A Car Ride Part 2

Silas:

I let my face look towards the road outside. If I turned towards her the scent was so strong my wolf started getting active. The fact that she had noticed our communications with telepathy was enough to impress me already, but it seemed she had even more surprises. Most witches stuck to one branch of magic. She was clearly skilled in energy manipulation, her healing abilities were beyond anything I had ever seen. Plus, on top of those two usually unique magic types she had a third she's comfortable enough with to do without a circle or tools. The wind outside began to pick up and the clouds shifted.

I turned to see Sylvia in the backseat, her eyes were closed, her hands open as waves of energy poured from them and escaped through the windows to move the clouds at her command. It took her less than a minute before the sun was shrouded and a thick layer of clouds was in place to keep it that way. Her energy was potent and the amount she had seemed borderline unreal. It was beautiful in the way it flowed and moved, so focused, so exact. "She will be a good Luna for our young wolves." My wolf was right on that point. As her eyes opened their hazel had shifted, the yellow tinge more up front and brighter than it had been before. Those mesmerizing eyes were calling to me as she smiled out of her window, clearly pleased with her work. She turned to face us and her smile quickly fell. 

It was then that I realized I wasn't even hiding that I was staring at her. Her head fell and she brushed a piece of her hair that had fallen down behind her ear. From the corner of my eye I could tell Sin was also watching her. His face studying her as his eyes locked with hers. He was probably trying to figure out where she pulled her energy from, or how she focused it so quickly and accurately. His mind was clearly running a list of questions through it as he studied her face. My own mind was just picturing holding her in my arms, her scent filling my nose and bringing the promise of comfort with it. Comfort, it was only a concept to me at this point. Seemed so far away and yet it was finally possible, if we could only convince her to give the mate bond a chance. 

"Well uhm," she cleared her throat, her voice low, "that's better. So, tell me a bit about your pack. My roommate said you are known for your energy work or something like that." 

I smiled at her, trying to ease the tension in the car, "Well your roommate is correct. Our base is in the Battle Bluff Prairies State Natural Area in Wisconsin. We are spirit warriors with an emphasis on energy manipulation. Our territory includes Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Anything specific you want to know besides the basics?"

She shook her head a bit as she answered, "I don't really know what to ask. Uhm, I know the ranking system of most packs, does yours have anything unique that may be good for me to know?"

It was Sin who answered this time, his voice neutral and factual. "Well, he is the Alpha but, unlike most packs we don't run a no-questions leadership style. We often discuss large decisions together as Alpha and Beta. Our three Omegas stay in the packhouse with us. Sometimes they sit in on the meetings if we need another opinion. The advisor elder is probably the only unique rank we have that most packs don't. It's a member from the previous Omega team who stays on to help transition and provide experienced insight to the new leading team. Our advisor is named Lionel, he was the first Omega for Silas' father." I tilted my head a bit to the side, noticing her energy was masking around her and changing its characteristics. The feel of it seemed to shift as did the texture when I let my own energy brush against it.

I looked quickly at Sin and he had clearly noticed as well. Her energy was slowly morphing to mimic that of a normal human, the witch and wolf aspects being minimized and masked. Was she doing that intentionally? "I think having an advisor from the last team makes a lot of sense. Most new Alphas and Betas probably grow up in the expectation of taking over, but learning and doing can be two very different things in practice."

"Very true, speaking of which, what are you doing with your energy?" Her eyes went wide as she looked at Sin with surprise. "We are energy workers dear, and your mates. We are very aware of it."

"Sorry, uhm I was just masking it. It's kind of a habit, but I also thought it may help appease some of the draw I know having me close puts on your wolves. Figured it might help, but it definitely wouldn't hurt." 

"A habit?" Why would she have a habit of essentially hiding what she is? "Do you mostly associate with humans, or worry about hunters?" 

"Also, to add to those questions before you change the topic after answering, how are you able to do that?" I smiled a bit at Sin as I gave him a gentle shove. "What? She would have answered and then immediately asked us a question to detour the conversation." He spoke matter of factly, no judgment in his tone, but I shook my head at him.

She shrugged her shoulders as she answered, "Noticed that huh?" Sin just raised an eyebrow at her and I smiled as I shrugged my shoulders. She continued, "Well, I don't exactly limit my time to humans, but I do live in the human world. We work in the company that lets us around all kinds of beings and sometimes they don't take kindly to my energy because of whatever reason depending on the species."

"I'd imagine vampires don't do well with the werewolf tinge and I can think of a few that may be unwelcoming to the witch component." She just nodded with a tight smile.

"Pretty much, plus it made it easier to avoid drawing attention to myself. Even if someone didn't have a problem with it. I kind of prefer being under the radar."

"I can imagine a few reasons why." Sin said with a small smile. I bet he had a list of reasons, he was just curious which were right.

"Well uhm, I don't really worry about hunters. They wouldn't be a problem even if one noticed me, just sort of a may as well avoid the issue if possible. So that's why it's a bit of a habit. I just keep it hidden usually unless I need to use a large amount, or at home where it is hidden behind shields."

"That honestly sounds exhausting." Her eyes shot to mine, "I mean I haven't seen much of your energy, but what I have learned is you have an ample amount, and it is incredibly unique and powerful. Keeping it pulled in must take a bit of effort and masking it to seem like something it isn't must take some level of effort and focus to it which you are constantly doing." 

A small smile curved her lips and I felt my wolf stir as my heart raced when I saw that beautiful smile on her face. "It was when I was a kid, but now I barely notice it anymore."

