18. Roasted by a Faerie

I got two more calls after talking with Ian, one of them from my boss, Rick. He informed me the restaurant was closed because of the party tonight and only hung up after I assured him I was alright. Then there was a call from Bluebell, the doctor I'd heard speaking with Kane in the infirmary. She asked me how I was feeling and suggested I eat some meat, making me promise to seek her out at the party. I agreed awkwardly, staring at my screen afterwards, debating on whether I should call Mom or not. What would I tell her?
Hey, Mom, I just agreed to backstab our new alpha in exchange for a new place in his cousin's pack. Wanna come along?
I sighed. It was going to take some convincing before she'd trust me.
It suddenly occurred to me that Alpha might've been lying and was actually in cahoots with Kane. Plus there was something else, a detail that kept nagging me. It drifted at the edges of my mind, flying off whenever I tried to grasp it. I shook my head. No. Other than the fact that I would've smelled the lie, he didn't strike me as that kind of person. He was kind and had been worried, not at all forceful. I could trust him to keep the end of the deal... The problem was my mom agreeing.
Would she want to leave Seattle? The letters wouldn't have to stop, she could tell him we'd moved. Give him the new address. And she couldn't possibly miss her current job. Really, there was no telling how Mom might react. Maybe I should tell her in the morning. Yes, that was more sensible. I'd tell her in the morning. After a nice breakfast.
I rolled my shoulders, strolled over to retrieve the cleaning supplies under the sink. Bleach and detergents in hand, I sent a silent prayer above for things to go well.
***
I'd swept, mopped, cleaned almost every surface of our apartment and had just popped cookies in the oven when I heard the front door opening.
I winced. Act normal, act normal. I took off my apron, walked around the counter with a smile. "Welcome home-"
My mom walked in, followed by Darius...and Caitlyn.
Caitlyn is Helen's best friend- that fact alone should be enough of an explanation in itself. Long story short, she was a brunette version of Helen, gorgeous, snobby and hated my guts. She was also currently studying our apartment with a sneer, her red nails clutching Darius' arm like he was insect repellent and she was surrounded by cockroaches.
Darius smirked at me.
I kept my expression cool.
Mom gave me a wave, oblivious to the stare downs around her. "Hi, Ember. Went out for a walk and bumped into these two. They said they wanted to check up on you so I invited them over. Isn't that nice of them?"
She smiled, her usually foggy eyes sparkling honey. Her long dark dreadlocks were curled elegantly, a rose tucked at her ear. She even wore a touch of pink lipstick, the same color as the summer dress she wore.
A walk, flowers and the not so dead look on her face. So she got a letter. From him.
"That's great," I mumbled.
"She doesn't sound glad to see us," Caitlyn snipped.
Mom turned and Caitlyn dropped the sneer, her claws on Darius loosening. She gave my mom a wounded look more fitting a lousy stage play.
Mom shook her head with a frown. "I'm sorry, Ember has always been this way," she raised both her eyebrows. "She thinks she's above having company."
I flinched. Wasn't she supposed to be in a good mood?
She didn't see it, she was taking out a rubber band, used it to pull her hair into a loose ponytail.
She brushed past me to the kitchen. "I've learned there's no use arguing with her, you two can sit. I'll get you guys some drinks. Is coke fine?"
"Coke is great," Darius said, giving me a wink and taking a seat on the sofa like it was a golden throne instead of the sagging six year old piece of furniture it was.
Caitlyn strutted over and joined him, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Its fine, we're used to her attitude. You know, it didn't come as a shock to me when Ember rejected Kane. She's always hated him."
My expression didn't change, even as I felt my hands clench into fists. "Kane was the one who labeled me a pariah. Stop pretending otherwise," I said calmly.
She cut me a glare, dropping it as Mom came back and set the drinks on the table.
Mom opened one for herself, her eyes sliding over me admonishingly. "With the way you dress it's no wonder he might've reacted badly at first." She put a hand to her cheek, cringing. "And those unladylike fights you go to-"
"That pay the bills," I cut in, flushing. I didn't want anyone- especially these two here- knowing what I did in my spare time.
Perhaps embarrassed as well, Mom turned her attention to her coke, but Caitlyn was regarding me with keen interest. Like a bloodhound who's scented prey. I folded my arms, looked away.
"No need to get all tense," Darius said, taking a swing of his drink. "We're only chatting. Not every werewolf gets a fated mate. Everyone is excited about tonight, aren't you too, Ember?"
I was debating on whether I should leave the house or just go to my room when long pale fingers took the coke out of Darius' hand. "I am certain you are the most excited one, with Kane out of the way you may stand a chance with that golden haired wench." Aster curled her lip. "Although I wouldn't expect any results from a pitiful man like you."
Darius' eyes widened, warmth creeping uncharacteristically to his face. "I- I'm not-"
Aster cocked a brow. "Not in love with the very woman smitten with your friend? I can smell the lie and it isn't even out of that filthy mouth yet." She turned her back on a stunned Darius and paused in front of Caitlyn. "More filth."
Caitlyn gasped, small chin trembling furiously. "Who do you think you are?"
