Hunter s Moon - By Lori Handeland Page 0,24

stood, and came toward us with his hand outstretched. "Leigh, nice to see you."

I wished I could say the same. I stared at the long vicious scratch on his forearm, then lifted my gaze to the overly large bandage on his neck.

My mind went back to last night - the werewolves battling, biting, bleeding.

The next thing I knew, my gun was pointed at his chest.
Chapter 10
Will stared at the weapon and laughed. "Hey, Jess, friend of yours?"

What was it with the people in this town? Didn't anyone flinch at the sight of a gun anymore?

"What the hell are you doing?" Jessie snapped.

I ignored her. "Where were you last night?"

"Here."

"Anyone who can verify that but her?"

"What's wrong with her?" Jessie demanded.

"You love him. If he turned furry beneath the moon, you'd protect him."

"She's right." Will cocked a brow in Jessie's direction. "You would."

"But I don't have to. You're not a werewolf."

"Prove it," I demanded.

"He already has."

"How?"

"Take off your shirt."

"I don't think I will," I said.

Jessie sneered. "Not you. Him."

"I'm not into kinky."

"Shut up."

I wanted to say something smart, but Cadotte drew his T-shirt off. He knocked the glasses and the pencils to the floor. He had almost as good a chest as Damien. Almost.

There was a nasty just-healed wound in his upper arm. A bullet wound.

"Mandenauer shot him with silver."

That sounded like Edward. He might look like someone's granddad but wasn't. He could be the meanest, most ruthless son of a bitch I'd ever known, if he needed to be.

"Do you think our boss would let Will into the group if he wasn't certain he was safe?" Jessie asked.

She had a point.

I put up my weapon, taking my eyes off Jessie. Big mistake. She grabbed me by the shirt and slammed me against the wall.

"If you ever pull a gun on him again, you'd better kill me first." Another slam and my head thunked the plaster. I saw stars. "Got it?"

I got it. Any warm and fuzzy moments between us were just moments. She didn't like me any better than I liked her. But we had a job to do.

"Leave her be, Jess. I can't count the times you stuck a gun in my face."

"That was different."

"I know. You had the hots for me from the start." He smiled. "Did she ever tell you how she found me naked in the woods?"

I glanced at Jessie, remembering her comments the first time we'd met. "She did mention something."

"She thought I was a werewolf, too. But she couldn't keep her hands off me anyway."

I frowned. They'd slept together when she thought he was a werewolf? Ugh.

My disgust must have showed on my face, because Jessie rolled her eyes. "You've obviously never been in love."

I had been. But the werewolves had taken care of that. Since I didn't want to elaborate, she shrugged and didn't comment.

"Why did you think I was a werewolf?" Will asked.

Thankful for the distraction - which took my mind off the memories and my mistakes - I pointed at his arm, then flicked my finger toward his neck.

He clapped his palm over the bandage. "Oh, I forgot. I went to the grocery store." He peeled away the adhesive strip to reveal a hickey. "Kind of embarrassing at my age."

I glanced at Jessie. Her face was suspiciously red. I couldn't resist. "Miss high school much?"

"Not in this lifetime," she muttered.

Huh. High school was the most fun I ever had. Considering my present life, this was understandable.

Sad, but understandable.

"What about the scratch on your arm?" I asked.

Will shrugged. "Jess needs to cut her fingernails."

Suddenly I was the one blushing.

I'd had sex. With Jimmy and... My mind skittered away from that mistake like a crab running for safety beneath a rock. There were some places I would not allow my memories to go, ever, and the only time I'd slept with anyone but Jimmy was one of those places.

Still, I'd never had sex that necessitated scratching and biting. I didn't get it. Didn't want to.

"What happened last night?" Will asked.

Jessie quickly filled him in.

Will's dark brown eyes narrowed. "Nine wolves were eaten?" He turned and sat back down at the table.

"I saw that. I just saw that."

"Saw what?"

"Forget it." Jessie shook her head. "He's gone. He won't hear you until he comes back to a little place I like to call earth."

The two of us stood there, avoiding each other's gaze, watching Will mutter and shuffle papers. He tapped at the computer, squinted, patted his head, and blinked owlishly.

"Here." Jessie leaned down and