Page 18 of Cimmerian

Mollie sighed again, and I rolled my eyes. “Ben is Mollie’s fiancé,” I replied, my voice catching when I thought of sweet Ben -- so in love with Mollie. But that had been a different Mollie. One who wasn’t a witch.

“Oh.” Merrick looked like he was fighting with himself to get his wolf back under control, regaining some of his gentle nature. “Um. Well. We don’t have to…” His voice trailed off into the silence of the car.

“We both know that’s not an option,” Mollie snapped, her voice matter of fact. “You really want to spend the rest of your life as a rejected mate?”

“No.”

A cold laugh came from the passenger seat, and if I hadn’t known it was my best friend sitting there, I would have never guessed it was her. “That’s what I thought. And it’s tenfold worse for a witch. I would lose most of my power.”

The three of us sat in uncomfortable silence as the suburbs of Merrillan became farmer’s fields. There was nothing more to say. Broken relationships stretched between us. Merrick and my mother. Mollie and myself. And poor, sweet, Ben. Did he deserve any of this?

Did any of us, really?

The rest of the drive to the apartment was eerily quiet, none of us sure what to say to reassure the others. As I turned into the parking lot, Mollie spoke up. “Where are we?”

“My apartment. I mean, Jasper’s and my apartment.” I couldn’t help but notice a small spark of joy when I spoke the words aloud. It was ours. A piece of the life we would build together.

Mollie hummed. “I guess I assumed you were going to bring me to the pack lands.”

I shook my head. “It’s not safe there right now. Come on. You said you could help, and we don’t have a lot of time.”

The ground floor apartment was lit up warmly, and I could see Jasper through the open window, carrying a box of clothes into another room. He must have gone back to my old place to get our things. I didn’t bother knocking as I entered the door -- this was my home now, after all. “Jasp?” I called.

“Baby!” I heard the crash of something hitting the ground, and Jasper was rushing through the doorway lifting me off my feet.

I laughed nervously as he squeezed me tightly in his broad arms. “I just went to town, Jasp. You knew where I was.”

He tipped his forehead to mine, meeting my gaze. “Right now, until we catch this thing, anytime you come home to me is a cause for celebration.” He looked over my shoulder, nodding at Merrick, and I saw the shock hit him when he noticed Mollie standing behind him. “Baby. What is Mollie doing here?” His voice was tight and quiet, and his anxiety was seeping through my veins down the bond.

“Um. Well. You see.” How did I even begin to explain what all had transpired at the diner?

“I’m a witch,” Mollie piped up, softly.

Merrick shifted his body in front of her, protecting the small blonde. “And my mate.”

Jasper closed his eyes, cursing under his breath. He opened them again, blinking at me. “Seriously? You’ve brought a witch here?”

Mollie threw her hands up defensively. “I’m here to help!”

The growl that escaped Jasper was dark and dangerous. “How can I know for sure? You’ve lied to both Ava and myself about who you really are. We can’t trust you. Maybe you’ve been working with Monica this whole time.”

“I have,” Mollie admitted, and all three of us took a sharp breath.

“Mollie,” I whispered. “How could you?” Betrayal was too slight of a word to describe the emotions pounding through my heart. This couldn’t be happening.

“Ava, you don’t understand.” Her big blue eyes were begging me to listen to her. In them I saw a glimpse of my best friend. “It wasn’t me, not really. It was my family. They’ve been helping her. But I knew. I knew, and that makes me just as bad as the rest of them, and I’m so sorry.”

Jasper growled. “You need to leave, now, before I make you leave. And you don’t want me to make you leave.”

I pressed my hand against Jasper’s chest, his heart steadying with my touch. “Let her finish,” I begged him through the bond. I needed something to cling to, some scrap of Mollie was still there.

Jasper tipped his chin up at Mollie. “Go on.”

Mollie mouthed a thank you my way, before fixing a stare back on Jasper. “I knew. But I couldn’t stop them. And I couldn’t tell anyone. You understand, don’t you? You have that in packs, right?”

“Yes.” Jasper gave her a brisk nod. “But I would never put Ava in any danger with my actions. You have by allowing her parents to get away with their bullshit. Multiple times.”

The knife to my heart was back, twisting its way deeper inside. I couldn’t think of all the times she had lied to my face or knew the turmoil bubbling inside of me. “You said you could help.”

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