Butterflies and Hurricanes

Mrs Haner truly had gone to town on this party. Taking into consideration all my likes and dislikes, and that of her sons, to turn her ballroom into what could easily have been mistaken for Buckingham Palace.

It smelt of the flowers that burst from every archway, every vase between every window. The orchestra's instruments shone under the candlelight as they performed the soft music in their dapper white suits.

Everyone was smiling and dressed more wonderfully than I had ever seen of a ballroom full of people. I didn't doubt that it was because they were the finest that society had to offer - business associates, childhood friends, and fellow werewolves (though I never actually discussed that with Brian, he wouldn't allow it).

Unlike them however my smile was half forced. Half forced because though I was exceptionally happy to be celebrating my engagement, I was still very angry at Brian for what he had done. I was surprised Zack and Sarah had even come tonight.

Then again, with his mothers hand up his back he would have been frogmarched here as she attempted to bag a "better" catch for him. Where better place to do so than at a ball where the best of the best would be attending - we only need a few royals and the night would be complete for high ranking denizens of California.

Oh how I hated that woman.

Brian's fingers pressed into my waist just ever so slightly and I looked away from her, up to his concerned face. He spun me round so I couldn’t look at her anymore, clearly gathering what it was that had my face all screwed up and sour.

"I know you're not talking to me right now," he whispered softly and I looked back to him finding him staring down with rather an adoring look upon his face. The corners of his lips were just ever so slightly curved upwards and his eyes twinkled. "But you look beautiful."

My cheeks flushed red, still not quite used to his compliments. "Thank you," I whispered. "You look very handsome yourself."

"I don't know about that but I am certainly the luckiest man in the room," he smiled. "With the best view."

I bristled and pursed my lips. Not directly at what he had said first, but in a detached manner because it made me think of someone else. "Zack's mother would certainly agree you were luckiest considering you "bagged" me," I muttered darkly as she now came back into my vision, smiling vindictively to herself as I saw Sarah stalk away out onto the balcony. "Can we not invite her to the wedding?"

Brian looked over his shoulder before back down at me. He didn't much like her either.

"If you want to incur the wroth of my mother," he replied, resting his chin at my temple and holding me close. "Besides, I'm already in enough trouble with Zack." He sighed. "If I could I would do it just for you, my Princess," he whispered kissing my forehead.

It was nice to know that despite our frostiness and lack of conversation that he still loved me. I was happy that despite all that he still called me Princess. I was just happy, I couldn't even think too much of how angry I was with Brian because for all that he truly had stolen my heart and made it glow.

I wanted to raise my head and kiss him properly but it wasn't acceptable so I had to wait until we were in privacy to do so. I did not understand that rule, surely one harmless little kiss could not be so offensive? Other acts of affection I understood entirely but to not be able kiss upon the lips?

It is ridiculous, and that is saying something considering I would much rather show my affection in other ways than spend all my time kissing.

"I think I may go sit outside," I eventually whispered leaning my head away to meet his dark eyes. He smiled, bringing us both to a halt as he leaned forward to kiss my forehead once more.

"Be careful Princess," he spoke.

"I'm only going outside," I smiled but I smiled to reassure him I would be careful. I would be very safe, how much safer could a young woman get when keeping the company of so many werewolves at any one time. Not that I would be able to tell you which of the men were and which weren't.

As I glided away, smiling politely at guests and exchanging small words with them as I passed, I cast from the doors one look back into the ballroom. My eyes automatically picked out Brian, stood watching me with a very serious look upon his face but when I smiled he smiled too.

Dipping into the dark night, the cool air slid over my skin comfortably. I looked left and right at the benches along the stone balustrade till I had found Sarah and moved over to her. If she had thought to hide herself I think she had forgotten the light through the windows was enough to illuminate the entire balcony.

Her face was glum and when she saw me approach she smiled a little wistfully. It was most certainly forced; Zack's mother's face was enough to give away why my best friend looked so upset. She was as evil as Jack the Ripper.

"I did ask Brian if we could not invite her to the wedding," I spoke, sinking down onto the bench beside her and holding her hand in mine, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance. "Hey! What if I have something distract her then you can get a dance with him?!"

Sarah didn't entirely share my enthusiasm as she just made a funny noise from between her lips and continued with the wistful expression.

"I will personally distract her," I added. "I will endure that woman as long as I need to in order to make you smile again. Or I can introduce you to everyone myself and then she'll have no way of getting out of it."

"She'll find a way to distract you," Sarah muttered glumly.

I stiffened my shoulders and puffed out my chest, putting on my determined face as I pouted my lips. "She can very well try but she hasn't got a title has she?" I pointed out. "And she most certainly isn't from London either, she won't know what's hit her."

"I'd like to hit her."

"I'd pay money to watch."

