Hunter Moon: A Grazi Kelly Novel #2 (18 page)

“Werewolves excel at certain things, Grazi.
Mostly athletics, but we are also naturally acclimated to things
that require excellent vision or hearing. It is not unheard of that
certain famous artists or musicians are in fact Werewolves. Take
Ronan’s affinity for the piano and guitar. The lad can hear a tune
once and play it back to you because of his excellent hearing. Much
like Mozart.” Uncle Sean had said this to me after I fired my first
shot with his favorite gun.

He told me later it was a Beretta 9mm pistol.
It was heavier than I had expected. I was shocked when I had hit my
target right between the eyes my very first try.

“You’re telling me Mozart was a Werewolf?” My
uncle had spread his hands as if to say
Duh
. After that he
told me to aim for the head and heart, and I did.

“You play guitar too?” I asked Ronan as I
looked at his hands. They were long fingered and strong. His nails
clean and short, but not manicured or anything. They were good
hands.

“Um, yeah. Yes I do. Actually I play the
piano, guitar, drums, and a little bit of the fiddle.”

“Wow. That’s amazing.” He shrugged when I
said that.
OMG. I think he’s embarrassed.
Yup, his cheeks
went a little pink. He really looked good like that. You know, a
little humbled.

Nonna made a big Sunday dinner as usual. The
house still smelled of fresh tomato sauce and basil. I ate a
heaping plate of rigatoni with ricotta and sauce and an equally
large portion of fried eggplant. She also made me a small turkey
breast. I craved protein a lot more than I used to.

It was delicious as usual, but I was getting
tired of eating alone. My family usually ate a late lunch/early
dinner thing on Sundays. Usually at around two o’clock. Afterwards
Nonna usually met up with Fr. Verrell for a game of cards with some
of the other members of the Church. I had missed her. Again.

I took a shower after eating and lingered in
my room. I figured I’d get some school work finished. I typed my
midterm research report for Ms. Theodore’s Lit class. Ten pages
discussing the application of Shakespeare on the modern teen’s
life. I really enjoyed doing the research for this paper.

Geeky, I know, but I’ve always been that way.
I used modern movies based on Shakespeare works to exemplify my
argument that Shakespeare’s masterful understanding of human nature
was and probably always would still be relevant. I mean how many
people claim to hate Shakespeare and love the
Lion King
? Can
you say
Hamlet
?

I rechecked my bibliography, made sure the
formatting was correct and hit send. Sacred Heart Prep was going
green. No more printing papers. Now we emailed them to our
teachers. I rubbed my eyes and shut down my lap top. It was later
than I thought. I yawned and paced my room. I did not want to
sleep. Not if it meant
dreaming
.

I could hear my cousins talking downstairs
with their parents. They sounded like they were getting along. I
knew if I went downstairs that would end so I decided to stay put.
I reached for my mom’s diary and snuggled on my small futon. It sat
along my one free wall.

A tiny shelf was screwed into the wall above
it. I had filled it with rubber ducks of course. I loved rubber
ducks. Anyway, it was like my own mini-reading nook.

Hand crocheted cases covered four plump
square pillows on the futon. They smelled like lavender and mint.
Nonna made them for me. I placed one under my book, inhaled, and
read.

The wedding was blissful. I was right to do
what I did. Otherwise Patrick wouldn’t have known about our
beautiful little princess and he would have never come back for me.
I am so happy he did.

We are staying with my parents until his
trust fund comes through. His father had argued, but the trust was
from his mother’s side of the family and Rolf has no say. At least
our future will be secure while I go to school and he, well he-

Okay, Patrick has told me his secret. He
thinks he is some kind of movie monster. A Werewolf for Pete’s
sake! I don’t know what to think.

Maybe he is delusional, but I trust him and I
will support him in this. I told my mother, but she thought I was
just being emotional. You know with the wedding and childbirth. I
cried and cried but she just patted me and told me it would all be
okay. I hope she is right.

She didn’t believe him. I couldn’t blame her
really. I guess their first full moon together was a bit of a
shock. I read on.

It’s been two weeks since our wedding and
we’ve finally moved into our own apartment. We are close enough to
mom that my original plan to go back to school is still on.

