Chapter Twenty Three
We've just left the territory meaning our ridiculously long journey has begun. We've got to make a stop so that I can get Loki some travel sickness pills as he's already complaining of feeling sick. So we're heading into Palmer so I can grab the medicine. Jett's car is carrying on ahead of us with the knowledge that he needs to be slow. I'll catch him up quickly if I pick up the speed but with Loki who knows if I'll be able to.
Rocco asks "You sure it was a good idea to send the other car ahead of us?"
I reply "Yes it'll be fine. We can catch them up quickly. Anyway we're about to reach the shop where I can get the motion sickness pills for Loki."
I pull the car up at the pharmacy and hop out of the car. Loki follows me without thinking twice about it by the looks of it.
I comment with a smile on my face "You could have stayed in the car you know."
Loki notifies "You told me that I have to accompany you all the time. I see no reason to change that arrangement anyway who is going to protect you if you're attacked?"
I scoff "I don't need protecting I can protect myself."
Loki laughs resulting in me playfully punching his arm which he yelps at while backing away slightly from me.
I repeat "I don't need protecting I can handle myself. You should have noticed that by now."
Loki scoffs "But you always come back injured."
I argue "I didn't when those guys jumped us when we were out shopping."
Loki comments "That was a fluke."
I grumble "I'll show you a fluke."
Loki darts towards the shop entrance with me hot on his tail.
We stop being silly as we enter the pharmacy as I immediately head over to the counter as that's the only place where I can get the travel sickness medication.
The pharmacist on duty asks "What can I do for you?"
I ask "Do you have any scopolamine travel sickness pills?"
The pharmacist smiles warmly "I believe we do have some stocked. I'll just grab a packet for you."
I ask "Could I have two packets please. It's a long journey so I'm going to need more."
The pharmacist nods while picking up two brightly coloured packets of the travel sickness medicine.
The pharmacist asks "Where are you off to then?"
I admit "North Carolina. It's going to take seventy two hours to get there in total and that's if the traffic is good."
The pharmacist smiles "That's a long trip I don't know if I could make that sort of trip."
I chuckle "You and me both. The boredom of driving will probably kill me before I even get there."
The pharmacist asks while laughing "Is there anything else I can get for you?"
I reply "No but there is something I'd like to ask regarding these."
The pharmacist asks "What would you like to know?"
I ask "For a Shifter what would be the best dose to take?"
The Pharmacist asks "Depends on the animal the Shifter can turn into. May I see the animal you turn into?"
I notify "It's not for me but for my friend over there."
I point at Loki who is looking at the shampoo and conditioner section of the shop.
The Pharmacist asks "Can I see his animal?"
I call "Trouble get your arse over here, you're needed."
Loki looks up and heads over to me cautiously.
Loki asks as he gets closer "What do you need me for?"
I order "Shift to your animal form."
Loki asks "Why?"
I turn to Loki while scowling at him. Loki holds his hands up in surrender and begins to strip off his clothes like a real Shifter would. He shifts into his Black Leopard form like he's been doing it from birth.
The Pharmacist smiles "Alright well considering his size and that he's a male Leopard I'd suggest taking one tablet every three hours instead of the human recommendation of every six hours."
I smile gratefully "Thank you now hopefully that'll keep him quiet for a while."
The pharmacist laughs and I notice Loki shift back looking rather confused. I pay for the travel sickness pills and lead Loki back out to the car once he's put his clothes back on. I grab a bottle of water out of the cool bag in the back quickly offering it to Loki as I get one of the tablets out of the packet.
I order "Now chew this and then swallow and it should stop you from feeling sick while travelling."
Loki comments "You better be right about this I don't want to feel any worse travelling in this mortal contraption."
I argue "Just shut up with your moaning and take it. We've still got to catch up with the other car."
Loki glares at me but as I glare back at him he puts the tablet into his mouth and then takes a drink from the water bottle. He gives it back to me as he pulls a face of disgust at the taste of the tablet as he chews it. From what I know of motion sickness pills they make your mouth really dry at first. Loki is going to have a fun time taking these motion sickness pills. Rather him than me any day.
I order as I get into the car "Get in Loki."
Loki defiantly asks "What if I don't want to?"
