Read Hunter Moon (The Moon Series) for Free Online

liking nothing better than messing with the kid. “Paging Oedipus, party of one.”
    “You’re hopeless. I’m going to talk to Kess.” Rafe pushed himself up.
    “Hold up, hold up,” Finn said, putting up a hand to stop him. “I’ll be serious.” He waited until Rafe sat back down, looking at him dubiously. “So what’s going on at the ol’ homestead?”
    Rafe squinted against the bright sun, finally closing his eyes against the glare. Finn passed him his shades. “Thanks.” He paused, then began. “Some strange stuff has been happening out by the lake—you know, where Kess and you guys fought my mom and the pack.”
    Finn nodded. He remembered the area that Rafe was referring to. Not much out there but scrub land and a lake that probably held no appeal even for fish. But it was fine for weres to run around in animal form, although the animals that had once been there were all hunted out now. Not much traffic outside of weres visited the place.
    “Yeah, I know where you’re talking about. What kind of strange stuff?”
    Rafe shrugged. “The guy who I was talking to couldn’t give me too much. Strange people in town, but they didn’t stay long. And then a hyena went missing. Some weird prints and signs found out by the lake.” Rafe shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of it, but the guy who called me is pretty reliable. He’s not one to just make up stories or get spooked easy.”
    “Can you trust him?” Finn knew that Rafe wasn’t what anyone would call well-liked after his betrayal of his mother, and the surviving hyenas were wary of the kid. It didn’t matter that Samara had gotten most of her pack killed off; what mattered is that Rafe had betrayed his pack leader. Most of them refused to even acknowledge Rafe’s existence.
    Rafe nodded. “He’s an independent—didn’t get too involved with the politics of the pack and never really swore allegiance to my mom.”
    Finn raised his eyebrows. “I’m surprised your mom let him stick around. She struck me as an all-or-nothing kind of woman.”
    Rafe grimaced. “That’s a pretty polite way of putting it.”
    “I’m a polite kind of guy.” Finn put his arms behind his head.
    “You’re a tool.” Rafe shot back.
    “That’s Mr. Tool to you. You’ve got to show respect for your betters,” Finn replied lazily, not at all offended.
    “Anyway,” Rafe said, ignoring Finn’s creaky attempts at humor, “Mom kept hoping she’d get Shane to come around.” From Rafe’s voice, Finn knew exactly what Samara meant by coming around.
    “I take it Shane never did.” Rafe shook his head. “So he’s been reporting back to you?”
    “Not really. I mean, he only calls to let me know if something’s up. There aren’t a lot of hyenas left in my old territory, but there are still a few troublemakers. Shane keeps an eye on them, but so far everything’s been quiet.”
    “Until now.” At Rafe’s nod, Finn grinned. “Sound like it’s time for a road trip.”
    This sounded just like the thing Finn needed to distract him from the lack of his lady in his everyday life. A little mystery, a short trip up the panhandle, a new town to scope out. He was going more than a little stir crazy in the house, runs on the beach notwithstanding. He didn’t like admitting it, but he missed his brother and his cousin more than he missed Laila. He’d grown up with them, and with a very close-knit family. Being on his own was strange and unpleasant for him.
    Finn knew that he wasn’t exactly alone. Kess was here and so was Rafe, and occasionally another wereleopard or two would drop by. But Kess was solitary by nature, and Rafe—while good company— was in high school most days. Finn was used to a constant roar in the house, to people coming and going, to loud voices and boisterous laughter. Everything was so quiet and still most days that he thought he was going to lose his mind.
    “You want to come with me?” Rafe asked, clearly not trusting the