The air in the car was thick with tension.
I kept my eyes keenly on the window, watching the city flew by. Except for my life being a turmoil, everywhere else seemed normal. As normal as the human world can get. Nothing that knew or cared about prophecies or execution orders or the fact that I was currently in a car with a man whose bloodline was apparently part vampire which I was still processing.
I spared a glance at him. The light from the device on his lap illuminated the side of his poker face but that didn't stop him from looking coldly pale and devilishly handsome. It reminded me of how cold he looked the night of the full moon.
I turned back to the window.
If he is half vampire, what does that makes my child?
Part vampire, my brain offered helpfully.
I know, I told it.
And you decided he was your best father candidate?
It was a mistake
Psst, whatever ease your mind
Shut up
My wolf, for her part, was completely unbothered by the argument I had going on with myself. She was pressed up against my ribs doing that reaching thing she always did when he was close and I was beginning to think she and I had fundamentally different priorities.
We definitely do.
"Are you hungry," he turned to me, his eyes staring pointedly to my stomach.
I blinked. "What?". I stared at him confused
"Hungry?" He glanced at me briefly. "You're holding your stomach"
I glanced down, my face flushed when I realised I was really holding my stomach.
" You also didn't have anything before your shift".
That got me glancing up at him faster than I could breath "How do you know that—" I stopped, narrowing my eyes at him " Y-y-you…how long have you known?".
"Three days. My trackers found you and I arrived earlier this morning ."he stated like it was the modest obvious thing in the room. Like he had not just stated he that he had trackers looking for me.
" Why? Why would you put trackers out to find me? I'm nothing to you". I squint my eyes, a thought suddenly occurred to me " You didn't even know I'm carrying your child. So why try hard to find me".
"Don't make it sentimental." He waved me off
"I'm not making it anything." I turned to face him properly. "I'm asking a genuine question. You had no reason to look for me."
He said nothing.
"You had no reason," I pressed. "You didn't know about the baby. I was just a woman who you…spent a night with. People do that all the time. You had absolutely no reason to put trackers out and yet—"
"Are you hungry or not."
I stared at him. "Are you serious right now."
"There's a place ahead." He was already indicating left. "Answer the question."
I wanted to push it. I wanted to sit with the question and make him answer it because it mattered, it was important, the answer to why he had looked for me before he knew about the child was a very significant piece of information that I needed.
But my stomach chose that exact moment to make a sound that could only qualify as a yes to his questions.
My body and wolf are against me!!!
He glanced at me and I looked out the window in defeat.
"Burger," I said. "And juice. Orange."
He signalled the driver to pull in without another word.
I watched him order , his voice low and unhurried, handling over a card for payment When the bag came through the window he passed it to me directly, his finger briefly brushing with mine.
It was brief, but enough to spread jittery all over my body.
I snatched it quickly from him " Thanks".
The driver pulled back into the road.
I ate in silence, aware of how his eyes would constantly shift from his device to me, as if to make sure I was really eating.
The city fell away behind us. And soon, all that were in the both other side of the car were bushes. We were heading north and I knew enough of the territory maps from my Luna training to understand we were well the human city and was now o heading in neutral ground
We'd be in Nightbane territory any time soon.
The thought sat in my chest quietly.
"You still haven't answered me," I said.
He kept his eyes on his device.
"Why did you look for me before you knew."
Slience. He typed away on his his device, his long pale fingers moving with effortless grace. Just when I thought he didn't hear me, his deep voice filled in the car, although not in response to the question I asked "You should sleep," he said, eyes still on his device "We have a long way to go."