Car Dodging

Haut holds his to-go coffee in the air so it doesn't tip out of the small cup holder. "Keep swerving like that, and I'm going to stuff you in the trunk."

Tris checks his blind spot and darts into a narrow gap between a semi and a hatchback. "If the cars in front of us were going the speed limit, I wouldn't need to pass them."

Once the van stops rocking, I take another sip of my chocolate milkshake. With the attempted stabbing, we'd taken a group vote and decided to only leave our vehicle for bathroom breaks.

While waiting for our bags of food and drinks, we'd done the driver switch-er-oo, Levi climbing into the back to stretch his legs and Tris taking the wheel.

"Slowpokes out of the fast lane!" Tris honks before zipping around a hybrid.

I laugh as I tip to the side, and Aspen throws out an arm to keep me in my seat.

Haut grabs the handlebar above his window. "Where did you learn to drive?"

He winks at Haut. "I'm self-taught."

"Eyes on the road!" Haut and Aspen shout.

I twist to face Levi, who sprawls in the backseat, stretching his long legs and looking unconcerned about the bumpy ride. "Tell me more about Silver Hollow and that amulet of yours."

Levi hooks a finger under the chain and pulls the pendant from beneath his shirt. "There are five of these, which the Alpha guards. Their existence is not general knowledge, and they're rarely used."

I take a pull on my straw. "What does it feel like?"

His brow furrows. "I'm not sure I understand the question."

"You were born a werewolf, right?" At his nod, I say, "So, what does it feel like?"

"I imagine it's similar to wolf shifters." The words come out slow with consideration. "We only shift under the full moon, though, unless we're wearing an amulet. Then we can shift whenever we like."

"Do you turn into a shadow monster during that time?" Again, he nods. "So there's no wolf at all?"

"Well, there is…" He straightens in his seat and leans forward, his elbows on his knees. "Strong wolf shifters can take on a halfway form. It's like that, but the darkness is still there."

Owen can do that now that he's mastered his curse. He can even control the shadows to a certain point. "Does it feel separate from you? The darkness?"

"Never really considered that." Levi hitches one shoulder. "It's just something I was born with."

Aspen turns to peer back at him. "Have you never experienced the full effect of the moon madness?"

"No, the barrier spares us from that." Levi fiddles with the pendant.

"And the coven can't make more?" I ask, though he answered that question once already.

Regret flickers across his face. "They've tried but can't replicate the spell."

"Perhaps the gift for it died out of the line." Aspen faces forward. "It's the danger of seclusion."

I kick his foot. "You were singing a different tune when I showed you my family grimoire."

"It is a treasure of witch history." He frowns at me. "But if your family didn't hide away for so long, it wouldn't have been lost."

"Or it would have been lost in some other way. There's no right answer here." I turn back to Levi. "Tell us about your pack."

"I was born and raised in Silver Hollow. Our pack lives in the original commune, which is separated from the other residents, but we spend a lot of time in the downtown area." He tucks his amulet back into hiding. "My Alpha, Griffen, is part of the town council. They make decisions about the community."

"Ah, yes. We have one of those, too." I nod sagely. "I got kicked out of it."

"Shocking," Aspen says dryly.

"To be fair, they only gave me a spot because of my name, and I didn't want to be there, anyway." I purse my lips. "As a new arrival, I had no business deciding things."

Haut snorts from the front and turns to look at me. "You've made plenty of decisions about Hartford Cove."

That earns him a frown. "Only ones that no one got to vote on."

Levi chuckles. "My Alpha enforces changes like that, too. Sometimes there's no time to let the council hem and haw about it."

"Besides, you were only kicked out of the wolf shifter exclusive one, sparky." Tris glances at me through the rearview mirror. "You're on the new one!"

"Boo!" I give that a big thumbs down.

"Good to see you're not power hungry," Levi says.

"Rowe is the least power-hungry person I've ever met." Aspen considers that for a second, then amends, "Unless she wants something."

Unable to argue that point, I swirl the last of my chocolate shake and live with my regrets of not ordering a large.

"What was your life like before moving to Hartford Cove?" Curiosity lights Levi's warm, brown eyes. "It must have been strange to be hiding among humans."

"That's true of most witches." Face pale as Tris whips through the narrow gap left by two cars, Aspen grips his armrests. "Sanctuary cities are not common."

