The apprentice that showed up at his house was nervous, but when they went into the backyard, he relaxed and quickly cast the spell that would create a travelling link to the Crossroads.
As a councillor, he had the right to retrieve a member of the creatures under his domain.
He had been the Avian Councillor for two months, and he had never been busier. He had to admit, this was an escape as much as a retrieval mission.
The guardians of the Crossroads were waiting for him. “Hello, Councillor Suel.”
“Call me, Damon, please.”
“Damon, I am Tony, this is Teal. The woman you are looking for came in yesterday, but it was late, so I believe that she remained at the Open Heart.”
Teal gave him a narrow-eyed look. “You have the right to retrieve her, but if ever there was a woman who needed the Crossroads, it is she.”
Damon scowled. “What? Her family said—”
“What was necessary to get you moving. Families do that all the time. They attempt to manipulate the way things work when someone is here. The truth of the matter is that this is outside the Shifter Council’s domain. Destiny rules here. Get used to it.”
He straightened his shoulders. “Where can I drop my bag?”
Tony took over while Teal stalked to the side and grabbed a charm. She stomped back to him and tied the charm on his wrist. “This will pay for everything at the Crossroads, including your room.”
Tony held up a document. “Come on; Teebie has room for you so you can stay at the same place that your target is. She is nearly full, but there was room at the Open Heart for one more.”
Damon went with the guardian and looked around at the dimensional bubble built for the express purpose of matching hard-to-match shifters.
Once they were a good distance from the Meditation Centre, Damon asked, “Why is your mate so hostile toward me?”
“She is protective of the women who come here with hollow souls. The woman you seek was such a one, but she is fighting to find herself and she is starting here. Speak politely of her when you ask for her whereabouts. She demands respect, but we guess that she has not received it.”
Damon was getting curious. He had met Edgar Wexler’s two daughters at his appointment but was unaware of the third. He had guessed that she was just legal, but based on the skewed information he was getting now, that was not the case.
He minded his manners when he met the djinn who ran the Open Heart. She directed him to his room, and when he had dropped off his bag, she offered him coffee.
He settled across from her. “Good afternoon?”
“Yes. The time shift is harder for those who don’t come on the schedule. So, are you seeking your true mate? Teal and Tony didn’t say.” Teebie poured his coffee and smiled.
Damon sighed. “You know already.”
The djinn shrugged. “Of course. Your image was all over the Shifter Council notifications two months ago. I just need to know who you are looking for. You have been dodging matrimony for years. I don’t see you suddenly changing your mind now.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You really do pay attention.”
“It’s my job.”
“I am looking for one of your guests. Her last name is Wexler, and I believe her first name is Agathe.”
Teebie sipped at her coffee and pushed a cookie toward him. “Are you sure of that?”
“Sure of what?”
“Her name. I don’t have anyone by that name under my roof, but if her parents reported her, they would have used her registered name. That would have been her birth name. Folks use nicknames all the time.”
Damon leaned back and drank from the best cup of coffee he had had in a decade. “You are saying that I have to find her on my own.”
Teebie shrugged. “Since you are not sure who you are looking for, I am not sure who you are looking for.”
When he finished his coffee, the cup and the rest of the items on the table disappeared.
Teebie smiled, “The best way to find her is to get up and go looking.”
It was an order and a dismissal delivered with a smile. Damon got to his feet and took off his jacket, hanging it in the hall. He rolled up his cuffs and headed out into the Crossroads to find the woman that wasn’t nearly as missing as she had been two hours ago.
* * * *
Molly smiled at the deep pink of her fingernails. “Thank you, Stephyn.”
Stephyn winked. “It figures that my sister wants to run the salon and then she gets pregnant. I am glad you enjoyed it though. It has been a while since I got to do a full manicure. If you chip while you are here, come on back.”
“Can I get a pedicure, too?” She grinned. “Later I mean.”
“Of course. Come in whenever you like. There is always someone here.”
She got to her feet and swiped her charm across the pay stone. With her arms held up like a surgeon’s, she left the nail salon and headed over to the bar. Wrapping her hands around a drink would keep them out of trouble.
Molly smiled at Spike and took a seat at the bar. She sipped at a blended margarita and watched the bar slowly begin to fill.
She had to admit she enjoyed the organization of the Crossed Star. They only served drinks and all food had to be provided by the café or the restaurant on either side of them. The music and alcohol were the centrepiece of the Crossroads. Even the locals drifted in to relax and unwind.
Molly watched those who were as new as she was and counted the men and the women. There was currently a higher level of women but that could change tomorrow.
Spike paused. “Are you ready to jump in today?”
“I think one more day of observation to get used to the rhythm might be nice.”
“Nice nails.”
Molly grinned. “Thank you.”
“Well, I think you might have to reassess your solitary plans. That guy who just came in is eyeing you.”
Surprised, Molly looked over at the newcomer who was indeed focussing on her. “He looks familiar.”
Spike was casually wiping the counter. “Oh? Maybe an old flame?”
She blinked and swallowed. “I just remembered where I saw him. This isn’t going to be good.”
She had never imagined that her family would send their councillor after her. How had they gotten him to agree to retrieve her? There wasn’t a legitimate reason by any stretch of the imagination.
She sipped cautiously at her drink while he made his way through the clump of females. To her amusement, he jumped a few times as the women got a little grabby.
Spike tapped her hand. “They seem to have distracted him, so if you wanted to make your strategic retreat, this might be a good time.”
Molly knew a good idea when she heard one. She left her drink and slipped off the stool, heading for the door. It was time for a meal anyway. That drink had gone straight to her head.
With one glance back at the grope-a-thon going on in the centre of the bar, she slipped out into the sunset and down to the café. She couldn’t dodge him forever, but tonight was a good start.
