By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) Read online

  "W-when I heard you two talking..."

  There was no need for her to finish her sentence. I dropped my face into my palms.

  A warm hand touched my back, and I started to pull away, not wanting her comfort. When I glanced up, her eyes were wide as she looked on—from about five feet away. A scream ripped through my chest. I whipped around to find Ty's green eyes blinking at me.

  "Hey," he said.

  o0o

  My head pounded and distant voices called to me, urging me upward through the murky depths of my mind. I didn't want to listen. Here it was quiet. Here I was safe.

  A blurry image played through my memory. Something bad had happened and waking would only make it all a reality once again. No, I wouldn't listen.

  Like an annoying fly, the voice refused to be silenced. With a sudden jar, the sounds became clear. My head lolled to the side, shrinking away from the harsh tone and the bright light I saw behind my lids.

  "Mac! Wake up."

  "No," I murmured, tears wetting my cheeks.

  "Mac, it's me, Ty."

  My eyes popped open, and I willed them to focus. Ty's face swam into view, worry sketched across his features.

  "Ty?"

  He nodded and gave me a wide smile. It was the most wonderful sight I'd ever seen. He was alive.

  "Am I dead?"

  "No." He edged an arm behind my shoulders and helped me sit up. "You're going to be just fine."

  Pushing away, my hands sought out his injury. There was blood everywhere, but his skin was smooth and unmarred beneath my fingertips. I gasped and pressed them around the area, seeking what I knew had to be there. "Where is it?"

  "Seems Melanie has uncovered yet another new ability of mine."

  At his words, I whipped around. Melanie sat a couple of feet away, her face downcast.

  Anger flared in my chest and Ty put a calming hand on my shoulder. "She saw her friend murdered. Remember that."

  I sputtered, unable to believe he could be so forgiving. "She tried to kill you!"

  "I know." His eyes clouded. "But if what she suspects is true, perhaps she had the right idea."

  "Tyler O'Neill! Don't say that." Tears flooded my eyes.

  He pulled me into his arms. "I'm sorry."

  My fingers dug into his shoulders. "Don't you dare give up."

  "I won't. I promise."

  Footsteps echoed on the stairs and a loud voice boomed down at us. "What are you kids doing?" A pudgy security guard stood just a few feet away, his mouth hanging ajar at the image before him—the three of us covered in blood.

  Ty and I did a good impression of deer caught in the headlights. How would we explain our way out of this one?

  Melanie sprang to her feet. "We're practicing for the school play, Carl." She shrugged as she surveyed the mess before her. "Please don't tell Mrs. Lind, she'll have my job if she found out."

  Melanie was the perfect image of innocence. I had to hand it to her; she diffused the situation with more grace than I could've managed at such a time.

  "You know you're not supposed to have friends visit while you're working, Mel." Carl's eyes were wide as he spoke. We looked like we must be re-enacting a scene straight from a horror movie. I could almost hear his thoughts racing through his head. Damn kids, today. Freaks—all of them.

  "I know, Carl. I'm sorry." Melanie grabbed my blood soaked sweater. "Props are pretty amazing these days, aren't they?"

  He eyed it like it might catch on fire and burn him. "They sure are." His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he tugged at his belt. "Just make sure you clean up everything when you're done. We're closing in fifteen minutes."

  Melanie smiled. "We will. Thanks!"

  When his back was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."

  Melanie sank down in a chair, head in her hands. "You two should go. I'll clean up."

  Ty pulled me to my feet. The room spun.

  With a steadying arm around my waist, he helped me into a chair. "Are you okay?"

  Unable to speak just yet, I nodded. With a squeeze to my shoulder, Ty moved effortlessly around the room, cleaning up his own blood with his half-soiled shirt. His tanned skin still bore the memories of the injury. Crusted blood streaked across the surface, pooling in the area where his wound should've been. It didn't seem possible for him to be alive. I fought the nausea rising in my throat. What if Melanie had succeeded?

