Moon Rise (Twilight Shifters Book 2) by Kate Danley

all of them.  Sometimes the only comfort is knowing you aren't alone — that there are others who have been through it and they kept getting up and breathing even if they didn't feel like it.  Sometimes they even experience a little bit of happiness again.  Gisla's father promised me that if they could do it, I could do it.  And it means you can do it, too."  His eyes locked with Aein's and a gentle smile crept across his mouth.  There was no mirth to it.  Just quiet understanding.  "You can't prevent a future you can't see.  All you can do is promise yourself that you will do everything in your power, even if it destroys you, to heal the wounds you caused.  There will be people you love who will make terrible mistakes, and you need to be able to show them how to survive.  If you learn any lesson, Aein, learn that.  Learn how to survive so you can pass it on."
    Aein wiped the tears from her cheeks.  "If her father meant so much to you, how could you leave Queen Gisla behind?" Aein asked.  "Don't you love her?"  The question came out of her mouth before she could stop it.  Yes, Finn had given her his official reasons, but there was a part of her that wanted him to have a different answer. 
    He wet his lips.  "She loves me, Aein," he confessed.  "But she has to marry.  There must be an heir to the throne.  Until there is a child in place to take over when she dies, until that line of succession is secure, the kingdom will fall.  I had to leave so that she could learn to love someone else."
    "And you?" she asked.  Aein wanted him to say he came because he needed to be with her.  She wanted him to say that he wanted more.  How could he know her so well and be so far away?  "Have you learned how to do that?  To love someone else?"
    Finn smiled again, but this time it was full of mystery.  The whole world seemed to fade outside of his merry blue eyes and there was only the two of them.  Aein's pulse raced as he seemed to gather his thoughts.  His lips parted, as if about to utter everything she wanted to hear.  She ached for him to reach out and gather her up in his arms, to say that he still thought of that night they had on the road together and he was here because he wanted to see if it could last a lifetime.
    And then Lars stepped back into the camp. 
    He snuffled around the ground and with a huff, curled up beside Aein.
    And the moment was lost. 
    Finn put his head down and suggested, "We should get some sleep."

Chapter Seven
    T he hawk continued to follow them and the owl took over at night. Aein, Finn, and Lars had long since abandoned trying to outwit the birds.  No matter what side route they took, no matter how they tried to hide their steps, the birds always found them.
    The length of time between when the raptors disappeared and when they arrived at first shortened as Aein, Finn, and Lars crossed into Lord Arnkell's land, and then lengthened as they made their way to the swamp.
    "So do you think that means Lord Arnkell is tracking us?" mused Lars as the hawk appeared once more in the sky.  Finn gave a deep throated growl.
    "It follows logic," replied Aein, but she almost choked on the words.  There was an insistent voice inside of her that said it was not the case at all.
    Places for birds that large to land became sparse.  The pine gave way to the bare branches of scrawny trees.  The birds spent their time circling high overhead.  Aein tried to shake the feeling they were being watched like a buzzard watches carrion. 
    Lars ran his long fingers through his wavy, auburn hair.  Even though it was winter, his pale skin had freckled from all the time outdoors.  "You would think Lord Arnkell would be grateful that we're trying to pick up the pieces he dropped."
    "Perhaps that is why he has not yet attacked.  Perhaps as long as we are headed towards the swamp, he will leave us alone."
    "That would require him to actually feel gratitude," Lars pointed out.  "And I have to say that