Page 32 of Wishes in the Moonlight (Rocky Mountain Wolves #4)
~Troy~
I was a coward.
Nothing else explained why I didn’t press Amanda for an answer on how she felt about us after our night together in the bunker.
I had the opportunity when she woke up looking well-rested and satisfied, easily the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.
I could have asked her while she got ready and I made us breakfast, before the real world crashed back in.
But as I kept watch all night, my imagination went into overdrive.
The bunker’s emergency lights cast long, wavering shadows on the walls, painting Amanda’s face in a soft, golden glow.
Her breathing was slow and steady, her lips slightly parted, and every rise and fall of her chest felt like both a promise of what could be and a reminder of the destruction she could wreak on me with just a few words.
I’d spent years pretending I could live without her, convincing myself I didn’t need what I knew I’d never have.
Last night shattered that illusion.
The thought of losing her after having a taste of everything I’d ever wanted felt like tearing open my own ribs and exposing the raw, beating heart beneath. I’d rather live in hope a little longer than face the possibility that she might not feel the same.
So, I didn’t ask. I let the moment pass me by, and as we walked back to the pack house with Savannah keeping up a steady stream of chatter about what we’d missed overnight and what Amanda would be required to do that day, I kept my eyes and ears trained for any sign of danger, and my feelings shoved tightly down into the box where I’d kept them locked up for the past seven years.
For now, I would focus on keeping her safe, protecting the territory, and helping her find a way to navigate the bargain with Kalo.
When all that was finished, maybe I’d find the courage I lacked and ask her for the commitment I was dying to make.
Security had been increased around the pack house, I was glad to see, and everyone seemed on edge.
With communications down and the possibility of an attack looming over us, it made sense that tensions ran high.
However, I didn’t miss the relief in the eyes of the people we passed when they saw their Alpha safe and sound, and I hoped Amanda saw it too.
A lot of people believed in her and were happy that she was the Alpha. They wanted her to succeed. She needed to remember that whenever the negative voices got too loud.
In her office, Jasper sat at the meeting table with maps and documents laid out in front of him. The scent of fresh coffee filled the air, much better-smelling than the instant stuff I’d prepared in the bunker, and Amanda poured herself a cup before turning to me.
“Do you want one, or do you want to get some rest?”
That was a positive sign. She’d never offered me a drink before.
“I’ll take a cup, please.”
Even though she’d offered it, her lips pursed in disapproval at my response. “You should sleep.”
“I’ll sleep when we’re all safe.”
Letting the matter drop, she poured another cup and handed it to me. Sparks flickered where our fingers brushed, and I caught the ghost of a smile on her lips before she took a seat at the table next to Jasper.
Savannah’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of us during the short exchange, narrowing on me as she sank into the seat across from Amanda. “What happened between you two last night? You’re both acting… different.”
Amanda ignored the question as she leaned over one of the maps on the table. “These are the locations of the attacking packs?”
Jasper nodded. “That’s right. Leo and his men from the Crimsontooth pack flew some drones over the area last night and got the intel for us.”
While he pointed out the camps and their estimated numbers, I slowly circled the perimeter of Amanda’s office.
The air felt heavier than it had the day before, charged somehow.
A faint, almost metallic tang lingered in the air beyond the coffee’s aroma.
The walls, the furniture, even the soft hum of the lights seemed unchanged, yet a whisper of unease crawled over my skin.
I cut off Jasper’s explanation of our would-be attackers’ forces mid-sentence. “Savannah said you arrested two men last night. Who are they?”
All eyes moved to me, Savannah’s narrowed while Jasper simply looked startled by the interruption. He turned to Amanda, looking for guidance on whether to answer me or continue their conversation.
I assume you have a good reason for butting in? my Alpha’s voice asked inside my head, her tone a little sarcastic but not without affection.
That was new too.
I do. Sorry, but I think we should focus on that first.
She nodded at Jasper, her hand gesturing towards me. “Go ahead and answer him.”
Having his orders, Jasper smoothly switched gears, pulling out two personnel files from the stack of papers in front of him and showing them to Amanda.
“Our security cameras picked up this man, Travis, one of the house security guards, letting this man, Curtis, into the house through a back entrance. Curtis doesn’t have clearance to be in the house without an invitation, and even if he did, we had implemented a lockdown after you and Troy left.
Everyone thought you were in your room and no one should have been going in or out unless they went through the main doors. ”
“What’s Curtis’ role in the pack?” Amanda asked, picking up the photo of the man and studying it closely.
“He works in the medical centre and had two syringes on him, filled with an unidentified liquid. So far, he’s refused to tell us what they are or why he had them.”
My chest tightened at the thought of anyone attempting to inject Amanda with something, and Savannah’s scowl indicated she felt the same, especially after her own recent brush with medical experimentation.
“I’d be happy if I never saw another needle again,” she declared.
“Who are they working for?” I pressed. “If they were trying to get to the Alpha, whose orders are they following?”
Jasper gave me a frustrated shrug. “We don’t have those answers yet. My team is interrogating both men but they’re not giving up much. It confirms there is someone plotting against the Alpha though, at least as far I’m concerned.”
It proved it to me too, and to say I didn’t like it would be a huge understatement. I continued to prowl the room, sniffing and scanning everything my eyes fell on, searching for the source of my uneasiness.
“Is there a connection between them and the person you caught trying to make an external call? What do they have in common?”
“I actually might have the answer to that,” Savannah volunteered, and based on the intrigued look Jasper gave her, that came as news to him too.
“I was searching through the former Beta’s records this morning, and I found payments made from his expense account to all three of these men, plus a few others.
I think they were working for him unofficially. ”
“Informants?” Jasper wondered aloud.
“Maybe,” Savannah agreed. “Or just doing tasks he didn’t want recorded under his official records.”
My eyes moved to Amanda who had been listening carefully while reviewing the information in the men’s files. “Does the former Beta have reason to move against you?”
She huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Well, he quit when I assumed the role, so he’s definitely not a fan of mine. And I know over the years he made some attempts to have his son named as my father’s heir if I mated into another pack, but my father always resisted.”
That sounded like a hell of a motive to me. “So, with your father gone, if you were removed too, his son would be next-in-line?”
“In his mind, perhaps.”
“And maybe some of the other, more traditional members of the pack,” Jasper suggested, giving me a nod of approval. “It’s a good place to start. I’ll bring the former Beta in for questioning.”
As my thoughts lingered on the man who had held the Beta role for my whole life, my eyes moved to the wall that separated his former office, now Savannah’s, from the room we sat in, and that was when I saw it.
A flicker of movement, and the thing that was different.
A small hole in the wall that I’d never noticed before, and the small cylinder that protruded through it.
The barrel of a gun, aimed straight at the back of Amanda’s head.
Time collapsed. One moment, I was processing the tiny gleam of metal; the next, my body was already in motion. My pulse pounded in my ears, a war drum with only one message: Protect her. Keep her safe.
“Troy, what are you…” she started to ask, but before she could get the question out, a sharp crack rang out through the room and something hot and sharp and heavy sank deep into my chest.