NINTY | SO YOU WANT TO START A WAR?

*How the hell did we get to this point?* I stare out across the empty glade. We packed up the camp about an hour ago, doused the fire and got into this formation after Blue got a call from his father. Whatever the Alpha talked to him about seemed to set the whole Pack on edge. Bleary eyed and half-asleep, I'm practically frozen as we wait. Little flurries have turned to slightly thicker snowfall as we've waited and shows no sign of letting up.

"It's so fucking cold!" Beside me, Yuri keeps huffing and sniffing congestedly. I smile, keeping my eyes on the trees ahead of us, waiting for something, anything to show us the plan's working. "I swear, my balls-"

"Ew! Don't even *finish* that sentence!" Misha cringes on my other side, shuddering. My smile widens at their exchange, their light-heartedness and calm infectious.

"Cut it out, Yuri. No one want's to know about your balls." Blue growls from Yuri's other side, grimacing at his cousin in disgust. His tension cuts through the good-natured fun and reminds me how serious this is. What's at stake. *And there goes the carefree mood.*..

"I do," Cole says nonchalantly. We all turn to look at the young Azure behind us in astonishment. "This is getting super boring and some humor would be nice right about now. No matter how gruesome."

"Thank you, Cole." Yuri sniffles, sounding a little too smug. "Like I was *saying*, my balls-"

"Yuri, I swear, if you finish that sentence, I'll *kick* you in the balls." Blue warns icily, narrowing his gaze at his cousin.

"Hey, you don't just threaten to kick someone's jewels, man-" Yuri objects, turning to face Blue.

"Oh, so they're *jewels* now?" Cole snickers, trying to bring the light mood back. But it's too late now. The annoyance of their now grating voices is making my right eye twitch.

"Uh, *yeah*. They're always jewels-" Yuri huffs, like we're discussing the difference between cats and dogs. Ugh...

"C'mon, man, stop announcing shit about your junk-" Blue groans, clearly getting as annoyed as I am now. His added annoyances only adds to mine - what with the bond more pronounced between us.

"Not junk, *jewels*, Z. Keep up-" Yuri insists, everyone's mental groans echoing through me as if they were my own-

"*Fuck me*-" I groan annoyedly, now unable to hear anything aside from the conversation. My heightened sense are only getting more intense. Everyone's emotions are bombarding me through the connection Blue and I share. His bond with the Pack like an opened door that leads into an arena of screaming fans on game day. It's utter chaos. I don't know how he's still sane.

"Only in my dreams, sweetheart-" Yuri replies with a grin, ignoring the glare I shoot him.

"*Ugh*, get a room-" Valerie groans from behind us in disgust. I almost forgot she was here.

"Yuri, shut the fuck up-" Blue growls in a dangerously low voice at the same time. The light mood takes a nosedive and tension shivers through the others. Yuri, however, seems ignorant to it. Typical Yuri.

"It's a joke, man. Take it easy-" Yuri grumbles, stamping his feet against the frozen ground.

"Yeah, Z-" Cole pipes up, not helping Blue's rising temper.

"See, this is why you should've taken point-" Misha sighs at Blue, shaking her head.

"Fuck off-" Blue snaps at Misha, the spike of anger ricocheting through me.

"*Oh my God*- Will *everyone* just shut up?!" I hiss, my annoyance rising as the seconds tick by. Any other day, I'd just let them all go at it, but their emotions and voices are like insects in my head. Making my skin crawl and prickle. "I'm *this* close to snapping," I show them a millimeter of space between my thumb and index finger. There's a second of absolute silence as the others remember themselves and the emotions in my head simmer down.

"Sorry, Scar." Yuri tells me, wincing a little.

"Yeah, sorry, Scarlett." Cole adds.

"Breathe, Red." Blue tells me gently, both aloud an in my mind.

"I fucking know, Blue, *thanks*," I shoot at Blue in annoyance, then hear myself and take a deep breath, closing my eyes and collecting myself. "I'm sorry. I-" I begin after I've calmed down a bit.

"It's fine." Blue replies coolly, but I know it's not 'fine'. I huff out a breath, watching the misty cloud dissipate.

"Yeash, the tension..." Paris is suddenly a foot in front of me with Ryker, Craven, and Ivy behind her. Everyone behind me stops breathing. "You puppies are so loud," Paris continues, flicking her hair over on shoulder. It's then I see it: blood's all over my cousins. Their clothing is simple, thin and easy to move in t-shirts and thin coats, sweatpants and no shoes. I can smell the transformation on them and blood on their clothing that's not theirs. "We just had to come see what the fuss was all about."

"And look what we've found," Craven snarls, his sharp teeth and black gums flashing.

"Grandmother will be pleased." Ivy smirks at me, her eyes cold and distant - I blink, really looking at my cousins. All their eyes are slightly clouded over, like they're listening to something else or are somewhere else mentally. I look to Ryker, his face is almost slack, not a singular expression - only vacant nothingness.