I notify harshly "Then we'll leave you fucking behind."
I close my door and put me seatbelt on before starting the engine. Loki quickly dives into the passenger seat fear written across his face at the thought of being left in a place he doesn't know very well if at all. I wait until he's put his seatbelt on before I pull away out of the car park and onto the open road all the while picking up speed so that I'll be able to catch up to the other car quicker. Loki doesn't complain about the speed we're travelling at hopefully meaning that he doesn't feel sick.
Roxy asks "Brooke can you put some music on please?"
I ask "What do you want to be played?"
Roxy asks "Can we put one of my CDs in?"
I reply "Sure let me just pull over and I'll put the CD in."
Rocco comments with his dirty brain "I'm sure you'll put it in Brooke."
I cough in surprise before scoffing "Dirty bastard."
I pull the car over to the side of the road just as Rocco denies "Hey I never said anything dirty; you just thought it."
I ask "Can I have the CD Roxy?"
Roxy hands me a CD while replying "Here you go."
I put the CD into the built in CD player and start driving again as the music loads. I'm slightly shocked when Sigma's Glitterball starts playing.
I ask playfully in a mocking tone of voice as I speed the car up to just over ninety miles an hour "Seriously Glitterball?"
Roxy argues "Don't mock it I know you like it. I made this CD especially for the journey."
Rocco banters "Which is why it's going to be shit."
I laugh as does Morgan. Loki seems confused as to why we're laughing.
Roxy objects while slapping her brother "It's not shit."
Rocco corrects with a laugh "No you're right it's not shit its crap."
And then the arguments began between the two siblings which I occasionally joined in on when I wasn't talking to Loki.
Ten hours later we are in Canada and it's already dark. We have long since caught up and passed the other car. I am debating finding some place to sleep or to get Rocco to take over as he's been sleeping in the car over a long period of time. I can only hope that Raya has been doing the same in the other car if I do decide to try and carry on throughout the night. We'd never booked any place to stay. We had thought about a place but we'd never finalised booking it.
Everyone except for Loki is asleep in the car at the moment. The radio is currently playing music which the radio DJ decided to put on as Roxy's CDs ran out of songs and we didn't want to start a new one when it would mean stopping and getting said CDs out of the back and also Roxy has been asleep for about four hours now. I'd quickly switched over to the radio upon the request of Rocco as he knows that I don't sleep with background noise unless I'm comfortable and in the back seat of a car.
Loki asks "How long have we been going for?"
I admit "Total of around eleven hours give or take. It took us an hour to get to Palmer and back to where we would have started and we've been driving for ten hours."
Loki asks "Are we going to stop to sleep somewhere that's more appealing than this contraption."
I comment with a smirk "I was debating trying to find a motel but now I'm just going to drive on through the night just to spite you because I know you don't like cars."
Loki grumbles "Of course you would. That's just like you."
I laugh for a few minutes then gasp in sarcasm "I don't know what you mean. I wouldn't do such a thing."
Loki scoffs at that, shaking his head in the process. I laugh again and go back to listening to the music being played on the late night listeners' radio station.
After five minutes or so I ask "How are you holding up?"
Loki asks "What do you mean?"
I explain "With your travel sickness. I want to know if you're feeling sick at all again. You haven't had the travel sickness medicine for a while now. It must be starting to wear off by now."
The travel sickness medicine only lasted four hours from when we left Palmer.
Loki shakes his head announcing "I do not feel unwell from travelling at this moment in time. I'll be sure to tell you if I do begin to start feeling unwell at any point."
I demand "Make sure you do, I don't want to have to clear up after you if you were to be sick."
Loki makes a face of disgust at the idea of even being sick to which I laugh at.
"I see your dirty face, high behind your collar. What is done in vain, truth is hard to swallow. So you pray to god, justify..."
It's Jett who's calling. I quickly press accept on my phone as I had it attached to the dashboard in a phone holder. I place it on loud speaker so I can hear it.
I ask "What's up Jett? You hanging in there?"
Jett announces "I'm doing fine. Everyone else is asleep in the car. Are we riding out the night?"
I announce "For as long as we can we are riding. If you get tired then wake Raya up at least half an hour before switching over with her. It's the normal overnight driving routine as practised."
