Chương 198: INSIDE OF MATE'S CAR

The inside of Mate's car was perfect. Okay, so I'm not a car person. I didn't even notice that the white convertible was a Merc till Henry called it that. But the moment I entered Mate's car, the warmth of it engulfed me. Was that weird? His heating was on, yes, but it was also a strong sense of comfort and safety. And it smelled like the nicest car I've ever smelled. Leather and polish and just a tiny bit of other nice things. Mate got into the car, and we pulled out of the driveway and out of the school.

He was quiet, focused on the road. I leaned into the seat, enjoying the gentle hum of the car and the smells. So strange, I usually didn't prefer being in an enclosed space. Most wolves didn't. But I really liked the inside of Mate's car. It's comfortable, and it smelled happy. Never mind the bottles of soapy happiness I bought before. Those smelled like flowers. Inside of Mate's car was another smell of happiness. I still couldn't place it.

I sniffed carefully, but besides the leather and polish, air freshener, and cologne, there was something else that made me think of the smell of coffee at cafes, or the taste of chocolate in my mouth, or... something yummy, but it was so faint I couldn't place it. Mate gave me a sideways glance.

"What are you doing, Princess?" His voice was low and rumbly, like water. I instinctively sniffed in his direction, but other than our usual household laundry smell from his clothes, I smelled nothing. Not even the familiar masculine cologne in the car... Nothing. I growled a bit... I could see him and hear him, but he smelled like only a shell of clean laundry. Scentless... I reached out and poked his shoulder with my finger to make sure he was really there.

"What are you doing, Princess?" he growled at me. I looked back to the front again.

"Nothing." Just checking that you were really here.

"Can you smell anything when you're dream travelling?" I asked.

"No," he replied, and then asked, "What about you?"

"I can't smell anything when I'm dream travelling, and I can't smell you now either," I told him.

"Same," he agreed. Dreams had no smells.

"It might be for the better," he growled lowly. I almost couldn't make out the words over the rumble of his growling. I looked out of the window at the traffic, and then suddenly I saw my mate right in front of me, but shirtless. Eh? And then I saw myself lean forward and kiss him right on the mouth. Eh? I covered my mouth and drew back sharply, then I blinked. Eh?

"What?" Mate asked. He switched gears and turned on the indicator to change lanes. The traffic was bad at this time of day, and it was hard just getting to the expressway. Eh? I looked in the direction where I had just kissed Mate. Just the windshield and the busy traffic scene. I turned my head to look at Mate, still wearing a shirt, driving. Okay... I just thought something weird by myself, didn't I? I put down my hand.

"Nothing." Mate sighed.

"Try not to make sudden movements when I'm driving." I wanted to hit him. I looked back to the front, but I couldn't shake off the feeling of something warm creeping across my cheeks. My heart started beating fast. Okay, calm down, nothing happened. I was almost afraid to look out of the window in case "nothing" happened again.

"What is it now?" Mate growled at me. So ROOOD, this guy. Why, Goddess? Why is the guy I'm with so ROOOOOD and STOOOOPID? If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I crossed my arms.

"Nothing."

"Yet your hair said something happened." Mate smirked, casting a glance my way before turning back to the traffic. He got us up onto the expressway and stepped on the accelerator. The way Mate smirked made me feel... what was this? Was I shy? Why was I suddenly shy? I was never shy in my life! I tightened my arms around myself and tossed my head to look out of the window on my side. Now on the expressway, Mate reached out one hand to calm my frazzled hair.

The moment his large hand touched my head, a small whimpering sound came out. I covered my mouth again, horrified. What the hell was that? Mate removed his hand.

"Princess?" I shook my head, my hand still over my mouth. What the hell was going on? Why did I feel like whimpering and crying? I felt the tears burn behind my eyes. Seriously? I tried to search my heart... Why was I going to cry? Because I'm so frustrated and angry. Eh, I am?

"I want..." I started saying.

"You want what?" Mate's voice was taking on a particularly growly texture. It made me want to cry even more.

"I don't know," I mumbled. If he shouted at me, I would probably cry then.

"It's probably nothing," I said, trying to draw myself further away to my side of the car. I could feel the cool pane of glass on my forehead. I shut my eyes, suddenly feeling really, really alone. Another whimper. I slipped my feet out of my trainers and pulled up my knees to my forehead. I felt better like this. I hugged my legs and hid my face in my knees. Somebody just kill me.

