The Waning Moon Read online

  “Are you going to share?” Isaac asked, helping me strip before removing his boxer briefs. He plunged into me and then held excruciatingly still. I tried to wiggle underneath him, but I was pinned down. Heat built in my center, but without a release, I was sure I’d explode. I tried to remember the question.

  “Something about claiming and marking.”

  “Oh,” he said. Then he started to move.

  “Oh? What’s that mean?” Isaac moved faster and faster, and I let go of my questions—for now. He brought me to the cusp of orgasm over and over, then stopped and waited for the fires to bank before starting over.

  “Isaac Walker, I am going to murder you if you do that again,” I said through gritted teeth.

  He laughed, and this time when we reached the edge, he didn’t stop. We fell together, and it was glorious.

  A bit later, after some cuddles and clean-up, I asked again. “Why ‘Oh?’”

  “Do you know what claiming and marking mean to a shifter?”

  “Do you know how obnoxious it is to answer a question with a question?”

  Isaac laughed. “Fair enough. To claim or mark someone is to permanently designate them as your mate. It’s a metaphysical sign to all other shifters—and any other supernaturals who care to see—that a person is mated and unavailable.”

  “Like a sign saying ‘Keep Away—This One’s Mine?’”

  “More like a wedding ring.”

  “Oh.”

  We spent a few minutes not making eye contact, although that might have been entirely one-sided. I didn’t want to look up to find out, but I was a grown-up, dammit.

  Isaac didn’t look nearly as terrified as I felt. In fact, if I were to analyze his expression, I might be forced to describe it as barely repressed excitement. I narrowed my eyes. He repressed a little bit more.

  “There are benefits. The exchange of marks occurs by biting off and swallowing a bit of each other’s flesh. For the bonding to take effect, both parties have to participate. The marks, once active, will stay active until one of the partners dies. It really is a “’Til Death Do You Part” joining, which makes it unattractive to most people. Few couples go through the claiming unless they’re one hundred percent positive they’ve found a true soul mate.

  “The marks alert you when your mate is in proximity and allows for a conversational telepathy between mates—even those that don’t have psychic skills. It allows strong surges of emotions to get through the bond, which can be unfortunate if one person is in pain and can’t control what’s being exchanged. The proximity alert and the psychic bonds would allow one to find their mate if they had gone missing.”

  “Huh.” I was definitely winning this conversation.

  “Are you okay?”

  “A little confused. A couple hours ago, we were fighting, and now we’re talking about marriage.”

  “You brought it up.”

  “I wouldn’t have if I’d known what I was bringing up,” I muttered.

  “Are you opposed to the idea?” Isaac asked. He was motionless.

  I didn’t know how to answer. I couldn’t lie, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “It’s a big 180 from where we were earlier today when I thought you were ready to pull the plug on us. It’s fast, Isaac. Responsible and rational women don’t think about marriage two months into a relationship.”

  “The magazines say I’m the one who’s supposed to have commitment issues—not you,” Isaac said. He pulled me into his arms.

  “Magazines don’t get me. I don’t care much about clothes or shoes, I’ve never worried about how to keep my man, I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about flat abs in advance of bikini season, and I don’t need sixty sex tips to rock my guy’s world.”

  Isaac kissed me. “You rock my world. I assumed it was because of your secret Cosmo subscription.”

  I laughed. “All home grown moves, baby.”

  “We’re moving off subject.”

  “That was deliberate.”

  “Five more minutes, and then I promise to drop it,” Isaac said.

  “Deal.”

  “The words ‘mark’ and ‘claim’ popped into your head? Had you ever heard them before?”

  “Not that I recall.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time foresight popped up. Could it be that?”

  I mulled that over. “That’s the most likely explanation. We should ask Florence tomorrow.”

  “Don’t freak out,” Isaac said.

  “I’m not freaking out.”

  “I didn’t mean right now.” He got out of bed and rummaged through his bag. I enjoyed the view and tried not to freak out. It’s much harder not to freak out when someone tells you specifically not to freak out.

  Isaac climbed back into bed. He was holding a small box. I did not hyperventilate, but it was a near thing.

  He opened it, and instead of the diamond solitaire I was dreading, there was a simple blue and brown band. I looked at Isaac, “What is it?”

  “It’s an engagement ring,” he answered. “Will you marry me?”

  I opened my mouth—I still wasn’t hyperventilating—and asked, “What’s it made of?”

  “Petrified wood and turquoise. It won’t trigger either of our metal allergies.”

  “How long have you had it?”

  “Decades.” Isaac tried to catch my eye, but I avoided it. I didn’t know if it was better or worse that he hadn’t gotten this ring specifically for me. Isaac tried to slip the ring on my finger.

  I pulled back. “This is weird.”

  “Are you going to say yes?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not ready.”

  “But your spidey sense says you are.”

  “My spidey sense is not one hundred percent reliable. It said Finn was a good friend.”

  “The best time to do the ceremony is around the full moon.”

  “When is the full moon?” I asked. I was not freaking out.

  “The next one is October 18—it’s the Hunter’s Moon.”

