Dark Guardian - Moonlight Part 7

"No, not Lucas." I wasn't sure how I knew it wasn't him-or perhaps a better way to say it was that I

would know if itwere him. The way he watched me felt very different. It felt protective. This seemed . . . threatening. "We should probably go." I got to my feet. "Thought we were going to wait until I spotted a shooting star." "We haven't even been watching the sky. And seriously. I've got a bad feeling. We need to get back."

"It's just because we started talking about danger."

I started rubbing my arms. "That's not it. Come on, Mason. Lucas is going to push us again tomorrow. I need to get some sleep."

He reluctantly scrambled to his feet. "Okay."

I grabbed the beer cans and shoved them into his arms. "They might be lighter, but you guys are still going to have to carry them. We can't trash the forest."

"Guess bringing beer wasn't such a smart idea after all." I could see his grin. "Except it gave me some

time alone with you."

As we headed back to camp I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something watching us, something dangerous. Then I saw it, lost in the shadows of the trees a little ways away. Only its s.h.i.+ning gray eyes were visible. A wolf. It poked its head out only a fraction, but it was enough for me to see that

it was black. Solid black.

It was watching us.

Lucas had said that wolves didn't attack humans, but I wasn't so sure.

"Hey, I saw a wolf like that the night I followed you to the birthday party," Mason said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I nearly had a heart attack, right on the spot. It just stepped out of the shadows as I was heading back to the cabin."

What I was feeling tonight was a lot like what I'd felt that night. Why would a wolf be following me?

"You think it's dangerous?" Mason asked.

Yes!my mind screamed.

"I don't know," I replied. I did know that I didn't trust this wolf. Something about it sent off a signal that it was looking for trouble. Either that or I'd had one beer too many.

SIX.

It was late the next afternoon when we reached the roaring river. The water flowed rapidly, creating cresting, white-capped waves. Even though it wasn't terribly deep, it appeared incredibly dangerous.

I watched with my heart in my throat as Lucas waded across it. A knotted rope secured to a tree on the bank was tied around his waist. If he slipped, it would stop him from being carried downstream. Once he arrived at the other bank, he'd secure it to another tree, forming a line across the river the rest of us could hold on to. He was almost midstream and the water was cras.h.i.+ng wildly around his hips, which meant it would be at my waist, maybe even higher.

The element of danger sent adrenaline and a measure of excitement pumping through me. This was going to be fun, not to mention challenging. I loved the water almost as much as I loved hiking. I was antic.i.p.ating testing my skills against the raging river.

"Hey, Kayla, want to help us over here?" Brittany asked.

I glanced over. They'd inflated a yellow raft and were loading the supplies onto it. Mason and his group were loading another raft with the crate they were hauling, a crate that was a little lighter today.

I knelt beside our raft and began las.h.i.+ng things down.

"You and Mason seemed pretty tight last night," Lindsey said.

"Just stargazing." I didn't know why I suddenly felt self-conscious about spending time with him. "He's never seen a shooting star."

"Yeah, right," Brittany said. "Campers are always using that excuse to get time alone with a sherpa."

"No, seriously," I insisted.

Brittany laughed lightly. "It's not a problem. He's cute."

She was right about that.

"Lucas will probably leave one of us behind to keep an eye on them," Lindsey said.

"Is that normal?" I asked. Lindsey had stayed with us last summer, but we'd only been in the park for about a week.

"Yeah, especially if they go far into the wilderness like this group is doing. The last thing the park wants is a reputation for campers getting into trouble."

"Who'll stay behind?"

"Don't know yet. Whoever draws the short straw, probably," Brittany said. "Since you like Mason, maybe it'll be you."

A victorious yell echoed around us. It came from Connor and Rafe, who'd been standing at the bank, serving as spotters. I guessed if Lucas had lost his balance or went under, one of them planned to dive in after him. Not sure what good that would have done. . . .