"Are you not feeling well, Princess?" Mate continued driving. He looked terribly perplexed. He was probably wondering why he had such a weirdo for a mate. He reached his hand over to touch me again, but the moment I felt his hand on my back, I whimpered again. {Want hug} OMG! OMG! What's wrong with me! My hair flared up.

"Shhh.... Princess, calm down." Mate's voice got growlier. The sound of it made me want more. I took a deep breath, and it just smelled good, the inside of his car. Mate was starting to make that rumbling sound again, like he did the other evening when he woke up. And then I cried. The tears just fell. Mate kept driving and rumbling, and his free hand continued to stroke my hair down.

"Shhh... Princess," Mate growled.

"Damn, you're cute." What? The tears stopped. I'm a whimpering mess right now. So that's his type?

"I..." What was I just about to say? I want to kiss you. I want you to come back now. I love you... Wait, before you misunderstood, it's not like I would've said any of these things. I just had no idea what was about to come out of my mouth. So just to be clear, I wasn't going to say anything like that! I didn't know what to do with myself, though, so I just did the next best thing I knew. I let my wolf take over. In hindsight, it wasn't my best decision.

If there was a top ten list of the stupid things I've done, this would have definitely scored a respectable spot there. I felt my teeth shift, and the next thing I knew, I turned vampire, lunging for Mate. I would've bitten him too, if not for the seat belt that held me back. Mate nearly swerved, but caught the steering wheel in time. Cars around us horned. My wolf was riled like I've never felt before. The sharpness of my fangs cut my lips, and I could taste the blood.

"Oh baby, don't!" Mate said. Who are you calling baby? I unclipped my safety belt and lunged a second time. Mate had one hand on the wheel and the other around my neck, to keep me from biting him.

"Sorry, baby—princess, get a hold of your wolf," he said. He pulled out of the expressway at the nearest slip road without signalling, since he had one hand on my neck and the other on the wheel. The cars behind us horned.

"Baby, stop." He all but Alpha commanded. But he should know his Alpha command wouldn't work on me. I'm the Alpha! I'm... I blinked and sat back, shaking my head as if to shake out my flaring hair.

"Good girl, it's going to be okay," Mate coaxed, soothing down my hair. He pulled his car over to the side of the road. He growled lowly. I realized he was still making that rumbling sound, a purring kind of sound. I whimpered and started to cry again. I wanted! I wanted! I don't know what I wanted, but I wanted it!

"Shhh... Princess." Mate put his arm around me and leaned over to soothe my hair.

"Shhh.... Don't cry." He checked my neck.

"F***, shhhh..." Touching my neck a moment, he tilted my chin up to look again.

"Okay, it's healed now. Shhh..." What was healed? He growled, his fingers still holding my chin.

"Retract the teeth, baby." My teeth shifted back. My Wolfie was shockingly obedient to Mate. He ran a thumb over my lips. At his touch, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I whimpered. He let go quickly, looking away, still growling, still purring. I saw his knuckles whiten as he clenched the steering wheel. I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve, staining it with blood. Oh right, my Wolfie fangs cut my lip just now. It's fine now, though. I wriggled back into my seat and buckled up. Then I took a deep breath.

"Your car smells nice," I told Mate. My hair was still shimmering... I felt the slightest bit trembly, and the heat on my cheeks hadn't completely gone. I pulled up my legs again and looked out of the window to calm down. My wolf was really riled up. That's it! It was all Wolfie's fault. Rebel released a cautious sigh.

"My car? You smelled something in my car?" he asked.

"What did you smell?"

"Something nice," I told him. I still couldn't place it.

"Something nice," I repeated again. Rebel frowned in thought, then he pressed a button on the dashboard and the rooftop opened up. Woah... I looked up at the evening-colored sky.

"Sorry, it might get cold, but this would probably be safer," he told me. I didn't mind the cold. I was a wolf. The icy air felt refreshing, and the sky was colored in the prettiest pinks and oranges and purples. But yeah, it was cold, even for a wolf. The moment the car started running, the freezing wind was like a knife. I looked at Rebel in only a T-shirt. He stared forward, his face in hard, determined lines. Maybe he was trying to ignore me. But I was feeling back to my usual self again. That was a relief.

I guess the cold air blew off whatever craziness happened just now. As we drove down the familiar roads home, I enjoyed the smells that the icy wind brought, trying to name everything from pine to dog poop and differentiating diesel from petrol exhaust... looking forward to the familiar smells of home.