Shera glared at the mirror as the old woman finished off the make up that had been applied. She didn't look like herself and it was just another thing to irritate her. Her face felt like it was caked in thick mud and it hid every last scar she had earned. "Oh stop that, you should be happy," Gerard called this woman mama but her name was Marceline. She had a strange way of moving about, as if she had a lame leg, with silver hair from age and severely wrinkly skin.
"What should I be happy about? You know I'm in the marriage because of your alpha right," Shera muttered. Marceline laughed and kissed Shera's head, motioning in the mirror she sat in front of.
"Gerard never takes pack members, his or otherwise, to these sorts of things," she hummed. "That boy always said no one was ready to face such nonsense."
"Oh," Shera could imagine why. Sometimes it was difficult to control someone's instincts in public and that's what led to the bitten being bit more times than Shera could count. She'd have to bulk up emotionally right away if she wanted to make it. "So, how does your pack work? I know you guys help with veterinary and health but I don't know how."
"We tend to be doctors after fixing up our family members after a fight," she chuckled softly. "Gerard was smart enough to use that to grow."
Shera nodded and jumped when the door opened, Sherry standing in the door frame, "Shera!"
Shera's eyes widened and she quickly stood up, holding her hands up in surrender, "I don't want to fight. I didn't mean to-"
"Oh shut up, silly," Sherry giggled. She held up a box, a large grin on her face, "You won that fair and square. We don't hold it against anyone here." Shera blinked as Sherry shut the door and pulled the dress out, her eyes following the long sleeve. "Besides, Ferdinand confirmed it would have been a clean kill if you crushed your jaws together. I only get to see that from Gerard!"
"So this is who you were talking about," Marceline laughed.
"Well of course, mama," Sherry hummed. She continued talking excitedly to the older woman, skillfully maneuvering around Shera's struggling to get the dress on. "Oh, knock it off. You're going to tear it."
"I can get dressed myself," Shera grunted. She gasped and straightened up as the zipper in the back was pulled.
"He sure knows how to pick them," Sherry sighed. "It looked so shabby in the box but it's really pretty when it's worn." Shera stared at Sherry and then herself, her fingers nervously playing with the sleeve. She hadn't been aware of the slit up the side and her leg was thick enough to have it reveal midway up her thigh.
"I don't think I like it," Shera mumbled. She did though, and that made it much more frustrating for her.
"You need to calm down," Sherry giggled. "I don't think red fur goes well with this white at all." Shera rubbed her cheeks and took a deep breath. "What's wrong anyways? He said you've never worn something like this before so you'd feel good."
"I do but I don't want to feel good here," she muttered. Marceline giggled and pushed the two girls towards the door.
"Both of you need to go figure out the right jewelry and not keep him waiting. You know how he gets," she hummed.
"So impatient," their words made Shera a bit nervous. It wasn't that she hadn't expected he'd be impatient but what did they mean by they knew how he got? She couldn't help but think of the violent exchanges they've had, even if she was the one to initiate them. He had easily put her down then, how easy would it be for him to lay her on her back if he initiated it? Sherry pulled Shera along, humming loudly, "Why so nervous all of a sudden?"
"I just- I guess it's because the biggest event I've been to is a family reunion and the gatherings," Shera forced a chuckle out of her chest, trying to steel her hands from shaking too much. "And what if someone comes at me again?"
"Oh, the witch gets ahold of all the clothes if that's what you're worried about. They won't tear if you shift," Sherry sang.
"How do you guys have a witch," Shera asked, her head tilting slightly. Witches weren't hard to come by but they were hard to deal with. Her pack hadn't been able to maintain one due to the lack of money for their supplies and even then, the witch couldn't do anything too powerful. The supplies they used to get were poor and it was difficult to get anything useful. The witch had left the pack's side and it was a wonder how they still had theirs.
"Well, we worked around buying the supplies," Sherry shrugged. Shera felt stupid as the statement registered. They bought the seeds and were cultivating most of the supplies themselves. She reached up to pinch her nose, Sherry stopping her. "Sometimes there's a lot more to think about than the obvious. Your pack probably just never put their focus on it."