But it was all moot. He'd made it safely to the other side. I wasn't sure why I felt so proud of him, as though his victory was mine. He tied off the rope before stripping off his T-s.h.i.+rt and hanging it over a bush to dry. Even from this distance, I could appreciate the beauty of his bare torso. It was early June and he was already sporting a perfect tan. He didn't strike me as a tanning booth kind of guy. He loved the outdoors as much as I did, so that tan was all natural.

As he turned, I also noticed something on his left back shoulder. A birthmark? A tattoo? It looked too perfect. It had to be ink.Isn't that interesting? I wondered what he thought was important enough that he wanted it to be a permanent part of his body. I also couldn't deny that I found the idea of tattoos s.e.xy-when they were well done. His, even from this distance, was definitely s.e.xy.

"We're done over here," Mason said.

I startled at his sudden announcement and his nearness-as though I'd been caught doing something I shouldn't have been doing. Thank goodness he wasn't a mind reader. He wouldn't have appreciated my thoughts about Lucas. But then, how much loyalty did I owe Mason? We'd only watched the stars together.

"Kayla, have you got a second?" he asked.

I looked at Lindsey and Brittany. They both shrugged.

"We're almost done," Lindsey hesitantly offered, as though she wasn't sure if I was looking for an excuse not to leave.

I got up from my crouch and followed Mason a short distance until we were away from the others. "What's up?" I asked.

"Haven't really had much time to talk with you today. Wish Lucas would set you free."

I smiled. "He's not my prison guard."

"Then maybe when we get to the other side of the river, you can tell him you want to walk with me. Or maybe I should tell him."

"I don't know if he's open to suggestions like that, but I'll talk to him."

"Great. You know the problem with camping for a month is that it totally destroys your dating life. I mean, what if I wanted to ask you out on a date? It's not like we could go to the movies."

I grinned, thinking I might know where this was going-and feeling incredibly flattered. "That's true."

"But a candlelit dinner-"

"A can of beans over candlelight?"

"Hey, it's not the food, it's the company, and I did bring a candle. So maybe tonight . . ."

He let the words trail off, forming a safe question.If I was interested . . .

Was I? I s.h.i.+fted my gaze toward the water. Lucas was on his way back. I couldn't see him being romantic. Although he had been sweet that first night when I'd needed to wander. Sweet? Not exactly a word I'd ever thought to a.s.sociate with Lucas. Why was it that no matter what I was doing, I was thinking about him? It was insane, especially when I had a guy practically asking me out on a date- here in the wilderness.

"Dinner by candlelight tonight. Absolutely."

"Cool. We'll sneak away."

My inner adventure girl was feeling wicked. "Great. I'll catch you later."

I walked back over to where Lindsey and Brittany were tucking a few more things into the raft. The thought was that the less we all had to carry, the easier it would be for us to get across. Our backpacks, boots, and anything that would weigh us down went into the raft.

Once three rafts were fully loaded, the guys hauled them into the water. Lucas, Connor, and Rafe struggled to get the supply raft across the river. Behind them, Dr. Keane, Mason, and Ethan waged their own battle against the river as they guided their raft of secret equipment. David, Jon, and Tyler were pus.h.i.+ng the last raft, which carried the grad students' backpacks and miscellaneous items.

The rest of us waited on the bank of the river.

"Talk about s.e.xist-like we're not strong enough to get the rafts across," Monique said.

"Works for me," Lindsey said. "Let them do all the hard work."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to impress Dr. Keane. I can't wait until we reach our destination and can really get down to business."

"And what is that exactly?" I asked. I was still a little confused about what they planned to achieve.

"Discovering the source of the werewolf legend in this wilderness. It's part of Dr. Keane's academic focus."

"You think you're going to find a book lying around somewhere?"

She gave me an indulgent smile. "Something like that. They know we're coming. The wolves. Don't you hear them at night?" I thought about the one I'd seen last night. I wondered if I should mention it to Lucas. Something about the wolf seemed ominous. If it was rabid, it probably would have attacked. I was probably just getting more wary as we got farther away from civilization, out of my comfort zone.

