Ivan followed Cole and Onyx through a sleepy little town. An unassuming stone cottage came into view, and the dark sedan disappeared into the driveway. A black, iron gate slid closed behind Cole's car, so Ivan parked at the curb. They eased out of the truck, pushing the doors shut gently so as not to wake the entire neighborhood. As Ivan came around to meet Molly, he stared at the quaint little home and considered what it might be like to settle down someplace like this with her. Would he find some regular job and come home to her every night? Would they fill it with cubs and kittens of their own?

At the sound of Onyx's footsteps over the dry grass, he shook off the strange longings that had overwhelmed him without warning. He watched the two girls hug. Onyx threw herself against Ivan, giving him a quick squeeze before backing away from him.

“I'm so glad to see you guys. I'll open the gate back up if you want to pull the truck inside.”

“Nah, we can do it later.”

“Cole's inside. Come in and I'll give you the tour.”

Cole reached out and grabbed Ivan's hand in a healthy shake when they stepped inside. He gave Molly a quick hug that unsettled Ivan for reasons he didn't want to think about.

When they finished checking out the house, Molly looked a little bewildered. “It's so much bigger inside than I thought it would be.”

Onyx winked. “Magic.” She stopped in front of an opened door and gestured inside. “You can stay in the guest room.” Her eyes were focused on Molly, but Ivan got the impression she was speaking to both of them. Had Molly told Onyx they were a couple? Guess he should have tuned in when they were on the phone earlier. Since they probably reeked of one another after their earth-shattering sexathon, Onyx must assume they were together.

“There's only one guest room, but the couch is—”

“He can stay with me, that's fine,” Molly interjected.

Ivan shifted from foot to foot but kept his mouth shut. They were all adults here, no reason to make the situation any more awkward.

“Whatever you guys are comfortable with.” Onyx winked at Molly, and the girls headed down the hall toward the kitchen.

Ivan shook his head and slipped his keys out of his front pocket.

“Need some air?” Cole asked from behind him. Damn, sneaky wizard.

“I thought only cats snuck up on people like that.”

Cole's face broke into a grin. “Onyx has taught me a thing or two. You guys okay?”

“Yeah, I'm going to go bring our stuff in.”

“I have to go into the office early, so make yourself at home. Onyx should be around in the morning to show you where everything is.”

“We'll be fine.” Damn, he shouldn't be so brisk with the wizard since he'd been nice enough to invite them to stay. “Thanks though, I appreciate you letting us stay for a few days.”

The wizard turned serious. “Not a problem, man. Onyx said things didn't go well with Molly's parents?”

Ivan gave him a brief run down.

Cole ran his hand through his hair his gaze darting around the room.

“Sorry you invited us now?” Ivan joked.

Cole faced him and shook his head. “Not at all. Between your paramilitary training and my magic, this is probably the best place for you to be.”

Ivan hated to admit it, but Cole's words held some truth. They said good night, and Ivan headed outside to fetch their things. He took his time walking back, examining the windows and fence before he brought their two small bags inside. The girls sat at the kitchen table, their hands wrapped around mugs of what smelled like hot chocolate laced with hazelnut liquor. What a way to spice up the evening. Drunk cats drove him nuts. Good thing these two were both so adorable.

“In the morning, I've got to head over to campus to pick up my schedule for this semester, do you want to come with me?” Onyx asked Molly. She looked up as Ivan entered the room. “You too, Ivan, if you're interested.”

“Sure, why not?” Although his answer had more to do with not letting Molly out of his sight than taking a campus tour. At this point in his life, he wasn't exactly co-ed material.

“Great!” She turned her attention back to Molly. “You'll love it, it's such a pretty campus.”

Molly looked up at him with a blissful smile on her face. “Onyx made cocoa. Want some?”

“What did you lace it with, Nyx?” Ivan asked.

The two of them fell into a fit of giggles, and Ivan rolled his eyes. After they settled down, Onyx answered him.

“Frangelico.” She held her arms about a car-width apart. “I smuggled a big bottle of it home from Italy. Want some?” She held out her mug to him, but he shook his head. He almost found the fact that they were tipsy from hot cocoa amusing. Like most smaller shifters, domestics could not hold their liquor worth a damn.

Molly nodded. “I'm sure Ivan's a big beer man,” she snickered, then opened her mouth and let out a huge yawn. She flung her hand over her lips and gave them a sheepish grin. “Sorry, guess I'm sleepy.”

Onyx released a yawn of her own and shimmied her body in a very cat-like stretch before gracefully rising from the table. “Get some rest. As long as I’m on campus before four o'clock, I'm good. So no hurry getting up tomorrow. Sleep in.” She picked up their mugs, rinsed them out, and set them next to the sink to dry.

Molly waved her hand in the air at her friend. Onyx blew Ivan a kiss before swaying out of the kitchen. He heard a door down the hall close with a soft click. Then silence.

Turning to Molly, he took in her pale face and the shadows under her eyes. Damn, he needed to take better care of her. He should have insisted they get a motel room so she could rest. They could have finished the drive here tomorrow.

He held out his hand, stupidly pleased when she grasped it immediately. “Let's get some sleep.”