Chapter Three
Damon looked around and grimaced. She was gone. Platinum hair and eyes so blue they were almost violet. He had felt her gaze on him and been stunned into returning the stare.
He pried the hands off his body and pushed through the crowd of women gathered around him. He was not sure if it was the striking features that his parents had passed to him or the power, but these women were taking measurements of his body that would have made his doctor blush.
“Ladies, please! I just arrived. I am sure that it will be easier to get to know you one by one.” He squeezed through the crowd, wincing at the grip one of the women had on his ass. He pried her hand away and moved to the bar.
The woman tending bar moved over to him and asked him, “What can I get for you?”
“Do you know where that woman went?”
The bartender winked, “Which woman? You seem to have your pick.”
“The woman you were speaking to when I came in. She had pale blonde hair, violet eyes, and she bit her lip twice while you were speaking.”
“Oh, she left.”
The bartender moved down to get drinks for some of the new arrivals, and when she returned, she said, “Now, what can I get you?”
“A beer. Whatever is closest to you.”
She nodded and pulled him an amber ale.
He waited until the rush faded and finally the bartender drifted back toward him. She was wearing a silver band that marked her as a married inhabitant of the Crossroads.
He had put aside his search for the Wexler woman for the search for the woman with violet eyes. She looked familiar but he couldn’t place her name.
The bartender grinned. “You haven’t moved. I thought you would have been wading through your admirers.”
“I am not interested in the women who chase me.” He grimaced. “I am never sure of their motivations.”
“That was frank.”
“Something tells me that if I hide something from you, it will come to bite me in the ass at a later time.”
The woman put glasses away with a smile. “You obviously wouldn’t be surprised at how often I am called on to give advice on which men are keepers and which are not quite right. I am Spike, by the way.”
“Damon. Pleased to meet you.” He shook her hand. She was fine-boned and there was the prickle of power when he touched her hand.
The notice he had gotten in his email suddenly made sense. “You are a recent permanent addition here.”
She nodded. “Yup. And you are on the Shifter Council.”
He jolted. “How did you know that?”
“A big bird told me. My husband is a swan, and he mentioned you had made urgent arrangements to come here. Who are you looking for again?”
He blinked. “A young woman ran away from her family, and they wanted me to bring her home before she finds a mate. I haven’t seen her yet.”
Spike kept tidying things. “What does she look like?”
“If she looks like the rest of her family, she has dark blonde hair and amber eyes. They didn’t give me a physical description, just a name and a lot of backstory.”
“And yet you charged in here looking for a woman you couldn’t identify?” Spike raised one brow.
He grinned. “I was eager to dodge a party at home. Since I have gotten the council position, my family has been putting on the pressure to mate.”
“So, the woman you saw at the bar?”
“Was striking and I am eager to find her again.” It went deeper than that. His whole body had rippled with shock and arousal from the moment he saw her. His skin ached, his cock throbbed and then she had disappeared.
Spike smiled, “Try the café. She looked a little hungry when she left.”
He grinned. “Thank you for your assistance.”
“Remember that sentiment. Off you go now.”
She waved him off and he headed to the café.
Sure enough, the woman with the platinum hair was just leaving. Her hair swung down over her shoulder and swayed across the centre of her back. It drew his gaze to the curve of her hips and ass.
He stepped forward and said, “Excuse me.”
She turned and froze with a prey-meeting-predator expression. “Oh, hell.”
* * * *
Molly looked up at the man she had hoped to avoid. He was prettier than he had seemed from across the room. Strong jaw, elegant nose and eyes with lashes so thick she was jealous. His wide shoulders and thick arms weren’t bad either.
“I mean, hello.”
He was extending his hand to her, and she shook it. “My name is Damon. I am pleased to meet you. May I walk you somewhere?”
She paused. “Molly. My name is Molly.”
His smile extended to the corners of his eyes. He lifted her hand and kissed it. “Definitely pleased to meet you, Molly.”
Molly didn’t see any intense recognition or hostility, so she considered her options. “I was going for a walk to the shifters’ field. You can come with me if you like.”
“I just arrived. A tour would be nice.” He offered her his arm.
She blushed and slipped her hand under his elbow and rested her palm on his forearm. “It’s this way.”
As they started to walk, he asked her, “Have you been here long?”
She shook her head. “No. Not long.”
“Have you met anyone likely?”
Molly knew what he meant. “There are a few that I have met, but I am not rushing into things.”
“I thought everyone at the Crossroads was eager to find a mate.” He seemed genuinely curious.
“I am eager; I am just not stupid. Having decisions made for me is something I have decided I am tired of. I don’t care if a man wants me; I have to want him back.” She said it with as much determination as she could muster.
She could feel the change in his posture as he stared down at her. Molly pretended that she was focussed on their path, but she was watching him closely.
“What if a man makes you want him?”
“Then, he is a bully or I was fooling myself. It will have to be figured out later.” Molly shrugged. “It is another reason for not rushing into something.”
They arrived at the field where some wolves were returning from a run, rubbing together and showing obvious intimate affection.
Molly cleared her throat. “This is where folks come to let their beasts out. For some folk, it is the only place that they have been completely free in years.”
“Have you already let your beast out?”
She nodded. “I went out last night.”
He was hinting around without asking what her inner creature was, but if he hadn’t figured it out, she wasn’t going to tell him.
Knowing her parents, they had given him her registered name and the fake beast they had assigned to her. She was Agathe Wexler and an Andean condor on her registration. Her family stopped using the family name of Agathe after that first shift. Now, she was Molly, but they wouldn’t have told him that. They were counting on him not asking questions, but they had to give him some clues. It was just Molly’s luck that few folk at the Crossroads bothered with last names. Tony, Teal and Teebie were the only ones with her registration information, and they wouldn’t tell on her unless her life was in danger.