"That you know of." I toss my empty cup into the trash bag between the front seats. "My dad and I moved around a lot after my mom died. We lived in seclusion, never really leaving our apartment, because he was afraid that the huntsmen would find me."

Levi's brow furrows. "Wait, your father was a witch who worked for the huntsmen?"

"No, he was a vampire." Though I didn't know it until after his death.

"Then how did you receive training when your magic presented itself?" Levi's gaze jumps to Aspen. "That's important for witches, right?"

"Very." Aspen's lips flatten into a grim line.

"I didn't have any training." I pluck at the hem of my shirt. "My dad tried to control my disintegrating mind with human medication, which actually helped. So I wasn't completely insane when I finally learned of my heritage."

Despite having heard this before, Aspen's frown deepens. The topic makes him twitchy.

"But don't worry." I tap my forehead. "My toaster is in full working order now."

Aspen rubs his temples. "Your father should have surrendered you to the paranormal council so they could place you with a coven to be trained properly."

"True, but my dad had his reasons." Like being a villain on the run from what he'd done to witches in the name of the Sunlight Project, but that's neither here nor there. "And if he'd given me up, I never would have found Tris and saved his balls."

Tris twists to grin at me. "I appreciate you, sparky!"

"Eyes on the road!" Haut grabs the wheel before we veer into another lane.

"What was that about Tris's balls?" Levi raises his eyebrows.

"I adopted Tris from a shelter after his nasty ex cursed him and turned him into a dog. He was on the schedule to be neutered." My fingers make a snip-snip motion, and all the men in the van squirm.

"She almost killed me the first time I turned back to human." Tris laughs.

"You were a naked man in my bedroom." I turn to Levi. "During the crescent moon, he temporarily returned to human form."

"It took several shifts to convince Rowe she wasn't imagining the whole thing." Tris thumps his fist on the steering wheel. "We got there eventually, though."

"It was the first time I realized magic was real." I grab my headrest as the van shoots sideways. "But it wasn't until Hartford Cove that I realized I was magic."

"Because your father, who was a vampire, hid the paranormal world from you and used human medications to control your burgeoning magic," Levi says slowly.

I make finger guns at him. "Nailed it."

He leans back in his seat. "What did you do for fun when you were locked up all those years?"

"Ah, well, I was a total bookworm and TV junkie." Which is pretty amazing, considering my attention span and the fact I haven't read a book since. "While my dad didn't let me out much, he made sure I always had ways to entertain myself."

"Really? What was your favorite book?" Levi's question holds enough interest to put a gleam in Aspen's eyes. The nerd.

"Little Red Riding Hood," I say without hesitation. "The version where the wolf swallowed Granny and Little Red whole."

Haut lets out a chuckle, clearly amused by my choice.

Levi's eyes widen. "That's rather grim."

"Is it?" A grin spreads across my face. "I think it's inspirational."

Aspen leans away from me. "Why is that not surprising?"

Levi's curiosity pushes past the weirdness. "Why?"

"Because it's a tale about rebirth." I lean forward as far as the seat belt allows. "Red and Granny are dead, but then the huntsman comes along, cuts open the wolf, and bam! Out they come, good as new. They got a second chance at life, y'know?"

"That's an interesting way to see it." Levi nods thoughtfully. "The story must have resonated with you, to imagine that life can continue after death."

"I did show you my grave." My head cocks to the side. "I'm proof it can happen."

The van sways precariously. "Hold on tight, folks! We're taking the scenic route!"

"One more time and you're seriously going into the trunk," Haut warns, his focus on the other cars on the highway that refuse to see the danger Tris presents and give him room.

Levi grips the backs of our seats to stay in the center of the bench. "I've never been on a rollercoaster, but I imagine it feels like this."

The blood drains from Aspen's face. "If this continues, we're going to end up in the ditch before we reach our destination."

"Woo-hoo!" I thrust my arms over my head. "This beats sitting in traffic all day."

The van hurtles down the highway, weaving in and out of lanes with a reckless abandon that makes my heart race. I sway from side-to-side, cars zipping past our windows. To Tris's credit, no one slams on their brakes or honks, and the frequent lane changes have put us at least three car lengths ahead of the hybrid we passed a bit ago.

"With me behind the wheel, we're going to make it to Silver Hollow before nightfall," Tris calls over his shoulder.

I pump my arms. "Go, Tris, go!"

Aspen's hand lifts to his mouth. "Please don't encourage him."

Levi leans between our seats. "So, what shows were your favorite as a kid? Fairy tales?"

