Desires of a Full Moon (3 page)

Jayden scowled. Was she as fucked up as him over what had happened? Had he done this to her by not being able to save her?

“You okay with this assignment?” Barrett gave him a long assessing look.

“Yeah.” Jayden gave a quick nod.

“Good. I’m counting on you to keep that girl safe. God knows we’re the only family she’s got now.”

Jayden swallowed.

He had failed Haley once.

Whatever it took, he wasn’t going to fail her again.

#

“Holy shit, here comes Barrett Middleton.” Dana spoke out of the side of her mouth, as they stood on the sidewalk outside the boutique in the town square. “I wonder if he caught me trying to sneak a peek at him in the Guardian’s gym?”

Haley almost stopped breathing when she spotted Barrett Middleton headed straight for her. She had come to him under the cover of night to explain her situation and show him the letters. As her new Pack Master, Barrett was her last resort for protection.

She had screwed up every last ounce of courage to actually walk into the Guardian building. When a large werewolf with a scar across his cheek had stepped in front of her, she was sure her heart had stopped. For a brief second she had wondered if her parents would even come to her funeral.

His name was Damon and he’d pierced her with a glare before leading her to Barrett’s office.

While Dana knew about the first few notes she’d gotten, she didn’t know about the latest one, the ones that had her lying awake all night wondering if she was going to live another day. Even though Dana was a werewolf, Haley hadn’t told her what had happened in Louisiana or the real reason behind why she transferred colleges. She didn’t want her friend to disappear like her family had.

“Hello, ladies.” Barrett nodded and turned his gaze on her friend. “Dana, how is college going? Not partying too much are you?”

Dana blushed. “It’s going good. Keeping my grades up and staying out of trouble.”

“Good, good.” Barrett turned back to Haley. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Oh, shoot, of course.” Dana laughed. “This is Haley Guthrie. She just transferred to the university from LSU.”

Barrett stuck out his hand and Haley blinked. Of course Dana wouldn’t have a clue that she’d already met the Pack Master.

Haley accepted his outstretched hand.

“Nice to meet you, Haley. I think you will find the Weres in Arkansas welcoming and very protective of their own,” Barrett said.

Haley’s heart hitched at his underlying meaning. She’d lived in Louisiana all her life, but her own family had failed to protect her or even accept her after she had been hurt. Even the Pack Master of Louisiana had refused to see her when she went to him about what had happened the night of her kidnapping.

Yet standing here on the sidewalk in front of the whole town, Barrett Middleton, the Pack Master himself, had sought her out. And promised his protection.

Haley blinked back the tears burning the back of her eyes and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Mr. Middleton. I appreciate that.”

“I see you two are heading back to Fayetteville.” Barrett turned to Dana. “Dana, do you mind running across the street to Hilda Mae’s bakery? I believe she has a welcome basket for Haley with lots of her homemade cookies.”

“I’ll be happy to.” Dana gave Barrett a besotted smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Barrett folded his arms and looked across the town square as he spoke in a hushed tone. To anyone passing by it would appear they were talking about something as innocent as the weather.

“I have one of my men following you back to Fayetteville. Dana won’t notice. She’s too busy trying to get a glance at me while I’m working out.”

Haley’s face heated.

“My Guardian will be following you to class and back to the dorm to make sure you are safe. If you get another letter, text me and I’ll have him pick it up.”

“I don’t have your number.” Haley dug around in her purse to find her cell phone.

“I already put it in your phone.” Barrett glanced at her and the looked away.

“When?” Haley tried to keep from showing her surprise.

“The other night. When you were in my office.”

She remembered dumping out her purse contents which held the letters. She’d been desperate to the point of tears when she was asking him for help. He must have slipped his number into her phone then.

“Thank you.” It came out as a slip of a whisper as emotion clogged her throat.

“Don’t thank me. It’s what we do. I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone anymore, Haley. Because you’re not. We protect our own.”

