When she was asked which one she would prefer, it was actually a hard decision. As much as she wanted to keep going and get to their destination, she was tired as well. She couldn't sleep on his back, and when she looked at Tevin, she knew what the answer had to be. They needed to take a break. Tevin looked worn out, but she was sure that he would never admit it.
“I think we should get a place to sleep for a little bit until you're ready to go again. We still have quite a way, don’t we?”
He agreed and seemed relieved with the decision. Molly was quite certain that he would have gone as long as he possibly could without admitting that he was tired. She had met people like him before and could see well that his stubbornness was just part of his personality.
The hotel only had one room, and of course, it only had one bed. She worried about how that would turn out, but Tevin was quick to let her know that she had nothing to worry about.
“I promise that I will not touch you. No matter what.”
Molly knew that it was supposed to make her feel better, but it did not. It made her actually whimper a little bit.
“I'm not worried about you touching me.”
She really wasn't. That was going to happen naturally. If her dreams were anything to go off of, they were going to have a very active sex life.
“Then what are you worried about? It’s written all over your face.”
Molly told Tevin that she wasn't worried about a thing, and he called her a liar. She started to get defensive about it, but he pointed towards her shaking hands. It was really hard to pretend she was one hundred percent fine with something when she couldn't even stop her hands from trembling enough for him to see. She couldn’t even convince herself.
She hid her hands, clasping them together, and then shrugged. “I don't know why this is hard to imagine but being kidnapped is not something that I'm necessarily used to. I think I am allowed to be a little upset about it and to show a tiny bit of emotions.”
That made him frown like he hadn't even thought that it would bother her. She kind of looked at him strangely, trying to figure out what was going through Tevin’s mind. There was a lot there, but he was so closed up, not letting her see it for herself.
“I didn't mean it like that. Of course, you have a right to be upset. I am sorry that I have to do this. This wasn't my first choice, and like I’ve said before, this really isn’t my sort of job. This is not what I usually do, so if I’m doing a poor job, I apologize.”
She waved him off. “I know. You're just following orders. That's what William said too. And Dominic. Seems that if the people would just stop following orders, maybe the Syndicate wouldn’t be as strong as they are now.”
She told him that she needed to take a shower, and Molly expected him to push back on the request, but he did not. He brought her an extra towel and told her that he would be waiting out there if she needed anything.
Molly wasn't sure what she had expected, but she knew that it wasn't what she was getting at the moment. How was she ever going to find herself in the right headspace to want to marry Tevin? If that part of her visions wasn’t true, maybe none of them were. Maybe Molly had just walked right into a trap.
Chapter Five
Trevor and Jessica decided that it would be best if they went to see the witches by themselves. Jessica knew that some of the other people did not have good luck with witches and the last thing they needed was to make things any more complicated than they already were. Jessica just wanted to find out the information that would help them get Molly. She wasn't worried about the existential fight between shifters and witches.
Jessica knew that her mate was not too happy with witches either, but he had assured her that he would not attack anyone unless it was to keep her safe. She was worried about how he would respond to the witches, but she did feel safer with him around.
They were getting close to where the Waverly witches lived, and Jessica was getting a strange feeling that ran up her spine, making every single hair on the back of her neck stand up. It was the sort of feeling that made people rethink what they were currently doing. Was she really about to knowingly go into the house of three of the most powerful witches in the country?
She must have hesitated visibly as her mind tried to reinforce the need to go. There was a reason that nobody liked to work with witches. There was a reason that the Waverly witches were so well known. Their power must have been demonstrated in such a way that people would remember. That memorable way was almost never a good one. The stories Jessica had heard about them were the type that showed the world who really ran things.
Trevor stopped and asked her again if she was sure about what they were doing.
“You don't have to come. I will take care of this. You've already done enough just remembering them, so don’t think that you have to.”
He was giving her an out, and as much as she wanted to take it, Jessica knew that she had to help wherever she could. How easy it could have been, living a lie with complete strangers, her memory completely gone. There was, of course, the anger that she felt for the witches who had done that to her. There were so many emotions, and the only way she was going to get through them was to go meet the witches face to face and find out why they had done such a thing to her. More than that, she needed to convince them to not only give her information, but to help her find Molly.
It sounded so simple, but Jessica knew that it wouldn't be.
“Let's just get this done, Trevor. I want to get back home tonight.”
He agreed and did not bring up the fact that she was internally shaking or the fact that even her voice was quavering. It was bad enough that she was feeling that way; it was even worse for him to know it.
They were almost there, maybe fifteen feet away, when Jessica saw Trevor fly backward. She also saw the spot in front of him twinkle for a moment and then go back to normal. If she wouldn't have known that they were coming upon a witch’s house, she may have wondered what was going on. But there was no need to wonder in their current scenario. Jessica knew very well what a forcefield looked like, and it didn't take much to realize that he had been hit by one. She was just shocked at how much damage it did. He was completely knocked out cold for several minutes before he came to and wanted to know what had happened.
