Page 11 of Wishes in the Moonlight (Rocky Mountain Wolves #4)

~Amanda~

My conversation with Kalo left me both reassured and more agitated than before. He didn’t seem to pose an immediate threat, more interested in negotiating than intimidating, and he’d shared some useful information about the conversation he overheard.

On the other hand, we still had no idea what he was, what he might be capable of, and what he wanted in exchange for his assistance.

Hopeful that Savannah and Jasper had made some progress with the first of those questions during my absence, I returned to my office eager to hear their report.

“Where’s Troy?” was my Beta’s first question when she and her mate returned at the designated time. Lunch had already been brought to the table where we’d had our breakfast meeting a few hours earlier and they found me sitting there alone, picking at my salad.

“He’s keeping Kalo busy for me,” I explained, grateful once again that he’d made the offer to do so, taking some of the pressure off me. “I expect them to return in about an hour, so I’m hoping you have some news.”

Savannah and Jasper exchanged grim glances. “Not yet, unfortunately,” he replied for them both. “Calista was in a meeting when we called and Felix was… uh… occupied with his new mate.”

‘Occupied’ clearly meant ‘in bed with’, and I did my best to ignore the pang of jealousy that tightened my chest. That was the dream for all werewolves, honestly: spending as many hours as humanly possible enjoying the pleasure of your fated mate as soon as you found them.

It hadn’t worked out that way for me, and though I’d taken my pleasure elsewhere over the years, the knowledge always lingered in the back of my head that it would never be as good as it would have been with the one meant for me.

Not to mention it had been a long time since I’d had any pleasure.

My father began negotiations with the Crimsontooth pack nearly a year ago and I’d stayed celibate in anticipation of the mating arrangement between myself and Vaughan, figuring I wouldn’t like it if my chosen mate fucked around in the meantime, so I’d return the courtesy.

In the end, it turned out to be unnecessary since Vaughan found his own fated mate and never so much as kissed me.

My body craved a man’s touch, which only made being around Troy lately even harder than usual.

“We left a detailed message explaining the situation,” Savannah added, helping herself to one of the large deli-style sandwiches on the table and passing the other to Jasper. “At least one of them should be calling us back soon. How did your conversation with Kalo go?”

As thoroughly as possible, I filled them in on what we’d discussed.

“He seems to understand our situation pretty well, knows a lot about werewolves in general, and has some unusual abilities. I’m also pretty certain he was being truthful about not being able to read my mind.

However, the fact that he refuses to say what kind of payment he wants makes it almost impossible for me to agree, no matter what he can do for us.

What if he asked me to hand over control of the pack?

To sacrifice someone’s life? There are too many awful possibilities. ”

Savannah nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe we could try to set some terms around it? If he can’t tell us what the payment is, at least he could confirm what it isn’t. No murder, no power trips, no sexual favours…”

She ticked the items off on her fingers as she spoke, and at even the mention of sex, my body clenched again.

This was getting ridiculous. Was I so hard up that the thought of trading sexual favours to protect my pack didn’t seem as awful to me as it should?

Technically, an arranged mating with Vaughan amounted to the same thing, didn’t it?

Kalo wasn’t unattractive, if I were being honest. Unusual-looking, certainly, but he was young and strong, with a confidence and grace that could be appealing under the right circumstances.

Circumstances like a year-long dry spell, for instance.

“Alpha?”

Jasper’s head cocked to the side quizzically as my eyes darted to him, and I realized I must have missed part of the conversation. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“Only that it would be easy to miss something off Savannah’s proposed list, or for his price to slip past those barriers on a technicality. I don’t think it’s worth it.”

Thankfully, Savannah’s phone rang, giving me a chance to collect myself further before needing to make a response. “It’s Calista,” she announced before answering the call and placing it on speaker in the middle of the table. “Thanks for calling me back. I’m here with Jasper and Alpha Amanda.”

“Oh. Hi, everyone.” Awkwardness infused her tone at the sound of my name, and I understood it completely.

Based on the way we met, Vaughan’s Luna and I would probably never be friends, but we were both capable of putting our past behind us, as she did then.

“I have Felix here with me. We reviewed your message and compared notes.”

“What can you tell us?” I asked, eager to get to the bottom of the mystery of Kalo’s species. It might not tell us everything, but it would certainly be a good start.

“This is an interesting one.” Felix’s friendly tone filled the room, and I could picture his enthusiastic smile as easily as if he were there with us.

“Not setting off the pack’s alarm narrows down the possibilities considerably.

Even the fae, while invisible, set it off.

Usually, the only things that won’t are animals with no human counterpart or beings lacking a corporeal state, like a spirit. ”

“Are you saying this guy’s a ghost?” Jasper asked.

“Not necessarily,” Calista cut in. “He said like a spirit, but spirits aren’t the only beings who exist outside of a solid state.”

All of this was outside my realm of experience. Besides the vengeful spirit that had attacked Vaughan’s pack by possessing the sasquatches, I’d never dealt with a non-solid being before. “What are the other options?”

“Demons are a big one,” Felix offered. “Or angels, on the flip side. Various gods or god-like beings. Based on his offer to help you in exchange for payment, demon was my first guess.”

My hand found my mother’s necklace, the weight of it between my fingers strangely comforting. “You think his price is my soul?”

That made sense, actually. It didn’t cost anything and I was free to give it, if I so chose. I could see why people would balk at it when the price was revealed. All the pieces fit.

“That’s Felix’s suggestion, but I’m not entirely convinced he’s a demon,” Calista countered. “Usually, you have to summon a demon, they don’t just appear. I assume you haven’t performed a summoning ritual recently?”

“Not unless wishing I knew who to trust counts as summoning,” I tried to joke, but based on the silence that immediately swallowed the room, it obviously didn’t land very well.

“Did you use those exact words? Out loud?” Calista asked, her voice sounding sharper all of a sudden, the words clipped.

I looked to Savannah and Jasper for confirmation and they both nodded. “Something along those lines, yes. During our meeting this morning, just before Kalo appeared. I thought maybe he’d read my mind somehow, but I tested him later and it didn’t seem like he could.”

Papers shuffled in the background through the phone, Felix and Calista murmuring to each other too quietly for me to make out any of the words.

“Did you recently pick up any new possessions?” Calista asked next, and I had to purse my lips to keep from scoffing.

“I just took over as Alpha of the pack. Most of what I own now is new to me.”

“Right.” She blew out a breath, the speaker crackling with the force of it. “Is there anything in particular that caught your attention? Something that you feel an unusual urge to touch?”

My fingers froze over the pendant in my hand and Savannah and Jasper’s gazes immediately dropped to the necklace too. I dropped my hand as though the metal scalded it. “How… how is that related?”

“What is it?” Felix demanded, his tone more urgent than before. “Were you touching it when you made your wish this morning?”

I couldn’t remember for certain, but it was possible.

“It’s a necklace, and I think she was,” Savannah answered for me. “What does it have to do with Kalo?”

“It might have everything to do with him,” Felix breathed out, sounding both excited and concerned at the same time. “I think you did summon him, Amanda, but he’s not a demon at all. If we’re right, you might have your very own genie.”

“A genie?” I repeated in disbelief. “Those are real?”

“Real and very dangerous,” Calista stated, sounding just as concerned as Felix but not nearly as enthused. “He might be able to help you, like he said, but wishes don’t come free. You’re going to have to proceed very, very carefully or a mutiny within the pack might be the least of your worries.”