Ember

My imagination was already spiraling miserably out of control. In the time it took for us to walk from the lawn to Kane's office, I had already envisioned the worst possible outcome:

The office door slammed shut and the adults immediately closed in on us, expressions feral with hate and outrage. Kane stepped between me and them, holding his arm out in front of me. "Stay away from Ember," he warned.

"We need to get rid of her if we want this pack to thrive!" Rodney's dad shouted.

"There's nothing wrong with her," Kane growled.

I peered around Kane's shoulder to stick my tongue out at the older werewolf.

Rodney's dad jabbed a finger at me. "There's nothing wrong with her?! Do us a favor, Kane, and take off those infatuated glasses you have on. Tell us what you see then?"

Kane pivoted, blinking as he took in the sight of me. My breath caught in my throat when his face twisted in disgust. "She's red!" he exclaimed.

There were shouts of approval from behind him. "What else?" they egged him on.

His mouth popped open in horror. "She's scared of her own pack!"

"What else?!"

Kane started forward, jabbing an accusing finger at my chest. "She said she's a better cook than me."

Gasps of shock all around. "How could she be so insensitive?"

I held up my hands, trying to find the words to placate them but they were already closing in on me, grabbing hold of me as Kane stepped aside. They raised me over their heads and carried me out of the room, down the stairs and to the front door, singing, "Ding dong the witch is gone..."

Once the door was open they threw me out, my arms flailing as I went flying towards the concrete. I opened my mouth to scream-

"Ember?"

I jerked back to reality. "Huh?"

Rodney's father was holding out the chair for me and the sight of it- of the man who had spawned one of my high school tormentors now politely holding out my chair- was so bizarre I nearly thought I was experiencing another daydream.

He still hadn't moved.

I cleared my throat, allowed him to help me get seated. "Thank you, Mr..."

"Nathan Harris. Call me Nathan." He went around the desk and held up a blue USB for us to see. "This is for Ember."

"Huh?" I asked, then cringed. I'd been staring at the space behind Nathan which was absent of the group that had been previously following him. He was in here alone. But that still didn't mean he'd brought good news.

Get yourself together.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Footage taken from your high school. It shows you being pulled into the locker room and cornered by those punks," Nathan's gaze turned angry. "I acquired it from the school at Kane's request but wanted to ask you in person if you wanted to share it with the rest of the wolves?"

"Share it? Or do you mean give them proof?" I asked.

He nodded. "Half of them think you lied about Kevin, giving them irrefutable evidence of your innocence will force them to see the truth. Get them in line."

"It's a good idea," Kane said, taking my hand in his. "I'll support any decision you make either way, Ember."

Nathan smiled encouragingly.

Your son knows the truth but still suggested I did something to earn the abuse.

The words were on the tip of my tongue but I didn't want to get into the topic of his kid's immoral character. Best to pick my fights. "You're not opposed to me and Kane being in charge? You don't think we're just two kids doing whatever we want?" I asked instead.

Nathan seemed caught off by my question. "Of course not. Theo was an excellent alpha, someone level headed like him wouldn't have handed the reins to anyone incompetent. Circumstances have brought troubled times to our pack, not the leadership."

I exhaled a breath I hadn't know I'd been holding. "Show the footage to the others."

He pocketed the USB, inclined his head. "As you wish. I hope we'll become better acquainted soon." He left the room and shut the door.

I glanced at Kane. "What-"

The door opened again. "Ember."

Mitsuki shuffled into the room, wearing a plain blue dress and jeans jacket. Her sunglasses were so huge they covered half of her face. "Could you come outside?" she asked.

My heart took on the dreadful beat of drums anticipating a terrible event. "What is it? What happened this time?"

"Nothing," she walked over, snatched up my other hand in hers. "Kane was the one who called me over."

"The game you told me about when I visited last week," Kane told Mitsuki, "Would you mind playing it today? It's Ember's first time interacting with the pack as the alpha female and I think it'll be good if they see the playful side of her."

