"Zara, this isn't the road to the house. Did you make a mistake?" Valessia asked, leaning slightly forward, her eyes fixed on the back of Zara's neck. Her voice carried a mild curiosity, though there was a faint thread of unease woven into it.
"I am not mistaken, Ms. Valessia. We are on the right way," Zara replied, her tone steady. Her hands remained firm on the steering wheel, her gaze locked on the busy road ahead where sunlight glared off windshields and heat shimmered above the pavement.
"Is that so…" Valessia murmured, the words more to herself than to the woman in front. Though she had never taken this route, she told herself there could be another way home she simply didn't know about.
"You can call me Valessia or Val, like most people do," she said after a moment, watching Zara's profile from the corner of her eye. "Aside from being older than me, your ranking in the pack is higher than mine. You don't have to be so formal. Same goes for Sera."
