Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it and kept his eyes fixed on the road. I couldn’t believe that of all things was what flustered him.”Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled.
I sat back in my chair, basking in my victory. The fact that he hadn’t agreed, though, was…interesting. Not that I was willing to push it.
The realization that we were out of the city drew my attention, especially when he took the exit ramp onto the highway. “How far away is this place?””Not too far,” he answered.”Thanks, that really clears things up.”
The corner of his lips quirked into a smirk I knew well. “Full moon’s coming up.””Nice subject change,” I sighed, looking out the window as the woods on either side of the highway passed by. It felt nice to get out of the city, I had to admit. “But yeah, I noticed.””Going back to the bloodsucker?” There was no mistaking the bitterness his words were laced with, but it was hard to tell if he hated vampires or resented Alexander in particular. I wasn’t going to let myself cave to the temptation to think it was on my behalf. Marcus and Alexander were each dangerous in their own right, but Cole…
Cole was a whole different brand of dangerous, and I knew if I made the mistake of getting lured in by the flame that so seldom flickered in those ice blue eyes, I was going to get burned.”Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “I haven’t decided yet. I don’t even know if anything will happen, and like you said, I’m not necessarily going to go into heat again then.”
He didn’t know about Alexander’s most recent “offer,” of course. I hadn’t even told Sam, since I was still processing it myself. It was hard to make an informed decision when I was in the dark about what the whole bond thing really meant, and Alexander wasn’t exactly an objective source.”Here’s a little tidbit that might get you off the fence. For every problem a vampire solves, they introduce ten more.””You sound like you’re talking from experience,” I replied.”Maybe I am,” he conceded. “But there’s a reason why, as much of a species melting pot as the city is, they keep to themselves for the most part. Vampires and shifters aren’t a good combination.””I’m not arguing there,” I said with a sigh. “Trust me, I don’t like the idea of relying on Alexander for anything, but if that happens again…””I know,” he said, taking another exit. The only thing I remembered on the last sign was a state park, which was odd. Cole really didn’t seem like the type to consider a nature hike a viable way to spend a day off. “But there’s something that might help.””What do you mean?” I asked. He didn’t answer, of course. He was quiet until we reached what I assumed was our destination. Then the welcome center of the state park came into view. “Not to be critical, but how is a park supposed to help me with the whole mating sickness thing?””Just come on,” he said, getting out of the car and walking toward the trail that wrapped around the welcome center.
I followed him, still bitter about the lost opportunity to sleep in. At least, until the trail dipped far enough into the woods that even my sour mood couldn’t bring me to deny the beauty surrounding us. The willows formed an archway over the trail, and the faint chatter of the birds gave the forest even more of an ethereal vibe. The air was crisp and cool, and I realized I hadn’t actually been out in nature since the first time I had shifted. All the harsh scents in the city had me all too happy to go nose blind, but the earthen bouquet of the forest was a welcome change. The fresh earth, the verdant trees, the aroma of the wildflowers blooming along either side of the trail…
Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the worst way to spend my day off. And even if I didn’t want to admit it, Cole was better company than I had expected. Most people had to fill every idle moment with even more idle chatter, but there was an easiness in his silence and a surprising amount of comfort in his presence.”This is a beautiful trail,” I admitted as we came across a small wooden bridge over a narrow creek running through the woods. “You do this often?””Sometimes,” he answered. “It’s a good place to clear your head, and there’s not much room to run in the city.””No,” I sighed. One of the things I did remember from being a wolf was how claustrophobic the concrete jungle had felt. Even the suburbs were hemmed in and limiting. “There isn’t.””Come on, it’s this way,” he said, nodding toward a rudimentary path jutting off the main walkway. It wasn’t even paved, and if it wasn’t for the narrow gap between the dead trees, I wouldn’t have even noticed it.”What is?” I asked. “That doesn’t look safe.”
He rolled his eyes and walked onto the trail, leaving me no choice but to follow. I kept an eye out on the path and the overgrown thorns and brush at my feet.”Are you a wolf or not?” Cole taunted, looking over his shoulder as I gingerly trekked my way along the rugged trail.
I scowled at him. “So I don’t feel like getting Lyme disease.””What, you didn’t play in the woods as a pup?” he challenged.”Not really.” I could tell how he was looking at me even behind the glasses, but he had slowed down to allow me to fall into step with him. “My mother never let me go far into the woods. Guess I just never got a taste for it.””Huh.””What, ‘huh’?” I asked. “So I’m not outdoorsy, it’s not that weird.””It kind of is,” he argued. “Even growing up in the city, our dad always took us out on camping and hunting trips so we wouldn’t go stir crazy.”
