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Chapter 19

For the first time, Alana looked nervous.

Her fingers drummed anxiously against the wheel and she pressed hard on the accelerator, her eyes bouncing from window to window as she scanned the road and any movement in the forest that surrounded us. We had been on the road for a couple of hours now, but we were still riding through the vast woodland of Northern Shadow territory.

Unlike when we ventured to the human town with Alana, we were headed northeast. Well, that's all the information I was able to gather anyway, and it was from Lilo, who was probably feeling pity for me after my useless attempts at getting Alana to crack. I was the only one who didn't know our final destination and the longer we drove, the more antsy I was to find out. 

"Why do I have to sit in the middle and little legs over here gets the window?" Marcel complained, throwing his head back against the headrest with a dramatic groan. I scowled at his words. I really wasn't that small contrary to everyone's opinion. "I won't be able to feel my legs by the time we get there."

"Stop whining. You deserve discomfort." Alana snapped.

He muttered under his breath, something I couldn't hear, and Alana's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

Rowen reluctantly forced Maiko and Marcel to accompany us, much to their discontent, and Alana's as well. They had a small argument about it before we left and probably would have gone on for longer if we weren't in such a rush to leave. I wasn't sure if they would be of any help considering we weren't the best of friends, but Rowen was quite aggressive in their conversation before we left and while I didn't exactly agree with his methods, they seemed to listen to it very well.

Suddenly, Alana slammed her foot on the brake abruptly, almost coming to a complete stop, but the car still slowly inched forward, resembling the pace of a snail compared to the speed we were going. I frantically looked out the window for any signs of a threat, but there was nothing there. Just a couple of deer harmlessly prancing through the trees.

She really had to stop doing that. You would think she would be capable of such with her enhanced abilities, but I suppose she had her limits too. At least this time it was subtle enough for my back to remain on the seat.

Despite the lack of any threat, the others exchanged grave looks, their bodies tense and alert as their eyes glazed over. There was something wrong. Their body language told me that much, but it had to be something I couldn't sense. Not yet.

I waited for them to explain what was going on, but the car stayed silent as they communicated through the mindlink. The only thing that gave away anything were Marcel's facial expressions that would change every now and then as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

I let out a heavy sigh and crossed my arms, clenching my teeth together. Once again, I was excluded and it was hard for me to understand why they were keeping so much information from me. It wasn't like I was some random stranger catching a hitchhike. I mean, for all we know, not telling me could put us all in danger.

I opened my mouth to speak my mind, but when I looked at my fellow passengers a bundle of nerves arose within me and I clamped my mouth shut.

Alana was one thing. I had grown comfortable with her over the past couple of weeks, but the others...it was easier in thought. 

I instantly was disappointed in myself, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. I sunk down in my seat and watched them communicate through the mindlink, sulking in my loneliness and wishing more than ever that Helios was here with me. I was always left out, but it never mattered because he was always there. No matter how much I tried to convince him to join his other friends, he chose me.