Tracked: A Valkyrie Saga Book 2

Chapter 13 - A Date in the Park

Due to the nature of my work and my complete lack of morals, I had been asked to do some truly reprehensible things in my life but this was the first time anyone asked me to do something this awful to a female Valkyrie. The request almost gave me pause, until I saw what they were willing to pay to deal out this sort of pain. Once the offer was presented to me, all of my doubts faded away. If I didn't do it, they would just find someone else, so I might as well get paid if the outcome was inevitable anyway.

Plus, I didn't know this female from Eve, what did I care if she was going to get roughed up a little. The instructions were explicit that I was to Compel one of her clan to hurt and humiliate her, but make sure no permanent damage was done. They wanted to destroy any trust she felt with her current clan. They wanted to ensure that Delia Ray Olsen was vulnerable and seeking help. They didn't actually want the poor girl dead.

I pondered how to word my instructions to ensure that exact outcome as I stalked the Oakland Clan, looking for the best target to Compel to enact my employer's terrible wishes.

--Unknown

I spent a good amount of time in the blue guest room decompressing and trying to get a grip on my swinging emotions and before I knew it, Jonas texted that he was on his way to come pick me up. Tonight we were going to the Blade Clan barbeque and I was pretty sure this was our first official date.

I mean, he did say he wasn't interested in only having a fling with me and Jonas went out of his way to personally ask me to come with him tonight. Not that I had any previous dating experience, but this felt like a date. At least the butterflies within my stomach and my sudden awareness of my lack of a cool outfit made me think that this was most certainly a date. Why in the world did our first date have to be with the large and powerful Blade Clan. Why couldn't have been somewhere where I could let my guard down and relax.

Who was I kidding? This was my first date ever... I was so not going to be able to relax.

Before I was really ready, because I had spent a stupid amount of time locked in the bathroom trying to use my fingers to comb through the mess that my hair had become after fighting, I heard Jonas' deep voice and knew he was here to pick me up. I ventured out into the living room to find both Mathis and Elijah questioning Jonas about where he was taking me and when he was going to have me back by.

Jonas was standing with hunched shoulders and kept his hands deep within his front jean pockets. I immediately cloaked Mathis' and Elijah's mind and watched as Jonas relaxed and glanced at me with obvious relief in his gaze. It was then that I realized the possibility that Jonas was attracted to me was simply because I could offer him this sort of protection from his own Empathy Gift. Not that I minded giving him what relief I could, but a small part of me cried out that my first relationship should be because the guy thought that I was special and interesting, not that my Gifts were.

When Jonas straightened and told Elijah and Mathis that we were headed to a Blade event, a whole new set of questions were volleyed through the air and I knew that I had to put a stop to this. I might look to Elijah as a leader and am starting to trust Mathis enough to take his advice, but neither of them was allowed to have any say on what I decided to do with my personal life.

Instead of trying to explain my choices, I decided that actions would speak louder than words. I simply grasped Jonas' elbow and pulled him out the door before he had a chance to answer any more questions. Sean stopped us at the door and I thought that we might have to have another confrontation, but my uncle simply handed me the brand new phone and told me that he had entered everyone's phone numbers. I appreciated that he didn't try to give me any directives on time to be back and resolved to check in with the guys every once in a while so that they didn't worry.