Evaline:
I would have screamed.
Truly, I would have let out the loudest, most startled scream of my life if not for the sheer shock that struck me dumb as I was pulled into the backseat of the car.
The door had barely closed when I found myself wrapped in a familiar, solid warmth that sent an electric jolt through me.
"Draven?" I whispered.
His arms tightened around me, and when I looked up, I found him beaming like a fool. Mischievous and proud and just a little bit smug. That familiar twinkle was back in his beautiful eyes.
"What is happening?" I began to ask, still half caught between surprise and amusement, but I barely got the words out before Oscar’s voice rang from the driver’s seat.
"Do you two think I’m your chauffeur or something?"
My jaw dropped open as I leaned sideways to peek past the seat. "Wait - you both planned this?"
Draven chuckled lowly and, with no shame at all, pulled me closer to him like I was his favorite pillow.
"Drive," he added lazily to Oscar, waving a hand like a king on a throne. "Before someone sees us."
Oscar huffed, but I saw the smile tugging at his lips in the rearview mirror as he restarted the car and pulled out of the lot. We drove in silence for a few minutes, but my brain was a chaotic swirl of questions and confusion.
Finally, I found my voice.
"Okay. Seriously. What’s going on?"
Draven leaned back slightly, angling his face down so he could study mine. "What, you are really not happy to see me?" His tone was playfully hurt. "Were you planning to spend the whole evening alone with my brother, hmm?"
His bottom lip jutted out just a tiny bit in mock sulk.
I blinked. "What? No! I mean - of course I’m happy to see you. I was just surprised, that’s all. I didn’t expect both of you. I thought it would just be me and Mallory, then just Oscar, and now... both of you."
A wide smile tugged at his lips. "Good. Because now it’s all three of us."
Just then, Oscar slowed the car and steered it to the side of the empty road. I furrowed my brows. "Is something wrong?"
He didn’t answer. Instead, he unbuckled his seatbelt, twisted in his seat, and leaned over the middle console. Before I could say another word, he reached out, curled a hand around the back of my neck, and pulled me forward.
And then... he kissed me.
His lips were soft but demanding, full of teasing warmth and just enough heat to make me forget every coherent thought I had in the last five minutes.
When he pulled away, I blinked at him, stunned.
He just smirked before leaning back into his seat and clicking his seatbelt back in place. "I needed some motivation for the two-hour drive," he said casually, like he hadn’t just stolen my breath and melted my spine.
And beside me, Draven was looking utterly betrayed.
His hand was still holding mine, but his expression was now narrowed, and when their eyes met in the rearview mirror, Oscar just gave him a lazy shrug.
"Next time, move faster," Oscar said.
It was the mention of the drive that finally pulled me back into full awareness. "Wait, two hours?!" I stared at them, wide-eyed. "Where are we going?"
Draven chuckled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Oscar had this brilliant idea to take you shopping in a human city. Somewhere far enough from shifter territory that we don’t have to worry about anyone recognizing us."
"Are you serious?" I asked, blinking between the two of them.
Oscar nodded. "We wanted it to be... relaxed. No hiding. No stress. Just us and you. So we figured a city where we don’t have to look over our shoulders was a better bet."
I opened my mouth to argue about how long the drive was or how unnecessary this all seemed, but the gentle press of Draven’s thumb against my knuckles and Oscar’s brief glance in the mirror calmed me down.
"We have enough time," Draven assured me. "We’ll shop, have dinner, and be back before midnight. Promise."
There was something in the way he said it - steady, certain, and kind - that made me nod. "Okay," I said softly. "Okay. Let’s go."
The car fell into a quiet rhythm after that, and I allowed myself to finally relax.
Draven once again wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him, letting me lean against his chest as we drove on. The steady thump of his heart was comforting, grounding me more than words ever could.
Surprisingly, the long drive turned out to be exactly what we needed. Somewhere between the winding roads and flickering sunset, the three of us started to talk.
"Favorite season?" Oscar asked randomly.
"Spring," I answered instantly.
"Figures," he muttered. "You have spring energy."
Draven laughed. "She does. All softness and warmth."
I tilted my head. "And yours?"
"Winter," Draven said. "Everything’s quiet. Peaceful. It feels like the world pauses."
Oscar nodded. "Autumn for me. Something about the fading heat and the early chill makes me feel... alive."
We moved on to favorite foods, worst fears, childhood nicknames, guilty pleasures, most embarrassing moments.
Oscar confessed that he once broke the roof of the training hall while showing off in front of River when he was seventeen.
Draven admitted he used to secretly sketch in a hidden notebook, but stopped when someone found it and made fun of him.
I shared how I once climbed a tree just to avoid talking to my stepsiblings, and ended up stuck there for nearly three hours until my father found me. I didn’t share what happened after that. They didn’t need to know that. No one did.
There was laughter, quiet pauses, teasing jabs, and soft confessions.
I glanced out the window just as the first signboard for the city glowed under the streetlamps. The skyline was twinkling in the distance, welcoming us with lights and possibilities.
I smiled, leaning closer into Draven’s chest, feeling Oscar’s calm presence up front, and whispered a silent promise to myself.
No matter how twisted fate got, I would hold on to moments like this. Because this rare, perfect feeling was mine.