Shadow of the Moon Read Online Free PDF Page A

for life. We hang around in groups. But sitting there, Daniel gave the impression of being a loner.
    It made me want to connect with him, because I’d always felt like a loner among my own kind. Shifters weren’t comfortable around someone who knew what they were feeling. It was only with humans that I felt as if I belonged—but even then I knew that I really didn’t. They’d never accept a being who could shift. I had no place where I truly belonged. I straddled two worlds: the one that brought me peace and the one marked with danger that was my destiny.
    But Daniel belonged in the world of the Shifters. Did he just give the appearance of being a loner when he was around Statics? He didn’t appear uncomfortable. He looked totally relaxed. Yet he was also alone.
    I knew so little about him, and I couldn’t deny that I was fascinated by him. But I recognized that my fascination was a dangerous thing.
    “When he went after you, he left his hot chocolate at the counter and it got tossed,” Lisa said, holding up a mug. “I made him a new one. Do you want to take it to him?”
    Okay, her matchmaking attempts were starting to get a bit annoying. I knew she meant well, but how many ways could I say that I wasn’t interested in Daniel? “No. If he wants it, he can come get it.”
    “You really don’t like him. What’d he do?”
    “He came here.”
    “Okay, that makes no sense. He’s hot and he’s nice. His coming here is an awesome thing.”
    “Take him the chocolate,” I snapped—something I’d never done here in Athena. I’d experienced others’ anger, had never been comfortable with it, so had worked really hard to keep myself as even-keeled around people as I could.
    Lisa’s eyes widened, but then she shrugged and went around the counter and over to Daniel. He smiled at her. She sat on the coffee table near him, and I wondered if he’d made her knees go weak. It irritated me that she could be swayed by his charm. The thought brought me up short. Was I feeling jealous because she was taking such an interest in him?
    Actually, her interest in him could be a good thing. Maybe she could distract him. But as his gaze shifted back over to me, I realized he was not going to be easily sidetracked.
    “Hey, can I get some service over here?”
    I snapped my attention to a guy who was terribly sunburned. People were always underestimating what the sun could do in winter. They thought they could burn only if it was hot outside. “Sorry,” I told him. “What’ll you have?”
    Darkness had fallen long before we started to close up. Spike came out of his office and flicked the lights to signal it was time for people to leave. He was a contradiction. With his shaved head and tattoos on his neck and arms, he just didn’t look like the type of person who would make a living from hot beverages.
    When everyone was gone except Daniel, Spike went over to him. “Sorry, bud, we’re closing up.”
    “I’m waiting for Hayden,” Daniel said.
    Spike glanced back at me, and I knew that if I shook my head, Spike would escort Daniel out. Or he’d try. I had a feeling that despite Spike’s massive size, Daniel could whip his butt. So I nodded.
    “Way to go, girlfriend,” Lisa said, knocking her hip against mine.
    I felt my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment, so I turned my attention to wiping down the counter. I was acutely aware of Daniel striding over.
    “So tell me what I can do to get you out of here quicker,” he said.
    I had no desire to leave with him, but I also wasn’t a huge fan of cleaning up. The lesser of two evils. I tossed him a damp rag. “Wipe down all the tables and put the chairs on top of them.”
    With Daniel’s help, we finished with our closing procedures in record time. Sooner than I would have liked, I was bundled up and stepping out the back door with everyone else.
    “Don’t forget it’s Thrilling Thursday. Catch you later at Out of Bounds,” Lisa said with a wink and a grin before