“Yeah, but it’s not the sort of wealth that you want.”
“True, but soon, you will have all the power and gems that we could ask for.”
Harold didn't believe that for a second.
“You don't believe me?”
“I believe what I see.”
“I will tell you all you need to know, Harold, and you can pay me when you have been brought back to your rightful place. If you not do not believe it to be so, then why not just agree to it?”
“I am not stupid enough to make a deal with a witch that involves the future. I only have the here and now and that is the only thing that I will promise. Tell me what I want to know about my beast!”
The witch smiled and told Harold that he would be back to her soon. Harold didn’t argue, not verbally, anyway. In his head, he was telling her that she was wrong.
“Well, it’s simple, isn't it? Your beast wants what you are holding back from him. He only comes out when he really, really wants something. If you give into the beast and his desires, it will go easier, and he will stop trying to take over.”
Harold waited for more. There had to be more, but the old woman held her hand out for payment. That was all she was going to say, and Harold was just as confused as before. What the hell did that even mean?
He wanted to say some disparaging thing to them, but Harold knew better. He held his tongue until he was far away from the old shack in the woods. What was he supposed to do with that? His beast wanted Sarah. That wasn’t anything that he didn’t already know.
He chided himself for even going. Harold knew better than to go to the fucking witches. They gave him a headache trying to figure out the riddles and he was no closer to the answers that he was seeking. He was short some magical gems though, that had taken quite a bit to procure, since he was not living with his people, anymore. It was a price that he had been willing to pay, only because he was desperate. Now, he was even more confused and desperate than before because there was nothing else that he could do. His last option was gone, and Harold was no closer to what he needed to know.
He went to meet Sarah after work on Friday. He was nervous about the mini vacation with her and her family, but Harold felt well when he was with them. There was just something relaxing about the couple, and the way that the mother acted, she wanted him there, too. It was like she knew that they were supposed to be together, at least, that’s what Harold liked to believe.
Sarah looked lovely, but she wasn’t all dolled up like before. Instead, she was ready to play outside and had shorts and a tank top on. It was not the tight dress that had forced himself on her, but it might as well have been. She was looking damn good, and he wanted her just as badly then as he had before.
“Thanks for coming, Harold. I know that it was weird inviting you, but I think you will have a good time. Besides, I will, too.”
Harold wasn’t going to say much. Carolyn and her husband came out not long after. It was a bit of a drive, so they were all going to leave soon. Harold thought that they would all drive in together, but that wasn’t going to be the case. Instead, Carolyn suggested that they take separate vehicles. The reasoning was that the couple needed a little bit more time to get themselves together. Harold wasn’t sure how he felt about it, and he had the distinct impression that Carolyn had something up her sleeve. It was what he wanted, but not in the way that he wanted it. When it was pushed by Sarah’s mom, it just felt weird.
He didn’t really have a choice, though. It was what was going to happen, and it wasn’t like they weren’t going to have plenty of time alone that weekend. It was like a date weekend, but not. Sarah had made it seem like she was doing it because he had no family, or at least none that he had told her about. Harold obviously couldn’t tell her the truth about him and where he came from. He couldn’t tell her why none of his family and his people would have nothing to do with him practically. He was the black sheep and had been kicked out. Harold had lost his temper, almost killed someone high up, all at the same time he was trying to overthrow his father for the Alpha position. It had been a nightmare ever since.
So, she was trying to include him like he was an orphan and though it made Harold feel strange, it was also very nice, and he wasn’t able to look past it. Sarah wasn’t even that close to him, but she wanted to help him and for once, he actually believed that a person’s motives were pure. That was saying a lot, considering that he hardly felt that way about anybody else that he knew. Sarah was becoming the exception more and more. Too much even.
Chapter 19
Sarah
Harold was quiet on the ride up, so quiet that it made Sarah nervous. She had no idea what was going through his mind, and he was giving no clue to how he was feeling about all of it. Sarah was worried that she was reading everything wrong. What if he didn’t even want to be there? Had he felt obligated like she had? He had said several times that he liked her parents, so is that why he did it?
About half an hour into the trip, Sarah asked him if he wanted to just go back to his place.
“I can make up an excuse for you if you don’t want to go.”
“Do you not want me to go?”
Sarah said that wasn’t it at all.
“Then, why would you ask that?”
She laughed. “Because I don’t think I have ever heard you this quiet in all of my life. I guess I am afraid that something is wrong or something.”
“No, it is nice to get out of the city for a while. I always say that I am going to do it, but it never happens. It is a shame really. I am glad to be here.”
Sarah didn’t say much else to that, but she was still wondering what was going to happen with them. Was he under the same impression that she was? Sarah wanted to think that it was clear after that kiss, but they had both been avoiding each other and she didn’t know what to think about any of it. She was just as confused as when she had started seeing Harold. Since the first time she had met him at the conference, Sarah hadn’t known what to do or how to act around Harold. She was hoping that the weekend would help with that, though she was sure that it may very well make it worse. If he kissed her again, Sarah didn’t know what she would do about it. She was trying her best to hold it together, but it was hard to know what was right. He was her boss after all, not just some guy.
The drive went by pretty quickly, once she got all of her nerves and insecurities out of the way. Sarah tried to keep the conversation going and it wasn’t that hard to do. They actually had a lot in common, especially the part that didn’t like to give out a bunch of information about themselves. They had a good time and talked much of the way, but Sarah was just as clueless about him as when she started. Harold was an enigma, and she was going to figure him out, somehow.
