Hunter s Moon - By Lori Handeland Page 0,60

of that as she was.
Chapter 24
Though Jessie's belief in me helped, I still had doubts about my sanity. Maybe I always would. But until I was sitting in the corner talking to myself again, I had a job to do.

"Where are these dead wolves?" I asked.

"Close. You ready?"

I nodded.

I was tired. I'd been up all night. But time was growing short. Less than a week until the hunter's moon, and the tally of dead wolves was growing. There was no way to know how many the power eater had already killed and consumed. We could be fighting a losing battle. Hell, we probably were.

But I couldn't give up. I doubted Jessie could, either. Giving up wasn't in either one of us.

I followed her down the steps, Will at my heels. There was no sign of Damien anywhere. I glanced toward his cabin, but the curtains were drawn.

"Sorry I kicked you," Jessie said.

"I shouldn't have scratched."

"I pulled your hair."

"The biting was uncalled-for."

"Stop," Will said. "I'm getting excited again."

Jessie and I rolled our eyes; then we laughed and she slapped me on the back. All was forgiven.

"Women," Will muttered.

The three of us headed into the woods. Cadotte lagged behind.

"Don't worry about him," Jessie said. "He's in the zone. Trying to figure this out."

"Won't he get lost?"

"Nah. He's not that easy to get rid of."

"I heard that!" Will called.

Jessie grinned. I wanted what they had so badly, I could taste the longing at the back of my tongue - an unpleasant flavor like ashes mixed with lemon juice.

"You know what you're doing?" she asked.

"Following you."

"I meant with Fitzgerald."

"Not a clue," I admitted.

"Sex is one thing, Leigh, but..."

"But what?"

"Attachments." She shrugged. "You can't have them if you're going to be a Jager-Sucher"

I flipped her off, but I knew she was right.

"He could be anyone, Leigh. Anything."

"It's just sex," I assured her.

"Any good?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I figured. He looks like he knows what he's doing."

I glanced behind us. Will had stopped a hundred feet back and was staring up at the sky. "Cadotte doesn't seem like any slouch in that department."

Although right now he appeared to be a prime candidate for Forrest Gump of the year.

Jessie's smile became secret. "He's not. He also isn't a werewolf."

"Neither is Damien. Ring, remember?"

"Super-duper shape-shifter, remember? For all we know, silver don't mean shit anymore."

I stopped dead on the path. Jessie did the same.

"Hadn't thought of that, had you?"

I hadn't. Damn.

"Come on." Jessie tugged on my arm. I followed obediently. "I called the tavern owner again."

"And?"

"The bartender who worked there before Fitzgerald, Abel Smith, lived in the cabin. He took off one night and never came back."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around."

"I'll say. I ran Abel's name. Got nothing. Mandenauer never heard of him, either."

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea. Abel could have left the gun - or anyone before him. Who knows? Your good pal Damien might even be lying."

She was right. We were no further along than we'd been before.

The two of us walked in silence for a minute; then Jessie cast a quick sidelong worried glance my way.

"When I fell in love with Will I wasn't sure who or what he was."

"How could you do that?"

"You've seen him. I was a goner the first time he said my name."

"What if he'd turned out to be a werewolf? Would you have killed him?"

She hesitated, then shook her head. "I'd have protected him. I'd have done whatever I had to do to find a cure."

"Cure?" I snorted. "Right. That's been going well so far."

I thought of all the years there'd been werewolves - too many to count. I thought of the genetically engineered ones, as well as the Weendigos, cursed by the great mystery. Those were just the werewolves we'd encountered. Who knew what lived out there in the night?

There were plenty of legends and beasts but no cures. Elise Hanover had devoted her life to the project, and as far as I knew she'd gotten nowhere fast.

"I loved him," Jessie said quietly. "I'd never loved anyone before."

"I have. And a werewolf killed him. I can't forget that."

"No?"

"Should I?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Maybe? The answer is no. Hector murdered my father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and my fiance. You know why? Because I slept with him and that made me his. I tried to break it off, but he only wanted me more."

I'd never told anyone that. I held my breath, waited for the recriminations. Instead, Jessie shrugged.

"Some guys are like that."

"He was a