Dark Guardian #4: Shadow of the Moon

by Rachel Hawthorne

  The door opened, just as it had dozens of times that day, but for some reason, this time it drew my attention. Drew everyone’s, as there was a collective holding of breath for just a heartbeat before the din started again. It wasn’t the door so much as the guy striding through it. Tall, dark, and handsome was a cliché, but it fit him perfectly. My heart stuttered. I recognized him immediately.

  Daniel Foster. A Shifter. A Dark Guardian.

  Crap. What the hell was he doing here?

  Until he’d walked in, I hadn’t been aware of any Shifters in the area. It bothered me that I hadn’t known he was at the resort until I saw him. I’d never tested the full limits of my ability, but I knew I could easily sense a Shifter’s emotions if he was within a block or so of where I was. If his emotions were ratcheted up to the extreme like Justin’s had been the night he died, I could sense him farther away than that. So I should have felt Daniel’s presence before he strode through that door. I should have known he was nearby so I could have run. Why had he taken me by surprise? Did he have the ability to shut down his emotions? Even now that I could see him, I couldn’t tap into what he was feeling. I was as bothered by that fact as I was by his presence—which I was fairly certain didn’t bode well for me.

  I didn’t know much about Daniel. He’d joined our pack only last summer. I’d seen him a couple of times from a distance when I’d visited Wolford last June. But I hadn’t paid a great deal of attention to him. I figured he could have his choice of mate, and I’d never been on any Shifter’s Girl Most Likely to Be Asked Out list.

  He wore a black, quilted down jacket that he hadn’t bothered to zip, so his dark-gray sweater beneath it was visible. His black hair was cropped short. His facial features were rugged, chiseled as though they’d been carved from the roughest granite. In the middle of winter he was deeply tanned—like any self-respecting guy who lived for the outdoors. The stubble shadowing his strong jaw gave him a dangerous edge.

  Other guys hanging around in the Hot Brew Café were unshaven, too. Athena was one of the most popular winter vacation resorts in the state, and few people dressed up for it. But none of them looked as though they had the ability—or desire—to defend their territory. Daniel gave off the aura that he marked it and would willingly take down anyone who crossed the line into what he considered his. He was not someone to mess with.

  Even his eyes—the most amazing, mesmerizing green, like emeralds—were those of a competent hunter. He simply stood there, his well-toned body so still, so very still, the way a predator waits for the precise moment to pounce on its prey. His only movement was his gaze slowly scanning the shop. Then it locked with mine and I was hit with a quivering sense of dread.

  Within his eyes, I saw recognition and triumph—but I didn’t feel them. But more important, I realized I was his prey. Just as I’d feared, I was the reason he was here.

  He ambled over to the far end of the counter where there were stools—all occupied. He came to a stop behind the one in the corner. The buff guy sitting on it gave a little startled jump as though someone had given him a wedgie. He glanced back over his shoulder at Daniel, then grabbed his coffee cup and slunk away. Daniel’s power of intimidation without confrontation was incredible, but deeply unsettling because I still couldn’t tap into his emotions—even with his increasing nearness. I should have felt something.

  I forced myself to break the spell, to snap my attention away from Daniel and back to the guy who’d been studying the menu. After taking his order, I turned to the preparation counter, where we kept all the essentials for the beverages we provided. I focused on my task. Two scoops of chocolate powder. A dab of marshmallow cream. Hot water from the spigot. Stir briskly. I watched the contents swirling, melting. Focus. Focus. Don’t look around. Don’t let him know you’re aware that he’s watching you.

  But I was acutely aware of him watching me, the way an animal in the forest knows it’s been targeted. The hairs on the nape of my neck prickled and rose, sending an icy shimmer skittering along my spine. I handed the mug of chocolate to the customer and took his money.

  In spite of my best efforts not to, I slid my gaze to the side. Daniel sat unmoving, his eyes lasering in on me. He was the storm, the thunder and lightning that turned the blue sky to gray. Not literally, of course. Metaphorically. But if ever there was a guy who emanated danger, he was it.

