Page 7 of Wishes in the Moonlight (Rocky Mountain Wolves #4)

~Amanda~

Although I would never admit it, having Troy in the room while the guard let the stranger in made me feel safer and stronger than I would have on my own.

Every tensed muscle in his strong body that hovered just on the edge of my peripheral vision confirmed that he would do anything necessary to keep me safe, not only because he had to as a member of the pack, but because he wouldn’t let anyone harm his mate.

For once, the bond actually worked in my favour.

When the stranger appeared, Troy somehow tensed even further, and I could see why.

The person who strolled through the door looked like he had wandered out of some kind of costume party, dressed in dark, leather clothing that appeared to come from another time.

White hair framed a dark brown face that looked no older than my own, and gold rings dotted almost every finger of his hands.

Exotic-looking, certainly. Handsome? Yes, but I gave that consideration little weight as I sized him up.

As the guard had warned me, no smell accompanied our guest, giving me no hint as to what he might be or what brought him to our territory, but he wore a friendly smile as he walked right up to my desk, ignoring everyone else in the room.

“Amanda. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

A low growl rumbled from my right. “That’s Alpha Amanda,” Troy gritted out.

The stranger inclined his head in Troy’s direction before turning his attention back to me. “My apologies. Alpha Amanda.”

His eyes seemed to almost glow, a shade of brown so light they appeared nearly golden. This man didn’t look like any werewolf I’d ever met, nor any human either, but the longer I looked at him, the more attractive he seemed.

“I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you too, but I have no idea who you are, what you want, or how you ended up in my territory without me being notified, so I’ll have to reserve that judgement for now.”

His smile revealed two rows of perfectly straight teeth, so white they seemed to glow against his burnished skin.

“Where are my manners? My name is Kalo and I’ve come to provide the help you need.

As for how I got here, that will have to be my secret for the time being.

A man needs to maintain a little bit of mystery during a negotiation, don’t you think? ”

Without waiting for an invitation, he took a seat in the chair across from me, leaning back and crossing one ankle over the opposite knee, revealing a shoe that matched his clothes in style and apparent age. I’d never seen one like it.

“What exactly are we negotiating?” I asked, leaning back to mirror his body language and steepling my hands in front of me.

Whoever Kalo might be, I had no intention of letting him know how much his presence unnerved me.

Had my father ever been visited by someone so unusual, completely out of the blue?

He never mentioned it, but I supposed there were many things about being Alpha that he never shared.

“We’re negotiating the services I can provide to you,” he said, as if it were obvious. “The help you need. My particular skills will be very useful, I promise you.”

“Which skills? And what help do I need?”

He spoke as if we were already acquainted, as if he’d walked into a conversation already in progress, while I struggled to keep up.

“Well, you’ve already seen one of my skills.” He gave another wide, white smile as he gestured around the office. “I can move around among your kind without attracting attention. It’s a useful talent in a spy.”

That made sense, but nothing else he said did. Each statement only raised several new questions. “What do I need a spy for? How do you know anything about me and my pack? And what are you if not one of ‘my kind’?”

Kalo surveyed the room again, his gaze landing that time on Jasper and Troy, still standing sentry at either side of my desk. “The guard dogs really aren’t necessary. Your man at the door searched me. I’m unarmed.”

Troy growled again, his wolf close to breaking free and sounding very much like the guard dog he’d just been labelled as. “No one meets with the Alpha alone without being fully vetted. Standard protocol.”

That was absolutely true for external visitors, but it surprised me to hear Troy say it. I didn’t realize he paid so much attention to visitor procedures. Maybe he studied them for the visits he accompanied me on?

“Answer my questions,” I cut back in. “What are you?”

“That one, I’m going to have to decline to answer.” He shrugged his leather-clad shoulders, as if the choice were out of his hands. “It’s a matter of personal security for me. Standard protocol.”

Troy stiffened at the mimicking of his statement, but I kept my eyes trained on Kalo, my expression neutral, waiting for him to continue.

“As for your other questions, I know that you’ve very recently taken over the pack and that there are some in your ranks who would prefer you hadn’t.

I know there’s been talk among your neighbours about whether you’re strong enough to defend your territories.

And I know that if your internal rivals teamed up with your external ones, it could go very badly for you.

That’s what you need a spy for: to help you determine the source of the threat internally before things get out of hand. ”

Every muscle in my face tensed as I tried not to react in any way, but inside, my head spun.

How does he know all of this? I asked Cinder, my most-trusted confidante.

I don’t know, but you literally just said you wanted to figure all this out and he appeared. It’s like you called him into existence.

That sounded crazy but I had no better explanation. I said I needed to know who to trust, though, and I can’t trust him. I literally don’t know anything about him. He just said he’d make a perfect spy and for all I know, someone has sent him to spy on me, not for me.

“What does your wolf think about me?” Kalo asked, shooting me another of his casual, confident smiles. He really did look good when he smiled.

My expression didn’t shift. “What makes you think I’m talking with my wolf?”

“Your eyes haven’t done that weird glazing thing they do when werewolves talk to each other, so I’m guessing you’re not speaking to anyone else in the room, but your pupils are moving as if you’re processing something being said to you.

Your wolf is the obvious choice. Observation is another of my skills, you see. ”

He bent forward in a self-congratulatory bow, and though I did my best not to show it, I was impressed. “And you really won’t tell me what you are?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Where do you come from?” I tried instead.

“That’s also confidential.”

I had a feeling that would be the case, so I moved on. “You haven’t mentioned your price for providing these ‘services’.”

“I have not,” he confirmed good-naturedly. “And I can only tell you that it won’t cost you anything financially. I will only require a favour of you when you’re satisfied my work is complete, but the nature of that favour, I’m not at liberty to disclose right now.”

“Ludicrous,” Troy snorted. “You can’t seriously expect…”

“Troy.” His name from my lips stopped his words immediately, and though I could tell it went against every instinct he had, he said no more.

To Kalo, I made an offer.

“Give me a few minutes to discuss your offer with my team before we proceed any further with the negotiations. My staff will make sure you’re comfortable while you wait.”

“Certainly. Thank you, Alpha Amanda.”

His tongue lingered on my name in a way that made Troy’s fists clench, and Kalo rose gracefully from his seat, gave me a nod of acknowledgement, and turned on his heel. I immediately mind-linked the guard outside the door so that by the time Kalo reached it, it opened for him.

When the door closed again behind him, I let out a long breath as the three other people in the room all turned to me, looking for any direction on what to do next.