Free Rise of the Moon (Moonlit Series Book 1) by Rachel Hera Page B

so deceiving. None of them probably had their true appearance on display, since all of them looked no older than twenty.
    “Noble Warriors of the Moon,” the seated male began, bowing his head slightly. “We are of the Fox Clan that resides in this –”
    “You can stop with the formalities,” Carlos leaned onto one arm of his chair, a sign of irritation. I understood. Formal speech reminded him –and me –of his father, the last Alpha of the Pack. He used to break fingers on the hands of those who didn’t show the utmost respect to him. Carlos preferred things a little more casual. For the most part, anyway. The contradiction came with Alpha mode. “Your names?”
    The fox looked perturbed as Carlos took things up to his pace. The male fox looked at his two companions, cleared his throat, then began again, “I’m Cole, leader of my division of the Fox Clan. My second-in-command, Marissa, and her brother, Philip.”
    “I am Carlos, Alpha of the Ontarian Wolf Pack,” he introduced himself.
    “We know you by name,” Cole assured him. “And we know of your patience and understanding. Our Clan has assigned the three of us to a mission here, and while we know this is your territory, we’d like to ask that you don’t interfere.”
    “What sort of mission? Perhaps we could be of assistance. I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but I’m sure you’d like to rejoin your Clan at some point,” Carlos said.
    Cole’s mouth settled into a tight line. “While I would like to accept your help, I’m afraid I can’t say. The leader of my Clan is quite clear about the privacy of this… ordeal.”
    “Without knowing the circumstances, I’m afraid I’m not certain how we will be aware of whether or not we’re interfering,” Carlos tapped the arm of his chair before sighing and standing up. “Well, I suppose we’re done here.”
    “Wait!” Cole jumped to his feet, grabbing Carlos’s arm as he began to walk by. Three growls filled the room, and his hand released our Alpha immediately. “Please. The importance of this is vital for the supernatural world.”
    “We wolves have never really cared much for anything beyond our own. Vital importance or not, you’ll find we’ll do things as we please.”
    “Let’s go, Cole,” Philip said from where he stood against the wall. “We’re beginning to overstay our welcome.”
    “Philip’s right,” Marissa rubbed a finger over her nail polish, keeping her gaze down. She didn’t dare meet Carlos’s eyes, though she had occasionally glanced up at Noah and I. What I found strange is the air of confidence both she and Cole possessed, even though one wrong move could potentially mean losing a limb. “We didn’t come here to start a war. Just to introduce ourselves, really.”
    “It’s late. Noah will show you out,” Carlos said,
    “It’s fine, we know the way,” Cole waved Noah down. Noah just raised an eyebrow, covering a snort with a cough, clearly amused that the fox thought he had any authority over any of us. But the fox still turned to Carlos, “Thank you for your time.”
    “A human would respond saying ‘anytime,’ but as I’ve said, wolves tend to keep to themselves, and I don’t intend to give you a false sense of hospitality,” Carlos nodded at Jason, who opened the door as the foxes neared.
    “Wolves,” Cole acknowledged us with a curt nod as he helped Marissa to her feet. They headed for the door.
    “Have a good night,” Philip said to the three of us, then followed the other two as they left. Noah went into the hall after them, making sure that they didn’t linger any longer than they needed to. He returned shortly after we heard the sound of the front door closing and clicking into place.
    “So who wants to guess what this so-called mission is?” the Alpha asked, going to the window and closing the blinds. “What supernatural phenomenon lurks in this small town of Eiden?”
    “I’ve smelled a few other types of