Snow From the Mountain: A Werewolf Story

3. Dinner with a bang

I glanced at my reflection a final time before heading downstairs. Both of my eyes were still black, making my face look even paler then usual. I scoffed. I thought that was impossible. At least my nose had healed mostly, it would have been pretty shit if it had spontaenously started to bleed on the white dress. My hair had dried and fell in waves along my shoulders and back, I had left it down it a bid to hide my face more but mostly as a buffer so I didn't have to see that monster in my periveral vision

I picked up the soup tray and walked into the dinning room. There were about a dozen men sitting around the table, talking among themselves, various papers strewn about. I kept my eyes to the floor. I walked around the table slowly, serving the soup as I went. Most of the men from the Amber Valley pack ignored me and I was grateful. They were big, tattood, tanned and intimidating and I wanted to scramble out as soon as possible. 

I went to serve my uncle first. I kept my eyes on the floor as I quietly stepped around the table. The soup sloshing some from my shaking hands. I was definitly getting sick. Before I made it the whole way round someone cleared their throat for me to look up. Snow Lake's Delta, Nero, smiled evily at me from his chair. His rotting teeth bared at me and it made me feel ill. He also stank of body odor and stale tabacco and I was sure he had never seen a bath in his life. You could always spot his wolf because it's white fur was stained yellow and matted, and far from the gleaming white it was meant to be.  He held up his spoon and grinned wider,  dropping it onto the floor. 

 'Pick it up.' he smirked. 

 I stared at him for what felt like infinity. His eyes bore into me, daring me to challenge him.

'I'll fetch you a new one.' I said through gritted teeth. I turned on my heel but felt a dirty hand yank me back.

'No, I want that one. Pick. It. Up.'

I gulped. His hand twitched.

'Now.' he breathed heavy and I could smell his putrid breath wafting up towards me. 

Pick your battles Elara, I reminded myself. 

I balanced the tray on my hip and dipped down to get the spoon. As I came back up I felt his long yellow fingernails slide up my leg and gave me a sharp slap. I squeaked and jumped. My cheeks blazed. Half of the table erupted into roars of laughter and I fought to compose myself. My knuckles turned white from holding the tray too tightly, my bones flexing under the skin where the wolf in me demanded retribution. 

'Is this how you treat your women here, Lucien?' 

The laughter stopped. The voice had come from the top of the table, next my my uncle. I went to look but for some reason couldn't make myself. The voice sounded familiar, but I knew I couldn't have heard it before. It was deep, and gravely. Authorotive. Scary. My mind buzzed.

Suddenly my feet stopped. It was like they were glued to the carpet, I couldn't control them.

'Every pack needs a few pets, don't you think?' wheezed Nero, 'Though this wench is one of our favourites, aren't you dear?' He reached out to me again and I dragged my feet forward and away from him, though it was like walking through sludge.

Elara - something isn't right... Maia whispered to me.

Come on. Just wait an hour Maia, we can go for a run and..

No Elara... I.... I don't feel well....

Sweat began to beed on my forhead. She was right, I didn't feel good.

'Girl!' my uncle yelled from the top of the table. I forced my feet forward and dragged them across the room.

Elara, wait...

I ignored her and pushed on. We had to finish, and the quicker we were done the quicker we could be gone. I didn't need the punishment later.

I could feel eyes burning into me as I walked to the top of the table. My body shook more with every step, I could hear Maia whimpering from the corners of my mind. 

I finally arrived at my uncle's seat. I reached carefully to grab his bowl when his hand caught my wrist hard and he yanked me closer to look at him. 

He wasn;t quite drunk, but he was well on his way. There was a red flush to his cheeks that always came with a bottle of Scotch. The whites of his eyes were a pale yellow, and I hoped for the millionth time that one of these days his drinking would finally kill him. 

'What the fuck are you wearing,' he hissed at me.

I looked down at my dress and swore in my head - should have just stuck to the stupid jeans.

'I recognise that dress, your mother wore that the day she convinced my stupid brother to marry her.' He whispered.

'I fucking hated that woman,'

He leaned closer into me, his hand roughly grabbing my thigh. His fingers digged in to the fabric and into my skin, I winced. 

'She was nearly as big of a whore as you...'

I didn't think, and before I knew it I slung the hot soup right over the son of a bitch.

He screamed at the burning. I smiled. They'd probably hang me for it but it was worth it. 

'Let's hope it doesn't leave a mark,' I sneered at him, before being grabbed and pushed against the wall by some of his men. 

He stood up, his eyes fire and rage and everything that made me fear him.  

'You fucking wait till I've finnished up here,' he hissed at me, 'you're going to wish you had never been born.'

'Too late for that,' I slurred back. Instead of replying he bounced my head off of the kitchen door frame. My ears rang and legs turned to jelly. He shoved me into the kitchen and left. 

Maya, somethings wrong. 

She howled. She never howled. 

Oh my god we were dying. Sweat beaded down my face, my insides shook from the inside out. My lungs burned with every breath and my vision kalidascoped. I scrambeled for the kitchen chair and nearly fell onto it. I put my head in my hands and tried to calm down.

'Elara....' Maya growled.

What is it Maya? What's happening.

I could hear a commotion from outside of the door. Voices were raised but I couldn't make out what they were saying. My sight and hearing where failing me, and I knew that this was the end. Part of me wanted to be scared, but I wasn't. I didn't really care anymore. 

The voices grew louder and I prayed that I croaked it before they made it in. My vision blurred in and out of focus, and I stared at the blood dripping onto my mother's wedding dress. 

'I'll be with you soon, Mumma,' I said softly, my whole body beginning to rock back and forth. 

I felt my my skin became hotter, and hotter until even my blood was boiling inside of my veins and I screamed and gripped my hair with my hands. 

There was a bang, and the kitchen door was shoved open and I somehow looked up. 

I could see the outline of a tall figure standing in the doorway. My heart stopped.

M..m..mate, sighed Maia

I fainted.