We laughed at ourselves, giggling and clutching onto one another just as we did back in the day when we were at liberty to do this all day and nothing but. I kind of missed those days, when Sarah and Johnny and I could easily sit on the banks of the Thames all day.

It all seemed so far away now.

"When did the Haner's get a cat?" Sarah suddenly asked. I frowned at her, till she nodded in the direction of said cat. It was a quite a large cat for a domestic animal but it was definitely very pretty.

Its eyes were almost orange in colour, contrasting brightly against the black and brown and gingers in its fur. It wasn't doing anything but sitting on the balustrade nearer the furthest point to us, watching.

It was almost unnerving. There had been one situation before in my life when we had been watched by animals with oddly illuminating eyes, and look at the path my life had taken from that day.

"They don't have a cat," I shrugged, still watching it. Deftly it jumped down and landed with grace before skittering along and through the open doors. I jumped to my feet hurrying after it into the house with Sarah in quick succession.

Thankfully it hadn't gone straight into the ballroom itself, rather more into the anteroom and out into the hall. And then it stopped and jumped up onto one of the cupboards. Even from where we stood we could hear it purring.

I sighed with relief, glancing at Sarah before going over to the cat and picking it up in my arms. "No, you mustn't come inside," I whispered to it, never too sure of who may be listening.

Brian didn't like cats, none of them liked cats and that was entirely understandable. Cats and dogs are not well documented as getting along with one another, and I doubted a wolf would fair any better.

"I wish they liked cats, I would love to have another," I mused as we both fussed it, walking slowly back in the direction we had come. It didn't go unnoticed by me the way Sarah kept glancing around at the halls we passed through.

Eventually it began to struggle and though I tried desperately not to let go for fear of the wolves finding it and mauling it to death, when it raised its claws and scratched down my cheek, leaving a set of red lines I just had to let go.

I didn't even watch in which direction it went I was too busy pressing my fingers to the scratches to see if they were bleeding. There was nothing left on my fingers which I was thankful but Sarah said something about a very tiny amount of blood surfacing.

"Wish I never came after the damned thing," I muttered darkly. "They expect you to give them the world and yet give nothing back. Bloody cats."

Sarah chuckled and shook her head till the sound of screams and smashing glass ricocheted down the halls to meet our ears. We froze, listening in horror till our worst nightmare was confirmed and growls resonated throughout the building. But they did not sound like they were all from the same type of animal. Some of them sounded positively cat like. Big cat like.

My heart was in my throat. I could hear the sound of heavy paws thudding on the flooring, claws creating ear-splitting scratching sounds as whatever was running skidded across the floor.

I wanted to ask Sarah what was going on in the hopes she knew but I could muster nothing but a squeak. Not my engagement party, don't ruin my night! More squeaking, more claws, more skidding until something hit the wall behind us.

We span round to see a disoriented wolf staggering on its legs into a stand with an expensive looking vase atop it. I didn't stop to think about the vase though because I recognised the big shaggy grey furred animal.

"Johnny?" I spoke, moving towards him, each step increasing in speed. He looked up at us both, shaking his great head as he stopped wobbling on his feet. I bet he'd not made the corner and gone head first into the wall.

"Johnny what's going on?" Sarah asked, watching as he transformed before our very eyes into the man we knew better than most.

"We have to hide you girls," he spoke, putting his arms around our shoulders and walking us down the hallway at speed. He checked left and right constantly for anywhere he could possibly think up to put us.

"Where's Brian?" I asked.

"He's fine, come on."

"I want to see him."

Johnny suddenly came to a stop when he realised he had walked us back round to the entrance hall; to our right between the two sides of the grand staircase were the open doors of the ballroom from which the fight ensued and those who had managed to get to the doors fled for their lives.

He didn't let us stay for too much a look though because suddenly he was shoving us into a small downstairs closet usually filled with blankets and sheets. He didn't even give us time to protest before he had slammed the door shut on our backs and enclosing us in darkness.

And then the lock turned and we were completely locked in.

I bristled, crawling forward and putting an eye to the keyhole. All I could see through the small gap were the screaming people running away.

"Maybe whatever it is will eat Zack's mother," Sarah muttered, sighing. I couldn't see her, just heard the direction from which her voice came. I sighed myself and leaned up the door, hoping no-one would suddenly open it.

"And we get to miss seeing it because they told Johnny to lock us in a closet."

"Last time we got in a major fight we were still in London and it was raining, and you punched that guy," she spoke. I wasn't stupid enough to miss the tentative way with which she spoke her words so to step around the issue that arose from said fight that caused her mass amounts of pain.

I couldn't think about then because all that was in my mind was now. All that snarling, the growling. The cries of pain, the crashing of furniture, the smashing of glass. The sounds of the teeth snapping together, the spitting and the hissing. The only time I really remember seeing Brian fight anything was when we caught him and Zack fighting outside of Eaton Place.

