Van

Judging by the icy tension in the car the next morning, Hailey's late night adventure had done more harm than good. Van clicked her seatbelt into place and studied her friends, attempting to determine what had gone wrong without outright asking Hailey. There would be no opportunity to talk until later, and waiting all day was going to be torture.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, hoping everyone could push their feelings aside to focus on the rescue mission. "Unless they have access to a jet, they won't have gone far."

"No," Livy admitted. "But they could have driven hundreds of miles in any direction."

"If they went anywhere, it would be further south. There's another city outside of Charleston that has an active supernatural community. Mostly witches and werewolf types, but they tolerate vamps if they keep their head down. Especially the witches. Whatever it is that vamps–the old kind of vamps–do to change, it changes their blood. Witches will pay a pretty penny for vamp blood to use in their spells." Hailey filed her fingernails and didn't look up as she spoke.

"Wait," Van pinched the bridge of her nose. "Werewolves are different than shifters?"

"Yeah. It's complicated." Hailey shrugged her shoulder. "It all started with a rare demon virus, and it spread... They only shift during full moons, but they're strong and fast as humans. And if they bite you, you will be infected. You do not want that life, trust me."

Livy stared at Hailey, longing evident in her gaze, and in turn, Bane's attention bounced between both girls until he spied Van watching them. Then, he shifted his focus to the trees whizzing by outside and pressed his nose against the window.

"You drive better if you look at the road," he snarled.

Livy flinched and uncharacteristically remained silent. Van eased between the front seats and tucked her freshly shorn hair behind her ear. "How many places like that exist?"

"More than you would think, but the south is definitely where most live. Slayers could never really get a foothold there."

Livy shook her head, her dark hair swishing around her face. Van couldn't see her eyes, but the corner of her lips curled down in a clear frown. "I always knew we were missing out on the world being stuck on our land, but I never could've imagined our world was this big."

Hailey finally stopped filing her nails and reached over the console to squeeze Livy's thigh. Van straightened, hoping her slight frame was enough to block the move from Bane's view. No wonder he was moody. It looked like the girls had made a clear choice, and while she wanted to be happy for her friends, she couldn't help but hurt for him. It wasn't easy being the single person on the outside looking in.

"What's the city called?" Van asked, taking out her phone to pull up maps.

"Officially, the town is called Porter."

Van typed it in. One hundred twenty-seven miles and over three hours away. She scrolled through the directions with a grimace. After the first thirty miles, the rest of the trip would be back roads. Porter itself didn't appear to be much more than a couple of stop signs. Perfect for people who wanted to hide.

"And what is it unofficially called?" She asked, leaning forward to slide the phone into the mount so Livy could see the directions.

"Sucre."

Bane snorted. "Sugar?"

"It's an old witch thing. I think it's slang for magic."

"One positive about going south is no more snow," Livy threw out, slowing to take a turn. They passed a sign stating the mileage to the next towns. Porter wasn't even listed.

Settling back into her seat, Van rubbed her palms on her thighs. What if they were wrong? What if Gabriella and Luca had gone somewhere else? They could be driving miles in the wrong direction, and even worse, the supernaturals weren't going to be pleased with Hailey's presence.

A nudge against her arm brought her head up. Bane stared at her, his normally severe expression softened to something a degree below stern. It was practically tender for him.

"He'll be there, Van."

"Thank you," she whispered, touched by his attempt to comfort her.

His mask snapped into place before he leaned back against the window, closing his eyes as if preparing to go to sleep. "Don't read anything into it. I just need you to calm down because I can't handle your anxiety for the next hundred miles. It burns my nose."

She rolled her eyes and fought back a smile. He wasn't the only one who could smell emotion, and the lie was heavy in the air. Whatever was going on with him and the girls wouldn't stop Bane from helping her rescue Luca. He was loyal to his Alpha, and they were going to get him home.

The next hour went by with little talking. Bane's feigned sleep drifted into a deep slumber, and up front, the girls snuck glances at one another whenever possible. In a different life, Van would have pressed them for details, demanding to know everything with girlish delight, but that wasn't for them. Not right now. Probably not ever.

Road noise and the car's steady vibration lulled her into a semi state of consciousness. Thoughts of Luca and everything that had happened since waking–honestly, since the day her mother and brother faked their death–went round and round in her head. So much happened so quickly, she never had time to process any of it, and she didn't want to now. Dwelling on the past wouldn't change anything. Their focus had to be finding Luca, getting that collar off him, and bringing him home to his pack.

Then Van might attempt to deal with all the life changes. She and Luca could do it together because she was certain he wouldn't escape from this unscathed. No matter how she prayed nothing bad would happen.

Suddenly, her vision split in two, and she saw Livy point to a sign and suggest stopping for a bite to eat. Hailey shrugged and suggested they keep driving. Reluctantly, Livy kept driving, eyes drifting wistfully toward the turn off to the greasy little diner that looked a lot like Wanda's. A moment later, a semi-truck crossed the line.

Livy screamed first. Then Hailey. She and Bane jolted awake, eyes widening, but before they could even open their mouths to shout, the truck smashed into their car.

"Van! Van!" Bane shook her roughly.

A sharp sting across her cheek pulled her out of the vision, and she lurched forward, gripping Hailey's headrest as she fought to keep the contents of her stomach down. When she could breathe, she ignored the others' desperate questions and swept her eyes over the scenery outside, gasping when she saw the billboard for the diner.

"I'm hungry," she blurted out. "Let's eat there."

"Van–"

"Hailey. Stop." Van scrubbed her hair back from her face. Clammy cheeks against her fingers made her shiver. "I had a bad dream."

Livy glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "That's it? A bad dream?"

"Yep, don't miss the turn."

"Oh, shoot," Livy cut the wheel hard, slinging them across the car as she pulled into the lot. "Sorry guys. I'm so excited. I was gonna suggest stopping here."

Hailey sighed. "I bet it won't be as good as Wanda's."

On the road behind them, a car horn blared and tires squealed as someone swerved to avoid the truck. They swiveled to look. Van exhaled sharply when she saw the car in the ditch, but her fear that she had doomed another to die faded as a very angry individual climbed out of the little white car.

"Holy crap," Hailey exclaimed as she unbuckled. "That could have been us."

"Does it matter?" Bane grunted, stomping ahead with an intense glower twisting his features. Hailey sprinted ahead, lowering her voice as she spoke to him. He ignored her.

"Crazy, right?" Van said. "Guess we were lucky."

Livy crossed her arms and held Van's gaze for a heartbeat longer than comfortable. "Very lucky."