  “And today is?”

  “September 25.”

  “That’s less than a month.” I swallowed. Hard.

  “So, will you?” Isaac asked.

  “I need some time.” I’d never even told him I loved him. I will not barf during a proposal.

  “How much?”

  “We should stop talking about it now. Your five minutes are more than up.” I said. A part of me died when hurt flashed across his face. “We can talk about it tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”

  Chapter Four

  WHEN I WOKE the next morning, I immediately felt the weight of Isaac’s proposal and felt the ring taunting me from its box. It might not weigh much physically, but the emotional weight was greater than I’d ever felt.

  “Ready to talk?” Isaac asked, handing me a cup of coffee.

  I took a sip of coffee. It was too early to fight, and telling him I didn’t want to get married would lead to a fight. Come to think of it, telling him I didn’t want to talk might lead to a fight. The only fightless scenario I could think of involved accepting a marriage proposal I wasn’t ready for.

  I sipped my coffee and opted for an enigmatic smile. Then I grimaced. This wasn’t coffee. I shuddered. “We should stock up on good coffee at the first available opportunity. I don’t want to have to get through the rest of this year living on Sanka.”

  “Are you changing the subject?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Isaac didn’t even bother to hide the hurt my statement caused, and I felt terrible, but not terrible enough to agree to marry him when I wasn’t sure that was the right decision.

  His jaw tightened, and he started packing up his stuff. “A survival kit is our first priority. We’ll need drinking water, and water filters.”

  “Good thing we have that big-ass car.”

  “Are we headed towards Columbus?” At my nod, he continued, “When we get there, I’ll find someone to modify the trunk to conceal our goods. I
f I know anything about human beings, once resources become scarce, their vaunted humanity goes out the door.”

  “That sounded bitter,” I said.

  “Seeing Joseph stirred up a lot of shit. What happened to me at the hands of a vampire was horrific, but Michelle has nothing on what humans do to those they deem lesser. Human beings have as great a capacity for evil as anything else I’ve ever encountered.”

  “This,” I waved my hands to encompass everything that was going on, “is going to bring supernaturals into the public eye, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. It might be feasible for them to stay hidden, but there will be fewer reasons and incentive to do so. Some will object to opening the gates because they don’t want to be forced into the open.”

  “There have to be those tired of hiding, too.”

  “There likely are, but they might resent not being able to choose the way their presence is revealed.”

  “I’m providing a service. By generating this much chaos, there are bigger things to worry about than the existence of werewolves.”

  “You are such a public servant,” Isaac said. His grin didn’t hide the pain still haunting his eyes.

  Fuck. Why couldn’t I be what anyone needed? I shook myself and tried to stay light-hearted. “I will dedicate my life to the human race.”

  He snorted, and there was a knock on the door. “Is everyone decent?” Florence asked.

  We pulled over for every historical marker, took every scenic route, and stopped for the night in the small town of Coshocton. I’d felt nothing all day other than the vague sense of wrongness, but I couldn’t even tell which direction I was being pulled. As a compass, I was vastly overrated.

  The next morning, we headed out early. We had only one stop planned before heading on to Columbus, but Florence thought it might be our best shot in Ohio. We arrived at the Newark Earthworks early enough to be the first car in the parking lot. It was a place of power, but not my place of power.

  We drove from the Earthworks to Columbus. It was lunchtime, so I pulled into a Taco Bell—had to get my fix before they were gone. Isaac excused himself to make a phone call. Florence and I sat in silence for a bit as I downed my second burrito.

  “I thought there’d be less tension today. Didn’t you two kiss and make up?”

  “Uhhh,” I said, rather cleverly.

  “What’s scaring you?”

  “Isaac proposed.”

  “Based on your lack of ring, I’ll assume you said no?”

  “I didn’t say no, but I didn’t say yes.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’ve known each other for two months. I fell fast, and I fell hard, but I’m not marrying someone—especially not in an irrevocable shifter bonding—without being sure. We were thrown together in a highly stressful situation. That doesn’t usually equal a lasting partnership.”

  “That all makes sense. But then why not say no?”

  I heaved a dramatic sigh. “Because last night, when we were making up, my vaguely prophetic inner voice urged me to claim and mark him. I didn’t think much of it, but Isaac knew what that meant. By the look on your face, you do, too. What do you know, Florence? Spill it.”

  “He loves you more than he’s loved anyone in his very long life.”

  “That’s not why you made that face. Do you know something?”

  “Do you love him?”

  “Ugh. I hate it when people answer questions with another question.”

  “Do you?”

  “I don’t know.” I’d all but shouted it.

  Florence leaned back and steepled her fingers. I slumped in my seat, unable to eat anything more.

  “Why are you angry?”

  “If you know how I feel, you know why.”

  “Say it out loud. You need to know, too.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I am tired of being pushed every which way by fate, and the Fae, and men who want more from me than I can give. Maybe what I feel for Isaac will continue to grow into more than lust and friendship, and extreme fondness. But I don’t know if I’m capable of love. Is any Fae?”