"Sitcoms, mostly." I brace my feet against the back of the driver's seat. "I liked to study how other people lived."

"Makes sense," Levi says, a hint of sadness in the downturn of his lips.

Not liking that, I ask, "What about you?"

"Watched my fair share of sitcoms, too. Loved the nineties."

I twist toward him again. "Oh, yeah? Which ones?"

We spend the next several miles reminiscing about the TV shows that we both enjoyed as kids, and even Aspen joins in, which shocks me. I would have pegged him for a documentary and History Channel guy.

Then again, Mel claims he used to be fun.

Tris listens with a smile, his attention divided between the road ahead and our conversation. "I remember watching some of those shows, too, but cartoons were my jam. The more retro, the better. What about you, Haut?"

"Can't say I watched much TV growing up." His tone turns wistful. "We didn't have a television in the Wendall house until Charlene's joints stiffened too much for her to move around in the garden. But I've enjoyed the movie nights we've had since Rowe came home."

Sympathy twinges in my chest for the cold home Haut was raised in after his father died, though it had been better than what happened to Owen, who lost his dad at the same time. My mother's death had changed a lot of lives, and no one came out of it without scars.

It's shocking that I'm the only one in therapy.

We continue to chat, the traffic worsening as we approach rush hour, and no matter how much Tris tries to hurry us along, the miles inch by.

As the sun sets, casting blinding light through the windshield, Tris takes the exit for a rest stop.

After a quick restroom break and stretch of our legs, Haut claims the wheel and we climb back inside.

"We're on track to arrive by seven o'clock." Levi pulls out his phone. "I'll let my pack know to expect us."

I buckle myself into the front seat. "Is there a hotel in Silver Hollow?"

"We have one, but we'll put you up at the pack house." Levi sends his message and tucks his phone away. "With everything that's going on, it will be easier to protect you that way."

Hand lifting, I stifle a yawn. "So long as there's a blanket and pillow, I'm good."

In the middle seat, Tris leans his head back and closes his eyes. "Don't even need a pillow if we have Greyson."

"Greyson?" Levi questions.

"Me. My first name is Greyson." Haut flips on the headlights as the sky continues to darken. "They like to call me by it when I'm in my wolf form."

My fingers kneed against my thighs. "So fluffy."

"And warm," Tris adds.

"It will be interesting to see how the pups react to having a wolf around when it's not a full moon," Levi muses before his voice raises. "You'll want to take the west exit onto the highway coming up."

Excitement fills me that we're nearly at our destination.

Quiet falls over the van as we head down the darkening highway, and only the steady hum of the engine breaks the silence.

We pass a few exits, the other cars on the road slipping away until we're alone. It shares an eerie similarity to the road to Hartford Cove. It makes sense that Silver Hollow would be in an equally remote location to avoid detection.

As I glance out the window, movement in the side mirror sends my heart pounding. I turn to peer out the back but can't see anything in the darkness past our car's lights.

A chill runs down my spine as I realize we're the only vehicle on this deserted stretch of asphalt.

"Haut," I whisper, my voice barely audible. "Do you see that?"

His grip tightens on the wheel as he scans the rearview mirror. "Yeah. I see it."

Tris leans forward, his expression tense. "Are we being followed?"

Haut's brow furrows, his gaze flicking from the road ahead to the one behind. "Not sure. The lights mess with my night vision."

The sudden flare of lights through the rear window blinds us, and Haut flinches, the van fishtailing as it crosses the line onto the graveled shoulder. With a shout, I throw a hand against the dashboard as the seat belt cuts into my chest.

Haut wrenches the wheel, and the tires bounces back onto solid pavement just as the headlights behind us cut off.

The vehicle behind us vanishes into the darkness.

Tris stares out the back window, his voice tight with fear. "Where did it go?"

My heart races as my eyes stick to the side mirror, searching for the other car.

"Incoming!" Levi shouts.

Our van lurches to the right as we're hit on the driver's side bumper.

Once more, we fishtail, the front tires skidding in the gravel.

Light floods from behind, blinding us again, and the other vehicle slams into us again. My body snaps forward, and our headlights reveal a downward slope a moment before we tip over it.

I scream as trees whip by on either side, the wheels eating up the ground, and then a broad trunk looms up ahead of us.

Shouts fill the air as Haut reaches for me, and then we slam to a stop with a shriek of metal, pain, and darkness.