A Car Ride Part 1

Sinlan:

I saw her walking towards us and immediately thought back to the lobby of the hotel. Her hand had been so soft, so warm, and the energy that came from it was unlike any I had ever felt. When those elevator doors opened and I saw her hand on Daniel my immediate reaction surprised me. I was jealous and angry. Everything in me had screamed to pull her away from him. Even as her energy grew and it was clear she was doing something to help him I wondered why he got to feel her hand against him. Why not me? 

Once her hand had pulled away my eyes locked onto Daniel. I needed to know what she did. His amazement had me thinking, her energy had clearly charged him but we taught all our members to pull energy when needed. Yet he was astounded by how much she had managed to push through him. How had she done that without visually draining from herself or pulling from a source? It didn't seem possible. When Sie had dared her to do it for us my wolf had wanted to go first, but I wanted to watch and see what happened. I felt his reaction more than I saw or heard it. 

When it had finally been my turn I could barely contain myself walking towards her. The moment her hand touched my chest I felt my own energy link to hers and as her energy pushed into my own it felt like a blanket that warmed everything it touched. When she had pulled her hand away a chill was left where it was, and an absence that was still lingering. The energy rush she gave though was still going strong without any sign of waning. As she handed her bags to Daniel and I heard her voice through the car door. "Hey Daniel, how are you feeling?"

"Amazing, I could run a marathon if I needed to. You have to teach me how to do that! I thought our pack had a secret no one else did in how we can recharge, but that was insane." She laughed and her smile filled her face. 

"Honestly I don't know if it's something I could teach. My energy is a bit unique, it just acts differently than others." She shrugged it off, but I saw the tension in her face as she kept herself from oversharing. 

"Do you think she felt what we did when her hand touched us…and when it stopped." Sie was sitting next to me and looking through the window as well.

"I would believe so, Daniel already agreed to the driving rules. He'll have headphones and abide by all speed limits." We had worked out a way to get a few extra hours with Sylvia. "We should take advantage of being in a confined space. She can't run away." 

I rolled my eyes as my wolf spoke in my head before responding. "You sound more like Sies' wolf than mine right now. You know we can't do that." He huffed and went back to waiting impatiently for Sylvia to enter the car. We were going to have her sit in the middle, just waiting for the small talk with Daniel to wrap up and her bags to be put away. 

"We can do this!" Sie said quietly. I gave him a single nod.

"Just remember to breathe, and we'll keep the windows down so the scent doesn't build. She's so damn beautiful!" I watched as she pushed a strand of red hair that had come loose back behind her ear. The long curls were chaotically up in a clip that was definitely struggling to stay put together. 

"Her wolf will be stunning as well." I took a slow and deep breath, readying myself for her scent as the trunk was opened. 

Daniel's voice traveled in, "You can go ahead and get in."

"Thanks, by the way Melinda wanted you to have her number." 

"She did? I expected her to be joking! Cool, let me grab my phone!" The trunk closed quickly and Daniel was soon back up front reaching for his phone. We may not encourage our wolves to date and we especially suggest holding off on procreation until a mate has been found, but we don't have any rules prohibiting it. 

I opened my door that was next to the driver side, where Daniel was currently getting Sylvia's friend's phone number. After a final polite smile to Daniel, she turned to face me. The tight smile that was clearly masking her personal tension dropped and her eyes locked into mine. The hazel eyes had the smallest hint of green on the inside. Her eyes searched mine and I only hoped they didn't give me away for how worried I was. How worried I was about scaring her away or failing to change her mind in the allotted time. "Sorry, I'm a little late. I lost track of time." As she spoke she dropped her head and went to put a strand of the black side of her hair behind her ear. The clip was definitely failing in the goal of keeping her hair contained.

"Not a problem, we ran a bit late as well." That was a lie…I shouldn't lie to her. "Well, actually we were here early, but it gave us time to prepare the car. We didn't mind waiting." 

A small smile turned her lips, "Thanks for being honest. So, uhm, where do I sit?"

I moved to the side and made room for her to get in. "We figured it would only be fair to let you choose. You can sit in the middle or by the window, we also have a back seat open." 

Her eyes looked through the car, analyzing the options in front of her. I knew my wolf was telling me to sit next to her. Sies' instincts were yelling the same to him. Hers had to be pushing for her to take a seat next to us, yet she clearly was considering all the pros and cons of the various choices in front of her. In the middle she'd be the closest to us, meaning her desire to be near us would be satiated, but she'd have to endure our scents, and would have us between her and the doors. If she sat by a window she would have to decide which of us to sit with and which to put at the farthest end, but she would be by a door for an emergency exit. In the back she eliminates the chance to be around either of us, meaning a non-stop urge to move closer, decreased scent and the emotions and mental urges that come with it, but the back seat is not next to a door and the window only opens slightly. Which will she choose? Will her urges win out or will she be able to think logically enough to decide based on the other factors?

"She's going to choose the backseat. You would if you were in her spot." I smiled at my wolf, he was most likely correct. Her hazel eyes were now going back and forth between Sie and the door on the other side of him. Sie was tense, his face even and unshowing of the emotion that I knew was going rampant inside his mind. "You saw her powers, she probably notices too just from his energy. It's masked, not erased." I let a small smile find my lips as my wolf hit the nail on the head again. 

"Uhm," She started, a slight hesitation in her voice as she let her eyes find my own, "I'll take the back, if that's okay." I nodded and leaned the seat up so she could easily climb into the backseat. "Thank you." She said quietly as she slid into the seat. 

"All set?" Daniel asked as he took his seat and closed his door. I quickly hopped into my side of the backseat and took in a slow breath. The scent of wet soil and erupting flowers filled my nostrils and seemed at home in its place. 

"Ready to go." I said to Daniel as I looked at Sie, seeing the joy on his face to have his mate, our mate, in the car with us. I gave her a quick glance, trying to make sure I didn't linger long enough to make her uncomfortable. She was still tense, her seatbelt was buckled and her eyes on the window. 

We sat in silence, the wind rushing through the windows, the sun shining through the windshield. "So, I'm kind of tired of the bright sun." The voice that was sweeter than honey sounded from the back seat, breaking the silence. "Would you mind if I made it a little cloudy?" 

Sies' face turned to me with a questionable look. "So weather magic as well?"

Sylvia shrugged her shoulders, trying to look anywhere but our faces. "Yeah, a bit. Just figured I'd ask because it could bring the risk of some rain and if you three are enjoying the sun I didn't want to overstep." 

"Wonder what other magic types she's familiar with?" My eyes met Sie as he spoke through our mental link.

"I wonder what kind of person is so polite they think to ask before bringing in a few clouds on a hot day." 

"You're doing that thing aren't you?" We both turned our attention back to Sylvia. Did she notice us talking mentally? "When you talk to each other with your telepathy or whatever it is your energy shifts a bit."

With that I turned to give her my full attention. "You notice that? How?"

"Do you notice it in all wolves or just when we do it?"

She giggled a little, clearly enjoying our surprise. We were more than surprised, we were impressed. "I notice it with everyone, not even just wolves. Energy is kind of my specialty, especially changes in energy." 

"That's impressive, and by all means, go for it on the clouds. I'm sure Daniel would enjoy a little less sun in his face while he drives." Sie said with a big smile of admiration on his face.