All Chapters of Moonbound: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

For several long seconds after Lena quietly closed the office door, neither Emily nor Kael moved.The silence wasn't uncomfortable.It was...unexpected.Emily couldn't explain why simply standing in the same room as this man made her feel calmer than she had in days. It wasn't attraction—not yet, anyway.It was familiarity.As if she'd walked into a room she'd somehow forgotten she owned.Kael felt the exact opposite.Every instinct inside him was screaming.His wolf wanted to pace.To memorize her scent.To make absolutely certain she was unharmed.Instead, years of discipline held him perfectly still.He forced himself to breathe.One slow breath.Then another.Emily finally broke the silence."So..."She smiled sheepishly."I promise I'm not usually this awkward."A corner of Kael's mouth lifted."Neither am I."She laughed."I don't believe you.""No?""You seem like someone who's always composed.""If Noah told you that...""He didn't.""...then he's a terrible liar."Emily laugh

The breeze still drifted lazily across the top of the old fire lookout tower.Neither Emily nor Kael spoke for several moments after he brushed the strand of hair behind her ear.The moment had caught both of them off guard.Emily wasn't embarrassed.She was...curious.There had been something about the touch.Warm.Comforting.Like taking a deep breath after holding it for far too long.She looked back toward the valley, hoping the view would distract her racing thoughts.Instead, she found herself smiling."I don't think I've ever seen anything this beautiful."Kael rested his forearms on the weathered railing beside her."You haven't."She looked over."You sound pretty confident.""I am.""You've traveled?""A little.""Where?"He thought for a moment."Alaska.""Colorado.""Washington.""The Canadian Rockies."Emily's eyebrows rose."You've been all over.""My work takes me to a lot of places.""And this is still your favorite?"He looked out across the mountains."There are pret

The smile on Adrian's face never wavered.He watched Emily continue down the trail until the trees swallowed her from view.Only then did the warmth disappear from his expression.His eyes shifted toward the forest."I know you're there," he said calmly.The woods remained silent.A moment later, Kael stepped onto the trail.His movements were slow and deliberate.Noah emerged a few feet behind him.Adrian wasn't surprised."I wondered how long it would take."Kael stopped several yards away."You've been watching her."It wasn't a question.Adrian slipped his hands into the pockets of his hiking jacket."I've only just arrived.""You knew her name.""I did.""How?"Adrian smiled."I don't believe that's your concern."The temperature seemed to drop.Noah shifted his weight, his eyes moving between the two men.There was something unnerving about Adrian.He didn't smell like the hunters.He didn't smell like a wolf, either.His scent was...faint.Almost impossible to place.Kael studi

The rest of the morning passed without incident.Emily and Noah worked their way upstream, stopping every few hundred yards to collect water samples, identify plant species, and record wildlife activity.Emily knelt beside the creek, carefully lowering a thermometer into the water."Fifty-three degrees," she said, jotting it into her notebook.Noah looked over her shoulder."You have ridiculously neat handwriting.""My third-grade teacher would be thrilled to hear that.""My third-grade teacher gave up."Emily laughed."I can believe it."Noah smiled to himself.For the first time in years, Kael wasn't the only one making the new employee feel welcome.Emily had an easy way about her.She asked questions because she genuinely wanted the answers.She noticed things most people overlooked.And she treated everyone she met with kindness.No wonder Kael had been smiling.By noon they were hiking back toward town.As the trees began to thin, colorful banners stretched across Main Street ca

By the time Emily returned to her cabin that evening, the sky had turned shades of orange and lavender.The meadow surrounding the little house glowed beneath the setting sun.She shut off the Jeep and sat for a moment with both hands resting on the steering wheel.She couldn't remember the last time she'd looked forward to waking up.Normally, work was work.She enjoyed her career, but every job eventually became schedules, paperwork, and deadlines.Black Hollow felt different.Every day held something new.A hidden waterfall.A family of deer.An old fire tower.Children waving from bicycles as she drove through town.And...Kael.She sighed and laughed at herself."You've known him three days."Yet she couldn't deny it.Every conversation with him lingered in her thoughts long after it ended.She admired how patient he was.How he listened before speaking.How every person in town seemed to trust him without question.It wasn't because he was in charge.It was because he genuinely