Patrick is very supportive of me and he
approves of my decision. I tried to tell him he could go back to
school too, but he says he can’t. He doesn’t have the time. He
keeps talking about a job, but he’s so mysterious. He doesn’t need
the money. That much I know. But it’s not that kind of job. He
insists he is this monster and that he needs to prevent a war. It
scares me sometimes.

My little Grazi is getting so big! And
quickly too! I was scared to be a mom at first, but I guess that
was natural reaction. I would do anything for my child. Just
anything. She is and will always be first with me. I hope someday
she will know and understand how much I love her.

I smiled.
I love you too, Mom. Del mare
alla stella.
My eyes eagerly found the next passage. Thank
goodness for my mom’s careful script. That and my supernatural
eyesight. Otherwise it might have been too much to read all these
pages at once like this.

Tonight is the full moon. Patrick says I have
to stay home with my parents. He has to go out. We had a terrible
fight. I know he thinks he is this thing, but I just can’t accept
that. I know what I’m going to do I just hope he can forgive
me.

It is not yet dawn but I am afraid so afraid.
I crept into the woods last night and followed Patrick. He was
right! Everything he warned me about. What he is. All of it was the
truth.

He changed! Into a big Wolf with golden fur
like his hair! I can’t believe it. He seemed to sense me, but I
left as quickly as I could. Oh my Lord, please. What should I do?
What about my child? If this is genetic please not my Maria.

Patrick came home after nine in the morning.
He asked me why I had followed him into the woods. He was angry. He
said there are things out there, monsters that would hurt me if
they could and that I needed to trust him.

He is a Werewolf, an actual Werewolf, and he
is a member of a powerful Wolf pack called the Hounds of God. His
father, Rolf, the man who tried to keep me from Patrick, is the
pack Alpha.

That makes Patrick like a prince or
something. He says because the baby is only half Werewolf she might
not ever change. She has a chance to be normal. I pray to God that
she is. What have I done? My baby an animal, a monster! I should
have never had her.

The diary fell from my numb fingertips. Had I
somehow let my mom down by turning into the very thing she feared?
I ran to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face.
She would
probably hate me now, knowing what I am
. I looked at my
reflection and saw the Wolf in my eyes.

It was unfair. All so unfair. My breathing
was heavy and the image before me blurred.
I was such a freak.
My own mother would hate me for what I have become.
I slammed
my fist into the mirror and screamed.

“Why me?” I pounded the glass until blood
flowed from my hands. I don’t know how much time passed. Maybe
seconds.

I heard Nonna yell my name and Uncle Vito
held her back and said something about calling an ambulance. Before
he had a chance Uncle Sean was there and he had them leave the
room. Ronan came shortly after.

“Stay back, Ronan.”

“No, I’ll not watch her bleed for naught.” He
took his outer t-shirt off. He was always too hot for a coat or
sweatshirt indoors so sometimes he wore two t-shirts doubled
up.

He must have run from next door. He was
barefoot. He wrapped the shirt around my hand and picked me up. I
was no longer crying. I was in some sort of shock I guess.

“It’s alright, Maria. It’ll be alright.”

“She hated this. What I
am
! She’d hate
me
.” I spoke to Ronan only, but I knew Uncle Sean could hear
me.

He picked up the diary and read the passage
where my mother renounced me for an abomination. I sobbed and Ronan
held me in his arms. He was solid and strong, dependable. I don’t
know what I’ve done to earn his support, but I was grateful for
it.

“Ronan, take her to the house. I’ll stay and
clean up in here.”

“Right.” Ronan walked to the window with me
still in his arms and leapt down.

“I can walk.” He gripped me tighter. I put my
head down on his shoulder. Too exhausted to argue over it. If he
wanted to carry me then fine.

No one seemed to be in the Kelly house. He
took me straight to his room. This one was better than the one at
the Rectory. It was larger for one thing and it was painted a nice
pale blue. His bed was unmade.
Big surprise there
. A wicker
hamper sat by the door. It was overflowing with laundry that needed
to be done. For all that it was neat.

