Silver Claws

38. Bring Earbuds

I've been on some pretty bad car rides.

This one was by far the worst, and we haven't even been on the road more than an hour. The tension was suffocating, no one was speaking. Every once in a while Akela would let out a low hiss, and I was becoming increasingly concerned about the fact she was sitting directly behind me--- easy strike range. I was envisioning assassin-level-type murder too: a wire whipped over the head rest to strangle me.

It started this morning when I was packing the van.

"I do not understand why we need these things. Or the car." She sneered at the all terrain vehicle with disdain. I placed two cans of gasoline in the trunk and sighed down at her. We were all wearing versions of the same outfit. Solid black shirts and pants and each strapped with knives. Her hair in a single braid like a metal whip, shirt tight across her chest. In short, it was sexy as hell.

"We are trying to save our energy as much as we can before we attack them, the less strain the better."

"This is stupid." She kicked a tire, her eyebrows scrunched in suspicion. "You never said who would be coming..." She had already been annoyed that this was a team effort not a solo mission, up until now I had avoided saying our little adventure roster.

I shut the trunk slowly and took a subtle step away from her. "I understand you two have your differences."

"Who?" She followed me, looking more and more like a predator.

I took another slow step back, my heels grinding on the gravel. "But she has done something like this before. We need someone experienced."

"Who. Is. Coming?" She already knew. Girls always knew the answer before they asked a question.

"Look Trevor asked-" I barely had a chance to jump back before a knife stabbed the driveway where my foot had been.

Which leads me to where I am now, Trevor driving, Me shotgun, Akela behind me, Reed beside her, and Cara lounging in the row behind. A seating arrangement that felt more and more dangerous by the second, because Akela would have beheaded me by now if she wasn't trying to keep one eye out for Cara. In my defense, I thought they would just get over it.

I was wrong.

Thus far, there had been three arguments. One because Reed and Akela wanted to roll the windows down. Then the air was too cold for Cara, then I was too hot. We tried music and then there was a group argument about what to listen to. I was exhausted, I hadn't really slept in days. I had too much to think about, and the car was rocking so roughly that dozing off was impossible. Trevor was doing his best to navigate the terrain but the roads were scraggly from disuse. 

For what was probably the hundredth time I felt a hot breathed hiss like a threat in my ear. I spun to face my mate who continued to glower at me without guilt. "Would you stop that?" I heard a small chuckle from Trevor and Reed, I shot them a look before turning back around. I added mentally, Could you just relax? She's not going to jump at you over the seat .

Don't tell me what to do.

I leaned back into my seat with a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. Another hour crept by in cold silence before I heard Akela's voice again.

Logan. I fought a shiver at my name. Her voice far more gentle than what I had expected.

Yeah?

Tell me a story.

She blocked me out before I had a chance to see what she was thinking. What brought this on?