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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.
    “So, was the environment welcoming?”
    He was trying not to be rude, but he was skating on the edge of propriety.
    Molly smiled. “It was. The air was much the same as it is tonight. There were less people around though.”
    He nodded.
    Molly sighed. “Would you care to see anything else?”
    “Would you join me for dinner?”
    She blinked. “Um, I have already eaten, but I could have dessert if you want company.”
    “Back to the café?”
    Molly turned him around, and they walked back to the centre of the purpose-built town.
    When they were in a booth at the café, she ordered some pie and coffee, leaning in to ask him, “So, what brings you to the Crossroads? You don’t seem to be in the same mindset as the others.”
    He sighed. “It is work. I am looking for an associate’s daughter. She came here earlier in the week and hasn’t returned to her family yet.”
    Molly sat back, “Perhaps she hasn’t found her mate yet.”
    “That is what I am here to stop. From what I am told, she is too young to seek a mate yet.”
    Molly blinked. “Too young?”
    “Yes, he said that they hadn’t yet introduced her to society and since his other two daughters are married and engaged respectively… If she hasn’t been out in their circles, she must be younger than the twenty-one-year-old.”
    She seethed inwardly before she pasted a bland smile on her face.
    He finally asked her, “What do you do in the outside world?”
    Molly smiled shyly. “I am a baker. I used to work for my family, but when I go back, I am going to have to start over.”
    Damon sat back as his meal arrived. He attacked the food with good appetite. When he came up for air, he asked, “Would you want to live near your family?”
    “My mate would become my family. My parents support that.” She stuck to the truth. Her finding a home far away from them would delight her parents.
    “That is very understanding of them.”
    She smiled weakly and leaned back as the waitress brought her pie.
    “So, Damon, what do you do for a living?”
    He shrugged. “I have recently gotten the job in the council. I live in my family home with my sister and aunt. My parents travel widely and are experiencing the cuisines of the world.”
    She blinked and fought her grin. For vultures, international cuisine meant something else entirely. She kept her head down and ate her lemon pie with a smile playing around her lips.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Damon enjoyed the remainder of their meal together. Molly didn’t speak much, but her eyes were so expressive, she didn’t have to. Everything that she felt was in those eyes and it was amazing to watch.
    “Can I walk you back to where you are staying?”
    She smiled and pushed her second pie plate away. “You may have to carry me.”
    He tried not to shift as blood pulsed in his groin at the image in his mind of her in his arms with nothing between them. He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t mind that.”
    A wave of red started below her dress and moved up her chest until her face was scarlet. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his gaze as she shifted in her seat. After all the women groping him from neck to knees, her modesty was refreshing.
    He propped his chin on his fist and smiled. “So, where are you staying?”
    “The Open Heart.”
    He grinned. “Me too. Shall we?”
    Her skin had been cooling, but it pinked violently when she looked at him.
    Her