Page 42 of Cuddles for the Bear
“There’re not many at the moment,” Wren said slowly, “but yes, I know I’d be safe here. I’m not worried about that.”
“Is that what you’d prefer to do?” Devon wasn’t sure how he felt either way. He knew that Pax went along with Storm on every job, and although Python still went and did most of his jobs alone, there were times when Cyrus went with him, too. Python had the advantage of being able to translocate, so it wasn’t like there were long stretches of time driving, flying, or getting to their destination, doing the job, and then turning around and spending the same amount of time traveling back.
Devon would’ve felt more comfortable about leaving Wren if it were a job that could be done within twenty-four hours. But with the traveling, two days was a more reasonable time frame, and that was assuming the pastor was easily found. By the same token, the target he’d been given made Devon’s first job as a mated man a loaded issue.
“What do you want me to do?”
Reaching across the table, Devon took Wren’s hand. “It’s not what I want. Not in this instance. The only reason why I thought it might be better for you to stay here is that being in Jorgensen again, being in that area, it’s going to bring up memories that you might rather forget. From what Cyrus told me, that town hasn’t changed in the last fifty years.”
“I think I need to see that for myself. I want to come.” Wren looked up and met Devon’s eyes.
“If that’s what you want.” Devon sighed as he rubbed over the back of Wren’s hand. “My only concern is you being impacted by any negative memories. Being in the place you grew up will do that to you. You’ve come so far, and you’re happy now. I don’t want anything to take that away. The second issue is that if you see me do the job…” Devon hesitated and then pushed on. “You’ve never seen me kill a person before, and there’s nothing nice about that side of the work. I don’t want you to feeldifferently about me if you happen to see something you’re going to struggle to deal with afterward.”
“I’m not going to know how I feel about that until I’ve actually seen it.” Wren tilted his head to one side. “Given that it’s the pastor, I doubt I’m going to be upset about it.”
“Okay, so you can travel with me, but I think you should take a lesson from Pax in this situation and just stay in the car, like he does when Storm is working,” Devon suggested.
But Wren was shaking his head before Devon had finished the sentence. “Not this time, not for this job. I have my own reasons for wanting to see the pastor one last time.”
“Do I need to ask why?” Devon was fairly sure he already knew.
“I want Pastor Jorgenson to see that despite all he did, I survived.” Wren’s chin went up. “I’ll still be standing when he’s dead.”
Wren’s confidence was growing day by day, and Devon couldn’t be prouder, even as he hoped deep inside he wasn’t making a king-sized mistake. “That’s what we’ll do then. We can use the travel time for me to give you some basic lessons in vampire hunting 101. They have a few quirks and dangerous elements you’ll need to know if you’re going to be in the same room as him.”
“What? We can’t play those fun car games I hear about, like I Spy?”
Devon chuckled. “Let’s see if you still feel like doing that after the plane ride. I’m going to guess that will be a first for you as well.”
“If you can do it, I can, too.” Wren frowned. “What should I wear for this sort of thing? I’m sure you’re going to tell me that rainbow sneakers would not be appropriate in the killing business.”
“I’ll be doing the killing,” Devon reminded his mate. “You can wear whatever you like. I’ll try and keep the blood splatter to a minimum.”
“I’d never get blood out of those sneakers.” Wren shuddered. “I have black boots. Those will work perfectly.”
Devon silently agreed, glad Wren had come to that decision on his own. While he had grown to love Wren’s colorful clothing style, there were times when muted clothing that didn’t stand out really helped – like when two people were hunting down a rogue vampire.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Wren did not like traveling on a plane. Devon had mentioned during their trip to the airport that most paranormals, especially shifters like himself, didn’t enjoy spending time in what was effectively a tin can being propelled by huge engines that could stop any minute. All while moving along at super-fast speeds thousands of feet in the air.
For Wren, it wasn’t the closed-in nature of the plane that bothered him. It wasn’t that there were so many other people on the plane with them – Devon, or the agency, had booked business class tickets, so they did have a small area to themselves. The issue Wren was struggling with was that his chameleon got the idea that he would rather fly alongside the plane than be in one.
Forcing back a shift wasn’t easy, and clearly his issues showed through his bond with Devon. Eventually, Devon tucked him under his arm, encouraging Wren to lean on his shoulder, using Devon’s scent to keep his chameleon calm. To Wren’s surprise, he fell asleep on the four-hour journey, meaning he was slightly disorientated when Devon woke him up after the plane had landed.
“Levi and Calvin will be so jealous when they hear you fell asleep,” Devon teased quietly as they gathered their overnight bags, getting ready to leave the plane. “I’m an extremely nervous passenger, but I can sit through it. Calvin would rather drive four days to a destination than get on a plane.”
“I’m not sure I’d want to fly very often either,” Wren muttered back. “Being in the air has given my chameleon a few ideas I’m not sure I want to explore.”
“Chameleons can’t fly, babe.”
“Try telling that to mine,” Wren hissed, glancing over his shoulder as someone nudged him in the back. “He didn’t want to sprout fur, hair, or scales. He was thinking feathers.”
“Shit. I didn’t even think that could be a possibility.” Devon chuckled as he nodded at the steward waiting by the door. “Could be something to explore when we’re back home.”
Or not.Wren had seen Pax fly a few times, and while he always thought Pax looked so graceful in the air, the man could never seem to get his landings right.
The agency apparently arranged things like rental cars and hotel rooms as well. As Devon spoke with a receptionist, organizing their car, Wren looked around. It seemed surreal, watching people go about their day.