“What happened, dear, is we got too close and we didn't consider that maybe they wouldn't want visitors.”
He was rubbing the back of his neck and winced as he got up. He had been thrown quite far, and it was clear that it had hurt him.
Jessica tried to help him up but realized quickly that his pride was wounded and he wouldn’t accept it. She instead waited for him to struggle for a moment and did not say anything until he was back on his feet. Then they could talk again, and he could explain what they should do next.
“I don't know. I wasn’t thinking that I would be flying into a damn wall. Damn witches. I hate dealing with them!”
Obviously, he was upset, and while it had been quite funny to watch him fly through the air in such a way, she was not stupid enough to make her merriment known. He would not appreciate her sense of humor at that time, just like he wouldn’t appreciate a reminder that he was dealing with witches.
“Maybe all we need to do is call out to them and ask them to take it down? Maybe it doesn't have to be so complicated. They will probably be curious and want to know what we are here for.”
He gave her a dirty look and Jessica just smiled back at him innocently. There was no sense in them arguing about it, but part of her wanted to mess with him a little bit. He was almost always right, and this time, he obviously hadn’t been.
After a moment, he finally agreed that they should at least give it a try. She called out to the witches and asked if they would give them a few minutes of their time. Trevor obviously didn't believe that her plan would work, but after a few moments, they saw the forcefield go down, and after she tentatively touched where it would be, she realized that it was no longer there.
Her plan had worked, and now they had to talk to the witches. Jessica was determined to get to the bottom of it. One way or another, the Waverly Witches were the ones that were going to help her.
She grabbed Trevor's hand and they both walked towards the eerie house. It was as spooky and neglected as she would have imagined. It was certainly not the sort of place that she would want to come for a visit. Every fiber of her being told her that she should be anywhere but where she was.
Jessica had to fight that feeling and push through it anyway. She had to ignore what her whole body told her to do and go forward, knocking on the very door of danger.
What could go wrong…?
Chapter Six
After Molly went to bed, Tevin did his best to not study her face or pay her any attention. She had made it clear that she knew there was a reason that she had been taken, but her lack of worry about it did not seem natural. There were several things about Molly that did not seem easy to believe, and he was cynical to pretty much everything that he didn’t understand.
When she got out of the shower, she didn't say much more to him that night, and it was probably for the best. There was a tension between them that he wasn't sure how he was supposed to fight. He was nervous to take her back to his home. Not only because she was a witch, but because it was going to bring up difficult conversations that he might not be ready to have. How was he going to explain this to his brother when he already thought so ill of what Tevin did for a living?
That made him think that maybe he and Molly needed to have a conversation. She needed to know what to say and what not to say. It wasn't like he was dishonored by working for the Syndicate, but he did know that his family wouldn't quite understand. They hadn’t understood when he took off in the first place.
With that on his mind, he said her name gently to see if she was still awake. It was better to talk about it then while he was thinking about it.
“Are you still awake?”
Her breath hitched in her throat, but she didn't answer. Obviously, she was awake and it was clear that she wanted him to believe otherwise. He decided not to push it. They could talk about it in the morning just the same. After the day she’d had, it would be crazy to think that she didn’t need some time to work things out.
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the warm body next to him. The woman that was beautiful and yet, still the bane of his existence. He wanted to call Cole and ask him how long it was going to take, but he knew Cole wasn’t going to have anything good to say. He wasn’t supposed to care enough to ask. He was just supposed to be happy for an order.
This order, though, was too much to ask, even for the Syndicate.
The next morning, Molly was up before Tevin, and she was waiting for him when he finally woke up. Tevin could tell that she had been waiting awhile and he asked her why she didn't wake him up sooner.
“It looked like you needed to sleep. Besides, it just got dark a little while ago. We couldn't have left until now anyway.”
He agreed and got up, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. He wasn't even sure when he actually dozed off. It had taken quite a long time for him to go to sleep because his mind had just been filled with all sorts of questions about what was to come next.
He jumped in the shower to wake himself up a little bit, and she was waiting for him when he got out. She wanted to know how long they would be traveling, and he told her that they should be at his clan’s place in a few hours. That seemed to make her happy, and his heart clenched with such an innocent smile.
She surprised him even more by handing him a coffee and some kind of pastry that she had gotten at the front of the hotel.
“Thank you. Where did you get it?”
She shrugged and told him that there was a sign when they first came in about a continental breakfast.