  “Hey, Hayden—”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when Lisa placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her short-cropped black hair stood at various angles as if she’d just crawled out of bed. Black kohl lined her cobalt-blue eyes. She had a diamond stud in the side of her nose. I’d pegged her as harsh and radical when I’d first met her. But she was actually sweet and fun. The closest thing I had to a friend. Best of all, like everyone else here, she kept her emotions to herself.

  “I noticed you and hot guy seemed to connect,” she said. “I’ll handle the to-go orders if you want to wait on him.”

  Lisa had been taking care of the customers who were seated at the counter and at tables. I took an order for a mint chocolate and a mint chocolate mocha from a tall guy who had his arm slung around a short girl’s shoulders. Even before I turned to the preparation area to begin mixing the drinks, he’d planted his lips on hers.

  “That’s okay, I’m busy here,” I muttered to Lisa.

  Her eyes widened as though she thought I was a total loser not to jump at this opportunity. “Did you not see the way he looked at you? And he is apparently alone. Hello? This might be your chance to do something besides curl up with a book at night.”

  I liked curling up with a good book. Lisa tended to curl up with any available guy after work.

  “I don’t want to break my routine,” I said, working to keep my voice flat. I turned the milk frother on, focusing on my work, and trying to drown out Lisa’s cajoling. I took a deep breath, confused by my own feelings. I was slightly grateful to know the elders cared enough to send someone to find me and bothered by the fact that he’d succeeded in finding me. Panic made my voice want to warble. I hated it. With the milk sufficiently frothy, I shut off the machine. “If you want him, go for it,” I told Lisa.

  “Seriously?”

  “Sure.”

  She grinned, her blue eyes sparkling. She bounced as though she had springs in her shoes. Sometimes it wore me out to watch her. Where did she get so much energy? She was a freshman at college, working here over winter break. This resort was a popular retreat for college students—whether to play or work. I’d created a fictitious background that resembled everyone else’s true story. I was a university student looking for work during winter break. When the students left, I’d probably move on as well.

  Spike had hired me without asking for references. Maybe I had an honest face. Or maybe he’d been desperate for the help since students had arrived en masse to enjoy the slopes. Because he was dependent on seasonal employees, and most of the ones he hired didn’t live in the town, he provided rooms in a couple of condos he owned. Lisa and I lived in the same one, our bedrooms across the hall from each other. It was the reason we’d become close. We saw a lot of each other.

  “Wish me luck,” she said with a wink. “I so want a winter romance, and he looks like the type to give a girl a good time.”

  Funny how she saw him as a good time, and I viewed him as a journey straight back to hell. It was possible that he was here to enjoy the slopes, but judging by the way he was watching me, I had a feeling he was here to convince me to return to Wolford.

  I handed the drinks to Romeo and Juliet. Three giggling girls who were eyeing Daniel as though he were their favorite flavor of chocolate shouldered their way to the front and breathlessly gave me their order: a white, a dark, and a milk hot chocolate.

  As I turned back to the preparation counter, I glanced surreptitiously over to where Lisa was talking with Daniel. She was leaning on the counter as though she intended to take up residence there. Not that I could blame her. He had magne
tic eyes and a wicked grin, the kind that made me want to join him in a smile. But I resisted the temptation. I didn’t trust his appearance or the fact that I couldn’t feel his emotions. Why was he blocking them? How was he blocking them?

  Beyond the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows that provided an unobstructed view of the main street with its quaint shops and the towering snow-covered mountains in the background, the purple and blue shadows of twilight were descending. The crescent moon was already rising, yet still faint, giving it a ghostly, ominous appearance. A chill swept through me.

  Wiggling her eyebrows, Lisa walked back toward me. “He ordered a chunky chocolate. You know what that means. And I’m so tempted to put my theory to the test with that guy. Did you see his killer grin?”

