Tension
Should've seen that coming.
"I wondered when you'd come crawling back." She stood there, giving me a saccharine smile that only a rock could've fallen for. Honestly, it was one of the most corny interactions I'd ever had, and a small part of me was too stunned to speak.
Brittani rolled her eyes, shifting her weight. "What, did you seriously think I'd miss tonight, knowing you were back in town? I had to see what everyone was just so excited about. All over TV and all that," she said, before looking me up and down. "But man, everyone must be so disappointed."
That was like a punch straight to the heart, and I had to marvel, somewhat detached from myself, at just how damned good Brittani was- and had always been- and finding the exact thread to pick at.
"You haven't changed," I said after a moment. "Like... at all."
She smiled at me. "Thank you."
"I didn't mean that as a compliment."
"Oh, I know how you meant it, honey." She tilted her head, pointedly looking down at my too-faded jeans. "Living a little too tightly, there?"
"Doing what I have to," I said, keeping my tone as bland as possible, even if she was picking at the exact thread she needed to pick at. "What, no kids?"
"Oh, they're around here somewhere," Brittani said, waving her hand dismissively. "You think I couldn't get married?" She laughed. "As if. I got snatched up shortly after you took off and left everyone behind."
Another sucker punch, but the human mind remembered its sufferings better than it remembered its joys. Even if all those soft, fluffy recollections had been stuffed into a chest at the back of my brain, the ones involving Brittani were right there, stark and clean and ready for action. I knew all too well what game she was playing... unfortunately.
"What, so marriage couldn't fix that forked tongue?" I asked, shifting the two plates in my hands. "Shame, that. I always thought a little happiness was all you needed to finally chill the fuck out."
Brittani sneered, glancing at my hands. "What, stocking up so your pantry won't get that much emptier? Can't imagine you've got much money in your bank account."
"Better that, than whatever issues you have."
"You want one of my bags? You could sell it and probably replace that shitty car I hear you're still driving." She tutted. "Ten years, and you still can't afford a new car?"
"Just like you can't seem to afford a good therapist."
"Who needs therapy when you have money?" Brittani sneered. "I suppose you wouldn't know what that's like. I mean, you were never exactly swimming in cash, but you lose a couple family members, and suddenly you forget how to be an upstanding member of society."
There was a ringing in my ears. "Don't talk about them."
I could see it in her eyes: Bingo. "What, Marie? Mr. and Mrs. Lake? They're long gone, sweetie, but you didn't seem to care."
"Shut up, Brit."
"You weren't even there. I mean, seriously, you had half the town convinced you'd died!"
"Brittani. Shut the hell up."
"And on top of that, you couldn't even be assed to plan their own funerals!" She laughed, a fake, high pitched sound that turned nearby heads in alarm. "Did you even know they'd died? You took off so fast, I think everyone finally saw you for who you really are."
"Brittani!" Red was clawing at the edges of my vision. The distant sound of a screams seemed to echo, but I knew they weren't real. "Would you learn how to take a hint and piss off?!"
"Everyone called me fake," she said, blatantly ignoring me, "but you've always been the Queen Bee of Bitchtown. You just had everyone wrapped around your little pinky finger. At least I know I'm not the only one who saw you for the truth. Unless I'm much mistaken, you could have been married... and yet here you are, all alo-"
There was a roaring in my ears. I lifted a plate to smash it into her face, but someone beat me to it. A massive pie went sailing past my head and smashed directly into Brittani's immaculately made up face, with perfect aim.
"Don't talk to my mom like that!"
I turned, startled, to see Collin standing on one side of me, bristling like a sort of Chernobyl hedgehog-wolf hybrid. His lips were pulled back to reveal the mashup of fangs and human teeth, and his eyes were narrowed, ears atop his head flattened.
"And don't bring up that asshole!" Dylan appeared on my other side, bristling in a more metaphorical manner. "He was a deadbeat, and you're a piece of shit!"
"Dylan," I said, but it came out a little weak and lacking in conviction. "Language!"
There was a crowd gathering around us, by now, with whispers growing. All eyes were on Brittani. Not a moment later, Aegis appeared, looking pissed.
"Brittani," he said, voice low and eyes flashing. "What exactly did I tell you earlier today?"
The aura rolling off of him was so heavy, it cowed Collin, who ducked closer to me.
Brittani couldn't answer right away; with very slow, angry, precise movements, she managed to shove the pie off of her face. Large clumps of thick, red cherry filling splattered all over her white clothes. Her face was completely covered, not a spot missed.
"Oh, my," I heard Ivy say behind me. "That... that is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Brittani," Aegis said, his aura thickening until even I was leaning away.
She ground her teeth, staring at me with hate-filled eyes. "You said... that I wasn't to make a scene."
"You have failed spectacularly," Aegis growled. "Strike one, Britt. Keep pissing me off, and you'll see just how serious I am."
She snapped her head to him, eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't. I'm too important to the pack."
"Like hell," Aegis snarled. "You need to be knocked down a peg, Britt. I don't care who you married. Three strikes, you're out of the pack."
She turned to him, somehow still standing in the face of his unbridled fury. "My daughter is a member of the pack! You can't kick us out!"