Jett acknowledges "Understood."
I ask "Anything else?"
Jett asks "Are we going to stop at some point to get actual sleep?"
I hesitate before announcing "Probably a better idea at some point. We can last until tomorrow though at most."
Jett huffs "Understood."
I ask for the final time hopefully "Any other pressing matters that you need to ask?"
Jett responds "None."
I comment "Alright I'll see you whenever we stop."
Jett huffs and ends the call before I can do so.
Loki grumbles "So we are going to be travelling without stopping through the night."
I smile "Don't moan so much."
Loki argues "I do what I want."
I deny "Nope not anymore you don't."
Loki huffs out in annoyance and looks out the window over the dark landscape that even I can barely see even with my Snow Leopard's night vision and even with the headlights on full beam as there is no other driver around except for Jett who should be five or ten minutes behind me at most.
Suddenly a very weary Roxy asks "Where are we?"
I announce "Still in Canada I'm afraid. No idea where but I know we're going in the right direction according to the sat nav."
Roxy asks "Are we stopping at all?"
I notify "Nope we're carrying on through the night. Might as well try and get as far as possible before both me and Rocco can't drive anymore without falling asleep at the wheel."
Roxy moans "I'm stiff."
I smile while I point out "That's what you get for sleeping at an awkward angle. Stretch it out as I don't want to stop just yet."
Roxy asks "What time is it anyway?"
I check the time quickly then announce "It's only one AM at the moment."
Roxy exclaims in question "Is that all!?"
The loudness of Roxy's voice stirs Rocco and Morgan, it also makes Loki jump in shock as he clearly hadn't been paying attention to the conversation between me and Roxy.
Rocco grumbles while still being half asleep "Shut the fuck up Roxy. I'm trying to sleep here."
Roxy scolds "Fuck off Rocco you usually can sleep through anything you were waking up anyway bastard."
Rocco grumbles "I was trying to go back to sleep bitch."
Well Morgan managed to slip straight back into sleep apparently otherwise he would have said something by now. He usually defends Roxy even from her own brother especially when they're arguing like this.
Roxy snaps "Well fuck off back to sleep will you."
Rocco argues more aggressively obviously waking up more "Well if you wouldn't be so fucking loud then I'd be able to get back to fucking sleep now wouldn't I moron."
Roxy growls "I wasn't even being that loud you overdramatic twat."
Rocco asks while mimicking Roxy at one point "Is that all!? How is that not being loud?"
Roxy defends "It was only one sentence that was loud. Morgan hasn't woken up because of it now has he pathetic idiot."
Before Rocco has a chance to respond Loki snaps "Will you both shut up? Yelling at each other will not solve anything."
Silence suddenly reigned over the car. I did not expect that of Loki. He's definitely not going to be completely submissive then. He now poses a more dominant vibe for once. He might be able to become an Enforcer if he continues to show that dominant streak of his. My Snow Leopard is practically purring in affection although she is slightly shocked to hear him being dominant.
Roxy comments quietly "Sorry Loki."
Rocco leans forwards slightly and pats Loki on the shoulder while points out "Brave move there. You've finally showed us your dominance there."
Rocco leans forward even more and whispers something into Loki's ear which makes Loki shift in his seat and make a look of uncertainty flash across his face.
I order "Rocco stay awake now as I want you to take over soon."
Rocco asks "Are we riding throughout the night then?"
I reply bluntly "Yup."
Rocco asks "When are we going to switch over?"
I announce with a small yawn "Soon. I'm going to phone Jett beforehand."
I ring Jett and wait for him to pick up.
Jett asks "Yes?"
I notify "I'm switching with Rocco now so if you need to phone this car call Rocco."
Jett responds with a Jett like huff then acknowledges bluntly "Understood."
I announce "Talk to you later Jett."
I hang up the phone before Jett can reply. I slowly pull the car over to the side of the road and hop out of the car. I grab Loki's medicine as I notice that he's getting out for some reason.
I ask "Why are you getting out?"
Loki admits sheepishly "I'd prefer to remain sitting next to you."
I shrug my shoulder then comment "You'd better ask Roxy if she'll move to the front then."
Rocco opens his door quickly hopping out of the car and Roxy very quickly darts out of the car. She stretches out her limbs and moans in relief as her shoulders click.
