{"id":1970,"date":"2019-08-06T12:27:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T16:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1970"},"modified":"2019-08-06T12:32:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T16:32:07","slug":"moon-dancer-chapter-2-scene-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1970","title":{"rendered":"Moon Dancer: Chapter 2, Scene 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>If you missed it, <a href=\"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1953\">click here to start at the beginning<\/a>&#8230;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\"><a href=\"https:\/\/books2read.com\/u\/4DOGld\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1976\" src=\"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cityteaser.jpg\" alt=\"Claw Scordato\" width=\"945\" height=\"714\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cityteaser.jpg 945w, https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cityteaser-300x227.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cityteaser-768x580.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px\" \/><\/a>Afterwards, the students mobbed me with questions and effusions. But my wolf slid past so quickly her act bordered on rudeness. What did students matter when Claw was present? Without wasting time on apologies, we took the stairs to the back of the lecture hall two at a time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">All three werewolves rose as I approached them. The gesture might have been respectful, but it felt more like intimidation. I tensed, fully expecting a mean-spirited comment from one of Claw\u2019s companions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">After all, Theta was dour by nature and Harry hated me because I\u2019d lost him the job of presidential protector. Both were strong, hard, and capable. No wonder they found it frustrating to cool their heels in a small college town.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">Claw was their alpha, however, so where he went they followed. Now, they let their leader do the talking for the group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201cOlivia.\u201d Claw\u2019s voice was as sweetly seductive as the cloud of butterscotch surrounding him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201cClaw.\u201d I breathed the word as I relived our most recent conversation. For weeks, I\u2019d avoided this werewolf who turned my inner beast unruly. But three days ago we\u2019d all been invited to the White House for a formal thank-you from our President.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">There, Claw had finally drawn me aside and forced the conversation I\u2019d been trying to escape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>What you and Val want,\u201d<\/i> he growled, <i>\u201cis an abomination.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>I have to do this.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>At least hunt with the pack one more time before you make a final decision.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>I\u2019m trying to cut that tie, not strengthen it.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>You think starving your wolf will make her leave you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>I\u2019m not starving her. I\u2019m segregating her.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201c<i>That\u2019s the exact same thing.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">His eyes had said I was an idiot, but his mouth remained silent. We\u2019d left it at that. Or I had.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">Since then, Claw kept showing up just beyond speaking distance. In the cafeteria when I met with a student interested in a career in archaeology. At the edge of my vision when I walked home on a day too warm to be stuck in a vehicle. Outside my bedroom window just before I closed the shades for the night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">His silent presence should have been creepy. But Claw met my eyes, raised his brows, accepted my silent refusal to budge on my decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">Rather than a stalker, he was a sentinel guarding a recently Changed werewolf. He disapproved of my decision, but he wouldn\u2019t try to force the issue. Instead, he watched, waited, expressed his willingness to help if I lost the battle with my inner beast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">Now, he took a single step forward. His lips parted\u2014for a kiss or a comment?<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">I never knew, because Claw\u2019s languid grace shifted into alertness as his eyes flicked up and over my shoulder. <i>Behind you,<\/i> my wolf warned unnecessarily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">I whirled, taking in the grandmotherly form of Dr. Inez Sanora, the new department chair. She was one inch shorter than I was, her long gray hair twisted into an unremarkable bun. But her tone reminded me less of a fairy-tale grandmother and more of the big, bad wolf.<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">\u201cWhen you have a moment, I\u2019d like to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"first-line-indent\">Apparently my joke about tomato juice hadn\u2019t hoodwinked everyone.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Do you want to know what happens next? Keep reading in <a href=\"https:\/\/books2read.com\/u\/4DOGld\">Moon Dancer<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you missed it, click here to start at the beginning&#8230;. *** Afterwards, the students mobbed me with questions and effusions. But my wolf slid past so quickly her act bordered on rudeness. What did students matter when Claw was present? Without wasting time on apologies, we took the stairs to the back of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,152],"tags":[147,14,146,7,27,23,8],"class_list":["post-1970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excerpts-aimee-easterling","category-series-moon-blind","tag-archaeology","tag-paranormal-books","tag-prehistoric-fantasy","tag-shifter-books","tag-urban-fantasy-books","tag-urban-paranormal-romantic-fantasy","tag-werewolf-books","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1970"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1977,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970\/revisions\/1977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}