  Soft hiccups came from beside me. There was such misery in the sound. I reached a tentative hand out and was rewarded by a soft squeeze as Melanie took it. Her teary eyes peeked through the wild strands of hair about her face and an understanding passed between us. I couldn't explain it, but in that moment I knew why she did it and found myself able to forgive her.

  "She was my best friend," she whispered.

  "I know."

  o0o

  Bundled in Ty's heavy sweatshirt, I stared blankly at the cell phone pressed into my hand.

  "You need to call your parents. Tell them you're running late so they won't worry," he said softly.

  My fingers felt numb as I dialed my house, mumbling a quick apology to my father for missing dinner and failing to call. Luckily, he assumed I was with Ty the entire time and didn't notice my stilted voice across the line. I closed the phone. "Now what?"

  "Now we go to my house to clean up. My parents are out and there's no way I can send you home in that condition."

  I looked out the window as the town passed by. Feeling like a complete baby for letting everything upset me, I willed myself to snap out it. After all, it wasn't me who had been stabbed—died—only to be brought back. But I couldn't seem to do it. When Ty pulled into his driveway, I still hadn't uttered a word.

  Once inside, Ty gently pushed me into the bathroom. "There's a robe hanging on the back of the door—shower and we'll wash your clothes."

  When the hot spray pounded down on me, I willed my limbs to spring back to life. I didn't want to play the helpless female—I needed to be strong.

  I lathered my hair and basked in the familiar spice of Ty's shampoo. It seemed very intimate to be in his shower, his things surrounding me. When I wrapped his robe around myself, I paused with eyes closed, taking in his masculine scent as I buried my nose in the thick terrycloth.

  Even though the robe skimmed the tops of my feet, when I stepped into his room I felt almost naked before him. A warmth spread through my cheeks and across my chest when he turned from busily straightening his bedding. Here he was, my childhood friend—my best friend—and I felt suddenly shy in his presence.

  "Your turn," I said.

  His eyes swept over me. I swallowed hard. I knew everything about the boy before me, but the closest I'd ever come to being undressed before him was when we were kids scampering about in bathing suits out on the back lawn.

  "Come here." He motioned me over to his bed and pulled back the covers so I could crawl inside. "I'll be out in ten minutes."

  The sound of running water filtered out to me as I struggled to stay awake. My lids felt heavy and the next thing I knew, I awoke to a slight shift in the mattress. Ty, dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, curled up behind me and pulled me tightly against him. My head fell back on his shoulder and his warm breath stirred the hair around my ear.

  "We need to wash our clothes," I said.

  "In a few minutes." He clicked off the lamp beside the bed. In the darkness, his body surrounded me—warm, protective.

  "Did you know?" I whispered. "That you'd heal, I mean?"

  "No."

  The gravity of his answer sank in. He could've died tonight.

  "Can I ask you something?"

  "Anything."

  I hesitated, unsure of how to phrase it. "That night on my porch...the night we almost... Was that the night it happened?"

  The silence stretched between us, but finally he whispered, "Yes. I..." He snorted softly in the darkness. "I couldn't sleep. I was too worked up after what happened...restless."

  A
heat bloomed in my cheeks.

  "I decided a walk in the woods would be the answer. Something came out of the darkness... That's all I remember."

  A shiver went through me and he clutched me tighter.

  "It'll be okay, Mac."

  I rubbed my chin against the soft cotton of his pillow. I wasn't prepared to face the implications of it all. Had someone watched us that night—waited for us to separate? Had my father not come out, would Ty have avoided all of this? Some small part of me was relieved it hadn't been me. I knew I'd never be strong enough to cope with such a thing.

  "Do you think she'll be okay?" I asked. After cleaning up the library, we'd sent Melanie on her way. She had seemed so lost and alone.

  "Yeah, strangely enough, I do."

  "She said she saw Kim murdered. Saw what attacked her."

  He stiffened. "I know. We need to talk to her as soon as possible."

  "I'll look for her first thing."

  "Alone?"

  "Yeah, I think it might be better that way." I squeezed his hand. "Does that bother you?"