  Lisa had a theory that the more chocolatey a guy liked his hot chocolate, the better he kissed. If nothing else, she reasoned that he’d taste great. Daniel was the Big Bad Wolf, and she didn’t even know it. His bottom lip was full and would provide such a nice cushion for mine. I wanted to kick myself for even wondering what his kisses might be like, because I suspected he was trouble.

  “Apparently, though,” Lisa continued, her brow furrowing, “what he really wants is you. He says you’re friends, that you’ve been expecting him?” She ended her statement on a high note, questioning what he’d told her, wanting me to confirm or deny it.

  Fear spiked inside me. He was here for me. The elders had probably sent him. I knew they wanted me to be at Wolford when I experienced my first full moon. And while legend said that I needed to go through my first transformation with a mate, I couldn’t risk someone else’s life if the harvester kept his promise and came for me. But I couldn’t explain any of that to Lisa, so I simply lied. “Never seen him before in my life.”

  I carried the steaming mugs over to the three girls. As they paid, I said, “See that guy at the end of the counter?”

  “He’s a little hard to miss,” White Chocolate said. “Even with that heavy jacket on, you can tell he’s all muscle. And that face. He belongs on a Calvin Klein billboard.”

  “I wouldn’t mind him keeping me warm all through the night,” Milk Chocolate said with a giggle.

  “Then this is your lucky day,” I lied smoothly. “He’s looking for someone to hook up with. And he has two friends who are just as hot.”

  “Really?”

  “Where are they?” Dark Chocolate asked suspiciously.

  “Parking their Hummer.”

  “They have a Hummer?”

  “Oh yeah.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Their parents are mega rich. The guys just got in today and don’t know anyone. They were flirting with me earlier, but, well, I have a boyfriend.” I was becoming exceptionally skilled at lying. Before I’d run away from Wolford, I’d never lied, but I was astounded by how easily the false words rolled off my tongue lately.

  The girls didn’t even bother to wait for their change before traipsing around the corner to flirt with Daniel, so I dropped it into the tip jar. The money collected would be divided between all the employees at the end of our shift. It was never much, but my needs were simple: a good book, a warm fire, my own mug of hot chocolate, and hushed silence within myself. It was one of the reasons that I loved winter and had felt so at home at the resort. The snow absorbs so much sound and it creates a quiet that is more stillness than anything.

  But with Daniel’s arrival, my little haven was no longer comforting. I was going to have to leave. The sooner the better. With those three girls distracting him, now was my chance.

  “Do you want to take him his order?” Lisa asked me.

  “No, I’m going to the storeroom to get some more to-go cups.” Before she could comment, I slipped through the swinging door that led into a hallway where the boss had his office. I felt a little guilty running out on Spike after he’d given me a chance—and he was so protective.

  “You need any help, little girl, you let me know,” he’d said. At six feet eight inches, everyone was little next to him, but at five foot four, I was especially so. And while I appreciated his offer for help, I knew I’d never take him up on it. He wouldn’t stand a chance against a guy who could transform into a wolf at will.

  I was grateful that his office door was closed as I slipped by. I didn’t want to have to explain myself or possibly make the mistake of deciding he could help. As I snuck down the hall, I resented that I was being forced to flee before I was ready. I’d hoped to save up a little more money so I could travel farther away more easily. I didn’t really have a final destination in mind. I’d thought I’d have more time to prepare. I’d allowed my happiness and contentment to lure me into a false sense of security. Stupid, Hayden.

  I hurried down the hallway, past the storage room. I grabbed my white parka from a hook near the back door. Slipping off my sneakers, I stuffed them into my backpack and pulled on my snow boots. I jammed on a red-and-white knitted cap and tucked my ponytail up beneath it. I tugged on my gloves.

  I glanced back over my shoulder. I didn’t want to leave the warmth and safety offered here. I desperately didn’t want to leave the peace and quiet. But I knew I had no choice. I had to run. Fast. Now. No way was I going back to Wolford.

