Dark Moon by Elizabeth Kelly Read Free Book Online

or how much she wanted the human.
    Leo stretched again, groaning as he placed his hand in the small of his back, before smiling at her.  “Who are you on watch with this morning, Sophia?”
    “Ian.  He’s not here yet?”  Sophia asked.
    “No.”  Leo looked in the direction of the house, obviously anxious to get to its warmth, and Sophia smiled at him.
    “You and Martine go on.  I’m sure Ian will be here soon.”
    “Nope.”  Martine shook her head.  “We’ll wait until he arrives.  You know your father’s rules as well as I do, Sophia.  No one is out here alone.”
    Sophia opened her mouth to protest and then stiffened.  She inhaled deeply, and Martine watched as an odd combination of anxiety and anticipation crossed her face.
    Kaden appeared behind her.  “Good morning.”
    “Hello.”  Martine gave him a hesitant smile.  “How are you today?”
    “Fine, thanks.”  He nodded to her and Leo as he stopped next to Sophia.
    “Why are you here?”  Sophia asked rudely.
    “I’m on watch with you this morning.”
    “It’s supposed to be Ian.  Where is he?”
    Before he could reply, Leo and Martine said their goodbyes and disappeared in the direction of the house.
    “Where is he?”  She repeated herself.
    “He wasn’t feeling well this morning.”
    “Not feeling well?  What’s wrong with him?”  Sophia frowned.  “Did he go to see mama?”
    “He said it was just a headache.  He didn’t sleep well and wanted to rest a while longer.  I’m sure he’ll be fine by this afternoon.”  Kaden didn’t share his sneaking suspicion that Ian had been faking his headache.  Ever since the old man had walked in on them in the barn, he had been making all sorts of less-than-subtle hints to Kaden about how wonderful Sophia was.  It seemed that he had gone from gentle hints to outright matchmaking.
    They stood in awkward silence for a moment.  Kaden glanced around the woods.  “So, what do we do?”
    Sophia shrugged.  “We stand here and keep watch.”
    “Sounds like fun.”
    “If you don’t want to do it, just say so.  We’ve been doing it for weeks without you.”
    He scowled at her.  “Only because you didn’t tell me.”
    She didn’t reply and he gave her a hard look.  “What’s your problem with me today, Lycan?”
    “I don’t have a problem with you.”  She snapped.
    “Could have fooled me.”  He muttered.
    She rolled her eyes.  “Are all humans this sensitive or just you?”
    “Are all Lycans this rude or just you?”  He replied.
    Sophia sighed harshly and stared into the trees.  She was being rude, but at least it had stopped the smell of need coming from Kaden.  She didn’t think she could stand out here for an entire four hours, smelling how much he wanted her, without trying to have sex with him.
    * * *
     
    “Why are you looking at me like that?”
    Sophia jerked and looked at the ground.  It had been two hours, and she hadn’t realized she was staring at Kaden until he had looked over at her with barely-concealed irritation.
    “I wasn’t looking at you.”  She scowled at the ground.
    “You’ve been staring at me for ten minutes.  Why?”
    “Fine!”  She glared at him.  “I was just thinking that for siblings, you and Bree are oddly different looking.”
    “Nicholas doesn’t look anything like you or your other siblings.”  He countered.
    “Nicky is my half-brother.”
    He raised his eyebrows at her.  “He’s not Tristan’s son?”
    She shook her head.  “No, he is not.”
    “Does he know?”
    “Of course.  Papa and mama sat him down when he was ten and told him.”
    He gave her a questioning look and she scuffed at the frozen ground with her boot for a moment.  “When I was two, my mother left my father and went to the city.  She had grown up there, and I guess she hated living in the country.  Papa went after us and spent weeks searching, but the city is large and my mother had hidden us well.  I did not see my