  "No." Something in his voice belied his words. "Maybe. Hell, I don't know. I guess I haven't grown used to the idea that I could be a killer."

  I flipped around and narrowed my eyes. "Stop saying things like that. Until we prove you did it, you're innocent in my book."

  A grim smile played on his lips. "I'm afraid we'll find out I'm guilty as charged."

  "I don't believe that for a minute."

  He pressed his lips to my forehead. "I know. Thank you."

  "That's better." My cheek dropped down to his chest and I snuggled in close, relieved to hear his heartbeat pounding in a steady rhythm beneath me.

  About to drift off, I barely heard the soft words he whispered in the dark. "I just hope you're right."

  Chapter 8

  I awoke to glaring sunshine heating my face. It took a moment to remember where I was, and when Ty pulled me closer, spooning me from behind, I didn't want to move lest I wake him. His hand slid against my skin and my eyes popped open when I realized it traced along the inside of my robe, which to my utter horror, had come loose in my sleep. Although the belt was still knotted around my waist, the flap parted to reveal a great deal of naked flesh. The covers were pooled around my knees. I struggled to inch them upward and pull my robe closed. Ty's hand made the latter impossible.

  "Mmm, morning." Ty's voice was husky as he softly whispered in my ear.

  Oh heavens.

  "Morning." My eyes widened slightly, waiting to see if he'd realize where his hand rested. Right now it lay innocently on my stomach, but a few inches up or down and we'd be in one seriously compromising position. "Sleep well?" I chanced a peek over my shoulder at him. His eyes were closed, only half awake at this point.

  A knock came at the door, I watched as his sleepy green eyes registered where his hand rested just seconds before we both sprang out of bed. He faced the opposite wall while I struggled to pull my robe closed.

  "Time to get up, Ty!" The door muffled Mrs. O'Neill's voice and in a moment of panic, I fell on the floor and out of view behind the bed.

  "I'm up!" Ty's head appeared above me. "What are you doing?"

  You'd think it would be fairly obvious. "Hiding—in case she comes in."

  "You think my mother's going to come in here? You really have no idea about mother/son relationships, do you?"

  Fair enough. I guess I didn't. Come to think of it, my father would never think of barging into my room without gaining permission either. "How am I going to get out of here without freaking them out?"

  My bloodied clothes still lay pooled on the bathroom floor and putting them back on wasn't an option.

  "How do you feel about scaling walls?"

  "Not good?" I eyed his window dubiously. "I haven't done that since I was twelve."

  "Front door it is, then." He went to his dresser and tossed some sweats and a T-shirt to me. "Hurry and get dressed."

  He disappeared into his bathroom. I hastily pulled on the clothes. They were a joke. Even with the waist cinched all the way, the pants were too loose to allow me to drop my grip. The legs pooled around my ankles and I quickly rolled them up. I snorted softly as I glimpsed the white T-shirt he'd thrown me. "Boys," I murmured as I pulled out a colored one from his drawer.

  The bathroom door cracked open. "Are you decent?"

  "So to speak."

  His head popped out. "I knew I was hoping for too much with that white T-shirt."

  I groaned. "And I'm the pervert?"

  With one hand in Ty's and the other clutching the sweatpants, I slowly crept behind him as we descended his front staircase. The sound of clinking silverware carried from the kitchen, his parents' voices raised in morning conversation. We both froze when my stomach rumbled loudly, my nose having picked up a whiff of bacon. Nothing happened and we continued.

  Ty quietly unlocked the front door and ushered me onto the porch. Once we were both clear of the house, we ran across the yard and through the cover of the trees until my back door came into view. I could picture my parents inside, most likely eating breakfast. If I was extremely lucky, neither of them would have discovered my absence by now.

  "I guess I better go through the front—maybe I can get in without them seeing me." I offered him a weak smile before I started to rush forward. He pulled me back.

  "Think we can top our first kiss?" He spoke softly.

  My heart leapt into my throat. I didn't have time to respond before his lips touched mine.