Dana stepped out of the bakery, her arms loaded with a large basket filled to the brim with baked pastries and cookies. The basket was so large that Dana had to hold it up to check for traffic before crossing the street.

“Don’t say anything to Dana about this. The less she knows the better. If you have problems or feel unsafe, text me and I’ll have my Guardian come get you. He will only be a few feet away during the day and five minutes away at night.”

“Thank you.” Haley swallowed, as a weight lifted off her shoulders. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this. If there is anything I can ever do to repay you. Let me know.”

“Actually there is. Don’t let Dana know you have my number. And tell her to stay out of the Guardian’s house.” Barrett shot Dana a wave before he walked away.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye.” Dana huffed as she reached Haley.

Haley looked at her friend.

“He is totally hot.” Dana licked her lips a little.

“You don’t find him scary?” Haley looked at Barrett’s large retreating back. Sure the man was built like a model, but there was something so intense that it intimidated her.

“Of course I find him scary. Scary and hot. I wouldn’t mind if he tied me to his bed and spanked me.” Dana purred.

“Tell me how you really feel.” Haley snorted.

Dana looked at Haley and laughed. “I can’t help it. I need some alone time with my honey. My fantasies are all I have.”

Haley opened the door to the backseat of her car and stuck the basket on the seat. “Not anymore. You ordered all that sex stuff from Granny.” She adjusted the seatbelt around the basket.

“Maybe I’ll break it in with a good fantasy starring Barrett.”

“Enough.” Haley stuck her fingers in her ears and hummed, trying to ignore the visual.

Dana straightened and frowned. “What were you two talking about anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Barrett make a point of talking to someone on the sidewalk. He’s rarely comes out of his office.”

Haley pressed her lips into a thin line.

“I know that look. Spill it. What did Barrett say?” Dana crossed her arms.

Haley blew out a breath. She wasn’t going to say anything, she really wasn’t. But she didn’t really have a choice.

“Barrett said for you to stop trying to peep into the Guardian’s gym while he’s working out.”

For three days Jayden arrived on the campus of University of Arkansas early enough to station a position out of sight yet near enough he could intervene if Haley was in danger.

For three days he followed her as she went from her dorm to her classes.

For three days Jayden had observed her manner and demeanor as she so desperately attempted to blend in to the crowd and not draw attention to herself.

And for three days nothing happened.

Jayden lifted the Styrofoam cup to his lips. The steam rolled out of the top and he blew it a little before taking a sip of the bitter gas station coffee. The door to the dorm opened and his gaze locked on Haley as she walked to her first class of the day. The spring breeze caught her blonde hair and lifted it into the air. Her delicate hand brushed a strand of yellow silk out of her eyes.

Jayden frowned. Even from this distance he could see the faint dark circles under her eyes.

She wasn’t sleeping.

This would explain the drop in her grades.

Jayden hadn’t left the campus until late last night, watching for anything out of the ordinary. He saw nothing. So he spent the rest of the night on the computer hacking into the university’s database, gathering any information he could find on Haley. Her grades had progressively spiraled downward and even her teachers had commented on her state of withdrawal from participating in class. Where she had once been a dedicated student, she was now showing signs of disinterest and possibly failing out of college completely.

That pissed him off. The stalker was now controlling her life as well as affecting her future.

Jayden eased closer as Haley headed for the entrance of the building where her last class was held. She hurried past a group of college guys, head down, her fingers clutching her backpack like a lifeline.

“Hey, beautiful.” One guy wearing a bright orange T-shirt called out to her.

Haley kept her head down as she walked. Jayden’s gut clenched as he tossed the Styrofoam cup into the nearest garbage can and hurried near.

He had been given strict orders to stay back and watch, only revealing himself to Haley in an emergency. But when he saw her blue-eyed gaze dart nervously and how she clutched the straps of her backpack in a white-fingered grip, the only thing he could think of was protecting her from the group of assholes.

“What’s your hurry?” The guy reached out and grabbed her arm. Haley stared up at him, eyes wide with fear.