I shouldn't have been shocked to find out Kane visited Mitsuki, it made sense since his job was to make sure everyone was okay. Mitsuki especially was a worrying case. I suspected Kane's good intentions weren't entirely with me in mind either, after all, he'd succeeded in luring our friend outside when even I'd failed.

I bit my lip to hide a smile. "I think a game would help me cope."

I couldn't see Mitsuki's eyes but her chin lifted determinedly. The nervous energy around her cleared as well. "Alright. Who else is going to be playing?"

***

Tyra

Mitsuki's voice was clear in the darkened kitchen- the shades had been pulled down, the exits shut and everyone's heads were lowered where they sat in a line on the kitchen floor just in case someone- mainly Darius- tried to cheat. There was the distant chatter of werewolves coming from beyond the kitchen door and the rest of the house, the swish swish of a knife beside me as Jett continued slicing apples in the dark. However, Mitsuki's soft voice rose above the other noises, explaining the rules of the game they were going to play. Loud enough that the people waiting outside (who Mitsuki had temporarily kicked out for secrecy) could be heard too.

"We're playing the mafia game. Since I'm the narrator, I've chosen two mafias among you guys, as well as a doctor and a policeman. The rest are civilians. The mafias are the bad guys and the rest are the good guys. During the daytime you can discuss who you suspect is the mafia and choose one person to kill, but when nighttime falls the mafias can also kill someone in turn- although the doctor can save that person if they choose them at random. The policeman can pick one person per round and I'll tell him/her the identity of that person. The game ends when either all mafias are dead or when all the civilians are dead."

"What does the winning team get?" Darius asked when the lights were turned back on.

Mitsuki fixed her sunglasses, looking the other way even as she answered him. "I'm upping the stakes, the winning side can demand anything they want from anyone playing the game."

Darius' eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. "We can ask for anything?"

"Already thinking about what brand of alcohol you want?" Mitsuki glanced his way and her mouth curved downwards in distaste.

As someone who's been a wreck for most of her life and very skilled at hiding the garbage below a thick layer of sarcasm, I was pretty adept at recognizing another wrecked human on sight. The only difference between Darius and me was that he didn't bother hiding the garbage- he threw it in with the sarcasm and didn't seem to care that the ugly mess was on display for all to see. The dark bags under his eyes looked like bruises in his pale face, his curly hair might've been home to a pigeon recently from the smelly white stains in it and his leather jacket was torn in one too many places. I've seen Kane and at least two others pat him down several times, the first pat down had produced two bottles and although the other searches had been fruitless I suspected they were more of a warning more than anything.

They were trying to ease him out of his funk, including him in this game was likely part of that plan too.

Mitsuki didn't appear happy about his presence though and I couldn't blame her, I'm not sure I could find it in myself to like the guy either.

"Alcohol?" Darius clucked his tongue. "I'd rather take our esteemed alpha out on a date."

Kane made a disgusted face.

"Ember, I meant Ember," Darius clarified.

Ember made a disgusted face.

"You'll have to win first," Helen said, wiggling her pink toes on the extra cushion she'd brought for her feet. She was another one I didn't like.

As if sensing my gaze, she glanced up at me.

I made a disgusted face.

"What are you going to ask for if you win? A kiss from Romeo over there?" Darius asked Helen. I think he meant to sound sarcastic but it came out angry.

Helen rolled her eyes. "I'll ask for you to finally get over me and grow up."

Darius scowled. "How about you grow up first?"

"That's enough, kids," Ember said. She ignored the scowls the two of them sent her way, gave Mitsuki a thumbs up. "We're ready to start the game."

Mitsuki took in a deep breath, went over to open the door and cautioned whoever was coming in not to reveal or interfere with the game before letting them in.

The kitchen was thankfully big so the dozen people who came in didn't make it crowded in the least, even with the six of them sitting in the middle of the room. Ember, Kane, Helen, Darius, Thomas and Victor.

Who was the mafia?