Tyra

Silence fell on the room like a heavy cloak and the place suddenly felt more like a haunted forest rather than a kitchen. Jett handed over the apple he'd carefully peeled and sliced for me. I thanked him with a smile although I had no intention of eating. My stomach was empty, but the kind of empty that said it would throw out anything I tried to ingest- apples very much included.

Kane had called a fae contact and requested they escort my parents to another court where they could escape Light's wrath, yet I still felt uneasy. Seeing them would be the only way to quiet the unrest, hearing their familiar voices would be the only way to settle my churning stomach. But that was impossible at the moment so I'd just have to believe Jett when he said they'd would be okay.

For now, patience was my only choice.

I shifted my attention back to the game, right on time for the first accusation.

"Ember is the mafia," Darius declared, pointing a finger at Ember who sat on the other side of him.

"Why?" Ember asked.

"Haven't you watched Tom and Jerry? The devil is always red. You're red, so you're obviously the bad guy. Let's kill her guys."

"If you kill her, I'm killing you," Kane threatened.

"What if she's really the mafia?" Victor asked.

"If she wins and you lose, you don't get to order any of us around," Darius added.

Kane lifted a brow. "I'm the alpha, I can order you around whenever I want."

"Can you order Ember around?" Victor asked with a grin.

Kane glanced down at Ember...pressed his lips into a thin line. He raised his hand. "I vote we kill Ember."

Ember gaped at Kane. "Seriously?"

Kane turned his head the other way, suddenly very intrigued by a wall.

"If we're talking about appearances, shouldn't Helen be chosen as the mafia?" Thomas said quietly.

Helen's head jerked in his direction and Darius burst out laughing. "Totally right, my man. I vote we kill Helen off this round."

I popped a sliced apple into my mouth, savoring the sweet-sour taste as Mitsuki told everyone to vote for either Ember or Helen to be killed.

Ember: 1 vote.

Helen: 5 votes.

Helen was the only one who voted for Ember. I ate two more apple slices.

Mitsuki stated gravely, "Innocent civilian Helen has been killed. Please take a seat at the kitchen counter."

"Oops," Darius snickered.

Helen kicked him on the shin but obediently followed Mitsuki's instructions. When she was seated Mitsuki asked everyone to lower their heads again.

"Only the mafias should lift their heads," Mitsuki said.

Kane and Ember slowly raised their heads a bit, caught sight of each other and grinned.

I took the glass of milk Jett handed me and drained half of it.

"You two should choose a person to kill," Mitsuki said.

"Victor," Ember mouthed.

Kane nodded.

"Okay, the mafias can lower their heads again." Once the two were back down Mitsuki continued, "The doctor should raise their head and choose a random person to save."

Thomas lifted his head, glanced around and mouthed Ember's name.

Mitsuki nodded, face giving nothing away. "Lower your head. The policeman should raise their head and request an investigation."

No one raised their heads.

I stifled a laugh, so Helen had been the policewoman but was the first one everyone suspected as a mafia. I had to give Mitsuki props for her choices. There was a mountain of sandwiches on one of several plates laid out and I helped myself to one, watching the rest of the chaos unfold before me.

"It's daytime, you should all discuss who you think is the mafia now," Mitsuki instructed.

"This is bad. Why does it feel like we civilians are going to lose?" asked Ember the mafia.

Victor opened his mouth to speak but Mitsuki cut in first. "Innocent civilian Victor has been killed by the mafias, you may sit at the kitchen counter but cannot give anything away to the rest of the player."

Victor gasped, threw himself on the floor with a dramatic shout.

"The graveyard is that way," Darius pointed towards the counter.

With a sigh, Victor joined Helen in the graveyard.

Darius squinted up at Mitsuki. "I've been meaning to ask this but why are you wearing sunglasses indoors? Don't tell me you're a hidden mafia?"

Her lips twitched downwards. "I'm the narrator."

"Let's kill Darius," Thomas announced.

Darius: 3 votes.

"Innocent civilian Darius has been killed."

"Never forget my sacrifice," Darius said, flopping onto the ground and rolling to the counter instead of walking. Once here, he propped his head on his palm and waved.

