pin Adrian down. On his back in the snow, covered in a pile of winter coats, Adrian was not cooperating, and the combined weight of the two women wasn't enough.

  "Ade, baby, you're messed up." Kelsie's voice jerked as she shoved his shoulders down.

  "You know we can't go to those places! They'll see weird shit in my blood and I'll never get out of there again. Kelsie, you know I can't!" Adrian shook his head wildly. His right arm flailed blindly at Anastasia, sweeping her aside, but the left lay at an awkward angle across his stomach.

  "Hey!" Louis Wilson didn't have Adrian's lung power, but his authoritative tone made them all pause. "Cool it!"

  "Who the hell are you?" Adrian demanded.

  "Just a guy who was a paramedic for twenty years," Louis snapped, kneeling by Adrian's side with a large first-aid kit. "You don't want too many questions asked; I can pull some strings at the hospital." He looked at Kelsie. "Let's get this big dickhead's arm wrapped up, then move him."

  Kelsie, wearing nothing but a winter coat, nodded calmly. She helped Anastasia to her feet and they both watched as Louis went to work.

  "No hospitals, I said," Adrian muttered.

  "Not your call, buddy."

  Theo had never seen his cousin so quickly subdued. On the other hand, he could see the tension in Adrian's cheeks; he was obviously in a lot of pain.

  "Come on," Max said. "You too." Theo shook his head.

  "No hospitals."

  "You sure?"

  "Theo," Anastasia said, "are you sure?"

  "I want to..." Theo bit his lip. The words he wanted to say didn't seem to fit a scene like this. He felt Max's arm tighten around his waist.

  "You can be selfish. Right now, you can be whatever you want."

  "I just want to rest. Get warm. With you." He spoke quickly before his throat could tighten up; Max's generous words were too much.

  "But Theo, you could be really hurt," Anastasia protested as Max escorted Theo toward the house.

  "Ana," Max said, escorting Theo past her, "let me take care of my own boyfriend, okay?"

  He could no longer feel his feet, his head thudded with the aftereffects of wolfsbane, and his mouth tasted like old garbage. His cousin was injured, Max's trailer was destroyed, and too many people knew the family secret. Nothing was really settled between him and Max.

  Yet the smile wouldn't leave Theo's face.

  *~*~*

  "Okay, you. Let's get you upstairs into a warm tub." Max was still holding Theo up, although he wasn't clear on what was holding him up. Possession didn't usually drain him like this, so he suspected it had something to do with Deep Murky's power. He was starting to notice the bruises and aches from being tossed around by the shadow spirits too.

  "Don't worry about me," Theo said. His voice was hoarse, his words slightly slurred.

  "Come on, don't pass out on me. I can't carry you." Somehow they made their awkward way up the stairs. Max got Theo sitting on the edge of the tub, leaning against the wall. He fiddled with the taps until he had a tub full of warm water. Theo climbed into the tub unassisted, although once he was in the water he was very still, gazing into the middle distance. Max sat on the edge and caressed his forehead.

  "Tell me if anything hurts," he murmured. "Anything at all."

  "I'm okay, Max," Theo said, sounding mildly exasperated. Max looked at Theo's hand resting near his knee. He sucked in a breath at the bruises and scrapes on Theo's wrist.

  "Jesus."

  "I'm fine. You should, should look at yourself. Your face. And your neck's bleeding a bit."

  "Eh?" Max got up and went to the mirror. All around his eyes, the skin was puffy and already starting to purple. The skin on his chin was split, and his cheek was a network of blue and brown spots. "Holy crap. I'm surprised you didn't run away when you saw me."

  "I wouldn't."

  "That was a joke, Theo." Max smiled, which made all kinds of things hurt. He bent down to rummage in the cabinet under the sink to find the first aid kit. After a cursory wipe of his nape, he put on a large patch of gauze as best he could without being able to see it. Then he started putting Band-Aids on his various cuts, feeling the silence. "Don't fall asleep in there. I don't think I can pull you out."

  "Max, I'm sorry about the things I said."

  "No, you're not." Max turned around and leaned his hips against the counter.

  "But..." Theo gazed at him, brows knitted. "I didn't want to hurt you, or, or make you go away. I just got, y'know, scared."