Great. One more way I wasn’t a typical shifter. And yeah, I already knew my childhood had been different from the other wolves in the pack, but I’d figured some of it was just living in a rural pack. Even members of a different species had more in common with my pack than I did.”There,” Cole said, suddenly walking faster. I jogged to catch up with him as the trees around the trail opened up into a clearing that was even greener than the rest of the woods. We were a good distance from the main trail we’d come from, and I couldn’t even hear the highway anymore.
At first, I wasn’t sure what Cole was getting at. It just looked like a small clearing, with brush strewn across the overgrown grass. Then, I realized there were the vague outlines of two concentric circles in the center of the clearing, tiered in depth from the larger outer circle at ground level to the recessed center.”What is that?” I asked as Cole wandered over to the outer ring and started clearing away the brush around a two-foot section. I looked down and saw the pale gray stones laid beneath, forming the ring. Under all the brush, I could see the other two were the same way. It looked like some kind of strange landmark or a recessed stage someone had dug out in the earth a long time ago. The different levels formed shallow steps leading into the center, and I saw a huge, circular gray stone slab almost completely buried beneath brush and grass that had grown through the cracks.”I don’t know,” Cole answered. “But there’s a rumor it’s a fae circle.””A fae circle?” I echoed, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice.”I’m not saying that’s what it is, I’m just saying that’s what people claim,” he said, folding his arms. “There’s a whole plaque about it in the welcome center. At least, there was when I was a kid. I come out here all the time and I almost forgot about this place, but after I saw you that night, I started thinking about it again.”
I blinked at him, then looked back at the circle. “You think this place has something to do with what I am?”
He shrugged. “We don’t have any other leads, do we?”
He had a point. I took a step closer, not sure why I was so hesitant to approach the thing. It wasn’t like the earth was going to open up and swallow me whole or something.
Hopefully. After the week I’d been having, I wouldn’t put anything past the realm of possibility.”What do they say about these things, anyway?” I asked, taking a step past the first stone barrier. Nothing happened, and I felt ridiculous for holding my breath as I walked down into the center of the ring. I didn’t see much, so I started trying to clear away some of the brush with my foot.”Different things, depending on the website,” he answered. “Some say they’re portals to another world, some say the fae use them to teleport. Others think anyone who steps inside will die.”
I looked back so hard my neck twinged. “Excuse me?”
Cole flashed me a devilish grin. “You seem fine.””You know what? You can go f–” I broke off as my foot caught on something and I lurched face-first toward the ground.”Lavinia!” Cole cried, lunging for me. I hit the ground before he reached me and grimaced as something sharp dug into my knee, but I somehow managed to catch myself with my palms out. He grabbed me by the shoulders, his sunglasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. “For God’s sake, can you not take a step without falling into mortal peril?””There are vines everywhere!” I protested, wincing as I adjusted to take the weight off my knee. A thick line of blood was already trickling from the cut of whatever rock I had landed on. At least, I hoped it was a rock. Probably going to need a tetanus booster just to be safe.”You’re bleeding,” Cole muttered, putting a hand on the side of my knee.”Yeah, I noticed.”
He sighed, slipping a handkerchief out of his pocket to press against the wound. I winced, but he was being gentle.”You carry one of those around?” I taunted.”Came in handy, didn’t it?” he shot back.
I blew a puff of air through my nostrils as I realized just how close we’d gotten. He was facing me, leaning in enough that the faint scent of his cologne tickled my nose, making my head spin in a way the forest couldn’t. My heart started beating faster, and I found myself staring into his eyes. Cole fell just as silent, but I doubted it was for the same reason. Then his gaze lowered to my lips, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and I wasn’t so sure.
Before I could make sense of what was happening, something caught my eye on the ground. A brief flash, so faint I assumed it was just a trick of the light filtering through my trees. At least until I realized it was coming from a small pool of blood on the stone. The dark red blood was glimmering with some smoky blue light, and for a few seconds, I was convinced I was imagining it. Then, I saw the look on Cole’s face and realized he was seeing it, too.”What the hell?” he murmured, looking around as the blue light spread through the splintered cracks in the stone until it was all lit up. Even the surrounding rings began to glow so brightly they were visible through the brush, but it didn’t end there. Once the light reached the outer ring, it continued to spread in spiderweb fractals all across the earth, like it was breaking through unseen cracks in the ground. When it reached the trees, they began to glow like they’d been sprayed with phosphorescent paint, light bleeding through the broken bark and dead leaves.”Holy shit,” I breathed, trying to get back on my feet.