"Ry?" I dare to ask, and I see a flare - just a brief spark my use of the old nickname brings up. But then, when he looks to me, his eyes glaze back over and his eyes fall from mine. Blue makes a sound from behind me, like a shudder or shiver verbalized.

"What to you think you're doing?" Ivy growls at Blue, taking a step forward as a surge of power radiates from him.

"Yuri-" Blue addresses his cousin, and I can hear he's gritting his teeth against something. An echo of pain flares through my head - the kind Ivy used on me before. *She's hurting him*- I'm moving before I can think twice.

Every tensed muscle in my body springs at once as I leap at Ivy. But I don't get the change to touch a hair on her head. Paris is in front of the girl before I can bridge the distance, her cerulean eyes flaring electric blue, like they had when she faced off against the Hunter. Her eyes widen, nose twitching and a shocked flicker of emotion seems to catch in her expression. Then the dead look in her takes over again, nothing but annoyance and rage clear in the set of her jaw and mouth.

My hands become curled fists as I reach her, not breaking the rush of movement my body's following. The blow originally meant for Ivy strikes Paris' stomach, my fist digging deep into her gut. Paris seems to have been waiting for the punch, gritting her teeth against the pain and tensing her abdominal muscles. I'm so distracted by her sudden flare of power and general presence that I don't see her responding blow until it's too late.

I'm thrown to the side, my left cheek stinging from the back-hand she just delivered. I let out a hiss, more from my loss of balance and the return to normal time than out of pain. I note Craven, Ryker, and Ivy have broken from the formation, the Azures behind me moving to engage my cousins in combat.

"Focus, Wisty." Paris *tsks*, drawing my eyes back to her - just as her kick catches the side of my head from my crouched position. Stars explode behind me eyes, ears ringing as my body goes flying. Icy wetness seeps into my face as I hit the ground, making me sputter against the rapidly defrosting snowbank. I'm about to get up when I feel something on my neck.

Paris grabs hold of me, wrenching me from the ground and shoving me onto my back - hard. My still-ringing ears begin to whine louder as her faces comes back into view. A maniacal grin stretching her lips from a snarl to a shiver-inducing expression I know for a fact has never once graced her face. Horror and a terrifying numbness takes hold of my heart. *This's not my cousin*.

The thought is all the permission my body needs.

I twist against her grasp, my training from fighting against Yuri kicking in. My legs wrap around her waist, using the little leverage as my arms go up in an X between her arms and push outwards. The split-second look of surprise that springs to her face as I break her grasp on my neck is exactly what I expected. I lean back, throwing our combined weight into the forceful movement, tightening my grip on her waist with my legs so when I fall - she does too.

There's a second of free-fall when the world's upside down, then a jarring pain.

We're on the ground, the air temporarily knocked from my lungs as I struggle to get out from under my stunned cousin. My back aches at the awkward angle I put it in, but I ignore the shock of pain and get to my feet. Gritting my teeth against the alarm in my mind that lets me know I've damaged more than I'd originally thought with that reckless move, I try to keep going.

Paris lays on the ground, clearly still recovering, as she blinks dazedly - the light fading out of her eyes so they're back to their normal cerulean hue. Her parted lips twist into a snarl as I get to my feet and stand over her, calculating my next move. She throws her body from the ground, springing up into a crouch with a grimace and *crunch*. Her face pales, eyes glazing back over and face going slack.

Like a marionette, her body moves as though it's attached to invisible strings, with an energy I know she couldn't possibly possess. She spins, leg sweeping out to try and catch my leg - to force me to the ground again. But I see the move and spring backwards before she can trip me. We move in a dance, her always just a step out of reach, and me a step back. Her arms sweep out in swift and calculated strikes - to my face, stomach, neck - anywhere I may not be actively guarding.

I go on the defensive, raising my fists to guard my face and making each muscle in my body become relaxed. I move back as she surges forward, letting her think she's about to get me, then out of the way just as quickly. If I can just keep this momentum up, maybe she'll tire and I can strike back. As it is, I'm barely keeping up with her. The speed and surge of strength flowing from her are like nothing I've seen before. Something between Yuri and Mikyle's abilities.

Nothing like the girl I've grown up with. It makes it easier for me to focus, knowing whatever's going on, this isn't my cousin. She's not Paris. Therefore, I feel nothing when I finally do manage to land a hit. Her guard's temporarily down as fatigue slows her movements, and I move to bridge the space she's put between us.

My fingers flare from my palms, fingertips tingling as they catch the nearly unperceivable chords of time. The shuddering things still as my fingers glide over them, I strum the ones I can reach, feeling like my entire body becomes caught in their shimmering vibrations as I surge forward. It's different, the way they act around me now. Not gliding past me, but sticking to me, like fly paper coating my limbs and trying to force me back out again. *Dammit*.