"I can kick you out," Aegis said. "And you'll find out exactly what it feels like to be an outsider. Pick your battles," he added, holding up a finger when she started to talk. "I am the Alpha here, Britt. Not you, and most certainly not Lawrence."
That pricked at a distant memory, but I watched as Brittani finally looked down, furious but cowed.
"Go home," Aegis said. The field had gone deathly quiet. "Your childish fights aren't welcome at the bonfire."
"I'm not the one who threw a pie," Brittani hissed, but Aegis snarled- a literal, wolf-like snarl- and she ducked her head.
"You're also not eleven," he said, barely suppressing the rage. "Act your age, Brittani. Go home."
There were footsteps, and I turned to see a somewhat familiar young face. I had to fight to remember her name: Annie, the girl from the store.
"Mom?" She looked startled and horrified as she ran to Brittani's side. My heart sank. "Mom, what's going on?"
Brittani shrugged her off, standing back. "Not now," she hissed, drawing herself up. "I won't forget this. You all have no idea who you're messing with."
"A wannabe who peaked in High School?"
I looked down in a mixture of shock and horror to see Lucy standing in between me and Collin, her expression full of five-year-old anger.
"Where on God's green Earth did you hear a thing like that?" I said, too stunned to be angry.
"I heard Jade say it."
There was a guilty squeak behind me, but I didn't look that way.
Another set of footsteps approached, and a familiar face stormed up to Brittani's side, eyes wide and furious.
Lawrence, I realized. Lawrence Small. He's... the pack Omega.
"What the hell is going on?" He said, looking at Aegis- and then flinching, because Aegis's aura hadn't evaporated in the slightest.
"Your wife made me a promise she did not keep," Aegis growled. "I have ordered her to go home."
Lawrence's eyes flashed, and he bristled. "I knew this shit was going to happen. You all have such a hard-on for Lake and her bastard kids-"
Aegis snapped. Like a crack of lightning, his human form burst apart at the seams, and standing in front of us was a bonafide Werewolf Alpha, complete with fur, claws, and teeth.
"Back down," he snarled, and every werewolf in about ten feet immediately crouched, ears flat, eyes to the dirt- Collin included. He huddled by my thigh.
Lawrence was no different. He hit the floor, flat as a pancake, and put his hands to his head, obviously enraged at the forced sign of submission.
A werewolf in full form was no joke. It was rare to see them wandering around, because the aura even an unaffiliated werewolf gave off was hard to stand near, as a human. They were in every way different, standing on two digitigrade hind legs with enormous, wolf-like paws. Their hands became clawed, their faces completely lupine, their fangs as long as my fingers, and their eyes glowing like the moon itself.
Aegis was no different. Pitch black fur covered him, bristling with anger; Alphas, in general, were massive, but he was enormous, towering over us all. I must have come up to the bottom of his sternum, at best.
It was not the first time I had seen his werewolf form, but it had been a decade since then, and I had to marvel at how much he had formed to fit his role as an Alpha. He was made for this, I thought, totally awed.
"Come on," Lawrence growled, grabbing Brittani's hand as he managed to scramble up. "I'll get the kids. You go to the car."
Brittani said nothing, spinning on her heel and fleeing.
Annie looked torn. She was looking at Collin beseechingly, with a guilty expression, but before she could say anything, her father snapped at her.
"Get moving!"
She flipped around and took off toward the parking lot, not saying a word.
Something's going on, here, I thought, mind racing. Omegas are important roles in the pack. They serve as a balance to the Beta and the Alpha, looking out for the outliers. The Black Lake pack has never mistreated an Omega. What could be going on, there?
"Mom," I heard Collin whisper, and I looked down to see him staring in abject fear at Aegis, which made my heart twist. This was his future, and he was terrified of it.
I stepped forward, cutting through the thick silence to rest a hand on Aegis's arm. I looked comically small.
He tilted his head to look at me, amber eyes narrowing.
"I'm fine," I said quietly. "But you gotta pull it back."
Aegis glanced around and seemed to realize that the crowd was tense, everyone ready to spring into a fight. We were about three seconds from half the pack shifting just from the tension alone, instead of the joy of a full moon rising.
Aegis shook his head, and with each shake, the aura around him dissipated slightly. He breathed through his nose, and then his mouth, pinching the bridge along his elongated snout.
"I am sorry," he muttered. "Please. Everyone, go back to what you were doing."
There was an uneasy muttering. Ivy, gorgeous, amazing, flawless Ivy, jumped up and filled the tension with her boisterous energy.
"Last one to the bonfire's a rotten egg," she shouted. "And believe me when I saw I've got a carton in my car- rotten egg gets to be target practice!"
There was an appreciative rumble of laughter, and more than a few people got the hell out of dodge, taking Ivy's outstretched olive branch like a lifeline. Within moments, we had a large, empty space around us.
"Whew," I heard someone say, and I turned to see Rudy walking toward us, eyebrows raised. "You leave someone alone for five minutes, and a war nearly breaks out."
"Pack politics," Aegis grunted, shaking his head again.
"What... happened?" Collin asked, looking anxious.
"Why did everyone do that?" Dylan asked.
"Why was she so mean?" Lucy demanded.
"All excellent questions," I said. "But first, we all need food, before someone gets turned into a pinata."