I knew taking a hit on him was risky, and I didn’t expect anyone to actually take it. No matter what amount of money was offered it was a death wish.
I was intrigued to figure out who was waiting for me. I would bet that it was one of his men to arrange a meeting.
I used the back elevator and went to my desk. The floor was empty as it usually was, and I had work to do anyway that I had been neglecting in favor of spending time with Willa and Emmett.
“You can show him in,” I buzzed my secretary.
“Very good, sir.”
After a few moments, a tall man with lightly tanned skin walked in on silent feet. The only indication he was here was when my secretary closed the door behind him.
His long hair was piled on top of his head. One golden brown curl fell over his face, the only thing that wasn’t out of place. He stood eerily still in front of me, statuesque. The only way to tell he was alive was by the steady rhythm of his heart, it didn’t even look like he was breathing. But he was a werewolf, pure wolf, that much I knew.
“Take a seat,”
“No, thank you,” he responded, meeting my stare, with one brown and one blue eye, “I’ll only be here for a few minutes.”
“What is it?” I straightened my jacket and leaned back. I couldn’t quite figure him out.
“My name is Ezra, and I’m from The Packless.”
I took a breath that sounded like another project The Silent Assassin was working on.
“What does he hope to achieve with you?” I studied his motionless figure, but he gave nothing away. People were so rarely hard to read.
“Nothing, not anymore.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Me and a group decided to leave the Silent Pack. We will always be thankful for the skills we learned and for shelter.”
“You don’t have to convince me of anything,” I cut him off.
He froze for a moment; his brows tugged together slightly as if coming out of a trance, fighting against something so ingrained in him.
“You’re right,” He shook his head once, “We left them and formed The Packless.”
“Poetic,” I paused, “For a group of orphans,”
His mouth tugged up slightly to one side, “We thought so,”
“So what do you have for me? Or, more likely, what do you need from me? Protection? Because I cannot guarantee you that from him, nor will I take the risk.”
“A trade.” I was interested, “We know you took a hit on him, but I don’t understand why.”
“I need to find him. It was the only way we could set up a meeting.”
He nodded once, “I can help.”
“In exchange for?” I left the question open.
“As you can imagine, leaving him has not been easy, he’s demanding payment in trade for what he thought we were worth.”
I almost asked what their deal was, what they were owed in exchange for their upbringing, but it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t do anything besides satiate my curiosity.
“He doesn’t want you to leave. He can and will track you down.” He nodded once, so slight I thought I imagined it, “You want me to kill him.”
He averted his eyes for a short moment, taking a deep breath.
“I will give you the location where he was last operating.”
“Where is he staying?” I asked if anyone knew it would be someone from The Silent Pack.
“Where clients ask him?”
“How do I know-“
“How do you know this isn’t a trap?”
We stared at each other for a moment. He untucked his shirt and loosened his belt. Pulling down the side of his pants, a faint pale scar stood out stark against his skin. It was hard to determine what it was or was supposed to be.
“It’s supposed to be his symbol. Not even the symbol of The Silent Pack, his symbol. We belonged to him, not ourselves, not even the pack that became family,” He gave me a smile devoid of all emotion, “The thing is, if you brand a kid, they don’t sit still. Our bodies change a lot, and we are left with this. To give him credit, we were some of the first, so he didn’t think ahead past the claiming his orphans.” His face hardened, lost in his memories.
“No feelings for your captor?”
“Hatred.” His eyes flashed black, making their mismatched color the same.
“You don’t have to believe me. I want an out. Safety for my brothers and me.”
“What will you do?”
“I don’t know, I never had the option.” His face was emotionless even though his voice gave him away.
“Write it down,” I motioned to my desk, and he bent over, scribbling something.
He slid the paper to me and held my stare for a long while.
“You cannot attack the place; it won’t work. It’s a starting point for many to gain access to him. I can’t guarantee anything will come of it. It might work if you’re smart and send someone who can be trusted. Your best bet is someone outside your pack. He won’t do business with them. Crescent Moon members are off-limits. Everyone knows it, and he will know it’s a trap.” Now, that would be difficult.
“It’s all I have. You have to take it from here. No guarantees.”
“I hope this works,” This was a lot to get in contact with one man.
“I do, too,” His gaze looked hopeful, almost longing for a moment before he slipped back into his assassin facade.
“Don’t stay in there too long; it becomes you.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“It’s harder and harder to pull yourself out of it. The place you build becomes you. You think it’s your protection, but it will consume you, change you into someone you don’t recognize.” “Oh,” Understanding crossed his face.
“A mate helps,” I offered.
“We don’t get one. We found a way out of that weakness.”
I shook my head once, “They aren’t a weakness; they’re your strength.”
“Not to us,” Hurt flashed through his features, but they were cool and steady a second later.
“You sure you weren’t followed?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.