He was more or less surprised that she would have even thought of him that way. He was, as she had reminded him the night before, her kidnapper. Tevin was pretty sure that most people did not get their kidnapper coffee in the morning. He had so much that he wanted to ask Molly, but at the same time, he was trying to keep his distance. Getting too close and being able to do nothing was only going to complicate things further.
Tevin was usually a good judge of character. Not too many people got one over on him; he could not only see what was coming but the reason behind it as well. He prided himself in being able to read people and to understand the situation, even though the truth was never actually said out loud.
When it came to Molly, he questioned everything. Nothing went smoothly when it came to her. Molly made him feel like his insides were irritated with his skin. It was unprecedented.
“Thank you for this; it's really thoughtful.”
She waved him off like it was no big deal.
“I figured that you would want something to drink and something in your stomach before we left. If not, we're going to be waiting around another hour at a restaurant.”
Her thought process was easy to follow, and he had to agree with her assessment. The restaurants did take a while, and he was never too fond of waiting. Her way was much better, and when he asked her how much time she was going to need to get ready, she said that she already was.
“Since you kidnapped me, I really don't have much to take with me. It's a good thing though because I'll be traveling light.”
He didn't know if she was joking or not, so he didn't laugh. He smiled for a moment before covering up the expression, still unsure what to make of his assignment. Molly was not at all what he had expected. Nothing like what he expected.
A few more minutes of awkward silence before Tevin retreated to the bathroom. What the hell was he going to do with her when he couldn’t even face her without losing his control? It was going to be a very long assignment, and he still didn’t even have an actual time frame. All he knew for certain was that Molly was going to drive him mad before it was all said and done; he just knew it.
But did she?
Chapter Seven
Even though most of the day before was spent in awkward silence, Molly was convinced that it didn't have to be that way. She was focused on the future and was still trying to figure out how it was done with her present.
They stopped for a break a little later and he said that he had to talk to her about something. It wasn't a good talk that he wanted to have. Tevin's face showed as much.
“What do you want to talk to me about, Tevin?”
She was stretching her legs and raising their arms overhead. It felt good to be in a different position after staying in the same one for so long.
“I want to talk to you before we get to my clan. We are a small clan, and we're pretty close. Some questions we might need to go over and agree on an answer. I don’t want them to suspect anything.”
Molly wasn't sure what he meant by that. When she asked, he gave her an answer that was just as ambiguous as the last one.
“About?
“My family doesn't know what I do, not really. Dave has his own feelings about the Syndicate, like you do, and I don’t want to give them another reason to disapprove of me.”
“So, you don't want your family to know that I'm kidnapped?”
He smiled at her a little lopsided and shrugged.
“Is that too much to ask?”
That made her smile, and he looked at her strangely. Tevin had a lot more on his mind than what he was talking about. What was it that he really wanted to say to her? She would have given anything to have heard it.
“No, I don't think so. I'm sure that we can keep it all under wraps. I wouldn't want your family thinking ill of you.”
He grimaced. “You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
Molly considered it for a moment and then shrugged. “I haven't really made up my mind yet. Why don't we just go and see how it turns out?”
Another growl from him, and she wanted to laugh. He was funny when he was exasperated.
She got back on hi
s dragon form and tried to ignore the feelings that the ride was giving her. She kept telling herself over and over again that whatever attraction she had to him was not a valid one. He was not the enemy per se, but he certainly wasn't the one that she was supposed to trust. That much seemed obvious. Molly was still trying to reconcile the dream man with the dragon she was riding on now. It was hard to do. They seemed so different, and Molly still clung to the idea of him while wondering if it was even possible.
A couple hours later, they were flying into what seemed to be a solid mountain. Molly worried for a moment that he had lost his sense of control and they were going to run into it. She held on tight and said a little prayer, sure that it was going to be the end of her.
He chuckled when he stopped and she was able to get off. Molly didn't find any of it funny. She had never been so afraid in all of her life. It wasn't like she was used to flying, and since they started, he’d flown in a way that made her not worry at all.
Now, something was different. She was in his clan, and she was going to have to watch what she said. Molly was worried that she would say the wrong thing and he would be mad at her for not keeping her word. If nothing else, she needed to at least do that.
He asked her if she was all right and Molly said that she was fine. Apparently, she was not giving off the air of being fine, though. He was looking at her like she might pass out at any moment. Molly felt a little shaky, but she was not weak. She would be able to stand on her own two feet.
“I just want to make sure that you're ready for this. There are only a few of us left but were loud and boisterous. It can be overwhelming, and if it gets that way, just know that I am here for you.”
Molly shrugged. Meeting his family wasn’t as big a deal as it seemed to be to him. She was the one that was going through it. She was the one that was kidnapped and taken to some foreign place hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from where she resided. How was he the one that was nervous about how this was going to go?
Alpha Shifter Bride Service: (A Paranormal Romance Series) Page 45