  My arms slowly rose to wrap around his neck as he pulled me tightly against him. The kiss was tentative at first, a slow exploration as we grew accustomed to one another. When his tongue brushed against mine, a soft sigh escaped me.

  He broke away, pressing his forehead to mine. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

  Unable to sever the connection, the moment stretched on as we stood locked together.

  Cupping the back of my head, he kissed me again. His lips were so soft and undemanding when he trailed them across my cheeks. I knew this was the way it should've been but never was with David. This was right.

  With one last brush against my lips, he released me.

  o0o

  Focus proved to be a big issue for me throughout my morning classes. When my thoughts weren't preoccupied with thoughts of werewolves, the memory of Ty's kiss played havoc with my emotions, the whisper of it lingering on my lips. Pressing my fingers to them yet again, I replayed the moment over and over as my teacher rambled on about French verb conjugations.

  Finally, the bell interrupted my teacher's droning voice. I dashed into the hall and stood on tiptoe to scan the groups of students milling about. I hoped to catch Melanie between classes, worried she might run the other way if I tried to sit down at her table for lunch. I spotted her dark head poked into a locker and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Her expression gave me the distinct impression she was scared to see me. Well, she had tried to kill Ty the night before.

  "Hey," she said.

  "Hi."

  We sized each other up, silent messages passing between us. She wanted to know if I could get past what she had done. I needed to know if I could trust her.

  "How's Ty?" she asked.

  "He's okay."

  She released a slow breath at this, and nodded.

  I lowered my voice. "Listen, we need to talk—about everything."

  "You're right, because if Ty wasn't the one who attacked Kim, I think you may be in big trouble."

  Her words startled me. I hadn't mentioned the incident during the game, so how could she know? "What do you mean?"

  She shifted nervously, her eyes drifting through the hall, surveying the students crowded around us. "Not here. Meet me at the clock tower during lunch. There's something I need to show you."

  On that eerie note, she slammed her locker shut and rushed away with her books tucked under her arm.

  Gulping down the lump lodged in my throat, I headed towar
d English class...and Ty. My step had an extra bounce in it, and I told myself to chill. No matter how long I had wished for this, it couldn't have happened at a worse time. Right now I needed to focus on helping Ty, not on how cute he looked as he approached.

  Dressed in loose khakis and a green lightweight sweater that highlighted his beautiful eyes, he looked fantastic. Tousled dark hair and a sexy smile completed the look. I fought the urge to jump on him right then and there.

  "Hey." He leaned in close and I expected him to kiss me again. He didn't. "Did you talk to Melanie yet?"

  Flustered and disappointed, I pretended to study the cover of my book. "Yeah. We're meeting at lunch to talk."

  "Good—maybe by comparing notes we'll be able to figure something out."

  "Let's hope." I paused, chastising myself for letting his close proximity distract me. "Guess we better head inside."

  "Wait," he said. He took my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

  Jenna, seated near the front of the classroom, stopped mid-conversation to give us a derisive look when we stepped inside. "I think I'm going to be sick."

  Ty squeezed my hand before we took our seats.

  I returned Jenna's mocking expression. "For someone who hates me, you sure pay a lot of attention to what I'm doing."

  She scowled. "Whatever."

  I watched the back of her blonde head and realized I didn't have any regrets over her lost friendship. If there was anything to be disappointed over, it was that it took me so long to realize she wasn't the kind of person I should've placed my trust in to begin with. I'd wasted a lot of time and I had no intention of going back.

  Shaking my head, I pulled out my homework and reached behind to collect the papers of those seated in the back. Ty caught my eye and winked. He understood and that was enough for me.

  o0o

  The one feature I loved most about our school was the clock tower. Located in the middle of the foremost wing of the building, it towered above the entrance, its spiraling staircase leading up to one of the most breathtaking views I'd ever beheld. From the top of the tower—off limits to most students—the town of Eddington sprawled, its Victorian homes and quaint business district embedded in the encroaching woods that seemed to spread as far as the eye could see.