I quickly walk round over to Loki and hand him his next medicine dose.
Loki questions curiously "Why are you giving me these now? I do not feel unwell. I told you this not that long ago."
I explain "I'll be asleep and then you won't take it so take it now."
Loki shrugs and does as he's told without a fuss for once.
I whisper "Ask Roxy if you can sit in the back with me if you really want to."
Loki sighs in reluctance at having to speak to someone on his own accord. For the God of Mischief, the person who tried to wipe humanity out in New York, he is ridiculously shy when talking to others. It kind of makes me wonder if there's a back story as to why he's so quiet and shy almost to the point of being anti social. I thought I was bad at the best of times especially when talking to new people. He kind of makes me seem extremely sociable and friendly.
Loki walks over to Roxy slightly which actually shocks me slightly as he is trying to use me as cover while he talks like usual.
Loki asks "Roxy would it be all right if I could sit in the back of the vehicle with Brooklyn?"
Roxy turns to Loki and then looks towards me. I can tell that she's judging the distance that he's put between himself and me.
Roxy approves "Sure I don't see why not. It'll probably be more comfortable in the front anyway as I won't be squished between two dominant Wolves."
"Thank you Roxy."
Roxy smiles and continues to stretch out her stiff limbs.
I urge "We should get back on the move. Finish stretching Roxy as we need to get going again to stay ahead of the other car."
Roxy quickly hops into the front passenger seat then jokes "Well get in then you losers."
I roll my eyes at her playfulness and energy. I walk over to the open back door. I usher Loki in but he doesn't get into the car.
I ask "What now?"
"Can you sit in the middle? I'd prefer to remain sitting by the window."
"Fine trouble I'll sit in the middle."
"I'm not trouble."
I chuckle at Loki's continued refusal of his nickname. I begin to climb into the back middle seat. Loki drops down in beside me. I very quickly realise that Roxy was right as I'm getting a bit squished by a dominant Wolf and a God. Loki closes the door just as Rocco jumps into the driver's seat closing the door as he goes.
Rocco pulls away quickly yet smoothly and picks up speed rapidly. Loki jerks slightly and grabs my hand in fright. I look at him out of the corner of my mind. He's got his eyes wide open in fear and is staring straight ahead. I nudge his rigid body gently and he looks at me.
I ask quietly "What's wrong?"
Loki lies "Nothing is wrong."
"Then why are you squeezing the life out of my hand?"
Loki jumps and releases my hand quickly, placing both of his hands in his lap.
"Sorry Brooklyn I didn't realise that I'd done that."
"It's alright but are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
"I'm just not used to other people driving. I've only ever had you driving a vehicle."
"Don't worry about it. Rocco is a safe driver he's never had an accident in any of the cars that he's owned."
Loki simply nods his head and visually calms down. I yawn again, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. I might as well try and sleep.
*Third Person's P.O.V*
After another four hours of driving the only people awake in the car are Rocco and Roxy. Loki had managed to fall asleep about half an hour after Brooklyn had fallen asleep.
Rocco requests "Can you check to see if Brooke and Loki are actually asleep?"
Roxy turns in her seat looking back at the two bodies sleeping together. Brooklyn's head is resting on Loki's shoulder and Loki's head is resting on Brooklyn's head.
Roxy waves her hand in front of their faces. Neither of them shift in their sleep indicating them waking up or being awake.
Roxy announces "They're both asleep."
"So what do you think then sis?"
"What do I think about what?"
"Do you think they're True Mates?"
"It would be definitely an unusual pair of True Mates but I do think they are. Brooke changed very quickly when he arrived. She became friendly with him rather quickly a bit too quickly for him to be anything but her True Mate. She deserves it with all that she's gone through."
"He might settle down and become less of a threat if he is her True Mate and they actually form a mating link."
"I really hope he is her True Mate not just because Brooke deserves it."
"Why's that?"
"They look so cute together I mean just look at what they look like now sleeping like that together. It's adorable I might just have to take a picture."
"I thought you were actually going to tell me something of actual use."
Roxy just laughs while turning round to take a picture of the sleeping pair.
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Sorry for not updating in so long. I've been going through a lot at this time.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.