“Uh, yeah, I did a couple semesters at my local community college before, well you know.”
Cole nodded. “What were you studying?”
“Nursing, so I got a lot of pre-reqs out of the way and some science.” Molly wondered how hard it would be to get her transcripts from the college. She assumed her parents hadn't paid her final tuition bill, which would probably make it difficult.
He put his hand to his chin, stroking it a moment before answering. “There is a good nursing program here. I'll definitely do what I can to help you.”
Hope lit up inside of Molly. “That would be fantastic. Thank you, Cole.”
Onyx turned toward Cole. “Are you finished here?”
“No, I still have a few things to wrap up before I can leave.”
“Okay, I was thinking of taking Molly over to Catcall Falls to see my parents' house.”
“Are you sure it's safe?” Molly blurted out in surprise.
Onyx lifted her shoulders. “I don't see why not. The Edmunds are...gone. No one else would make a move against me. At least, I don't think so.”
Ivan cleared his throat. “You know there is still a kill order out for you. The Edmunds never had a chance to rescind it.”
Onyx turned her defiant green eyes on him. “I'll rescind it myself. I'm basically the new Alpha.”
Ivan held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, just pointing it out.”
Onyx relaxed a smidge. “I know. Sorry.”
“Let me finish up here, and I’ll catch up to you guys, okay?” Cole pressed a kiss to Onyx's cheek while she nodded yes. A small stab of jealousy pricked Molly at their open affection toward one another. Of course they'd been a couple longer...and they actually were a couple. Molly had no idea what she and Ivan were.
Onyx chattered the whole way to Catcall Falls, clearly excited to show her hometown to her friends. Ivan smiled and nodded but mostly tuned the girls out. Following Onyx's last minute directions and keeping an eye on the rear view for a tail took up all his available concentration.
“Whoops! Sorry, we needed to take that left.” Onyx said about five hundred feet after he passed the road. Without a word he made a sharp U-turn. A familiar dark green SUV he swore he'd seen more than once today drove by them. The tinted windows too dark for him to make out anyone inside. The deep, sparkling green was an unusual color, so it caught his attention. Figuring that would be pretty sloppy for Enforcers, he shrugged it off and made the turn he'd missed.
As they crossed the bridge over Crystal Lake, Onyx's energy changed. She quieted down, looking out the window, twisting her fingers in her lap.
“You okay?” he asked.
At the sound of Ivan's question, Molly looked over and took her friend's hand. “Nervous?” she asked.
Onyx let out an audible sigh before answering. “No, I feel this way when I come here, every time now. I used to always look forward to telling my mother about my day.”
Molly seemed unsure of how to comfort her friend. Ivan watched her squeeze Onyx's hand before turning his attention back to the road.
“Holy shit,” Ivan muttered.
“What?” Onyx and Molly both looked up. Onyx's sharp intake of breath shattered the silence in the cab of the truck.
“Stop the car, Ivan,” she whispered.
He slowed down and pulled up against the opposite curb. Onyx threw open the truck door and ran around the front of the vehicle. Molly followed close behind.
“No, no, no,” Onyx chanted as she fell to the ground on the lawn.
What remained of the house lay in blackened rubble. Molly knelt on the ground next to Onyx and wrapped her arms around her friend.
“Onyx, I'm so sorry,” Ivan said running his hand over her hair.
“When?” she asked.
“When were you here last?” Ivan asked.
Onyx shook her head. “I don't remember. Before...before Molly's disappearance. I got most of the important stuff out, but I hoped I'd be able to come back and live here eventually.”
Ivan heard a car approaching and turned to face the street, placing himself between the girls and the road. Cole's black sedan parked behind Ivan's truck. He got out and rushed across the street to Onyx. Molly stood up as Cole took Onyx in his arms.
“It's okay, baby. You have your mother's things. You have the photo albums and her journals.”
“I know,” she answered woodenly. She hadn't shed any tears yet.
Ivan watched them, marveling at their interaction. He tipped his head in Molly's direction and found her staring at him. Waving her over with a come here motion, he pulled her into his arms. Her big, blue eyes looked up at him in surprise before she slipped her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest.
“Who would do this?” she asked so softly he almost missed it.
He shook his head. He had his ideas, but he didn't want to voice them right now. The sound of another car approaching had him straightening up and pushing Molly behind him. Cole also stood and faced the threat. This time he didn't recognize the blue minivan, so he kept Molly behind him.
A small dark haired older woman got out. “Onyx, is that you?”
“Mrs. Verga?” Onyx poked her head around Cole's shoulder.
“Onyx!” The woman rushed up to greet her. Since Onyx seemed to know her and didn't hesitate, Ivan relaxed a notch, but he kept his hands on Molly just in case.
“Sweetheart, I didn't know how to reach you. This happened a few weeks ago. I had to tell the fire inspector you were away on vacation for the summer.” She cast a suspicious glance at the rest of them.
Onyx ignored the glare. “Do they know what it was?”
The older woman looked down at the ground, which Ivan found curious.
“Arson,” she said in a hushed voice.
“I figured,” Onyx replied matter-of-factly. “Do they know who?”