Aster poured Darius' coke over her head, the drink darkening her white blouse. Aster threw the empty can in her soaked lap. "Allow those legs of yours to set foot in this house again and you will leave without them."
Mom seemed to snap out of whatever frozen state she'd been in, stepping towards Aster angrily. "This is my house! Whoever you are, you can't just walk in here and do whatever-"
Aster held up a hand, not even glancing at Mom. "That lowly alpha you adore so much assigned me with the task of protecting your daughter." She wrinkled her nose with distaste. "I suppose that includes from you as well."
Mom's expression was ghastly, Darius was still in a daze and Caitlyn was storming out of the apartment when Aster took my hand and led me out of the room.
Her footsteps were soundless on the creaking wood floors, her smooth emerald dress flowing behind her, as graceful as the faerie wearing it. I blinked behind her, wondering if she might disappear right in front of my eyes. This beautiful creature with long pointed ears and temper, a temper that bared its fangs on my behalf.
Maybe she wasn't entirely Kane's pawn after all.
We came to an abrupt stop outside the bathroom.
I bit my lip. "Aster. You didn't have to do that."
"If you refuse to put them in their place then I will," she gritted out. Her curly hair swirled as she released my hand and turned on me with a fury so dark it had me stumbling back a step. "Now I know why."
"Why what?" I asked.
She put a hand on the scabbard at her hip, her brows lowered. "Why you do not stand up for yourself. You let them stomp over you as if they were majestic horses, claiming omegas do not challenge authority-"
"Aster-"
"Let me voice my piece," she said with a tone that could cut steel.
I pressed my lips together.
"You know as well as I do that omegas are werewolves that lack the thirst for power. They are not weak and they certainly are not to be treated as lesser beings. You and I both are aware of those facts."
I pursed my lips. "I never said otherwise."
"Yet you speak it with your actions." She stepped forward, voice losing it's edge but her expression as icy as the Artic. "She made you that way, did she not?Your mother. Made you believe you don't deserve anything good, that you have no right to defend yourself."
I frowned. What was she saying? I laughed. "That's ridiculous. You don't know anything about my mom."
She nodded gravely. "I do not. But I am familiar with her lot."
She reached up, pulled down the front of her dress just above her breasts and pointed to a large scar that cut across her shoulder, disappearing further down. "My father did this to me when I was only a eleven moons old."
I sucked in a breath. The scar looked deep. That must've hurt.
She fixed her dress, tone monotonous. "My mother and I had gone to visit another court and were traveling back home when wraiths attacked us. My mother perished protecting me. My father was stricken with grief but took me under his wing for training. He claimed he was teaching me to defend myself in case there was another attack. I believed him. At least until I was old enough to recognize the signs of cruelty. He was punishing me for living when his beloved wife did not. I confronted him one day and he became angry, setting on me with his sword. I was terrified."
"I'm sorry," I said, finding it hard to imagine Aster ever being scared.
She waved a hand at my words. "Parents are supposed to protect, we often cling onto those expectations and try to see otherwise when they do not meet them. I say this to show you the truth. Perhaps you know it deep down, perhaps you don't- but that mother you have is slashing at you every day. Only she does it with words and not a physical weapon. Which is even more dangerous."
Mom didn't hate me, I wanted to say. She was always working, sacrificing constantly. She loved me more than- I hesitated.
My mom had met my father, a wandering omega, in Seattle. They were mates and fell in love, had me a year later but my dad didn't stick around to see my birth. He went back to roaming the country, sending letters to my mother every month or so. Mom often said she would've followed him, if she hadn't had me.
She'd smile when she said this, but I'd feel like a metal weight on her leg, the thing that had prevented her from going after her beloved. She never implied it, but hadn't I seen some form of accusation in her eyes when there was no letter that month? When she came home tired and aged?
Sure, when the letters came she was back to sweet mom, the one who cooked and sang while dusting. But then the novelty would wear off in a few days and she'd fall back into the zombie daze, her head far, far away. Almost as if she couldn't stand being here. With me.
I smiled tightly. "She doesn't do it on purpose."
Aster's green eyes blazed. "That is what she will have you believe. Do not allow her to destroy you. Stand up for yourself."
Easier said than done.
"I'll try," I said instead.
She narrowed her eyes but- thankfully- didn't comment. She opened the bathroom door, gestured for me to enter.
Inside, it smelled of honey and berries. I traced the source of the scent to the tub. In it, the water was a steaming soft pink with delicate purple petals floating steadily in it.
"Take a bath. You have time to enjoy it, we don't leave until sunset."
I turned to where Aster stood in the doorway. "We're going somewhere?"
For the first time since she'd barged into our apartment, she looked amused. "Tonight you tie new bonds with your pack, remember? I am getting you ready. A party is a viscous battleground you know, we must have you armed."
"Aster," I began.
"No excuses. Go to your room when you are done. I will meet you there after retrieving a few things."
I caught the door before she could close it. "Your dad. What happened with him- did you two ever make up?"
Her smile was all teeth. "We did. I impaled his heart with my sword and ended him before he could end me."
She slammed the door shut.