A dark beast prowled closer on all fours.  Its lips were pulled back in a snarl, and a spike of fear dissolved the rest of the alcohol’s effects.  It looked just like the things that had attacked us.

“Carlos?”  Fear pitched my voice higher than usual.

It jumped forward and knocked me down, not giving any indication that name meant anything.  The beast stood over me and lowered its muzzle to my face.  I could barely breathe past the terror filling me.

“If you’re Carlos, you better show me now, or I’ll make you bleed.”

The beast gave a shudder and fur started to disappear, exposing familiar tan skin.  His ears receded and his teeth retracted.  Within seconds, the beast leaning over me became Carlos.

His gaze locked with mine.  There was no anger.  Instead, everything in his expression hinted at the want he’d once let me feel, a desire so potent, a need so consuming, I’d let him hold me.  My breath caught in my throat at the sight of it.

“Isabelle...”  He slowly lowered his head, his breath fanning my face as he glanced at my lips.

Panic surged through my veins.

“I’m not ready,” I whispered.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and dropped his forehead to mine.

“I know.”

He didn’t move, and I became very aware of just how close we were.  His inside thighs touched the outside of mine.  The heat of his chest warmed me but didn’t press against me.  His arms, braced on either side of me, prevented any further contact.  But for how long?

“Can we get up?” I asked nervously.

He nodded, but didn’t move further.

“Carlos.  Are you all right?”

“Thank you, Isabelle.”

“For what?”

“For running.”

Then he got up and offered me his hand.  My eyes bugged.

“Where are your clothes?”

He looked down at himself then at me.

“I’ll need to get some new ones from the car.”

As he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, I forced my gaze to remain locked on his face.

“Do you think everyone is ready to leave?” I asked, pretending my face wasn’t fire engine red.

“Yes.”

He turned and started walking away.  I had no choice but to follow the full moon out of the woods.  It was a nice walk back.

When we reached the building, Carlos pointed at the back door as he veered left to walk around to the parking lot.  I went inside and found everyone sipping water at the bar.

The seat next to Bethi was open, so I carefully made my way to it.  It seemed the clarity from the run in the woods and those intense moments on the ground had started to fade, and my eyes refused to focus as they should.  It made walking a little tricky.  That my head felt light and fuzzy didn’t help either.  No one else looked like they felt any better than I did.  I couldn’t be sure if it was the alcohol or the mysterious and slightly creepy mood change they’d all gone through just before I’d left.

“Are you all right?” I asked Bethi as I sat next to her.

“Yeah.  I’m fine.”

“What happened to all of you?”

“You did.”

“What do you mean?”

She glanced at the bartender.  Winifred, at the far end of the bar, called the man over to her and started a conversation.

“You can take people’s emotions, pulling so many that people lose their will to live.  Like those Urbat you...”  She cleared her throat.  “Anyway, when you’re full of emotion, you can also push it back out, forcing foreign emotions into the people around you.  When there’s enough of it, the emotions seem to overload their brains and make for a very violent death.”

“How do you know this?”

“Been there, dreamed it.”

“Why didn’t you say something before now?” I asked, getting angry.  I might have done something different the night that Ethan—

“You didn’t survive in the dream.”

That cut off my growing anger.

“Oh.”

So when I’d felt so full of happiness before, I hadn’t pushed it out into the air but into everyone around me.  It hadn’t hurt me, and it hadn’t hurt them.  But I hadn’t been that full of emotion, either.  I realized what that meant for me.  The next time I faced the Urbat, I could pull/push emotions like a pulse.  They wouldn’t be able to get close to me.  And, I bet the more I held in before pushing it out, the more it would affect the people around me.

Carlos came in just then, drawing my attention.  Dressed once again in slacks and a polo, he looked just like his old self.  However, the image of his naked backside was burned into my retinal memory.

“Are there any other hidden talents I should know about?” I asked Bethi, trying to distract myself.

“If there are, I haven’t dreamt them,” she said.  “I really hope you’ll be able to fix the hangover I’m going to have tomorrow.”

“Sorry, babe.  Hangovers aren’t emotions.”

Carlos strode across the room, his focus entirely too intense.  I looked away and caught sight of my flushed face in the mirror behind the bar.

A second later, Carlos stood behind me.  Our gazes met in the mirror.  My chest felt tight, and my heart didn’t want to beat right.  The dumb organ couldn’t make up its mind if it wanted to be fast, slow, or just stop.

“You should try to eat,” he said, placing the leftover container in front of me.  “Please.”

I nodded, flustered by my reaction to him, and opened the box.  The burger was cold from being in the car so long.  I took a bite anyway.  It was good and made my stomach feel better.  Bethi stole a piece of my bacon.

By the time I managed half the burger, I felt normal.  Still drunk but not flustered.  I set the rest of the burger back into the container.

“Finished?” Carlos asked.

“All yours,” I said, nudging the container to the side.  He reached around me, and his arm brushed mine.  The skin under my sleeve tingled at the contact.  So much for normal.  I kept my gaze locked on my glass of water.  Twice, I almost used the mirror behind the bar to see if he was looking at me.

A stool scraped along the hardwood floor.

“Looks like it’s time to go,” Bethi said.

I glanced up and saw the Elders standing.  Winifred was handing the bartender a decent tip for a thankfully slow weekday afternoon.

Carlos set the empty container next to my elbow and offered me his hand.  I knew he only meant to help me from the stool, but I couldn’t touch him.

“I’ve got it,” I said.  My ungraceful slither from the stool didn’t support my words.

He followed closely as I moved toward the door.

When Jim passed Winifred, she held out her hand.  He sighed and handed over the keys.  I doubted it was due to his alcohol consumption.  Rather, it was most likely due to our detour.  Everyone piled into the same vehicles, leaving Carlos and me alone.

He didn’t comment when I hesitated before veering toward our car.  He waited patiently for me to get in then closed the door for me.  Once he was behind the wheel, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.  The disorienting movement of the car as Carlos pulled out of the driveway had me opening my eyes again.  I swallowed hard.

“You can lean on me again,” Carlos said.

Twelve

His offer didn’t help settle my stomach.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.  How far do we have to go?”

He was quiet a moment.

“We’ll be there soon.”

The whole in-the-head communication thing was still weird.  So, instead of wondering how it worked or who he’d asked, I replayed our run through the woods.  What had possessed me to say yes to that?  I glanced at Carlos’ profile and felt a tug in my stomach.  Stupid pull.

My head still felt fuzzy when Carlos pulled into the hotel parking lot, and Bethi’s comment about a hangover had me regretting the last few shots I’d consumed.