Page 2 of Poison

“Why do I always have to force you to join us at Clan events?” my aunt snaps as I round the corner into the kitchen. She’s making sure the food and everything else is in its place; after spending a fortune on a party planner and chef.

“You know as well as I do, Aunt, that Sonya doesn’t want me here,” I blurt, forgetting myself.

She hisses back, her mood escalating at my outburst. Her eyes have turned to solid black orbs, and my hands shake as she hisses again. I gasp as the feeling of a hand wrapping around my throat cuts off my airway. Tears gather in the corners of my eyes and panic starts to set in.

“You may be an inconvenience to this clan, Poison, and I wouldn’t expect anything more from you with your parentage, but you are a part of this, and you will celebrate with us.” Her eyes do the weird shimmer thing as her will presses in on me, my brain buzzing as she pushes her command harder.

Internally, I’m screaming at the fact she’s forcing me to do something again, but my face is as stoic as ever.

She looks over me and the pressure becomes harder.

“Yes, Aunt.”

The tension releases from my body as quickly as it came, and the sadistic smile she throws my way has a shudder passing through me.

“Run along now, and make sure to socialise,” she coos like she hasn’t just grabbed me with a phantom hand around the throat and manipulated me to do something I don’t want to. Hearing her voice now, so sickly sweet like she is a friendly person, it’s hard to believe what she was doing a minute ago. My eyes connect with the Chef’s, who is try his best to mix something in a bowl but he looks to be half a second away from peeing his pants.

My whole body trembles with the determination to not cough and show her how much the phantom hand hurt. Pain radiates all over me, from the lack of oxygen and the will alone I’m having to use to keep myself upright. I slouch, my shoulders dropping as it becomes harder for me to stay on my feet. She glares at me when she notices I’m still in the same spot. I don’t need to be told again, so I rush towards the glass doors to escape into the garden. When I’m about to step out of the door her voice has me freezing.

“One more thing,” she says. I look over my shoulder and our eyes lock. “Make sure Kevin doesn’t try to eat the guests or I will be forced to put him down.” I nod my head in response. How the hell does she think I’m going to manage that? Kevin is a law unto himself.

Speaking of which… “Where are you, asshat?” I snap through the mind link to my supposed guardian.

“What’s up, buttercup?” He cackles in my head, which makes it feel like my brain is rattling. The joy in his voice is a clear indicator that he’s either up to something or planning something.

“Cut the shit, arsehole. You have been ordered to be on your best behaviour or she will put you down.”

He scoffs, then starts singingshe has to find me firstbefore the connection ends.

I’ve always wondered why I can hear him in my head, but he says it has to be because his magic is so strong it can beat even my mundane brain.

I zigzag my way through all the tightly packed bodies in the garden. My eyes scanning the area to make sure I don’t bump into anyone, but also searching for some place I can use as my safe haven to avoid everyone. My eyes land on the enormous sycamore tree in the back corner of the garden, the old walls of the treehouse between the gaps in the leaves. The decision is made, I head towards it, weaving my path through the people congregating at the back of the garden. When I get engulfed in its shadow, the wood planks nailed into the trunk look a little precarious since my last visit. But nobody will bother me up there, I know that for a fact.

I spent a lot of time out here after my parent’s died, hiding from the world, and no one found me until I chose to come out. But after I was forced to come down, my aunt said if I spent any more time in the tree, she would turn it to ash. After that I became a recluse in my bedroom and I haven’t been here since.

I’m standing at the base looking up at the house; the picture is pretty. The moons rays are breaking between the leaves, lighting the points they hit the wood. A cool breeze washes over me, causing a shiver and making the treehouse groan in protest at the element.

I’m pretty sure that the makeshift ladder will hold my weight, but am I a hundred percent? Nope. You see, I was seven when I was last here and the weight difference from then to my now seventeen-year-old body is a bit different. Shrugging the thought off, I start my climb, gulping every now and then when the planks crack and creak under my weight. I scramble up the remaining steps, breathing a sigh of relief when I sit on the edge and look down. Am I surprised I didn’t plummet to my death? Yeah, but I managed to make it in one piece, even though my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest with adrenaline.

I shuffle myself over to where the wooden rail is raised just enough off the platform, and I watch all the shenanigans going on in the party. Knowing they can’t see me gives me a little peace, and hopefully my aunt will believe I’m doing as she told me since I’m not in my bedroom and it’s been so long since she last found me here. I sit with my legs dangling over the edge and rest my hands on the rail, my chin resting on my hands, watching the festivities unfold. Couples dance to the music, others are drinking colourful liquids, raucous conversations are had, and the laughter and happiness are electric.

It’s not long before my thoughts turn to what my life might be like when I move to the human world…

* * *

Cheers erupt in the night air as my cousin and her new husband finish up the ceremony, making it official that they’re now mated for life. I’m not sure how it really works between species because she is a panther shifter and he is a mage. But it’s never caused an issue with taking a mate from a different species. The shifter side of the clan has an array of animals, from wolves to panthers. But there are also dragons and griffins, so whatever shifter someone can become is probably whatever gene is the strongest in their DNA.

My mum was a seer with magical abilities and my father a bear shifter, which was an unusual mix years ago. The council used to frown upon different species mating ceremonies, but they had to approve my parents because they were actual fated mates. The other half to the other’s soul. The grand design made it so the missing half is always searching for their counterpart, but fated mates are so rare that the supernatural world gave up at some point hope and started choosing their own mates.

My mind wanders to thoughts of my parents. God, I miss them. They died ten years ago when hunters came looking for anything supernatural. The clans managed to put their differences aside and work together to take on the hunters, which doesn’t mean everything worked out perfectly. Many lives were lost, which only added to the hostility between the clans. Hunters had been a myth parent’s told children about to make them sleep at night and behave. But we soon realised they weren’t just a story for bedtimes. They’re humans who have a sense of anything supernatural and almost always accept the calling to become a hunter.

Booming laughter pulls me out of my thoughts as I walk past the drinks’ table where a group of girls are giggling at some males from the other clans. Like they’ve never interacted with someone from the opposite sex before. The guys don’t help the situation, winking and waving at the hormone-riddled teenagers.

I’m pretty sure vomit just hit the back of my throat, although, don’t get me wrong, I can see the appeal to the guys. All shifters are huge, with ripped muscles and an air about them that just makes me want to roll over and show them my underbelly.

Even the mage’s have this aura about them, and I’ll admit I wouldn’t mind being chained up and allowing them to do whatever they want to me. But the way the other girls act is rather desperate. I roll my eyes and shake my head as I make my way to the buffet table.

After the ceremony, there was a short pause for the chairs to be cleared away and the tables and to be set up with the food. My aunt could have easily had it all set up in one go, but everyone preferred how cute the lights hanging from the tress and candles looked so they decided to swap it out in a rush.

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