Addie's POV:

The car was uncomfortably silent. Even Hector felt it. He normally would just lay his head in my lap and sleep and he did try that, but after a while even he picked his head up and looked around the car before looking up at me. I shrugged at him but he just kept staring. I felt like asking him what he expected me to do about the awkward silence but the only way this car ride could be more awkward was if I started talking to him instead of the people in the car.

"Hey," Kaden finally spoke. Thank God. He turned in his seat and looked back at me. "I wanted to ask you about the night we escaped."

"Kaden," Xander growled at the same time Tess smacked Kaden's arm.

"What?" He asked innocently, rubbing his arm.

"It was a traumatic experience," Xander snapped. "Don't make her relive it."

"It's okay," I said, sending Xander a glare before addressing Kaden. "What's up?"

"Where'd you learn to get out of zipties and pick locks with bobby pins? I could be wrong but I don't think that's exactly common knowledge," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," I said, shifting in my seat. Well, shit, I guess we were getting started right away with my weird past. "My mom was a CIA agent and it made her a little paranoid. You know, seeing the dark side of humanity and all that," I shrugged, playing with a loose string on my sweater. "So she started training for the worst from the time I was really little. One of those adapt to every scenario kind of things. I have a photographic memory thanks to her." Thanks was a strong word but I didn't feel like getting into the many ways my mom freaked me out as a kid.

"How'd she train you?" Kaden asked curiously.

"Uhh..." I was very aware of the fact Xander was staring at me without even looking over to see him. That only made me more nervous. Might as well rip it off like a band-aid. "Like, she locked me in a trunk once when I was six and didn't let me out until I figured it out on my own. She used to do this thing where she'd drop information throughout the week that seemed insignificant but it was really just information I'd need for whatever scenario she planned to prepare me for next."

"That sounds horrible," Kaden said, frowning.

"She could be a little intense but it clearly paid off in some ways," I said, laughing nervously while repeatedly wrapping and unwrapping that loose string around my finger.

"Is she still like that? Should we be worried about her breaking down the pack house door?" Kaden teased.

Thank God he kept it light.

"Unless ghosts are real too, then no," I said, scratching behind Hector's ears as he laid his head in my lap again. "She died a few years ago on the job."

"Oh," Kaden frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I said, giving him a reassuring smile. "You didn't know." That and I wasn't even sure how I felt about her. She did help me and make me strong in a lot of ways but she also made me completely incapable of relaxing.

"What about your dad?" Xander asked.

I glanced over at him and was still somehow struck by how beautiful he was. It wasn't just the green eyes. His midnight black hair looked soft, I wondered what it would feel like to run my hands through that hair. Jesus, Addie, get a grip, I reminded myself.

"In prison somewhere," I shrugged. "I don't really have any blood family. Just close friends."

"Me either," Xander said, nodding in understanding.

That helped, not being singled out. People were always weird when they found out I didn't really have family and the family I did have was a mess.

"No?" I asked.

"No," he said. "My parents died a long time ago and I was an only child. My only family is these idiots," he said, inclining his head to the front seat with an adorable little smile on his face.

"Rude," Kaden scowled.

I couldn't hold back the smile and mine seemed to make Xander's grow. God, even his smile was great. Half of me hoped there was something deeply wrong with his personality because physically? He was flawless. I had to actively force myself to not stare at him with his stupid perfect face and stupid perfect hair and stupid perfect arms that flexed every time he moved his hands.

"Who's your family then? Who do you spend holidays with?" Xander asked, turning in his seat towards me.

Well, so much for hoping his personality sucked. Most people made it weird about the family thing but he acted like it wasn't a big deal.

"I mostly hang out with my friend Travis's family at holidays," I explained.

Tension in the car lifted about a thousand percent and Xander visibly stiffened. His eyes darted to Tess and I started to wonder if they were communicating. He brought his gaze back to me with a significantly more strained smile.

"That's who you were with last night, right?" He asked.