I didn't know if I really wanted to see it either, hearing it all was bad enough. No wonder he didn't tell me things, he didn't want me scared by it.

"It'll be okay," I whispered out. I don't know whether I was talking to myself or whether I was talking to Sarah who had gone silent, but I said it anyway. "It'll be okay, they'll sort it out."

Did these words reassure me? Not when an almighty bang sounded out in accordance with something smashing hard against the door. It was so forceful that - aside from us both screaming - I fell forward as the door bulged and splintered in the middle.

Either something was trying to get in, or something had been thrown at the door.

I turned back to it, grounding my teeth together before crawling back towards it. I heard Sarah's soft 'no' as she grabbed my foot but I reassured her I would be fine and lifted her hand away.

I put my eye to the keyhole once more and saw the great body of a lion stood guard over the door. When it saw me I could have been sure of a grin on its face as it tilted its head to the side.

I jumped back to begin with before curiosity got the better of me and I looked out once more. It was still sat there, still waiting until something else, something big and black came flying into it, gleaming white teeth bared as they rolled away together from the door.

I felt the pace of my heart quicken, jumping once more into my throat.

"What is it?" Sarah whispered, appearing beside me. I turned my head, only just able to make out her pretty face beside me.

"Zack," I whispered back tentatively. "And a lion."

She nudged me aside to see through the hole. She gasped, her hand shooting up to her mouth and in the dimness I barely saw her trembling bottom lip. I eased her away and looked out once more.

Expecting to see Zack in some sort of danger but instead there was my wolf, pinned down to floor, writing beneath the giant of a lion. I tried looking for Zack, only to see him coming to his feet much in the same way as Johnny had not so long ago.

None of the others were there, where were they? Why weren't they getting the lion off my Brian?! "Zack!" I screamed, banging my fist against the door, hoping for his attention.

Sarah pushed me away once more and watched herself with baited breath but I couldn't stand it anymore. Reaching round I grabbed a pin from my hair and moved her so I could put it into the lock, fiddling it till the lock clicked the door fell forward, allowing us to get out.

I scrabbled up to my feet, hitching my skirts up out of the way of my feet and hastily fixing them up. Zack was still wobbling about but he'd seen me because his eyes were wide with horror.

I ignored him, baring my teeth as I grabbed the nearest, heaviest candle holder in both hands and swung it round with all the might in my arms so that it crashed into the beasts ribs.

It roared, spinning around immediately to see who had attacked it, allowing Brian the chance to get up. The lions beady black eyes fixed on me as I took quick steps backwards, still holding the candle holder though the effort was getting too much for me.

I could see the matted red fur on Brian's left flank, limping as he moved forward with his teeth bared but whether that was pain of anger I couldn't tell you. I could also see the bloody paw prints he was leaving behind him as he advanced.

I swung the candle holder once more as the lion bared its teeth and snapped out at me, smacking the heavy stand into its jaw so that it veered slightly, momentarily distracted. It was enough time for Zack to leap onto it, his teeth chomping down and creating as many fleshy wounds as he could till he could get a proper grip of the lion with its teeth.

It reared up with a roar of pain but Zack didn't let go, his green eyes watching with determination as his jaw only seemed to harden and clamp down further. The others finally arrived but it was all too late for their help as the creature at Zack's mercy began to morph back to the form of a human man.

His eyes were glazed, his body limp and still. The job was obviously done.

Letting go, Zack himself transformed as I dropped the candle holder and Sarah came out from the closet to throw herself at him. I turned to Brian who was sat on the floor nursing a very nasty looking wound to the arm.

I hurried over to him, dropping to my knees beside him as I began ripping bits of material from my dress to press to the wound. It soaked the blood almost instantly and I had to rip another and another.

Brian hissed and growled when I put more pressure on it.

"Sarah!" I shouted, turning my head over my shoulder to see where she was as Brian slumped backwards till he was lying. "Sarah he won't stop bleeding!"

Suddenly mass amounts of men came forward towards him as I was lifted to my feet by Matt and carried back slightly. I tried to fight him, tears spilling down my face, watching as four of them carried Brian away, the rest following after him.

I wanted to go with him and I fought against my restraint until Zack came over and rest a gentle hand on my arm.

"I'll come get you as soon as he is okay," he smiled but it wavered. "For now you would probably be better off staying with Sarah and his mother."

"Bu-"

"Suzanne," Zack cut me off, looking away over my shoulder. I turned to see her coming across the room, her hand stretched out to mine. She obviously knew without him saying it what he was asking.

I watched meekly as he hurried on up the stairs after all the other men.

"Come," Mrs Haner spoke to Sarah and me. "You girls will be shaken up."