  I shoved open the door and stepped out into the snow and cold. Before the door had even closed behind me, I was turning toward the woods where the shadows were lengthening and could hide—

  “Going somewhere, Hayden?” a deep voice echoed around me.

  My heart in my throat, I whipped around.

  Daniel stood there, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He hadn’t bothered with a cap. His black jeans outlined his long legs. His thick black jacket, still unzipped, added to his dangerous allure—as though the weather was no threat to him. His dark features and clothes made his green eyes all the more vibrant. Hot really wasn’t the right word to describe him. Scalding, maybe?

  Confidently he strode over to me, leaving a wake of footprints in the pristine snow. His eyes captured and held mine. I wanted to sprint toward the trees but knew he’d just follow at an easy lope.

  He reached out to touch me, and I stiffened, preparing for the force of pride—I was certain he was swelling with it for locating me—to slam into me. Though I couldn’t tap into his emotions with space between us, I knew nothing would prevent his feelings from reaching me when he touched me. Experiencing others’ emotions was always more intense, more overwhelming when physical contact was involved. It was one of the reasons that I avoided it whenever possible.

  I would have stepped back now, only I was curious. I wasn’t accustomed to being around a Shifter and not knowing what he or she was feeling. But when Daniel’s bare hand touched my cheek, all I felt was…warmth. Skin on skin. Roughened fingers gliding softly over my smooth cheek.

  Even with this intimate contact, I couldn’t feel what he was feeling. I didn’t know what emotions were dancing through him. It made no sense. He was a Shifter. I should have experienced his passions long before he ever got this close to me. And when he touched me, I should have been rocked so hard that my own emotions would retreat.

  But only my feelings were roiling through me. That stupid fear again, ratcheted up to panic now. But there was more. So much more. Anger, astonishment, disappointment, irritation, sadness. And fascination. Attraction. It was as though I’d just spun a wheel of fortune that was loaded with emotions instead of dollar amounts and they were rioting through me. Where would it stop? What would I feel when it was all done?

  “Why bother running, Hayden?” Daniel asked quietly.

  He leaned in close, so close, until I could no longer see his eyes, his cheek almost grazing over mine. I was too stunned by the sudden intimacy to move. I heard him inhale deeply, knew he was scenting me—a final, silent declaration to a job well done. I wondered why the knowledge made my knees grow weak. After our first transformation, all our senses heightened, but scent was always our most powerful.

  “I’ll just fi
nd you again,” he said in a voice that was close to a purr.

  He was making me feel crazy things. I didn’t know what some of these stirring emotions were, what they signaled. The wheel of emotions finally stopped spinning, selecting one with which I was familiar.

  Full-blown terror.

  TWO

  “I—I wasn’t r-running,” I stammered, then swore beneath my breath because I never stammered. He’d unsettled me and it made me angry that he had. The terror receded and fury took hold, and I lashed out with a determined tone. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was taking a break.”

  “Uh-huh.” With his green eyes twinkling, he reached out and tapped the little red-and-white pom-pom on my knit cap. I made an ineffectual slap at his hand that served only to make him grin wider and made me feel powerless. I was too familiar with that emotion. I’d never liked it and disliked it even more now because it seemed to amuse him so much. “You sure bundled up just to take a break.”

  I took a step back to get beyond his reach. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s winter! Snow, sleet, ice, freezing temperatures. Never mind. I don’t have time to give you a science lesson. I have to get back to work.”

  I started to trudge past him.

  “You have to get back to Wolford.”

  His words stopped me dead in my tracks, and I spun around. I didn’t want to plead or beg, and I fought to keep my voice even, but a bit of despair flowed into my words. “It’s not safe for me there.”

  “And you think you’re safe here? Alone?” He shook his head. “What were you thinking when you left Wolford?”

  That my survival depended on it. “Are you not aware of the harvester’s visit?” I asked.

  “I was out on patrol that night. I didn’t see it, but I saw the results.”

  It hadn’t registered until now that he hadn’t been one of the Dark Guardians in the clearing that night when Justin died.