I gave him props for trying but it was obvious there was something wrong.

"Yep," I answered, watching his reaction. "He's my best friend."

"That's... Nice..." He said, breaking eye contact.

His reaction seemed extreme and I wasn't one for beating around the bush.

"You haven't met him, why do you already dislike him?" I asked, making his eyes return to me.

"I don't," Xander said. I raised an eyebrow doubtfully and he sighed. "I just... Overheard some things I almost wish I hadn't."

"Maybe you shouldn't have been listening in then," I pointed out.

"She has a point," Tess chimed in.

That eased the tension a little and I looked up to find Tess winking at me in the rear-view mirror. I smiled and looked over at Xander who sent Tess a glare before focusing on me.

"Some of it wasn't intentional," he defended. "How long have you known him?"

"Since I was five," I said, watching him carefully. That information only seemed to make him more distressed. Almost like he was... "Are you jealous?" I asked.

I expected him to deny it or at least try but instead he just met my gaze without hesitation. "Yes," he answered. "It's hard not to be. You did go home with him last night and wore his clothes this morning."

Well, shit. I guess it was good he was being honest with me. Why did I feel guilty? I hadn't done anything with Travis last night and even if I did, Xander and I weren't together. He didn't really have a right to be jealous and yet I felt the insane need to reassure him.

"I didn't even sleep in the same bed as him," I said, darting my eyes away. "And I wasn't exactly keen on doing the walk of shame in my dress from last night when nothing even happened."

"It's good you have a friend you can trust to take care of you when you're drunk and the morning after. It's always nice to have a friend like that," Tess said. Except her mirror was now adjusted towards Xander and she was giving him a pointed stare. "Goddess knows I've done that for Xander before and he's done it for me, too."

Xander's eyes narrowed slightly at Tess and while part of me felt relieved she was taking my side, the other part of me had a stupid reaction to it. Just how close were they? They seemed very close. It shouldn't matter. So why did it? I really needed to get more information on the mate thing because I felt like I was losing my mind.

"It is," Xander relented, looking over at me. "You didn't... Tell him about us did you?" He asked, his brows furrowing in concern.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No, I didn't expect anyone would believe me. He may be my best friend but that doesn't mean he needs to know everything and telling a story like that would've probably had him concerned I'd hit my head a little too hard."

"Good," Xander nodded. "Please don't say anything. Our existence is kept secret for a reason. Technically I was supposed to have you sign something saying you would keep us a secret and I haven't done that yet."

"Yet," Tess scoffed. "The day you actually do your paperwork."

"Don't make me make you do it," Xander snapped, glaring at her.

"Go ahead and try, Alpha," Tess said in a taunting tone.

Xander rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Ignore her. I know you've been through a lot. I'm sure it would be easier to vent to someone you already know but it's important you keep what we are a secret," he said seriously, a flash of something in his eyes that was gone too fast to recognize. "So if you need to vent, come to me. I'm more than willing to listen. Just pretend you didn't see me shift. If you ignore that part, I pass as human pretty easily," he said, smiling lightly.

"Has something happened?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Lots of things have happened," he said, darting his eyes away. "Humans aren't kind to us. They like to lock us up and poke us with needles, try to force us to become their secret weapons. The less people know about us, the safer we are."

"Have you experienced that?" I asked, frowning.

"No," he said, swallowing hard and still not looking at me. "Not that exactly, there have just been... Close calls in the past."

The entire air in the car shifted again. I looked through the mirror at Tess but she was a little too focused on driving. I looked over at Kaden and even he looked much more serious instead of sporting a smile. It was abundantly clear even if not exactly what he said happened, something happened. I shouldn't pry. I knew I shouldn't pry. I couldn't help it.

"What do close calls mean?" I asked.

His eyes returned to me momentarily and they were filled with so much pain it nearly took my breath away, it was like I could feel it. I'm not sure I was even consciously aware of my hand moving over to his. He seemed surprised by the contact but his fingers laced with mine and some of that pain faded.