She pushed her chair out and stood on wobbly legs. “I feel fuzzy.”

“Of course you do, kitten,” he replied, the corners of his mouth lifting in a grin.

She yawned and fell into his arms. Slinging her over his shoulder, he carried her to bed.

* * *

Cat shifters might not hold their liquor well, but they also didn't suffer the same morning-after effects full humans did. He found both girls in the kitchen earlier than he would have expected. After a quick breakfast, Ivan offered to drive them to campus in the truck. The girls squeezed together on the front seat, which meant having Molly snuggled up right beside him. He definitely had no complaints with the seating arrangements.

Driving through town, he found the small, narrow streets and vintage-looking shops peaceful. The area was easy enough to navigate. Along the way he noted several side routes in case he needed to ditch someone tailing them. A safe, coziness enveloped the town and Ivan understood why his friends liked it here so much. A place like this might be nice to spend some time in. The thought surprised him, since it didn't resemble the rocky isolation he'd grown accustomed to over the last few years one bit.

“Oh, Onyx it's so pretty!” Molly clapped her hands in delight when the campus came into view.

“Everything you need is on campus. I regretted not being able to live in the dorms my first year, but of course, now I understand why my parents wouldn't allow it.”

“You could live in the dorms now if you wanted to, though?”

Onyx's eyes widened in surprise. “I'd rather be with Cole. It's not like I'm missing out on pledging a sorority or something. I kind of have my own if you think about it.”

The girls giggled, and Ivan relaxed a notch. Hearing Molly's laugh reassured him.

He guided the truck into a spot in the visitor's lot, and Onyx led the way to Cole's office. The two girls walked ahead of him chattering away. He kept his head up, checking out the grounds and the other students. Before long he realized he stuck out like a sore thumb. Next to all these fresh-faced kids he felt like an ancient tom cat. He shook it off and followed them up the stairs into an old, stone building that had been converted into offices and classrooms.

“Cole's office is down here.” Onyx lowered her voice and pulled them both closer, even though with their superior feline hearing they could hear her fine. “Uh, no one is supposed to know we're dating. He could lose his job, so you know...” she looked at them with pleading eyes.

“Got it,” Molly assured her with a knowing wink.

Ivan stifled a laugh and nodded. He found the irony of her bucking her clowder's ancient traditions in favor of some stuffy college's rules rather funny. Especially when you considered how magically powerful Onyx and Cole were. The two of them hiding their relationship seemed like such a silly human thing to do. But he liked both of them and wouldn't do anything to upset their precarious little bubble.

* * *

Waves of longing washed over Molly as she toured the campus. This is what she should be doing. She'd tried going to the local community college back home. Because she wanted to study nursing, which was an appropriate female profession according to her parents, they allowed it. Until she turned twenty and learned about her arranged mating to Zane. Then it would be his decision as to whether she continued her education or not. On the day she'd discovered that little tidbit, she started plotting her escape. Having some man she didn't even like being in charge of whether she could pursue an education was not the life she wanted to live, and it came as a complete shock her parents expected that of her.

Something in her longed to take Ivan's hand as they walked from building to building. With no idea of how he’d react to such a public display of affection, she kept her hands to herself. There was still so much she didn't know about him.

When they reached Cole's office, Onyx knocked softly before calling out. “Professor Radcliffe, are you busy?”

They heard him shout “come in” and crowded into his office. Piles of papers and books covered pretty much every surface. Molly stopped short when she realized Cole wasn't alone. A breathless blonde in jeans and a tight tank top stood leaning over Cole's desk, her ample cleavage on display. A sisterly urge to choke the girl flirting with her friend's boyfriend zipped through her, but she waited to see how Onyx reacted before doing anything. Behind her, she heard Ivan snort and step back into the hallway to cough.

“Oh, I'm sorry professor, a friend of mine is interested in going to school here and I thought...” Onyx trailed off giving Cole a pointed look.

“Sure, come on in. Lisa and I were just finishing up.”

Lisa didn't seem aware of that. She tossed her hair as she stood up, eyeing Onyx with suspicion.

“Well, thanks for the help Professor Radcliffe, I think I got it now. I'm definitely going to sign up for your class.”

“That's great. See you when classes start next week.”

Lisa sashayed out the door, but not before she paused to give Ivan an once-over and Molly barely kept her claws retracted. Like a smart man, he shut the door as soon as she crossed the threshold.

“Boy, I'm glad to see you guys. She's, um, an interesting one.” Cole stood up and took Onyx in his arms, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “She wanted to know if we would be living in outer space by now if we hadn't lost so much science during the Dark Ages.”

Onyx tossed her head back and laughed. “Holy hell, I don't even know where to begin with that one.”

Molly questioned if she really wanted to go to a school that admitted students that dumb. When she'd discovered the Medicina Antiqua it had fascinated her so much, she wanted to be a nurse. That medical manuscript had come out of the dark ages along with lots of other neat stuff this chick obviously had never heard of.

Cole shook their hands. “Good to see you two, hope you were able to get some rest last night. I'm sorry your visit home didn't go well, Molly.”

Embarrassed, she only shrugged.

Sensing her discomfort, Onyx changed the subject. “Molly might be interested in going to school here.”

“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.”