His desk was tidy and the television was
turned off. At the center of it all was a weird looking piano and
an acoustic guitar on a metal stand. It was more like a cross
between a half piano and a keyboard. He had a headset, microphone,
speakers, and subwoofer each in its place. There was blank sheet
music and what looked like a USB port.

He elbowed his private bathroom door open and
sat me down. He ran the faucet and gently unwrapped my arm. The
water stung. I wiggled a little, but he managed to once again clean
my wound. He bandaged it with quick, confident precision.

“Thanks.” I said. He grunted and put away the
first aid kit.

“Seems like you’re always patching me
up.”

“Yeah, well you’d do the same. Here’s your
phone. It fell out of your pocket when I put you down.”

“Thanks.” He thrust the phone out to me and I
could see I had another text from Sebby. I didn’t feel like
answering him though.

I stood up and managed to catch a glimpse of
myself in the mirror. Great, I looked like crap. My nose was red
and my eyes were puffy from crying. I had a piece of glass in my
hair. Our hands collided as we both went to take it out. I dropped
mine and let him do it.

“Sit back down, I’ll, uh, brush your hair to
make sure there’s no more glass.”

“Alright.” I sat down and he got out a fine
tooth comb. I winced this was going to hurt.

But it didn’t. Ronan was gentle and thorough.
He parted my hair and worked the comb through the long wavy locks.
I was glad then that I had never cut it.

“It’s soft.”

“Thanks.” Our voices were barely whispers.
The house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, but to me it
sounded like we were shouting. He moved in front of me and nudged
my leg over so he could stand close and comb through the long
tresses in the front. He pulled out piece after tiny piece of glass
and dropped them in the waste basket.

My breathing grew deeper. I felt flustered
and more than a little bit foolish. I had just had a temper tantrum
of epic proportions. It was so stupid. I felt like an idiot. I
tried to quiet my mind and to concentrate on Ronan and what he was
doing with my hair.

I had to hand it to him. The comb didn’t snag
once. I almost wished it did. I hadn’t worn my hair loose since the
dance and I think maybe it’s because I felt too open this way.
Vulnerable.

Ronan’s left hand hung down by my knee and I
reached out and brushed it with mine. He stopped moving for a
second. He didn’t even breathe. Neither did I. I looked up and saw
his emerald eyes glowing.

“It’s all out.” His voice was rough.

“Thank you.” I meant it too. Not just for the
hair, but for everything. Everything he had ever done for me. It’s
funny, but all the things I was worried about, Sebastian being in
danger, Nonna being disappointed in me, my mother hating what I’ve
become, and so on. All of that just disappeared when I was with
him.

“Maybe I could crash here tonight.” I
couldn’t believe what I was saying.

“And why would you want to do that?”

“I could always fib and say I’m afraid of the
dark.”

“Sure, you could fib, but we’d both know
better. You don’t have to lie when you’re with me.”

He pulled me up by my hand and leaned into
me. For the first time I was grateful for my height. I still had to
look up to him, but we seemed to fit. Ronan brushed my hair back
away from my face and closed each hand on either side of my neck.
Anticipation filled me.

“I have had this dream so many times,
Maria.”

“What do you mean?”

“I say your name over and over again, like a
prayer, waiting for you to notice me. Dying to get this close. And
here you are, a whisper away.” I gasped at the depth of feeling his
voice betrayed. Mesmerized I reached up and touched his face.

He was so close, so serious. I could just
make out one or two stray freckles on the bridge of his nose. His
hair was thick and glossy. His face, honest and sincere, had the
softest bit of copper fuzz on his cheeks. He lowered his head and
his full lips touched mine so softly I didn’t think it was
real.

Time stopped. My heart thundered in my ears.
I exhaled softly and breathed him back in.
Mmm.
The kiss
deepened. As if it was a living thing, cognitive and in charge of
its own destiny. I clung to him and that was my last coherent
thought.

Ronan’s lips were full and warm and soft. His
arms were tight around me as our bodies melted into one. His scent
filled my nostrils. Forest, spice and something else. Something
familiar and enticing. Any objections in my mind were ignored by my
Wolf and my heart.