"They didn't," Sherry confirmed. "They were more interested in betting on who would win the next fight at the next gathering."
"Oh, we heard about that," Sherry nodded excitedly. "Gerard said that three alphas in a pack was a problem and there must have been a lot of in fighting. How come you guys haven't just split?"
"That's something I want to know," the pack could have been so much farther. They could do so much more if they came to that agreement.
"We voted on just absorbing your pack into our own for a while," Sherry hummed. "Gerard said no and we should let it take its course. Who knew he'd come back with one of you huh?"
"Absorb my pack," Shera blinked and her lip rose. Gerard had entertained the notion if it was voted on and it would have turned into an all out war. Her pack would have lost everything. Maybe they'd be better off but there was no way Gerard could afford so many kin. "No."
"What do you mean no," Sherry sniffed. "Think about it, you guys would have been so much happier."
"My pack doesn't like the city. Yes we claimed it and we do business with it but we stick to the woods for a reason," Shera growled. "We keep ourselves separate."
"What's the reason," Sherry asked.
"What?"
"The reason," Sherry pushed a door open to a studio apartment, the walls covered in clothes and shoes neatly set on racks as if they were books.
"It's just tradition," Shera replies. Sherry waltzed to a rack and picked through the shoes, bringing out heels that looked to be made of satin.
"Tradition comes around for-" Shelly was tackled by a blur of grey, snarling erupting in the room.
"You're not borrowing anymore," Sherry laughed, shifting into her own as the other lycan tried clawing into her.
"Maria," Sherry snickered. "I'm not the one borrowing anything!" A fight broke out right there, leaving Shera to watch in shock as the two went at it. This couldn't have been normal could it? Her pack shared everything with each other. Then again, they had to because of the money situation. This pack however, seemed to have a different stance on personal belongings.
"Cut it out," Shera muttered. The two kept going and she moved back as a claw nearly tore the dress. "I said cut it out," she got louder, not yelling. The barking and growling only went on and she began to get irked. She didn't want to keep Gerard waiting in fear of what he might do. Being around him was enough of an adrenaline rush and these two here were making Shera feel anxiety.
"I said enough," she didn't mean to do it. Her own claws grabbed the two by their snouts, slamming them down as she growled at their shocked expressions. "I don't feel like getting on Gerard's bad side. So whatever I have to wear, I'm wearing," she snapped. "Quit acting like children."
Sherry nodded almost right away, the other hesitant before her head shook. Shera stepped back, her body aching as she shifted back. "I'll give them back later tonight. I need whatever shoes you have because all I have are sneakers and flats," she crossed her arms uncomfortably.
"Who are you," Maria asked. She rubbed her nose, blood dripping down onto a designer dress she wore.
"Maria, this is Shera," Sherry bounced up, a bruise forming a circle around her mouth. "She's from the neighboring pack! Doesn't she look pretty like this?" Shera flinched and looked up from making sure the dress was okay, her face turning a bit red.
"I didn't mean to break your nose," she started.
"It happens. So many people go for the face," Maria circled Shera before rolling her eyes at Sherry. "Brown heels and make them strap ones. Her feet are dainty enough."
"I'm sorry," Shera blinked.
"Oh! Those leather ones right," Sherry bolted to the other side of the room as Maria continued to circle Shera.
"Listen up. One strike and you have to pay to borrow anything, got it," Maria snapped. "I don't care what sort of backwater country bumpkin you are. I take services in place of payment as well."
"I'm not a-"
"You smell like Gerard. Worse than Sherry," Maria snorted. "You're just another groupie that wants his affection so I'm going to do you a favor."
"I'm not a groupie," Shera growled. Sherry brought over heels standing at three inches tall and Shera's eyes widened. The highest she had worn was an inch and even then, the shoe was a wedge, not a thin heel.
"Then what are you? Because that's all he entertains," Maria sniffed and shoved the shoes to Shera.