"Wolves howl," Brittany said. "It's what they do."

"Whatever." Monique nodded toward the river. "Lucas is so hot. I can't believe he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"I think he's one of those guys who believes in waiting for the right girl," Lindsey said.

"Yeah, right. The strong, silent type? Always a player. Take it from me. I've seen enough of them on campus to know."

"You go to the same university?" I asked, surprised by her words.

"No, we're from Virginia. Lucas said he's going to school in Michigan."

"Yep," Lindsey said. "Track scholars.h.i.+p."

"Guess I could always transfer," Monique said, never taking her eyes off him as he and the others hauled the rafts onto the bank.

"Okay, looks like it's our turn to head across," Brittany said.

Lindsey and I stepped into the river. The cold water was powerful as it streamed around my calves. Lindsey and I reached back to give Brittany and Monique a hand-hold and helped steady them against the rus.h.i.+ng water. When they were on their way across, Lindsey saluted me and began to make her way toward the distant sh.o.r.e.

Lucas had designated that I go last. I didn't fool myself into thinking that he thought I was special. He'd probably read my sherpa application and knew I was a strong swimmer. I'd been on the high school swim team and had tried out for the Olympic team. I missed making it by a few hundredths of a second. So although no one was watching my back, I wasn't worried.

Since we were leaving Dr. Keane's group and would return to the ranger village using this route, we were just going to keep the rope secured here so it would be ready when we got back to this spot. Most of our supplies would remain with Dr. Keane, so we could move more swiftly heading back.

I waited until Lindsey was almost three fourths of the way across before I started making my way. I gripped the rope hard and fought against the powerful rus.h.i.+ng water. Without the rope, I knew I couldn't have kept my balance, couldn't have stayed upright. The currents were wild and turbulent. The water had risen to my waist when I felt a quick tug on the rope. The strange vibration reminded me of the way the fis.h.i.+ng line grew taut when I went fis.h.i.+ng with my adoptive dad and we had a nibble.

Brittany and Monique had made it to sh.o.r.e. Lindsey continued on-she hadn't felt the unusual jerk on the rope, as it had started behind me and traveled only up to my hand. Suddenly I felt another one of those strange sensations of being watched that had dogged me ever since that first night when Lindsey had arranged the surprise party for me. In spite of the warnings sounding inside my head, I stopped and glanced back. Because it was so late in the afternoon, the shadows were lengthening. I couldn't see anything. I supposed it could have been a bird-a big bird-landing and flying off.

"Kayla!"

Even over the roaring of the river, I recognized Lucas's voice and the impatience in it. I turned back toward the distant sh.o.r.e. Lindsey was just making her way out of the water. I knew why Lucas was upset with me. I was the holdup. Lucas wanted to make some more progress before nightfall. The guy didn't know the meaning of meandering or taking it easy. With him it was all about pus.h.i.+ng to the limits, his limits and- The rope suddenly snapped. The tumultuous water pushed my legs out from beneath me and I dropped beneath it. I lost my hold on the lax rope and started frantically searching for it. It was gone. But worst of all, I couldn't draw in air. I was completely submerged and caught in the current. My lungs were burning, my chest tightening.

I fought to get my footing, but the chaotic water was propelling me along. I couldn't find the river bottom. I must have gone into deeper- Slam!

I hit a boulder or a rock or something incredibly huge and hard. It knocked the last of my breath out of me. I started battling to get to the surface. My lungs were on fire; my chest was aching. I didn't know if it was going to cave in or explode. It felt like it was capable of doing both at the same time.

I broke through to the surface, gasped for air, and went back under the water. I had to get control. I fought back the rising panic and the fear of dying.

I'm not going to drown. I refuse to drown.

I struggled to lift my face out of the roiling current and rolled to my back. Where had the turbulent rapids come from? The water moved faster here. It was stronger. How far had I traveled? It seemed like miles.