Carlos sat in the front with Winifred. His precise posture and silence annoyed me after his stunt last night. He obviously felt something. Why keep it so hidden? I shook my head slightly. No. I didn’t care. I didn’t want to know. However, I did appreciate that his emotional nothingness helped make the ride somewhat bearable.
Ethan, on the other hand, had grown a little lax in his boredom, and I felt something from him every now and again. I couldn’t blame him, though. It had been a long car ride so far, and we hadn’t made much progress as we zigzagged across the state.
Despite the emotional ease within the cab of the car, every time we passed another vehicle on the road, I inadvertently absorbed emotions. It tended to happen too quickly for me to block; Winifred drove like a demon.
As the sun crested the sky, so did my impatience to get wherever we were going. My skin tingled with it, and I struggled to resist the urge to smack Carlos in the back of the head just because he was so annoyingly calm...and because I was itching for a fight.
“Seriously, are we almost there? I need a break.”
Ethan glanced at me, studying my face.
“Gabby is guiding us through their nets. As soon as she finds a safe place for us to stop, Michelle or Charlene will make arrangements for somewhere to stay the night,” Winifred said.
“So, in other words, you don’t know when we’ll stop.” The thumping behind my eyes intensified, and it had nothing to do with anyone else’s emotions. It was plain ol’ annoyance from me.
“Try taking a nap,” Ethan said.
“It’s past that.”
He frowned, and I could see him flex his right hand. He was testing his shoulder, most likely trying to gauge if we could pull off onto a back road for a little sparring.
“Not happening,” I said, taking his left hand.
He didn’t ask what I meant, so I knew my guess was right. I’d just have to sit in the car and wait out the ride like everyone else. Carlos shifted in his seat and glanced back at our hands. I narrowed my eyes at him.
I managed to contain my irritation for another two hours; although, I did have to give up my hold on Ethan’s hand. Ethan remained quiet beside me, his worried glances telling me I wasn’t successful at hiding my problem. My grip on the door handle tightened with each passing mile. A tiny part of me was thinking about opening it and jumping out. Not to die but to escape. What, I wasn’t sure. The car remained soothingly mellow.
“Gabby’s found a safe spot. She apologizes that it has taken so long. She said the Urbat changed their pattern slightly, and she wanted to watch it for a while to be sure they wouldn’t come back.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I asked.
Winifred met my gaze in the mirror.
“As an Elder, I can communicate with our kind in my mind. I asked Sam, Sam asked Gabby and relayed what she said to me.”
What she was saying twisted in my head. Werewolves could do everything, it seemed. Everything except leave me alone. I almost twitched with the need to glare at Carlos. This was all his fault. I so didn’t want to know anything more about what his kind could do.
“Whatever. How long till we get there?” I bit out.
“It’s another hour away. But she said the way is completely clear now. Would you like me to find somewhere to stop?”
“Yes.”
Winifred took the next exit. She didn’t go far. Two turns brought us to a semi-rural road with fields between the houses. She pulled over beside one field.
My breath clouded as I stepped out. It was cold enough to shiver, but I barely noticed. The rest of the cars pulled up behind us. I didn’t bother searching out one of the other guys in the group. I walked into the dead field, knowing Carlos already followed.
When I turned, his gaze swept over my face. His expression gave nothing away. I grew even more annoyed and realized my need to vent wasn’t so much the emotions I’d absorbed but rather my own emotions I had tried to ignore.
Once he was close enough, I attempted to punch him in the head. I was irritated that he could so successfully block his emotions from me. I kicked out at his knee. And, pissed as hell over the stunt he’d pulled in the bathroom, I spun close and drove an elbow into his ribs—a new move for him. His grunt made me grin; and I spun around, trying to hit the side of his head. He caught my arm and pulled me close.
“Behave.”
What? Me, behave? I saw red. Sparring went out the window, and I attacked. Who the hell did he think he was to tell me what to do? My body obeyed every thought, and my moves blurred as I hit, kicked, elbowed, and kneed him. I used everything. Some moves connected, and I had the satisfaction of hearing a grunt. Most moves he deflected. Within just a few minutes, I was panting and less angry.
I stepped back, signaling an end to the fight, and looked up at Carlos. His eyes burned with an unnamed emotion.
Eh, maybe I should have behaved.
Before I could apologize, he seized me and tossed me over his shoulder. The cold wind bit into my overheated legs, and below me, the ground zipped past. Just as quickly as the movement had started, it stopped; and he set me on my feet.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, pushing my hair out of my face so I could see.