Long Snows Moon by Stacey Darlington

okay? Where is
she?”
    “She’s fine. She’s at my store, safe and
sound.”
    “Your store?” Devon tried to stand but only
managed to get to her knees.
    “Let me help you.” Jameson lowered the
flashlight and knelt in front of her.
    Devon gasped when she saw Jameson. “It's
you.” She touched Jameson's face. “Is it really you? I mean is this
real?”
    “Yes, I'm real.” Jameson placed Devon's hand
over her heart so she could feel it beating. “I have longed for
you.”
    “That's exactly what you always say in my
fantasies, that's how I know you are just another
hallucination.”
    “You're having hallucinations?” Jameson
grinned. “Tell me more.”
    “I’ve been out here for what seems like days,
in these haunted woods, looking for Moon. I keep having delusions
of animals who speak to me offering magic.”
    “I see, and the fantasy part?” Jameson
stroked Devon's hair.
    “You come to me in my dreams but they aren't
actual dreams. You miss me and kiss me and keep me from being
lonely.”
    “You mean like this?” Jameson slipped a hand
around her waist and another on the back of her neck. She pulled
Devon against her and nuzzled her face. She kissed her ear and
whispered, “I have always been with you.”
    “I don’t think you are real,” Devon pushed
Jameson away and reclined on the cold ground. She stretched out and
stared at the star filled sky. “This is the cruelest trick these
woods have played.”
    Jameson lounged beside her, lacing her hands
behind her head. “I offer the wisdom of the wolf as you become
aware of your true spirituality. You will learn about balancing
family responsibilities. You will teach sacred wolf magic.”
    “Maybe this isn’t a hallucination,” Devon
rose up on an elbow and smiled at Jameson.
    “Why?”
    “Because the Jameson in my dreams doesn’t
talk this much.” Devon kissed her mouth to quiet her.
    She caressed the stranger who was not a
stranger, familiar with her mouth and tongue. Devon moved her hands
along Jameson's body, pausing to squeeze her muscled thighs.
    “You work out, I see,” Devon whispered
between kisses.
    “Yoga and running.”
    “Very nice,” Devon admired as she moved on
top of her.
    Jameson took Devon's face in her hands. “I
hope you aren't embarrassed when you realize this isn't a dream,
fantasy, delusion, or hallucination.”
    A distant howl chilled her. It sounded like
Moon. She rolled off Jameson. “If this is real then all of it is
real.”
    Jameson sat up. “This is spiritual ground.
Some say it is a gateway between the worlds.”
    “So the animals were real.” Devon touched her
lips swollen from their kisses. “I'm sorry for being so bold.”
    Jameson laughed. “You should see my
fantasies.”
    Devon felt shy under Jameson's longing gaze.
She felt the caked blood on her face and stared at her swollen
ankle. “In my fantasies I look a hell of a lot better than
this.”
    “I believe this belongs to you.” Jameson
offered her the Gucci loafer.
    Devon took the shoe and grimaced. “I don’t
think it fits anymore.”
    Jameson placed her hand upon the ankle. “It’s
not broken, but it is badly sprained. I can wrap it for you and
dress the wound on your head.”
    “How did you know Moon’s name?”
    “I know her, I witnessed her birth.”
    Jameson pulled Devon to her feet.
    “Of course you did. Sorry, but I don’t think
I can walk.”
    “I see that.” Jameson handed her the
flashlight and scooped her up. “I’ll carry you.”
    “You can’t carry me. That’s absurd.”
    Jameson carted Devon through the trail.
“You’re light as a feather. Relax. My place is closer than you
think. Hang on, though, and hold the light ahead, please.”
    “I feel ridiculous.”
    “You sure are worrier, Devon.”
    Devon liked the way she said her name.
    “Seriously, though, I really feel like an
idiot.”
    “Why, because I’m carrying you?”
    “No, because I left my other shoe back
there.”
     

Chapter