I never had a problem with tight spaces. But I had a big problem with about a hundred bodies stacked into one living room and pressing all up on me. I am a person who needs personal space and I am not getting it here. At all.
I push through a few sweaty bodies, teeth gritted together and head to where I last saw Natalie, Alec and Paul. With this many people around I couldn't even catch their scent. All I could smell was alcohol, sweat and sex. My hearing didn't do much either, the music was too loud.
I get some strange looks. Tyler Moore's sister never goes to parties, but sadly, here I am. My brother is making a big show out of himself, to heal up his bruised ego. Samantha is sometimes by his side, but he doesn't even seem to notice her. And sometimes she's with our small group.
I finally find them standing in a corner, talking and laughing. Sam is with us this time, which tells me she's gotten bored of being ignored. I push past two more people to finally get into the small corner that my group occupies.
"So many people." I mumble out and shake my head, while looking behind myself. Alec gives me a small smile and hooks an arm around my shoulders to keep me close. This is why Nat thinks we're together. But it's just his wolf, who is protective of me and wants to keep me safe.
"Do you fucking see that?" Sam growls, staring at the popular group who is in the middle of the living room, so all eyes can feast on them. I glance after her to see what she is talking about. I notice Tyler talking to Sean at first, but then he turns to look down at one of Charlotte's followers, Julia Fosters. She blinks her eyes at him and gives him a flirty smile. It's either my brother is too dumb to notice or he likes the attention from other girls.
"That piece of shit." I scrunch my nose and already turn my body to head to him and give him another piece of advice, but Alec pulls me back to him. "No. You're not going there to make a big show out of yourself and your dumb brother." He tells me and makes me press my lips together. I really hate that he's right.
I glance to Sam and notice how she squeezes her hands into fists. I look to Alec and give him a silent order to take her out of the house. He looks back down at me and presses his lips in a thin line. He then nods, unwrapping his arm from me and puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go get some air." He tells her and pushes on her shoulder to lead her out. Samantha reluctantly agrees to it. I catch Alec's look, before they disappear out of the house. "Don't do anything stupid." He tells me and then opens the sliding door to the backyard. I look to Paul and Natalie and see the girl shake her head in disgust.
"He is being such a dick to Sam. She deserves so much better. Why doesn't she dump his cheating ass?" Natalie looks to me and I sigh, closing my blue eyes for a few seconds to gather myself a little. "I wish it would be that simple." I tell her over the music and look up to the popular group.
I see how Thomas got in between Julia and Tyler now, my brother having enough of his twin as well. He grips Tyler's forearm tightly and angrily whispers into his ear, before Tyler turns to him with a bitter look on his face. They both suddenly look towards our corner and I see how Tyler's forest green eyes swipe left and right to find Samantha. I shake my head at him and turn my back to him. She does deserve better.
I feel a sudden presence behind me, a shadow looming over my body. Natalie becomes really tense when she sees who is behind me and Paul's smile disappears.
"What do you want, Ty?" I ask without turning around to see him. He grips my shoulder and roughly turns me around, making me almost lose balance. I glare at him, the second his eyes meet mine. "Where is she?" He almost growls out and I have to clench my hands into fists to stop myself from wolfing out on him. "She went to get some fresh air with Alec, because she couldn't stand seeing you with the bleached blond Barbie doll." I hiss at him, pushing my hands into his chest to get some room between us.
Thomas finally breaks through the crowd, that is now starting to stare at us. He grips Tyler's shoulder tightly, I can see it from the way his knuckles turn white.
"Stop attacking Mackenzie. She left because you're being a goddamn dick." He whispers into Ty's ear, but his forest green eyes stare at me. Tommy's got my back, he always did.
"Why don't we all just calm down and take in a deep breath? We're causing a scene and people are staring." Paul takes a step closer to me, showing Tyler he is ready to get into this mess just to stand by my side. My brother looks from Paul to me and then shrugs Thomas's hand off of his shoulder. He turns to look at Thomas, who has a cold look on his face.
It's three against one and Tyler knows very well we won't drop it and let him have an attitude.
"Where is she?" He asks me in a calmer tone and I realize that this calm tone of his calms my own fast beating heart. I release my hands from the fists I was holding them into and glance to the sliding door. "Alec took her in the backyard to get some fresh air." I tell him. Tyler doesn't say another word to us, he just walks out of the sliding door to find his mate.
Thomas's tense form looks even more tense than before when Tyler was making a scene. He shakes his head and I think he glances past my shoulder, before heading out after his twin.
"What's up with him?" Paul refers to Thomas and I hate that I actually don't know what's happening with him. I shrug my shoulders and look to the male beside me. "I wish I knew." I answer, crossing my arms over my chest.