"A kid? You had to hide it as a kid?" Her face froze at Sin's question. His voice held surprise and concern. She clearly hadn't meant to let that slip. She let her face look to the window as she shrugged her shoulders, "Well, guess that's a topic for another time." This time his voice was more soothing, but I felt his concern even if his voice was hiding it. What made her hide it as a child? She wouldn't have been concerned about other beings since children were safe across the board thanks to treaties in place to ensure populations had a chance to thrive. She wouldn't have been a danger to hunters either, so why did she mask her energy as a child?

"You still haven't answered how you do it. I honestly have heard of minimizing energy, we do it if we have to be around mortals. The texture and full shift to where it literally mimics another being, that is something I've never seen." I asked lightly, trying to sound more curious than pushing. 

"Honestly I couldn't tell you, it's just something I can do." She was looking at her hands in her lap, she seemed to be debating something. Finally, she looked up, a small smile once again on her face, "I can do it to other people's energy too. Change how it reads and the strength it gives off. It doesn't actually change their strength, but it reads as however I want it to." She was proud of it, as she should be. I couldn't help but feel a bit proud of her for taking credit as she deserved. I had a feeling she often hid from any credit she was due.

"You have to show us that sometime!" I couldn't hide the excitement from my voice. It would be amazing to see her change someone's energy. She was using it to minimize her own but she said it could read however she wanted it to. Could she make a human read as a powerful wolf or a strong witch? "Oh, I have so many more questions!" She let out a small laugh and I felt my own breath catch in my throat. The sound of her laugh was light and freeing. My eyesight began to shift to that of my wolves for a split second before I pulled my own mind back to the front line. I gripped the seat to avoid showing the strain it took on my face. 

Sin's eyes were on me, he had noticed. He was definitely more observant than I had given him credit for. "I'll show you sometime, but definitely not right now. I think your wolf may win the battle if I let out that much energy over you or your Beta here." My mouth dropped, I had tried to hide the restraint. "Energy worker remember." This time it was me and Sin who laughed. She had noticed my wolf's energy picking up even in that split second. Just as we would notice hers doing the same. She would fit right in at our pack. "So, any rules I should know about other than the basic structure?"

I thought briefly, but to answer I really needed to know how much about werewolf laws she already knew. "Well, the rules are pretty simple. No crime, assuming you know the laws in place for wolves in this district at least?" It was basic laws, no stealing, no harming children, all battles had to be agreed upon by participants and approved by an Alpha or Beta, job duties were nonnegotiable, children had to be in school even if they had shifted, no crossing territories unannounced or without cause. Those were the basics for all wolves in the northern district regardless of pack or rogue standing.

She nodded once, "Then you are good there. Aside from that, we keep to the rule that only births from mated couples are celebrated, we do have and allow same-gender mates." Some packs disallowed same gender mates, Claw was the only one who enforced it as a rule in our district. To me, that seemed unfair. Sure it made sense for opposite gender mates because of offspring, but the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. If she says someone's mate is of the same gender we don't have any reason to disagree with that. 

I continued, taking in a slow breath and letting her scent find me. "That said Harvest is the place where most same gender wolves find pups to raise since children of rogues who are sentenced to death or any orphaned pups are sent there. So we have an open arrangement with them to help keep pups in a home with parents." I saw her eyes light up as she smiled and nodded in approval. My urge to reach out and touch her hand or move to sit next to her spiked. I nodded and motioned for Sin to share what he felt needed to be discussed.

"We have a simple training regime." Sin started while I steadied my breathing and heartbeat. "Silas and I both cover weapon training, but Sie does the energy training mostly on his own. I cover hand-to-hand training."

"What about the Omegas? Do they have set tasks or just kind of general helpers?"

I smiled at her curiosity as Sin continued "The Omegas split up their workload but they are the main lead for protection details, also handle lower level defensive training for new pups, their focus is mostly defense of the pack and land as a whole. They also handle pack member requests. If a couple is expecting they work out home improvements or accommodation swaps as needed."

She sat quietly, her mind clearly running, taking in the overflow of information. "Good thing the Omega's have so much help. Do you require all of your members to go through energy, weapons, and hand-to-hand training?"

"Yes to the energy, but we allow them to choose on the others. They have to do either weapon or hand-to-hand training, and if they want they can take both. Anyone over the age of twenty gets at least one month of defense team placement so they can see how defenses run and then they circulate out among volunteers. We usually have plenty of people who want to run defense so we haven't had to enforce it as a job per say, just an optional placement after their first run."

"That's pretty cool, keeps everyone on the same page without forcing them to work a position they aren't comfortable in for very long." She let out a slow yawn as she stretched and then shook her head. "Sorry, I'm honestly exhausted. I didn't sleep much today. Would it be okay if I took a nap until we stopped for dinner or made it there?"

"Of course, we'll stop in about an hour and wake you for something to eat if you'd like." I kept my voice calm, hoping she would feel comfortable enough to actually sleep since she was so tired. I knew she couldn't have slept much so it wasn't surprising she could use a nap. If I trusted my wolf I'd take one myself. "I take offense to that thought." I rolled my eyes at my wolf, "Doesn't change my mind on it." If I let myself sleep my wolf could come out without any guard and mark her regardless of her wishes. I couldn't let that happen.

"We'll give you some privacy." Sin said with a small nod and smile before we both turned around. I heard her move around behind us before the seatbelt unclicked and her breathing began to shift. 

I waited for her breathing to slow to a shallow even consistency before I turned to Sin. "She's incredible!"