“No. You know I can't.”
Onyx cut her off. “Marie and Wilson are dead.”
Mrs. Verga visibly startled at the information and looked up at Onyx. “Not you, honey?”
“I don't want to go into detail, but authority over the clowder was left to me.”
Ivan and Cole nodded when the woman didn't look convinced.
“Well, that will be interesting. The town is in chaos since the Edmunds...disappeared.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, guys. This is my best friend's mother. Mrs. Verga, this is Molly. She's from another clowder. This is our friend, Ivan, and my boyfriend, Cole.”
The woman looked ill at the word boyfriend. She jerked her hand away from Cole's touch.
“Onyx, a wizard? What would your parents think?” she scolded.
Ah, yes. Domestics had never been known for their tact. Or their love of anything magical.
“I think my mother would want me to be happy. She was against my mating Denny; it's what got my parents killed.”
This was clearly too much information for the poor woman to process. Her face visibly paled, and she swayed a little on her feet, ready to faint. Onyx steadied her with a hand on her elbow.
“Mrs. Verga, have you heard from Bessie lately?”
The woman focused on Onyx, her hard stare softening as she spoke about her daughter. “Yes, dear she called me this morning.” She paused, then with a hopeful look, added, “They want to come home.”
“Of course.”
“I have to get going sweetheart, but let me give you some phone numbers. The insurance adjuster has also been here a few times. Your parents had a rather large policy in place. You can rebuild if you want to.”
Onyx took a deep breath her gaze sweeping up and down the quiet street. “I might do just that.”
Eleven
Cole and Onyx decided to stop by Mrs. Verga's before leaving town, so they split up.
“That was strange,” he remarked hoping to get Molly talking. She'd been silent ever since they left Catcall Falls.
“I can't believe they would burn her house down,” she said qu
ietly.
Ivan forced down a snort. The violent act didn't surprise him one bit. When the alpha didn't get his way he probably decided to lash out by burning down what little connection Onyx had to her parents, hoping she'd come running back to town. Typical tactic.
“What do you want to do now?”
“I'm actually kind of tired. Do you mind going back to the house?”
Ivan could think of a few things to cheer her up if they had some alone time. “Not at all, kitten.”
His tone must have made what he had on his mind obvious. Molly arched an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything.
Obeying the speed limit was a struggle because suddenly he wanted nothing more than to have Molly under him.
This time, Ivan parked inside the gate. The back door swung open for them, a product of Cole's magic. Molly stepped ahead of him into the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator. As she bent over to look for who knew what, Ivan contemplated fucking her where she stood or spreading her out on the kitchen table.
Hmmm, since they were guests, doing it on the kitchen table probably wouldn't earn them a return invitation. Instead, he walked up behind Molly, pulling her ass against him so she'd make no mistake about what he intended to do.
In his grasp, she went still, then straightened and shut the door. He heard her twist open a water bottle and take a few swallows before she turned around to face him.
“What's up?”
“Me.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “You can do better than that, big cat.”
He reached out and traced the line of her jaw with his finger. Her eyelashes fluttered at his touch as she leaned into his hand. Hooking a finger in one of her belt loops, he pulled her flush against him. She stretched her arm out behind him and set the water bottle down on the counter.
“Take me to bed, handsome.”
She snaked her arms around her neck as he lifted her, her ass filling his hands nicely. Wrapping her legs around him tight brought her pussy in line with his cock, and he cursed the too many layers of clothing between them. A quick push against the fridge and he locked his mouth over hers. He'd missed kissing her and swallowing her greedy little mewls of pleasure. In a short amount of time he'd become addicted to this frisky little feline.
Somewhere in the back of his head he registered the sound of the kitchen door opening behind him. Onyx gasped, and Cole let out a soft chuckle before clearing his throat.
Ivan groaned as Molly's head snapped back. Instantly her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment.
“S-Sorry guys,” she stammered, unwrapping her legs from his hips and getting her feet under her.
“We can come back later,” Onyx joked.
“We wanted to ask you guys out to go to dinner, but it seems like you already started on dessert,” Cole added.
Ivan aimed his middle finger in the direction of Cole's voice, earning another laugh from the wizard.
“Comedians,” Molly answered. She rolled her eyes at Ivan, and he shrugged. Her little fist landed on his shoulder with a soft thud.
Ivan still hadn't said anything, and he couldn't turn around yet or else they'd all get an eyeful of the bulge in his jeans. Onyx and Cole hustled through the kitchen.
“Take your time, let us know when you're ready,” Onyx shouted as Cole pushed her into their bedroom.
After dinner, Onyx wanted to head back to Catcall Falls try to track down more information about the fire. None of them had been able to talk her out of it, so they drive two vehicles to the restaurant. Molly decided to ride with Onyx to put some distance between her and Ivan. Still mortified at being caught in such an indecent position earlier, she didn't know how to feel about their relationship. She'd never had a lot of girlfriends to discuss these sorts of things with. Not ones she trusted anyway. But Onyx could be trusted.
“So you and Ivan...?” Onyx let the question hang.
