Page 4 of Moon Tamed

Wonderful. I expected my boss would receive yet another report regarding my general inability to lie to a client. Still, I could soften my general opinion a little without lying. As I wanted to keep my job, even if it meant coming to the same place for a while, I’d do my best. “It isn’t to my taste. I look at the tiger, and I think it’s sad such a beautiful animal now decorates the floor.”

Calden Stephans chuckled. “What if I told you this tiger had died of old age in a zoo?”

In a what? Puzzled, I tilted my head to the side. “What’s a zoo?”

The man sighed. “Conservatory menagerie.”

I made a mental note to look up where the term zoo came from and why he used it. “Oh!” I’d been to one once in Stonecreek, a city-state up in the mountains a few hours away. My parents had taken me. The menagerie had a lot of fish, birds, and small animals as well as a few wolf shifters playing at being mundane.

Stonecreek lacked the space for real wolves.

As he waited for an answer, I forced myself to relax, and replied, “I’ve only been to Stonecreek’s menagerie, sir, and with the exception of the shifters, they were in rehabilitation or could not survive in the wild. What would keep a tiger from living in the wild?”

“Loss of habitat. This one lived on Earth.” The faction’s heir pointed at a second tiger skin. “He kept her company, and their offspring still thrive on Earth. We were gifted with the skins after one of our members, a tiger shifter, went to Earth to assist with their conservation efforts. Does that change your feelings on the matter?”

I shook my head and pointed at one of the few blank sections of wall. “They’d be better off hung up with pride, perhaps with a placard explaining their importance and history rather than put underfoot.” I pointed at the lion. “And that one?”

“He was a man-eater from Earth with a taste for kids.”

Well, then. I pointed at the front doors. “More people will step on it there.”

“We have a few members who make certain he gets a few good kicks daily.” Calden rose from his seat. “Please come with me, Miss Patten.”

Either I had passed some test or he had tired of listening to me talk; he headed for the elevators and motioned for me to follow. I matched his stride but remained a step behind him.

He moved with the fluid grace of a cat despite his status as a wolf shapeshifter. Sometimes, I wondered what sort of animal I would become. On the days I hated being caged, I longed for wings. The rest of the time, a wolf’s life appealed.

Either animal would give me everything I needed to roam or experience new things all the time.

At the elevators, he pressed the up button, and we waited in silence. The doors at the end of the elevator bank chimed and opened. Once I stepped inside, he tapped the button for the seventh floor.

I would have thought a man like him would choose the top floor as his domain. Rather than question our destination, I wondered why the Hunters needed a temporary secretary for a project.

Someone familiar with their operations would do a better job.

As I always did, no matter how long I worked on a contract, I would do my best for the faction I worked for.

The seventh floor reception reminded me of the entry, but instead of a taxidermy nightmare, I stepped into a jungle. Hummingbirds flitted from flower to flower, and I longed to stay and watch them.

I’d only seen the small, iridescent birds in photographs.

“Leita is this floor’s receptionist. She’ll handle any requests for office supplies and anything else you might need.” Calden halted at the woman’s desk and murmured something. After a few moments, he said, “The birds are to be left alone unless they initiate contact. If one follows you to your office, call Leita, and she will bring you a feeder.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Follow me.”

The trees hid multiple doors, and Calden picked up four hitchhikers by the time we escaped. With the exception of transferring one from his head to his shoulder, he ignored his feathered companions.

I could almost envision myself tolerating the same old routine every day with hummingbirds for company.

Calden took me to a conference room and gestured to one of the chairs. “Please give me the signed contract. Once I have verified everything, I will explain the situation.”

I sat, retrieved the contract, and handed it over. With thirty-eight pages to review, I expected a lengthy wait. The factions took their confidentiality agreements seriously. They would check every line for alterations. While my firm maintained a good reputation, many tested their luck in an effort to gain more favorable terms.

Such firms rarely lasted long.

Assuming someone monitored my activities, I waited in silence, allowing myself to examine the room from my seat. The table and chairs bore evidence of use, with the wood suffering from an unusual number of gouges and scratches.

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