Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne Page A

hair and remembered that it was braided. Only in my dream had it been free. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bad dream.” Although not in the traditional sense of nightmares. I was more afraid of myself and the images I was conjuring than I was of any monsters.
    Kayla had been sitting on a log. She got up and walked over. “You’re so pale. Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “Absolutely. Why don’t you go to sleep? I’ll finish your shift.”
    “Lucas thought we’d pay more attention if—”
    “I know. Weren’t keeping watch with our mate. Connor and I will behave.”
    She glanced over at him. He nodded and jerked his head toward our tent. With a shrug, she smiled and patted my shoulder. “All right, then. Thanks.”
    She disappeared into the tent.
    Connor took my hand. “Come sit by the fire. You’ll feel better.”
    I doubted that. “There was a fire in my dream. Everything around me was burning. Just hold me for a minute.”
    I didn’t wait for him to give me an answer. I walked toward his outstretched arms, never doubting that he’d welcome me there. He’d been my rock forever.
    I tilted my head back and gazed deeply into his blue eyes. I don’t know what he read on my face, but he dipped his head and kissed me.
    The kiss resembled nothing in the dream. It was pleasant and sweet and warm. It was reliable. It was constant. It was real.
    The kiss in the dream…it was just…well, it was just a dream.
    Connor led me over to the log where Kayla had been sitting. Once I was settled on it, he crouched in front of me and tucked some stray strands behind my ear.
    I swallowed hard. “The summer solstice, when you couldn’t find me…I was with Rafe.”
    A sadness touched his eyes right before he said quietly, “I know.”
    “You caught his scent on me.”
    He nodded.
    “Why didn’t you say something?”
    “You’re either mine or you’re not. If you’re mine, I’ll fight to keep you. If you’re not…maybe I don’t want to know.”
    I skimmed my fingers along his cheek. Unlike Rafe, he seldom had stubble. “Nothing happened. We just went for a ride on his bike. I needed to get away from the doom and gloom for a while.”
    “That’s what Rafe said.”
    “You confronted him?”
    “Of course. Actually that’s what my dad and I disagreed on. He thought I should have challenged him.”
    “That’s insane! You can’t kill him just because he took me for a ride.”
    “Relax, Lindsey. I don’t have any plans to challenge him. I like to believe we’ve become a little more civilized over the years and can settle many of our differences in human form, not wolf.”
    “But is that the reason he’s no longer part of our sherpa team?”
    “No. The elders really are worried about Brittany. If she and Daniel don’t click, they’ll probably put someone else with us.”
    I thought about telling him that she wasn’t feeling the connection with Daniel, but we still had a few days for things to change.
    Suddenly the hairs on the nape of my neck prickled—and not in the nice way that they had in my dream.
    “Connor, do you get the sense that we’re being watched?”
    “Yes.”
    My breathing slowed as I tried to figure out from which direction someone might be watching us.
    Connor suddenly spun around. Two girls were peering out of their tent. They both released high-pitched giggles and ducked back inside.
    Connor chuckled. “I don’t remember ever being that young and silly.”
    “I don’t think it was them,” I said as I stood up. I turned in a slow circle, but the earlier sensation that I’d had was gone.
    “They were all I picked up on.” Connor scented the air. “Nothing unusual.”
    I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there had been someone else. “Lucas was probably right. We shouldn’t keep watch with someone we’d rather snuggle with or talk to.”
    Connor grinned. “He is wise, our leader. You keep watch here. I’ll circle the camp.”
    I knew he wasn’t going to find anything.