Christmas Moon Read Free Page B

man
that Caesar had become before he’d died wasn’t the kind of man she
wanted back. But for once in a long time, she wanted someone in her
life. She was tired of the solitude. Of being alone.
    She rifled through her closet and dug out a
pair of pajamas, letting the towel fall to the ground as she pulled
the oversized white t-shirt over her head and slipped into a pair
of baggy scrub pants. She turned to dig her slippers out from under
the bed, the towel on her head tumbling to the ground in front of
her when a soft thud sounded against the glass in her bedroom.
    Her heart froze for a second, her inner dog
rising to the surface.
    She hadn’t let the canine out in months. But
this time it brought a growl to her lips and simmered just under
the surface, waiting to be let loose. Danger. Bree took a steadying
breath, her slippers all but forgotten, and scoured the room even
as she sidestepped closer to her bedside table.
    She could feel the fur just under her skin
and her spine prickled. Nothing but darkness outside her window and
the smallest sliver of a moon. Damn her.
    What had her so jumpy all of a sudden?
    The phone trilled in the living room and she
startled. Stupid question. “Damn kids,” she muttered under her
breath and knelt to scoop her slippers out from under the bed.
Maybe she would let Hunter deal with the brats when he
figured out who was behind this. She couldn’t even get ready for
bed in peace anymore.
    The phone rang again but she ignored it, only
to hear the sharp slap of flesh hitting glass. A scream built in
her chest as she spun. A hand flattened over her window, only to
pull back and smack it again.
    “Fuck,” she breathed. Years of being a Hound
had left her reactions automatic. She moved quickly for the bedside
table and drew out her gun, checking the chamber as she padded
towards the window.
    In the second she’d taken her eyes off the
window to glance at her weapon the hand had vanished. It had looked
larger than a kid’s though. Her jaw tightened. Probably another
wolf in the pack. But she was done cowering in her own house. Gun
at her side, Bree headed toward the front of her house, shoving her
feet in her shoes before she shoved her way outside.
    The cold winter wind hit her like a punch and
she shuddered, almost tempted to go back for a coat. Her long red
hair hung wet past her shoulders, soaking through her shirt. Not
cold enough to freeze, but cold enough that her breath spun out
past her lips in small wisps.
    Bree moved along the edge of her house, snow
crunching under foot, with her gun stretched out in front of her in
a double handed grip. She let the inner dog rise up inside her,
called up the Hound magick that had lain unused for so long, and
the darkness seemed to brighten. She could see the various shades
of gray in the shadows, the spidery bare branches, the large
footprints in the snow.
    Definitely not a kid.
    Bree curled back her lips, the cold press of
metal in her hands reassuring. Somebody was playing with her. And
it wasn’t just some pup.
    Her gaze cut through the darkness, watching.
Waiting.
     
    ***
     
    Hunter stretched out into an easy lope,
letting his wolf revel in the freedom that came with running over
the snow. The red and green of his Christmas lights reflected
against the snow, casting the shadows in shades of color. His
breath puffed out in clouds behind him as he bent his head to the
cold, crisp ground and inhaled. Picking up pace he left behind the
lone house on the hill and headed toward the forest that stretched
between his house and Bree’s.
    Pack territory stretched through most of
White Pine and as Hunter wove through the trees a sense of peace
surrounded him. Freedom. Home. The cold earth under his paws had
him wagging his tail like a pup. His nose twitched as he scoured
the ground, eager for a scent.
    A hare had passed through here not too long
ago. His stomach rumbled. He’d had enough of the pack over at his
house that somehow they’d managed