Brianna

"So, what are we going to do about the Red Moon?" Jake inquired, trying to quell the tension amongst us. Though his effort was appreciated, he asked the wrong question. 

"Wow, we're at a party and the only small talk you can come up with is business-related?" Colin countered. 

"We can't do anything," Brian jumped in, stopping the war before it started. 

"It will be here by next Friday," Summer informed us. 

"You think we don't fucking know that!" Josh snapped. 

His outburst caught our attention. Josh didn't seem like the type of person who was easily provoked. He seemed more laid back like his leader, Kyle. 

"Easy," Jake defended. "She was just pointing out the obvious. We have to address it sooner rather than later." 

"Yeah, well, can't we discuss this some other time," Eric sighed. 

"I agree," everyone except Jake and Summer sang. 

"Time won't wait on us," Summer remarked, disappointment dripping from her tone. 

"No one asked for your opinion," Josh snarled. 

Heather reached out and pat Josh on his bicep. "It's okay, brother." The same hand was placed on his forehead. "Are you okay?" 

He slapped her hand away. "I'm fine." 

Drew shifted. "She's concern. You don't have to be rude about it. She is your sister, after all." 

My gaze flickered from Heather to Josh. If they hadn't been sitting together the resemblance was unnoticeable. Nonetheless, now they were, they did have a slight similarity. Though Josh's facial structure was more masculine, it was the same shape as Heather's. Their eye color was the same mocha brown. The only difference they had was their hair color; Heather's purple stood out against his brunette. Even so, Josh seemed like he was the eldest. 

The soft glow from the fire advertised her pink-shaded cheeks. "Thanks." 

Josh glared at her, and she hid her face in her palms. 

"Well, I'm going to the little girl's room," Summer announced, standing. 

"I'll accompany you," I offered. 

Plumped lips curled. "Thanks, but I won't take long." 

A rebuttal was on the tip of my tongue, but Brian first me. "You better hurry. I don't want to have to file a report with the police because we find your corpse in the forest tomorrow." 

"Yeah," agreed the others. 

Ugh. "And who would kill her? You?" I pointed at Brian. 

Pink contacts flickered from me to her. "Nope, but she's a death trap waiting to happen." 

This again. Ignoring his childish behavior, I turned to Summer. "I'm giving you several minutes. If you don't get back to me by then, I'm coming after you." 

She nodded and hurried off into the forest behind us. 

Silence then consumed us. 

"How does it feel to be a part of the Young Council?" Sabrina asked Ashley. 

Ashley popped a piece of marshmallow into her mouth. "I'm not sure yet. You can ask me this in the next month or so." 

Which was expected. We had not experienced anything other than the sworn-in ceremony. 

"You can admit it," Colin sneered. "Being on the Young Council is not as amazing as everyone else make it out to be." 

"It's not all bad," Jake defended. 

"It's not bad for you, Mr. President," Colin retorted. "You're quite contented watching everyone else have fun. Being dull is who you are." 

Ashley narrowed her eyes at Colin. "Why do you always have to be an ass?" A slender finger tapped on her chin. "Oh, wait. I know. Being an asshole is who you are." 

Colin eyed her, taking a sip of his beer. "Don't think because you're —"

"Would you two stop it!" Sabrina intervened. Her eyes on Colin. "Tonight we get the opportunity to have fun, not fight. We can do that some other time." 

Instead of uttering another comeback like always, Colin resorted to sipping his beer. An action that never went unnoticed. Colin the tyrant willing to keep the peace. Now, that was surprising even to an outsider. 

'South of the Border' by Ed Sheeren blew with the wind, and Sabrina stood. Her small hand was held out to Eric. "I want to dance." 

He hesitated for a slight second before he took her hand. Once again, Colin and Courtney shuffled in their seats. Their glares aimed at the couple. Colin then chugged down his beer while Courtney returned her interest to the fire. 

What was up with those two?

Kyle leaned forward, his brows furrowed. A whiff of his forestry ambrosia traveled up my nostrils and soothed my nerves. A lazy sigh left my lips as my shoulders sloughed. 

It didn't take long before some of the others upped and started dancing. Their spectators included Josh, Colin, Brian, Kyle, Lindsay, and me. If I was being honest, I wanted to join the fun, but I was too comfortable to move. 

Before we knew time flew by. Empty beer bottles piled up beside the cooler and the crowd on the other side of the river doubled. 

Josh then fidgeted. His pulse climbed the ladder of acceleration. The veins in his neck throbbed. Brown eyes darkened. Kyle sensed his changes and shuffled. I straightened. 

My mind screamed, 'protect Summer', and then I remembered she never came back from her bathroom break. 

Maybe she was on the other side of the river. 

My pulse quickened as my eyes scanned for her in the crowd. 

Maybe she—

A deep growl sounded from Josh's throat. His jaws were clenched, and his lips were now in a thin line. 

"Josh?" Brian drawled. All five of us now on alert. 

Our gaze followed his which was fixed on Courtney. She stood on one of the rocks in the middle of the shallow river, chatting with a guy. Her pink hair danced with the wind while her small frame shook with laughter. But, that wasn't what caught our attention. It was the way the guy's finger crawled up her arm. How captivated he was with her lips. To make it worse, he was gradually leaning into her. The closer he got, the angrier Josh became. 

Colin neglected his beer. Lindsay no longer cared for the fire. Brian propped on one foot. Kyle's gaze never left Josh. 

"Josh?" Brian tried again.

 He heeded to neither of Brian's calls. 

Summer then decided to jump inform of us. In the same breath, the gentleman's hand dragged along the side of Courtney's face. Josh pranced. I pulled Summer out of harm's way.  Colin grabbed Josh's shirt and held him in a throat lock. 

Red-faced Josh fought to be released. "I'm going to kill him." 

His cursing got him notoriety. All dancing from the other Young Council members ceased.  

"What's going on?" Jake enquired with a frown. 

"I don't know," Lindsay answered. "One minute he was okay and the next he saw Courtney, and he went ba—"

"Courtney is his mate." Kyle's gaze flickered from Josh to Courtney. 

What?