"She's his fiancée, Maria," Sherry sang. The other woman jerked, her brown hair bouncing in their curls as her blue eyes widened again in shock.
"He's mating some cheap looking bumpkin," Maria cried.
"I'm not a bumpkin," Shera slid the shoes on, trying to gain her balance as she stood in them. "Do they have to be so high? I'm going to trip."
"You'll be on my arm," the three quickly looked to the door, Gerard standing with his arms crossed in a black and gray three piece suit. His platinum hair was slicked back and he had somehow covered most of the scars across his mouth. "I was wondering what was taking so long. Come on, we're going to be late if we don't leave." He walked over and held his arm out, Shera slowly grabbing it as he smirked at her.
"I hope you don't mind flashing lights," he hummed. Shera's eyes widened as they started walking, her mouth in a thin line and the lipstick grazing her teeth.
"I don't think I-"
He shushed her as he opened an elevator, "Just introduce yourself when asked. They'll ask you a bunch of medical questions but I doubt you can answer them."
"Gerard, where exactly are we going," Shera asked quietly.
"A charity event for the hospital. We've seen a spike in cancer patients along with anemia," he replied calmly.
"How are you running it," she muttered after a while.
"Simple; we have many programs to help loyal patients at each hospital. The charity events happen about once a week so I suggest you get to know them," he hummed. Her ears would have perked had she been shifted, her eyes on him in wonder.
"Programs," she asked. "To help the humans? You do that?"
"Humans are the largest populace. Doubling on us and vampires combined," he shrugged and tapped against her hand. "You look beautiful, foxy."
Her face turned red and she looked away when he stared down at her, "Why are you calling me that?"
"Your fur," he replied. "Those light reds that mix in with the dark just remind me of a fox's ears. So you're foxy."
"That's a stupid reason," she mumbled. She then blinked, looking back up at him with a frown, "Vampires exist?"
"If we exist, they exist," he sighed. "Seriously, have you never considered that? I figured you'd have gone up against at least two with how you fight."
"We don't even have them mentioned in pack history," she gawked.
"Well, they come to the hospitals too. You'll smell a few at the event," he nodded. "Just don't talk to them alone. Your little mind might get hypnotized."
"They can do that," she asked. She bounced on her toes a bit, the conversation on the vampires all the way to the car and even half way through the drive. He was patiently answering her questions before he reverted to explaining the programs they had implemented. Shera had felt something in her chest at that moment. He was handsome while he talked and he was passionate about it. Every detail explained in a way that made it hard for her to fall asleep to. The car stopped and he stepped out, holding his hand out as people outside talked loudly and some cheering.
"Come now, foxy. I need my fiancée to make a debut," he smirked. Shera couldn't stop her face from turning a bit red as she took his hand and crawled out of the car. Her back was straight and her shoulders a bit stiff even if they looked relaxed. He had been right about the flashing as camera shutter after camera shutter rang in her ears. Microphones were being shoved in Gerard and her's direction and Gerard answered a few questions.
The polite smile didn't hide the intimidation he let off, his hand firmly around Shera's waist as she followed him slowly through the crowds. A camera got close to her face and she winced when the light went off.
"Ma'am, what's your name? How do you know the doctor," the reporter asked. Attention was turned to her as more microphones were pushed towards her face. It made her heart begin to race as she stared at the foam covered device, her gaze shifting to Gerard who only smiled.
"I am Shera Pillar," she replied slowly. Her voice sounded stronger than she thought it would, not a lick of the nerves she had showing through. "And I'm-"
"This is my fiancée," Gerard had heard the crack in her voice and decided to step in, his polite smile turning into a borderline malicious grin. The reporters there erupted into questions as more flashes went off. Gerard calmly pulled Shera close and her face deepened. His lips, even with the scars, were soft on hers in the tiny moment they were connected. "And to answer your questions, I was shocked when I found this beauty tucked away in the far corners of this city as well. Yes I was enamored, and yes, I will continue to be as she's far prettier with less cosmetics than anyone would believe."