The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 22 - Embarassment

Hey, folks! Hope you're all having a good weekend. Just wanted to warn you that I've got a lot of disgusting exams coming up so I'm not sure you'll get an update next week. We'll have to see. But lots of love either way and thank you for all your votes and reads! They are very much appreciated :)

Footsteps in the hallway put an end to the conversation. The woman who owned the house came bustling in and skirted around Kara in order to reach me. On the table, she set down a sequined-adorned gold dress with spaghetti straps.

"Here we are. I hope it fits..."

I was so taken aback that it took me a moment to tear my eyes away from it. A dress? It was four in the morning, the rain was now pouring down, I had just been mutilated by a feral werewolf ... and she thought I might like to make the trip home in a ballgown? And not just a ballgown — a ballgown with no pants and no bra underneath it. I didn't know why the thought of it woke so much panic in me, but it did.

I could feel Ashley's eyes on me. I thought that he, like the woman, was waiting for me to come up with some grateful words of acceptance. So I was surprised when he slipped in front of me and said, "Her injuries are going to make it difficult to wear that. Are you sure you don't have anything else? I know Aileen left some clothes here."

"Oh ... perhaps, yes," she said, eyes wide. "I'll have a look."

I hoped she wasn't too upset. Evidently not, because she was already thundering back up the stairs — a woman on a mission.

"Thanks, Mum!" Ashley called after her,

I swung around to look at him incredulously. "That is your mum?"

"Well ... yes. It was the closest house, so..." Ashley murmured.

I tipped my head. "And Aileen is...?"

He went a little bit pink and rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. "My, um, mate."

"Aww."

Ashley shot me a slightly indignant look. He went back to looking out of the window. The silence was back. I was sure Bradley had been staring at Kara the whole time. Whether he had been biding his time or sat there in shock, I had no idea.

"What do you mean by 'made'? Who's bloody making them? Is it Riverside?" he asked her, not very gently.

Kara frowned at him, giving me the impression that she was unsure why he would even ask a question like that. "No. I don't— I mean, I've never been to Riverside. So I don't know."

"Why would Riverside do that to their own fighters?" I murmured. "By choice?"

"You'd be surprised what they're willing to—"

Ashley's mother bustled back into the kitchen. Bradley cut himself off mid-sentence with a grimace. I had to give it to her. She had been fast in acquiring these new clothes, and it was probably because she had brought an entire drawer full of clothing. She set it down on the kitchen table with a little too much enthusiasm, and I felt my ears twitch towards the noise.

"I've brought down everything there is. Honestly, just take whatever you like. Aileen is a lovely girl — she won't mind."

"Thank you," I said through the link. "That's very kind. Could you ... maybe hang around for a moment? I might need a hand."

I would rather ask Ashley, because I knew him better, but there wasn't a hope in hell of him agreeing to help me dress myself. Kara ... well, it was hard to admit it, but I was angry at her. Whatever her reasons, she had nearly got herself killed tonight, and she had nearly got me killed too. Now that I had got over the relief of finding her alive, that anger was starting to heat up. Finding out she was sitting on information about the ferals ... had not helped.