order.”
“I don’t want you dead.”
He shook his head. “You’re not getting it. If anything, I’m playing down the dangers. Yes, I’d love to have you as a fly on the wall to keep things safe for Takhini, but these are bears, Caroline. For all my and Shaun’s joking about the ‘wimpy bears voting instead of ripping out throats like us macho wolves’, there’s a reason they moved to this method. It saves a fuck-ton of lives. This won’t be a walk in the park. You will be vulnerable, and if something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
Caroline nodded slowly. She touched his face. “I’ll be careful, and I’ll take this seriously. And if I feel as if it’s getting too much for me at anytime, I’ll step aside, okay?”
“Promise me.”
Evan turned down the Alpha vibes and her body stopped pulsating.
She raised her hand in the air, palm forward. “I solemnly swear I will protect my ass at all times.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Well…maybe that will do.”
She flipped her hand around and turned the vow into one, lone finger.
“Don’t push me, Evan. I’ve had a seriously weird twenty-four hours.” He raised a brow, all Spock-like and she snorted. “Okay, fine, you’re in the same boat, and you don’t even have a paddle.”
He laid his arm around her shoulders and tugged her in, resting his chin on her head. “We’ll get through this, you and I. We’re strong, we’re smart.”
“And we don’t take shit from anyone.” Caroline squeezed him tight. The path had turned the corner, and she was almost at the point she’d be able to spot the coming obstacles.
Because if she’d learned anything, obstacles went with the territory.
Evan pushed her toward the computer. “You’re going to accept Tyler’s offer, I presume.”
She glanced down the list of names, shocked to see them all. “If we eliminate the ones you know are rotters, should I do more research before accepting anyone?”
He paused. “What’s your gut telling you?”
Tyler’s deep rumbled words about instincts flashed through her brain, bringing the smooth slide of sexual anticipation along for the ride. “You don’t want to know my gut right now.”
“I love it,” Evan chortled. “You are such a weird human.”
“Enough.” Caroline dragged her hands through her hair—one of the fidgets of frustration she’d learned from Evan. “Who am I kidding, though? What Tyler said to me last night regarding power seemed completely honourable. The fact he’s attractive isn’t a hardship.” She glanced at Evan. “I’m not trying to replace you. I hope you know that.”
He seemed lost for a moment before his face brightened with comprehension. “Oh, Caro, you don’t have to explain away animal attraction or justify getting involved with another guy. There’s no statute of limitations that wolves adhere to.”
“I don’t need to go through a period of mourning before hopping into another man’s bed?”
He laughed. “I’m not dead, and neither are you. Stop worrying about if you and Mr. Teddybear are going to fuck around. Worry about how to survive whatever weird things bears do.”
His phone went off, and Evan answered it, swearing starting shortly after he lifted it to his ear.
“One second.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I gotta run. Someone mucked up the kitchen orders and the chef is getting spirited.”
“Spirited?”
“Literally. He’s drinking already, and if we want to survive the lunch rush, I need to go coddle him.”
She nodded. “I’ll find out what’s involved in the bear deal and get as much done of my job in advance as I can.”
He waved from the door. “Give it a break. You’re indispensible, but we’ll manage.”
Caroline waited until he was gone, rising and double-checking the office door was locked before returning to the computer and pausing.
Yes, Tyler’s invite was there, with an eight p.m. appointment time. Hmm. An evening meeting?
She pushed aside her curiosity to deal with other issues first. She flipped through the hotel to-do list, delegating items for the coming week to others.
There was one thing she couldn’t delegate. She opened Skype and checked for the green light to see if her contact was on.
Who was she kidding, though—Amy was always online.
A pause, then Amy’s response.
The video part of the program rang, and Caroline stabbed at the volume button. She answered, then held a finger to her lips as she scrambled to plug in her headset.
“I need to touch base with you, and I can talk faster than I can type.”
The woman on the screen nodded. Her short hair spiked upward, dark against the plain white background behind her. “I have to take a call in a minute. What’s up?”
Caroline struggled for inspiration. How was she supposed to walk the line here between helping Evan and revealing too much? “Amy, when we first got in contact, I promised I’d keep your identity a secret. I’m not breaking that vow, but I need you to consider adding one more person to your trust list.”
Amy’s mouth tightened. “You want to tell someone else in the Takhini pack about me?”
Caroline nodded slowly. “I’ll be busy for a week with some new developments and might not be around a lot. I figured if you needed to talk to anyone, in an emergency, you should have someone else you’re okay with.”
The wolf fidgeted with her hair. “I don’t know…”
“You want to help amalgamate the packs, right? That’s what we’ve been talking about for the past month.”
“Yes. There really is room for only one pack in Whitehorse.”
Caroline nodded. “That’s what Evan says as well, so why not talk directly to him if you need anything? Or if there’s anything you want to give him a heads-up about.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “You plan to tell the Takhini Alpha you’ve been talking to a mole in the Canyon pack? He’s the person you want me to contact? Are you
Another email pinged into her box from yet another bear clan, and Caroline’s frustration level rose to near breaking. “Not completely nuts, not yet. Who else would be better, Amy? Evan’s got the best interests of all local wolves at heart. I’m not passing you over to the Beta, because while Shaun is a great wolf he’s not…as diplomatic. He’d probably order you to give up names and places and stuff. I understand you’ve got to be careful.”
“And Evan’s not going to simply order me to spill all the Canyon secrets?” Amy shook her head. “I don’t mind talking to you, but you’re a human.”
“Then don’t talk. Text only, if you’re afraid of shifter hierarchy kicking in. I’d hate to see the motion we’ve made toward unification come apart because I’m tied up.”
A phone rang in the background, and Amy jerked upright. “I have to go. But…fine. Give me his email, and tell Evan he can contact me.”
“Thanks. And don’t worry—Evan is a great guy. You can trust him.”
Amy wrinkled her nose. “We’ll see.”
The Skype screen went black as Amy hung up. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, even though she had one more issue to deal with before turning herself over to Tyler for the duration of conclave. She wondered what Evan would think of her little secret-sharing undercover wolf from the Canyon pack.
Amy was so sweet. Caroline hoped Evan would be able to help ease the girl’s fears while he kept the integration of the packs headed the right direction.
The list of emails from the bear clans distracted her from focusing too hard on that mystery. Now she had to find out exactly what an assistant to a bear did.