Through the chaos and the intense fights between my family members, I forget on the mission my father has given me. I pinch the bridge of my nose and tell Nat and Paul that I'm just going into the kitchen to get some water for my headache that is starting to develop.
I push past numerous people again, to head from the living room and to the kitchen. But while I'm pushing past the sweaty bodies, I notice how there is a circle formed in the hallway. Usually, my curiosity would get the best of me, but not today. I had enough attention on me already, I didn't want any more.
I feel like my throat is suddenly shrinking into itself and I have to grab on the wall beside me for balance. My wolf snarls in my head and my eyes suddenly go wide. I spin around to look at the circle of people that has formed and finally see the person in the middle. It's a girl, with long dark brown hair. She's dancing to the music that is blaring through the speakers. People are cheering for her, as her body moves to the rhythm of the music.
As if on cue of the beat dropping, she opens her eyes and looks through the numerous people that circle her, directly at me. Her brown eyes lock with mine and I see how she clenches her teeth behind closed lips.
My brain finally starts functioning again and I remember dad's order. If you find them, run.
I turn on my heel and go back into the living room, pushing the people in my way away. They complain at being pushed away strongly and yell after me to go fuck myself. If everything goes right, I just might live to do that, I think, pushing Sean away to get to my friends.
"Hey, you bitch! What do you think you're doing?" He grips the sleeve of my sweater, Sean's almost completely black eyes glaring at me. In my state of panic and the fact I see the girl following me, I react quickly without thinking. I grip the red plastic cup from his hand and splash it directly into his face, the beer getting into his eyes. "Agh! You bitch!" He growls and I finally get his grip off of my sleeve. I turn around again and run to the corner, where I see Nat staring at me with wide eyes.
"Hey, Mack! What's wrong?" She asks, coming to me. Her hand reaches up to try and grab my forearm to calm me down, but I jump back. I can't leave my scent on her or they'll come after her as well. "Don't touch me!" I shout, my eyes wide. Natalie freezes at my sudden yell and backs off a little. Paul's face twists into a look of confusion and concern.
"Mack. Calm down, we're your friends. We'll help you with whatever is happening." He tries to convince me, but keeps his distance from me so I don't freak out even more. I feel my throat close up on me again and I shake my head a little. "I'm sorry, I have to go." I tell them. Natalie reaches out to stop me, but I'm already out of her reach. Paul shouts something after me, but I don't listen when I head through the sliding door to find the rest of my pack.
I see them all under the tree in the backyard, trying to get some space from the pool and the people that are at or in the pool. I head directly for my pack, Alec being the first to notice I'm heading to them.
"Hey, did you leave Paul and Nat alone?" He asks me, but when his honey brown eyes land on my distressed figure, he becomes tense. "We have to go." I announce to the four of them. Thomas furrows his eyebrows together in confusion, before Tyler gets an alert look on his face. "I smell a werewolf on our territory." He growls and I shake my head to stop him from thinking of attacking. "No. We have to go back to the pack house, we'll be safe there." I tell him.
I have to convince them right now, before the she wolf calls backup and we all get murdered by the other pack.
"Pack house? Are you kidding? There's only one wolf." Tyler looks down on me with a sneer on his face and I know we're just wasting time by bickering. I step closer to him, looking into his forest green eyes. To my surprise, I calmed down the second I got to my pack, I wasn't panicking anymore. "She's alone now. She won't be if she calls for backup." I tell my brother and that's when Samantha's face twists with shock.
"Are you telling me she's not a Rogue?" She asks and I press my lips into a thin line. They wait for me to shake my head no before Thomas sighs. "This is why dad was acting strange in the morning, wasn't it? He told you something we all should've found out to be safe." Thomas almost scolds me, but Alec is the one who puts a hand on my brother's shoulder.
"No time for arguing now. We have to get back to the pack house." Alec says and I am surprised how quickly Tyler agrees. I think it's his mate bond that pushes him to keep Sam safe. I notice how the brunette steps through the sliding door, heading directly for us. Tyler grabs Samantha's hand and runs for the fence to get out of the backyard.
"Mack!" Alec calls for me when I turn to the she wolf, who looks pissed as hell. "Go!" I tell him over my shoulder. Alec's lips part and he already wants to protest, but Thomas pushes him to the fence. "Go." He tells Alec, convincing him enough to head after Ty and Sam.
The she wolf growls at me and I glance to the people at the pool to see if their watching. They're too intoxicated from different substances to know exactly what's going on. I look to her, seeing how her brown eyes turn a wolfish yellow color. I growl back at her, prepared to face her off here and now.
"Mack, watch out!" Thomas calls from somewhere to the side. I lift my hand up, my claws already growing out to attack, when a strong hand wraps around my wrist.