  Florence reached across the table and took my hand. From the way she stiffened, I guessed she was picking up something I probably didn’t want to know.

  Focus returned to her eyes, and she looked at me. “I won’t tell you what to do, but I will tell you creating a mate-bond with him will someday save each of your lives. However, it will not be without serious consequence.”

  “Can it be broken?”

  “Do you want it to be?” Isaac asked from behind me.

  I bowed my head. “How long have you been there?”

  “Long enough.”

  “You didn’t think it necessary to let me know?”

  “You should’ve known I was there.”

  “Maybe I should’ve, but you should’ve told me when you realized I didn’t know. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” I’d spent an awful lot of time feeling badly lately. “Did you find someone to work on the car?”

  “A friend of Rebecca’s agreed to do the work on the car. Rebecca said she owed me several favors for backing her during her Alpha challenge and giving the Black Hills pack fair warning about their mini-apocalypse.”

  “That’s nice,” I said.

  “Changing the subject isn’t going to be that easy. Don’t you want a permanent bond?”

  “Do we have to do this here? Now?”

  “Why not? You’re a lot more open with Florence than you are with me, so maybe now is the best time to have this conversation.”

  Fucking men and their tiny fucking egos. Age and experience didn’t offset that at all. “Fine. I will do the mate-bonding with you under the next full moon.”

  “Don’t do me any favors,” Isaac bit out.

  “If you heard the whole conversation, you know it’ll be doing us both a favor. If this will save you, I will do it.”

  “Even though you’re merely “fond” of me?”

  My body temperature rose along with my temper. I needed to burn off some steam before I said something I’d regret. I didn’t know if it was Isaac’s alpha bullshit shining through or if I didn’t know him as well as I’d thought, but either way, it was pushing all my buttons in exactly the wrong way.

  Florence must have sensed the impending conflagration because she interrupted. “Let’s check into a motel and stow our personal belongings. Isaac, you can take the car to your friend, then we’ll meet up and figure out what to do next.”

  “Fabulous idea,” Isaac said. He stalked off without a backward glance.

  Florence cast a protection spell on our possessions, citing a “weird vibe,” and then Isaac took the car to his friend of a friend.

  “Let’s find some green and earth,” Florence said. “You need to work on your shields. They’re a little too good right now. I’d like you to keep the quality of the current shielding, but learn how to let the important stimuli through. No one should be able to sneak up on you.”

  I tilted my neck to one side and then the other, stretching the tension out of my connective tissue. “I hope we can find a place where I can spread my wings. I need the release.”

  “A city park at one o’clock in the afternoon isn’t the ideal place for that, but we’ll find some place we can go in the dark. There should be something appropriately dense near the river.”

  “Thanks. I thought by now I’d feel more integrated with my other self. Isaac and his wolf don’t seem separate, but I still regard my dragon as a separate being I seldom think about.”

  “Have you ever asked Isaac how he feels about his wolf? How they interact?”

  “Nooo…” I said.

  “And have you spent much time with Isaac in wolf form?”

  “No.”

  “You may want to ask him about it. Earth-bound shifters like your wolf might relate differently to their beasts than a Fae shifter, but probably not as much as you think.”

  “But shouldn’t she be more a part of me?”
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br />   “How long has it been since you’ve known she was there; since the tattoo set her free?”

  I counted back. “A little over a month.”

  “It’s easy to think more time has passed when your days are action packed. A month isn’t long to get used to knowing you’re sharing your skin, especially since you’re not forced to deal with it during a full moon like the earth-shifters are. However, you should work on building a better connection. Your dragon brings a lot of things to the table you’re going to need. Earlier, I saw more than the mate-bond.” She closed her eyes. “The path thus far has been easy, but that is about to end. Three battles are coming. You will be pitted against the blood drinkers, the magic casters, and the animal spirits before the next gate opens. The bond between a dragon and a wolf will save the other. Loss will precede the final triumph, but it is not the end. A vampire will be the cause of your greatest sorrow, and a vampire will help you find your greatest joy.”

  Florence opened her eyes again. “Let’s go to the park.”

  I mulled over her words as we walked, but didn’t question her until we’d found a patch of sunlight away from the few people milling about. “Do you know what it all meant?”

  “It’s self-explanatory. We’ll be attacked by vamps, shifters, and mages. Constant vigilance is the order of the next few weeks.”

  “I got that part. I’m more interested in your interpretation of the second half. You know: the parts about bonding, loss and triumph, and sorrow, joy, and vampires. What more can you tell me about that?”

  “I don’t get footnotes with my visions.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’re prevaricating.”

  Florence shrugged. “I can tell you nothing more. Now, let’s work on your shields.”

  I let it go. For now. Florence never said more than she wanted to, but if there was going to be more loss, then why couldn’t I at least be prepared? Maybe Florence would say that if I knew too much, I’d make a decision that, in an attempt to mitigate the effects of loss would cause the loss. But I didn’t want to be hurt again. Losing a friend was hard enough—how much harder would losing a lover be? I shook my head, straightened my spine, and concentrated on shielding my heart and my thoughts.