Mitsuki clapped once. "Since Thomas is the only civilian left, mafias Ember and Kane have won."

The room broke out into applause. Ember pulled Kane up and they performed a bow to the audience, blowing kisses towards the graveyard. "Rest in peace," she said.

"I told you it was the red one," Darius grumbled.

Thomas shook his head at Ember. "I can't believe I trusted you."

She took his hand. "There's no such thing as friendship in a game. Come on, I'll share some of my snacks with you. I heard they're watching Bridgeton in the living room."

I stood up, hurried over to them. "Count me in, on both the snacks and series."

Ember beamed at me. When I glanced back over my shoulder Jett was giving Mitsuki a pat on the shoulder but he sensed my eyes on him and caught my gaze. Gave me one of those barely perceivable smiles of his. I blew him a kiss.

This place wasn't as bad as I'd originally thought.

It would make it that much harder to watch Light tear everything apart.

***

Ember

"I'm proud of you," Victor said.

I dragged my attention from the television screen to his smirking face. "You're proud of me? Tricking you in the game wasn't much work, there's honestly nothing to be proud of."

He shoved me playfully. "I was talking about you exiling the woman who turned you into a smurf."

"Smurfs are blue."

"A red smurf then. I heard she's regretting it."

I snorted. "She didn't apologize to me last night."

"You're finally putting those sharp claws of yours to good use, was it by any chance because of my theory? Did you imagine my face while confronting her?"

Now it was my turn to shove him. "I wasn't imagining your face."

He held a hand to his chest. "Ouch. Well, tough love is the best kind of love. Mind telling me how you did it?"

I shrugged. "Your theory got me thinking, imagining my enemies degrading my friends instead of me spurs me into action because I know they don't deserve to be mistreated. But nobody deserves to be mistreated when they haven't done anything wrong. Including myself." I smiled. "I just kept that in mind while I faced Beatrice."

Victor held up his palm.

I made to give him a high-five- then let it slip past him with a grin.

He threw a cushion at me. I hopped off the couch, dodging it with a chuckle. "I'm going to the restroom, I'll be back."

"I'll be giving your seat to someone who appreciates my friendship more," he called.

I leaned in close. "Do you want to get exiled too?"

He patted my empty spot. "I'll guard this place with my life, have a safe trip to the restroom."

I laughed, hurrying away.

I finished my business quickly and washed my hands, glancing briefly at my reflection in the mirror. The person that stared back at me was almost unidentifiable- and not simply because of my new complexion. I couldn't remember the last time I felt this free, this light and happy. Pack gatherings had been a source of anxiety for a long time but today had been the exact opposite of anxious. I wanted to protect this feeling, these moments, these people. This pack.

I fisted my hands around the towel. If Light thought he could take this from me he had another thing coming.

Him and anyone else that threatened our pack.

I stepped out of the bathroom.

Kane swept me up into his arms. "Look what I found: my favorite werewolf."

So I wasn't the only one who was in a good mood. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. He canted his head to give me better access but I didn't take it further. "We should discuss what we're going to do about Light. There's only one week left."

Kane straightened, started walking. "That's why I came looking for you, I've called the others to the meeting room. Tyra has an idea she thinks might work."

"That's good to hear..." my words trailed off when he walked into our room, "This isn't the meeting room."

"It isn't," he agreed, putting me down on the sofa and covering himself over me like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. His finger trailed down my cheek, eyes sharply inquisitive. "I wanted to see how you were feeling before we started the meeting."

"You don't have to have me under you to ask how I'm feeling," I pointed out.

He gave me a startled look. "You don't want me close in case you need a hug?"

"How sweet of you," I said dryly.

"I also accept kisses."

I smiled, giving him one on the tip of his nose. "I'm good, better than okay. All I want to do right now is figure out a way to beat Light up so badly he'll be having nightmares."

"We will." Kane nuzzled me, hands trailing through my hair.

"Let's go to the meeting," I said.

He paused. "We're already done with the hugs and kisses?"

I nudged him aside, stood up with a smirk. "The nightmares we're going to plot for Light won't have any hugs and kisses."

There was going to be immense pain and regret involved though. That I was sure of.