Page 52 of The Wild Moon
The room was a dazzling array of ancient shifter artifacts, items that had either been kept over the generations or found by my father and others like him as they sought out the ancient city of Shuldar.
There was enough evidence in the display cases or mounted to the walls to convince anyone that we’d once had our own civilization, away from humanity. Books and tapestries, statues, even some ancient weapons such as spears and a sword. I wondered briefly who we would have needed to fight off with those. Humans?
But those weren’t what I was after. I moved to the center of the room. Where Lars had his most prized finds on display. He brought everyone to this room anytime he had visitors from another clan. It was his way of demonstrating he thought himself the superior.
Alpha politics are for children,I thought.
In the very center was the item I’d come for.
A foot-high statue made of pure gold. It was human from the neck down, sporting a pair of breasts and a carved loincloth. The head, however, was that of a wolf. The eyes were emeralds, and a crown of rubies and diamonds was set into the statue as well.
“The Idol of Amunlea,” I whispered, staring at the figurine just sitting there. Lars didn’t even have it behind a protective barrier. He feared nobody, it seemed.
Arrogance. It’s a great deterrent until someone more stubborn comes along. Or, in my case, desperate.
“Sorry, bud,” I chuckled, snatched up the golden idol of the empress of the gods, and walked as quietly as I could to the far wall. I opened the window, and after a quick peek to ensure all was clear, I punched out the screen.
Hating myself for what I was about to do next, I leaned out the window and, as carefully as I could, dropped the idol three stories down into a flower bed.
“Forgive me, Amunlea,”I whispered.
Then, I set to tearing the dress. It was a shame to destroy something so nice, but it was too restrictive. I needed to be able to move. I couldn’t shift and still carry the idol, so I needed the freedom to run.
That done, I climbed onto the edge of the window. Just before I jumped, I heard voices in the hallway behind me.
“She said the food had gotten to her, father. She’s not used to eating such rich food.”
That would be Johnathan.
“Of course she did. She’s been living on scraps like some pathetic gutter rat. Too bad. I did not throw this ball for her to hide in her room.”
And that would be Lars. Ever the caring host.
I grinned and then dropped from the window without a second thought. It wouldn’t be long before they discovered I wasn’t in my room, but it would take them some time to realize they’d been robbed.
Scooping up the idol, I took off into the night. This part of the plan had gone flawlessly. It was time to get back to Aaron and give him his hefty fee.
Then we could find whatever it was my father had been searching for. What it was he wanted me to find.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
My throat dropped into my stomach as the elevator whisked me upward at a rapid pace.
“Urgh,” I muttered, adjusting the straps of the backpack I had slung over my shoulders. The straps were digging deep through my shirt and into the skin, courtesy of the heavy weight the backpack contained. The sudden extra weight as the elevator shot higher had caused them to dig in even deeper.
“You had better be worth this, Aaron,” I grumbled to nobody in particular–the elevator was empty aside from me–as I waited for it to come to a stop.
After escaping Aldridge Manor, I’d run to where I’d stashed my dad’s truck, then driven the few hours back to Kellar. I’d crashed at the back of a truck stop, waiting for daylight before getting in touch with Aaron.
He’d directed me to meet him at his offices.
The elevator slowed, my stomach returning to normal, and the doors opened, spilling me out into an ultra-sleek-looking lobby, filled with rectangular light fixtures, rich dark hardwoods, and brilliantly white tiled floors.
There was no secretary at the front desk, so I strode past to the offices. There were six in total, but only one, at the very end of the hall, seemed occupied with its door ever so slightly ajar.
I walked right up to it and went in without knocking.
“I can see why you need to charge so damn much,” I growled, unslinging my backpack and dropping it onto his desk.
