My Genius Mate

Chapter One

"Oh, shit!"

I pulled the wheel off the bumps from the side of the road I didn't realize I was drifting to. I opened my eyes a little wider and adjusted in my seat. My wolf whined in my head. She was tired and wanted to switch places with Katie, who was perfectly curled up in the passenger seat beside me. I glanced at the screen in my car. The GPS told me we were eight more hours away and would arrive at midnight. I groaned aloud and kept driving to the next exit to get gas and some caffeine. Katie woke up with her hair still in a high ponytail and a seatbelt mark across her face, but she was still as beautiful as ever.

"Where are we?" She stretched in the seat as her eyes adjusted to the lights.

"A rest stop. Go pee if you need to."

"Eww, don't say that out loud."

I giggled as she gave me a weird look before entering the little gas station. I filled the tank and joined her inside, getting my multiple coffee drinks. The lady across the counter greeted me as Katie was still in the one-person stall. She forced a wide smile as I approached her counter. "Where are you ladies off to this late?"

"College, next state over." I was short with her. Something about her wasn't right. My wolf and I both got a weird feeling from her. I smelled the air, picking up on a third scent. She looked nervous. Her eyes kept moving down, and she was sweating nervously. I glanced at the parking lot, where there were two more cars. Assuming she owned one, we were missing someone. "Hey, can I borrow a pen and paper? My phone died, and I need to remind myself to call my mom, and without my alarm, I won't remember when it charges later."

She nodded without looking at me and turned to the counter behind her. With her out of the way of the window behind the counter, I can see a hazy reflection of someone crouched under the counter, right in front of me. When she turned back and handed the pen and paper to me, I wrote on it and slid it back to her. I asked her if she was being robbed by the man under the counter. She nodded to me. A more worried expression on her face.

I stretched my arms as Katie walked out of the bathroom. I held my hand up and waved for her to back up. I crouched down, checking on the materials of the wall. It was your usual Sheetrock and thin material. A smirk appeared on my face as I punched my arm through the counter wall, reaching through and pulling the robber out from under there. Covered in drywall, he panicked and started shooting his handgun at the ceiling. I counted eight shots, one right after another, and then heard the clicking from running out of bullets. He pointed the gun at me when he stood up, I let him try to shoot it and laughed at his face when it didn't fire. Quickly I disarmed him as I grabbed his shirt collar, throwing the gun across the counter to the lady who stood there silently. I felt a little bad as she cried and tried to back into the counter she was gripping onto.

The robber looked at me and held his hands up, terrified. "I'm sorry, so sorry. It'll never happen again! Please, don't hurt me."

He was just a kid. I could hear it in his voice. This was likely a desperate last attempt at getting money, or he got involved with the wrong people. Either way, it looked like he was now scared straight. I let him go, pushing him outside and watching him run to his car in fear, making sure he left. I brushed off the drywall from my shirt and pointed to the bathroom. "Do I need a key?"

Katie shook her head and laughed it off, asking the lady if she was okay. After I used the bathroom, paid for my coffee, and apologized to the lady, we were back on the road. That was just what I needed as I was now fully awake. I got back into my car and rotated my left shoulder, I felt it strain. Katie got back in, giving me a glare I'm sure her look would set me on fire if she wanted it to. Before I could say anything, she leaned forward, holding her face in her hands, groaning aloud. "Oh my Goddess, Ali! You have got to be more careful about using your wolf abilities around humans! Especially when they are holding a fucking gun! I know you like to stick up for the little guy and do the right thing whenever possible, but you must also pick and choose your battles wisely."