Page 80 of Moon Tamed

I rolled my eyes. “You’re something else, Calden. Let’s get this stuff paid for before your father figures out something’s amiss and tries to put an end to our escape.”

“Wise idea.”

EIGHTEEN

I think I’ve had my fill of wine for at least another few weeks.

Curiosity ate away at me, but Calden refused to let me see what was in his basket, blocking my view of the cashier while she rang everything up. I giggled at his effort and let him accomplish his goals. I would see everything soon enough.

So would he.

I foresaw a great deal of trouble, a request for a date so I could get around my own rules, and a weekend I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

Once paid for, Calden gave me one of the tigers. “You’ll have to give her a name. Mine’s going to be named Mr. Ferocious the Tiger. I’ll call him Ferocious for short. Or Mr. Tiger when I want to drive my father up a wall.”

“When wouldn’t you want to drive him up a wall, though?”

“While you make a good point, I’m pretending I’m a good son for a few minutes.”

I tucked my new tiger under my arm and made a grab for one of the bags, but Calden defended the clothes, warding me away with his elbow. By the time we made it to his SUV, we both laughed, which made it harder to steal some of the burden.

“I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you. You’re one of the helpful types. Helpful types simply don’t know when to quit.”

As I’d lost the battle, I claimed the front passenger seat and put my new tiger on my lap, making a show at sulking over my defeat. “I’m going to lose so badly at the hunt. Monday morning, my lack of general physical prowess will be displayed for the entire faction and my brother to see. I might be able to claim a victory after making everyone laugh so hard at me.”

“You’ll be fine. There are some Hunters who are so bad at the hunt games we run a betting pool to see who can lose with the most grace, the least grace, and in the most hilarious fashions. We even have prizes for the most dramatic of losers. You’ll get to see everything from death scene reenactments to marriage proposals by the time we’re done. Sometimes, the marriage proposals are even accepted.” After making sure the SUV was appropriately loaded, he got behind the wheel. “We just need to hit one of the night grocers for a few of the basics, and then we’ll be on the road.”

“Just no wine. I think I’ve had my fill of wine for at least another few weeks.”

“Same here.”

Two and a half hours after leaving the grocery store, Calden parked his SUV at the end of a dirt trail at the edge of an aging forest. Moss-ladened vines dangled from thick branches, casting shadows on the ground in the few places the moonlight managed to penetrate the canopy.

“How far away is where you want to camp?” I asked, tearing myself away from the mystery of the woods to help him unload the vehicle. “Did I accidentally sign myself up for a great deal of exercise?”

“It’s about a five minute walk along a deer track, so it’s not a bad hike. I know of more remote spots, but this is one of my favorites. This is where I go when I manage to escape my father.” He pointed in the rough direction of the main road, some ten minutes away. “My father’s horse ranch is that way about thirty minutes, so I’ve done a lot of daytime exploring in this area. Not a lot of people come this way. There’s no good fishing, the hunting is limited to a lot of rabbits and some deer, and it’s generally quiet compared to the better hunting grounds. There’s a section of woods about twenty miles from here Dad has stocked with prey so the shapeshifters can hunt without killing the environment.”

“Where do you get the animals to stock the forest?”

“We have an entire section of our faction dedicated to wildlife management. There is a farm where we raise a bunch of prey species and release them into the wild whenever the wild populations take a hit. They’re raised wild at the farm, but we keep them generally contained so they have higher-than-normal survival rates. We even keep meat rabbits. We just weren’t prepared for the evacuation, because that had a lot more mouths to feed than our normal.”

“Except Earth sent over a lot of meat rabbits,” I replied.

“There are plenty of rabbits for everyone to say the least. I’m sure we’ll be able to fill up both coolers with our kills, and there’s enough ice in both to last the weekend. And if not? There’s a store twenty minutes away, so I can top us up on ice if it melts.”

“That works. I hope you know how to set up a tent in the dark because I don’t.”

Calden chuckled. “We’ll be fine. This time, I cheated and got a tent designed to be easy to set up and put away. I have better things to do this weekend than spend several hours fighting with an uncooperative tent.”

Once Calden had the tent set up, spacious enough for even four people, he went off to change into his wolf while I wiggled into the flannel pajamas he had provided for me. The presence of fluffy bunny slippers made me laugh.

Cold feet sucked, and I appreciated their warmth.

Calden returned as a wolf, larger than his father with a longer and thicker coat. Coloration wise, I couldn’t tell the difference between them beyond Calden having a darker nose. The urge to pet him got the better of me, and I went to work digging my fingers in his fur.

The few times I’d petted Calden’s father, I’d found him to have a coarse texture, his overcoat consisting of tougher, bristly strands. Calden’s coat would bring in a fortune with the crafters and artisans, softer than most of the rabbit fur I brought to them.

When presented with that much temptation, I couldn’t resist. I buried my face into his fur and delighted in his warmth. His wolf form convinced me.

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