"Sometimes someone catches wind of us and..." He trailed off, his thumb rubbing circles into my hand. "We do what we have to. To protect our species, our packs. Sometimes that means terrible sacrifices for the greater good."

Sacrifices? That didn't sound good but I couldn't push it anymore. The topic had everyone so tense and I couldn't take it.

"I see," I muttered. "So... How long have you all known each other?"

"Since we were pups," Kaden grinned, looking back at me.

"Since we were born," Xander clarified. "Unfortunately," he added, kicking the back of Kaden's seat.

"Unfortunate for us," Tess corrected, gesturing between her and Kaden. "Because you're always in such a pissy mood."

"I am not," Xander scowled. "Maybe if the two of you didn't actively try to piss me off every spare moment, I would be in a better mood," he said, rolling his eyes and looking over at me. "I'm going to go ahead and apologize right now for whatever happens in the house. Those two," he said disdainfully, nodding to Tess and Kaden. "Have absolutely no filter or any concept of how loud they are when they're drunkenly singing karaoke at three in the morning. I'll get you ear plugs."

I couldn't help the smile and the feeling of relief that the tension in the car eased. Xander's smile grew and he held my hand tighter.

"Maybe if you sang karaoke with us you wouldn't be in such a pissy mood all the time," Tess countered.

"Someone has to take their role seriously and run the pack while Anna takes care of your hungover asses," Xander retorted, narrowing his eyes at Tess.

"Hey, last weekend I led the run while hungover, thank you very much," Kaden defended.

"That's right," Xander agreed. "I heard about you stopping halfway through to throw up. Really great role model there, Beta."

"You're the one that stocks the house with alcohol," Tess pointed out.

"Leading is tiring, sometimes I need a drink," Xander grumbled. "It's meant to last a while, not get restocked every fucking weekend."

"The gist of this is that it's basically a constant party in the pack house on the weekends," Kaden said, turning to grin at me.

I stifled a laugh and Xander kicked Kaden's seat again. "No, it's not. In fact, I expect best behavior this weekend. There's too much going on for you two to goof off."

"You're right," Tess nodded. "On this one occasion," she added with a smirk. "When am I going to Lynn's pack?"

"As soon as I call her," Xander answered.

"Who's that?" I asked. If I was going to be staying there I should at least try to keep up.

"She's the Luna in one of our neighboring packs," Xander explained. "She's going to help us with the Rego and vampire problem, we hope."

"Oh," I said, biting my lip. Geeze, how many werewolves in the world were there? "Uh, how many neighboring packs do you have?"

"Close to our border? Four. We have others close by too but those are the closest," Xander said.

"Wow," I breathed. "I didn't realize there were... So many."

"There's a lot more of us than you'd think and it's not just werewolves and vampires," Xander said.

"What else is there?" I asked, feeling even more overwhelmed. There was a whole world people didn't even know about and it was much bigger than I realized.

"Don't worry," Xander said, squeezing my hand. "We don't have to get into all of that right now. You have a lot on your mind. The only other supernatural you'll come across for now in our pack is our witch."

"Oh," I nodded. Witch. Because witches were real too. I mean, why not at this point?

I thought about asking more but then the road we turned down was no longer paved. It was a dirt road and the forest became thicker. I swear I saw something moving through the trees but it moved too fast to see. Then we arrived at a gate and someone opened it up to let us through.

I leaned forward to look more out the window as we passed through even more forest until there was a break. Outside my window was a huge, beautiful wooden house, but that didn't intimidate me as much as the crowd that approached the car as we arrived. The car slowed to a stop and I felt my heart start racing.

Well, shit. I was not a people person and that was a lot of people.

A/N:

Hiii! I hope everyone had an awesome week :) We hit 2k reads and over 200 votes!! I'm so excited! You guys are the best!! Thank you for your support <3

I hope you enjoy this chapter :D A couple people mentioned curiosity about Addie's mom, well what did you think of the info given?

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