Rain and Woodfire

**BLANCA**
"I thought there was a law in place granting every prisoner a minimum of ten hours of sunlight per month," Jared remarks thoughtfully.
"There is," Max confirms, arching one eyebrow at me over his shoulder..
*Oops. Caught staring again.* As quickly as I can, I look away.
Seated directly behind Jared, I have a less restricted view of Max and my eyes are being rebellious, traitorous, little *things*. As much as I try to focus on the beautiful drapery of evergreen trees and the patches of wildflowers we pass on the way to my doom, my gaze refuses to cooperate. Instead, I find myself fixated on the back of Max's neck and the way the corded muscles shift and ripple just beneath the golden caramel of his skin. Each time he takes a breath the carved lines of his decorated shoulders fluctuate and his triceps pulse almost like an afterthought.
Those arms felt so wonderful locked around me last night and I intend to keep that *one* memory safely locked in my heart. I can't let anything or anybody ruin it. Especially not the Alpha himself. When the Alpha was asleep, it felt like he was mine. The way he combed my hair with his fingers and held me tight to his chest was so possessive and *real*, it's a shame he ruined the moment he opened his big cruel eyes.
Suddenly, I am his slave again and try as I might, I can't get his angry accusations out of my head. Snorting to myself, I roll my eyes. *As if someone as inexperienced as myself would ever try and seduce an Alpha. Or anyone for that matter!*
"What the hell are you laughing about, slave?" Max's voice shatters my reverie.
My heart jolts and already I'm feeling the familiar hollowing pain of embarrassment and degradation wash over me. I take a few quick, deep breaths, shoving the sadness down deep. *I am his slave. It shouldn't hurt that he calls me that. But it does nonetheless.*
"Really, Max?" Jared hisses.
"Are you going to answer me?" Max grumbles. I can feel him looking at me, but I pretend not to be paying attention as I watch the grass whir by.
Then I remember where we're headed and I say offhandedly, "Did you know that silver is incredibly poisonous for Shiftless?"
"What?" Jared asks, his dark eyes finding me in the rearview mirror.
"Silver is poisonous to both Shifters and Shiftless alike," Max says in a bored voice. "Precisely why we use it to brand slaves and rogues."
I smirk, gazing down at the skirt of my beautiful dress. "Someone must not have been paying attention in all his classes."
"Excuse me?" Max snaps and Jared giggles. "Says the girl who couldn't even wait until she was a teenager to start murdering people."
"Max! Come on," Jared gripes.
Finally, my anger boils and my eyes snap toward the back of his big dumb head. "I didn't murder a *people*," I growl, "I slaughtered a *pig.*"
"Shit," Jared whispers.
"Pull over," Max growls, his muscles bunching and swelling as if he might shift.
*Oh Goddess. He... is... really... mad.*
"What?" Jared protests. "No. You're the one who said we were going to be late."
"Am I the Alpha, or are you? I said pull over."
"Why? What are you going to do?" Jared spits through clenched teeth, shaking his head as he slows the car down and pulls to the right. I can see his hands on the steering wheel and his knuckles are white with tension.
Max doesn't answer him and with the car parked now, he jumps out without another word. My heart is battering when he slams the front passenger door and fear threatens to crush my insides. It literally feels like I'm stuck under a giant rock or boulder and any minute now my chest is going to cave in.
"Is he going to hurt me?" I whisper to Jared, as Max reaches forward to jerk open the backdoor.
Jared opens his mouth to answer me, but stops as Max visibly tenses on the outside side of the car. Every single one of his muscles is flexed and all that comes out of Jared's mouth is a whoosh of air.
When he finally slides inside, I begin to pant for breath and turn my face away. It's bad enough that he might actually strangle me and I'd rather not see him coming if he does.
Willing my breathing to settle, I brace myself for impact. *I really shouldn't have lost my temper that way. Never mind that calling a pig a pig was a definite pleasure.*
The car shudders as Max slams the backdoor closed. "Drive," Max says softly.
As the car pulls back out onto the road, Max's rain and woodfire scent wafts toward me. It is powerful and exotic, tingling my nostrils and wrapping around me like a blanket. Oddly enough, it soothes me, despite the threat of the source.
After a few moments of silence, Max's phone rings and because I'm nosey, I glance at it while it's still in his lap.
The words,*Autumn Moon* flash across the screen before he answers and I quiet my breath to listen in as best I can.
"Alpha Max."
A silky, feminine voice warbles through the line, but unfortunately I can't decipher any of her words. Nevertheless, my chest squeezes a bit knowing that a female is calling him and I have no right to ask who she is.
*Oh Moon Goddess, what fun this is going to be. Newsflash lady, I'm not as strong as you think.*
"When will you be arriving?" Max asks coyly and my nose scrunches up in distaste at the sound of his voice.
Her dramatic soprano squawking is making my ears itch with displeasure and I sigh to disguise a groan of irritation. My skin prickles and without even looking, I know that Max is staring at me.
"Jericho shouldn't be sending you early. You should wait until he's ready to leave. I don't want you unprotected during the journey."
My lip quivers and I swallow what feels like a stone in my throat. *Well isn't she lucky. The Alpha wants her safe. The bitch.*
Max chuckles into the phone and out of the corner of my eye, I see that his eyes are still on me. "I can have a room at the packhouse ready for you, but I've got a really busy week. So if you insist on coming early, don't expect to see much of me."
Jared snorts in the front seat and for some reason, I smile. Maybe Jared knows the Alpha is lying, or maybe he doesn't like the woman on the phone. Either one of those reasons would suit me just fine. After catching my eye in the mirror, Jared throws me a wink and I can't help but blush a bit as I smile back.
A prominent huff sounds on my right and I instinctively turn toward the sound.
Max is still on the phone, but his eyes are narrowed at me suspiciously. In fact, I don't think he's even listening to the girl on the phone because I can hear her shouting his name. Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he hangs up without even saying goodbye.
A muscle ticks in his jaw and he throws one deliciously grooved arm across the back of the headrest. His reach is long enough for me to feel the weight of his forearm against the back of my head, but I ignore it.
Tearing my eyes away, I ask, "Do either of you believe in second chance mates?"
Jared chortles in the front seat. "*Second chance?* Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?"
"Maybe," I whisper, keeping my eyes on the landscape. The trees are getting sparser now, the green of the grass becoming more and more yellow. "I only ask because I remember that was what my sister Reanna was hoping for. She met her mate a couple of weeks before she was killed and she said he was planning to reject her. But she didn't mind because he was evil. She told me second chance mates are chosen more carefully by the Goddess to protect the hearts of the rejected." I sigh heavily, then ask, "Do you think that's true?"
The silence in the car is deafening and for a while no one says a word.
"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, Blanca," Jared surmises. "A man would have to be stupid or blind to reject you."
I smile out the window at his answer, despite the inaccuracy of his statement. "That's funny," I say. "I was thinking the opposite. I'm Shiftless, a man would have to be blind to *accept* me."
Moisture gathers in my eyes, but I blink it away. As I do, I notice Max's reflection in the window and he's frowning...