“I don't know, I mean, he warned me he's not into long-term relationships from the beginning. And I was okay with that because I don't do them either, but, shoot, Onyx, I like him. A lot. This is getting serious. At least for me.”
A wide grin split her friend's face, even though she didn't take her eyes off the road.
“And I can't keep my damn hands off him,” Molly added with a laugh.
“So I noticed,” Onyx teased.
“I think I might be falling in love with him,” Molly whispered, the words shocking her even as she said them out loud.
“Just be careful. I think he's into you too, but I don't want you to get hurt.”
“I know, I know. I'm not sure what to do. He's been so good to me. But I'm too young to settle down with one guy already, don't you think?”
Onyx snorted. “I'm the wrong person to ask.”
“You think Cole's it, really?”
She didn't hesitate with her answer. “Without a doubt.”
Molly thought that over. She tried to picture potential future boyfriends, but no one but Ivan would come to her.
“Maybe you should wait and see when all this trouble blows over and see how you both feel then. Being in the middle of a high-stress situation like this might be heightening your emotions.”
Molly wanted to snap at Onyx, stress had nothing to do with her feelings for Ivan. At least she didn't think so. Maybe her friend was right. She kept her mouth closed and stared out the window instead.
The four of them ended up at a small, cozy restaurant quite a few miles out of town. They met up with the guys. Cole freely took Onyx's hand to lead her over the gravelly parking lot. Ivan hesitated before holding out his hand to Molly. A rush of emotion brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them back and placed her hand in his.
The gravel led to a winding blue stone path that curved around what looked like an old stone house. Onyx explained, “We like it here because no one from campus would ever come here.”
“No, it's nice.” Molly didn't want her friend to think she disliked the place, although she had started to wonder about the out of the way location.
The hostess sat them in a booth all the way in the back. Molly squeezed in next to Onyx, and the guys settled in next to each of them.
“How did you leave things with your friend's mother?” Ivan asked after they'd all ordered.
“I'll stop by her house later. She's supposed to Skype with Denny and Bess and I'd like to say hi to them too. They're out on the West Coast right now, but I guess they’re headed East soon.”
“That's good, you probably miss them, right?” Molly asked.
“Oh yeah. The three of us were pretty tight growing up.”
Ivan leaned forward, focusing on Onyx. “I was surprised to hear you tell her you were going to take on the alpha role. I thought you didn't want it.”
Onyx glanced at Cole one corner of her mouth turning up in a half smile. “I didn't, but I think I have an obligation. I don't plan to run things tight and strict like the Edmunds did.” She shook her head. “I don't know yet.”
“From what I remember, the shifter communities led by females were usually the better ones,” Ivan remarked.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I mean a lot of the lion-shifter prides are female run, and they never have half the issues the domestics have.”
Onyx seemed to think that over. “I can't believe there are lion shifters,” she whispered, glancing at Cole who shrugged.
“There's a little bit of everything,” Ivan told her.
Molly's head spun thinking about the possibilities. Like Onyx, she didn't have much experience with the outside world beyond her clowder. She'd learned a lot from Ivan, but things continued to amaze her.
Onyx wrapped one warm hand around Molly's forearm. “You know, I've been thinking. I could use a kick-ass second in command,” she said raising one eyebrow.
“Who?” Then it dawned on her what she was implying. “Me? You're kidding, right? I know even less than you do about being a leader.”
Onyx pursed
her lips, her brows lowering.
“Sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. It's just, wouldn't you rather have someone like your friend Bess, who you've known a long time?”
“You're more of a leader than I think you realize,” Cole interjected.
Onyx nodded. Molly looked to Ivan to rescue her from this conversation. He hated shifter politics. He wouldn't want her to get involved with something like, but he had lowered his head to stare at the tablecloth. In fact, he'd gotten awfully silent.
“Ivan, don't you think Onyx should find someone with more experience to help her out?” Molly asked hoping he would intervene and tell Onyx how ludicrous this idea was.
“I don't know. I think the two of you could bring a fresh perspective to the community,” he answered carefully.
Wow, he could have picked up the fork he was spinning between his fingers and jammed it into her chest and it would have hurt less. Knowing how he felt about shifter politics, made his comment sting.
Did he think talking her into becoming a beta would be a subtle way to get rid of her? Fine. If that's what he wanted that's what he'd get.
Ivan knew by the way her face fell that he'd fucked up, but he wasn't sure how.
Didn't most women want a man who encouraged them to do stuff? Molly was a strong, independent female who'd bucked years of tradition to have a say in who she spent her life with. She had definite opinions about a lot of things. He found her smart and interesting to be around. Of course, she'd be a good leader. Better than most of the wrinkled sacks of shit he'd encountered over the years. Wouldn't he be less attractive to her if he were some jerk who was intimidated by his woman being in a position of power?
Wait, why did he care how attractive she found him? They both agreed their arrangement wouldn't be long term. His insides were completely torn up; something he wasn't used to or comfortable with.
Molly remained silent during their meal. Onyx and Cole did the bulk of the talking. Ivan itched to get her alone to find out what he'd done wrong. Molly finally perked up when Onyx mentioned school starting in a few days.