Shepherd's Moon Read Online Free PDF

ignoring my ragged arm. It was too much to deal with right now, and I knew that to look at it would result in hysterics. Well, hysterics from Billy more than from me. Using my good arm to unclip my phone from its carrier, I punched in the code only to be greeted with a screen showing a long line of text messages from Richard. Ignoring them, I typed in a one-word response.
    Done.
    “Watch him,” I said to Billy, as I pressed send and moved to the area where the mysterious lion had appeared. I could sense nothing. There was no scent of big cat in the immediate area, a discovery that was baffling.
    “Do you smell a really big cat?” I asked. Dog’s noses were a million times more sensitive than humans. If the scent of lion was in the alley, Billy would pick up on it.
    He responded with a half-curious, half-amused chuff.
    “Humor me,” I mumbled.
    With a quick glance at the vampire, Billy ensured the creature was secure before exploring the alley. As he sniffed the night air, I knew what he was thinking—obviously, I’d had one to many blows to the head. Was it a cougar? A jaguar? Lion? What the hell would a lion be doing in an alley in the middle of Phoenix at dusk? I watched both he and the creature, doing my best to wring out my long braid with one hand. Billy moved further down the alley, knowing he wouldn’t find what I wanted. But, then—that isn’t unusual in our line of work. Half of this job is blind luck. The other half is just showing up.
    I wondered how long it would take Richard to show up and claim his prize, hoping he wouldn’t take too long to reach us. Billy was not known for his patience and when phased, he outweighed me by nearly 50 pounds. While I wasn’t completely confident in my ability to control the situation if he ever turned on me, it did give me a little more respect for the leash laws in this state. We moved back to the Newborn who was now silent.
    “Can you hold him awhile longer?”
    Billy growled, offended by the question.
    When shifted, he could pick up on my feelings a bit easier. That is, unless I had my guard up.
    And lately, my guard was always up.
    On one level, that was comforting, because until I understood what we were dealing with in terms of the invisible protector who had long since disappeared into the night, I didn’t need Billy involved. He would only worry, and when he was worried about me—the only thing he ever seemed to take seriously — he wasn’t focused.
    Nudging my injured arm, he licked it softly until I placed it gently on the coarse scruff of his neck. Together we stood in silence awaiting transport as the pelting rain subsided to a soft drizzle…

“I’m not going to go talk to your neighbor’s cat, Richard.”
    My boss, at least my boss for the next two years, studied me as I stood near the window, his eyes thoughtful. Richard is handsome in a mature sort of way — of that there is no doubt. Most of his department calls him the George Clooney of Weird, primarily due to his association with us.
    Cradling my bandaged arm, I stared through the silk leaves of the fabricated foliage that adorned his large office at Phoenix Metro, trying to get a decent view out the window, but all I could see was the parking lot. Bored with our conversation, I scanned the office. Nothing in the room spoke of a life outside of work. If I hadn’t known him since I began living with Joseph and Isabo, I would think he had no other life. The entire office was devoid of anything personal. Richard had always been good in keeping his personal and business lives separate — a concept I had very little familiarity with.
    Other than a few books, there was nothing to suggest that he had any interests outside of police work.
    Scanning the titles, I reached for a random text, which happened to be on deviant psychology, and thumbed through it.
    “I told you, Alex, it’s not a normal domestic.” He stood and circled the desk, taking the book from my hands and placing it back into