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 quietly.

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.

“You probably can't get in by the start of this semester, but how about January?” Onyx asked.

“Yeah, I'll get my transcripts and stuff together once I figure out where I'm going to settle down.” Molly flicked a glance in his direction, and his stomach lurched. It hit him—he wasn't ready to let Molly go yet.

Then of course, she still needed someone to protect her. The threats to her life hadn't been eliminated just because she wished it so. But if he kept insisting to be the one to protect her, would she read too much into it? With a shock he realized he didn't care if she did.

Before they started whatever was going on between them, he'd basically told her he only wanted a fling. Yet somehow he found himself mentally calculating how much he could get for his house if he put it on the market tomorrow. One or two “for sale” signs in Cole's neighborhood had definitely caught his eye. A place surrounded by a little bit of woods for some shifter privacy would be ideal, but he didn't have the first clue how to voice any of this to Molly.

She wouldn't take him seriously. She wanted to start a new life. Start school. Maybe help run a freaking clowder.

None of those things included a guy like him. But did he want it to?

He did.

How could he make her believe him?

* * *

Judging by the pain in her chest, Molly thought her heart might actually be breaking. They'd parted ways with Onyx and Cole after dinner. The urge to run instead of getting into his truck with him had hit her hard in the parking lot. But when he'd held the door open for her she couldn't stop herself from climbing in, even if she could feel their time together screeching to a halt. Ivan had warned her he wasn't looking for a mate. He'd been honest from the start. If her heart had gotten tangled up, it was her own damn fault. But that didn't mean she could do this any longer without getting hurt.

She sucked in a lungful of air before blurting out. “I think I'm going to stay here with Onyx and Cole. You can go back home whenever you want.”

Molly heard Ivan take a deep breath and steeled herself for an argument.

“It's still not safe for you,” he said with deathly calm staring ahead through the windshield.

“I realize that and I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I'll stay with Onyx and Cole. I'll be safe there. No one should know I'm at his house.”

“People have already seen you in Catcall Falls. How long do you think it will take for word to spread that you've been spotted there? It won't take them long to track you down. The college is in the next town over, not some alternate universe.”

“Listen, I appreciate your concern, but if you want me to be honest—” Molly paused because this was the part that hurt the most. Her pride and her heart.—“I can't do this anymore.” Her voice rose as she waved her hand back and forth between them before she continued. “I'm not asking you for anything more; I know you don't want that. But I'm scared if we keep doing this friends-with-benefits thing, this protector/girl-on-the-run thing, I'm going to end up getting hurt. It's not your fault; it's mine.”

* * *

As his truck started up the hill leading to the bridge spanning Crystal Lake, Ivan struggled to frame what he wanted to say. Since they'd parted ways with Onyx and Cole, he'd sensed Molly slipping further away.

With the sun hanging lower in the sky, the water shimmered and sparkled below them, making him wish he'd remembered his sunglasses. A few scattered orange cones lined the shoulder of the bridge, and he eased off the accelerator. Knowing the area a little better now, he judged Cole's house was less than five miles away. If he could just get them there, they could work this out. He needed to look her in the eye when he told her he wanted more than some fuck-buddy arrangement with her.

“What, you have nothing to say?” she pressed.

Oh no, he had plenty to say to that. “Molly—”

Before he could finish, a sharp impact sent his chin into the steering wheel.

“Fuck!” He shouted, struggling to sit back and keep control of the truck. His seat belt clamped down, yanking him tight against his seat. He turned his head to check on Molly, but another jolt struck, wrenching his neck.

A glance in the rear mirror showed a big, green SUV getting a little too close for comfort. He had to get them out of here before this psycho sent them nose first into the water. Slamming his foot on the gas, the truck roared and shot forward, putting distance between them and the asshole who seemed determined to push them over the guardrail. Four hundred horses of turbo diesel power rocketed them forward, but the damn SUV behind them kept pace. Fuck if it wasn't the same vehicle he'd spotted earlier. Finally they made it off the bridge, and Ivan continued to push his truck’s limits.

His neck snapped forward as once again they were struck from behind. This time their tormentor slammed into the left fender, causing the truck to spin. Molly's scream echoed in the cabin. The tires caught on the edge of the road. Ivan barely had time to shout at Molly to “hang on.”

The truck flipped and rolled. Glass shattered. Airbags exploded. His head slammed into the window.

Molly's screams and the roar of the truck's engine were the last things he heard.