Shadow of the Moon Read Free

I relished the fact that all these people didn’t bother me. They almost filled me with a sense of calm, because I couldn’t feel their deepest fears or yearnings. The only emotions cascading through me were mine.
    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