“Fuck the orders.” Jayden murmured as he stalked right up and pulled the guy’s hand off Haley.

“Get your fucking hands off my girl.” Jayden stepped in front of Haley, hands fisted ready to fight.

The guy’s eyes widened as he took in Jayden’s large size. Werewolves were bigger and more muscular than normal humans. As much as he liked intimidating humans, he much preferred the feel of bone cracking under his fists.

“Sorry, man. I didn’t know she was dating anyone.” The guy held up his hands as he backed away with the rest of his friends.

Keep it moving, motherfuckers.
Jayden growled behind clenched teeth, restraining the wolf within.

Jayden watched the group of guys head to the safety of their cars before turning to face Haley.

She was nowhere in sight.

“Fuck.” He hurried up the steps into the building she’d just left and peeked into every classroom. He couldn’t find her anywhere.

According to his notes, the only other place she ever went was her dorm. When he researched Haley and which dorm she stayed in he had been surprised to discover it was coed. Since she’d transferred in midsemester, she didn’t get a choice in dorms. He jogged over to her building, ignoring the appreciative stares and smiles from the silly college girls he’d passed.

He entered the dormitory hall, and a sense of
déjà vu washed
over him. He had blown it in college. What did he expect when he partied all the time, skipped classes and chased too many girls? He’d been young and dumb and had been more concerned with getting into girls’ panties than getting a college education. He still remembered the day he was called into the dean’s office and kicked out. The worst part was going home to face Granny. The look of disappointment on her face about killed him.

Not getting a college degree was one of his regrets in life. If he could go back and do things differently he would have studied harder, maybe gone into computer programming. He was good at the tech stuff.

Ignoring the flirty looks from the girls he passed in the hall, he continued on until he found Haley’s room. He took a deep breath and knocked. He had probably scared her half to death when he got all aggressive with those guys. He couldn’t blame her.

She cracked the door. She stared back at him between her locks of blonde hair shielding half her face. He nodded, impressed that she didn’t just throw open the door without knowing who was on the other side.

“Jayden, what are you doing here?” She looked only slightly less scared than when the college guy grabbed her.

Fucking perfect.

“Haley, we need to talk.” Jayden lowered his voice and looked both ways down the hall. With the exception of two girls heading for their rooms, it was virtually empty.

He glanced back at her, wondering how long she was going to keep him standing out in the hall like an idiot.

“Barrett sent me.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’m here to help.”

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second and then she closed the door. The chain rattled before the door swung open. She stepped back, allowing him entrance.

He hesitated. “We could go to the coffee shop and talk. We don’t have to do this here.” Being in her room was way too intimate. He didn’t want to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already was.

Haley shook her head fervently. “No. I’d rather talk here. Come on in.”

He stepped inside, filling the tiny room with his large frame. There were two twin beds, each with its own nightstand and desk, all university standard furniture. One side of the room was decorated with posters of rock bands and half naked men and the bed decorated with a bright pink and black comforter. The other half, Haley’s side, was neatly decorated, with a couple of abstract paintings on the wall and a solid taupe comforter with a dozen brightly colored pillows all in various shades of blue and green.

They might be roommates, but they had totally different personalities.

#

Haley sat down on her bed watching Jayden glance around the room as he shoved his hands in his jean pockets. She smoothed her coverlet with her fingers, hoping he wouldn’t see the slight tremble. The incident outside had shaken her more than she wanted him to know.

“My roommate, Dana, shouldn’t be back for a while. She still has class for the next few hours. I’m assuming, since you just blew your cover, you suspect that guy you just confronted is the one that has been sending me all those letters.” Haley wrapped her arms around her chest.

“No, I blew my cover because he had his hands on you.” Jayden glanced away and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. It was longer than what she remembered in Louisiana, a couple inches past his shoulders. But his eyes, boy oh boy, his blue eyes were exactly the same, like the Mediterranean Sea.