  "It's okay," Max said. "I probably needed a smack-down." He toyed with a small bottle of antiseptic, not quite meeting Theo's gaze. "Fixing behaviours is kind of what I do for a living, and, well," he shrugged, "I'm not used to serious relationships. I was watching so close for the other shoe to drop that I think I maybe started throwing shoes instead."

  This made Theo snort, and some of the tension leave his cheeks.

  "Yeah," he said, smiling. "Maybe I was too." His smile faded. "What happened in there? I don't really remember."

  "Do you really want to talk about that tonight?" Max asked. I sure don't. When Theo hesitated, Max straightened and grabbed a towel. "We better get you out of there and dried off before one of us passes out." Theo eased himself out of the tub, biceps visibly trembling. Max stepped in close to wrap the towel around Theo, then found himself unwilling to break the embrace. Theo turned his head to look at him. For a moment, they just looked into each other's eyes. The kiss came naturally and was gentle and warm. Theo made a little noise in his throat, then withdrew, licking his lips.

  "You taste like antiseptic."

  "Mm. I'm not very sexy right now, am I?" Max patted Theo's forearm. "Let's go collapse." Taking Theo by the hand, he led him toward the master bedroom.

  "I don't care if you're sexy," Theo said quietly. Max laughed, startled.

  "It's not permanent."

  "That's not what I—"

  "I get it, Wolf Boy. I get it."

  They climbed into bed together. Max pulled the cellphone he'd borrowed from Kelsie out of his pocket and began responding to texts from both Anastasia and his mother. Theo leaned his head on Max's shoulder.

  "Any news about Ade?"

  "Sounds like things are going okay at the hospital."

  "Good." Theo sighed heavily. "So are the spirits gone now?"

  "I don't know. Just have to wait and see, I guess."

  This was another thing Max didn't feel up to talking about right now. He leaned over and kissed the top of Theo's head. Theo's eyes were closed, and his own eyelids felt heavy. "Shit."

  "What?"

  "I have to go see if the horses came back and check on the kennels."

  "Maybe I can help."

  "Nuh-uh. I didn't drag you to the hospital, and in exchange for that you're staying here and staying warm. Oh, man."

  "What now?"

  "My trailer's totalled. I don't want to move back into the main house."

  "So move in with me." Theo's words were mumbled, barely audible. Max stared at him, but Theo's eyes were closed, and his breathing had slowed.

  "Are you serious?" Max asked quietly. Theo simply grunted in response. Max lingered there, watching the steady rise and fall of the blankets covering Theo. "You know I'll start cleaning it up on you." When he got no response, Max leaned over to kiss the top of Theo's head, then dragged himself off to deal with his other responsibilities. His life was obviously about to change. But Theo was safe, his family
was safe—Fort Rivers might even be safe. Everything else could be figured out later.

  *~*~*

  Last Quarter

  It was getting crowded in Theo's little house. Theo, wrapped in a blanket and bookended by the twins on his couch, took it in good humour as Charli spoon-fed him pudding and Chrissi brushed his hair. Louis stood by the front window with Mom and Dad, discussing the damaged glass. Kelsie and Anastasia chatted in a friendly way while Adrian glowered defensively nearby.

  Max leaned on the wall that led into the living room, occasionally taking sips of wine as he kept an eye on the proceedings on the couch. He glanced up when a shadow fell over him; he said nothing, looking at Adrian. Working his jaw from side to side, Adrian glanced into the living room, then jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen and walked past. After a moment, as much to assert his independence as out of concern, Max followed.

  Adrian leaned against the sink, toying with a beer bottle. A white sling held his cast-encased arm. It didn't hurt Adrian's thuggishly handsome looks to have the white tape across the bridge of his nose. Max stood near the table and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited. He wasn't going to be the one to speak first.

  "I don't like you monkeys," Adrian finally muttered. Max raised his eyebrows but didn't respond. "The only thing you got on us is numbers, but you still make it real hard for us to live."

  "Oh, come on now," Max said, exasperated.

  "Just listen, all right?" Adrian snapped, glaring. He took a swig of beer, transferring his glare to the inoffensive garbage can next to fridge. "But when you came for Theo..." His expression softened into something more familiar; it was the expression he'd expect to see in conversations with a buddy, not exactly gentle or even friendly, but honest and steady. "That was pretty badass."