At the last minute, Rachel tells me most of them wanted to pull out, but she convinced them to give me one last chance.
As the women begin to arrive, I can truly say I’ve never been more scared in my whole entire life. Even though the night starts out awkward, after sharing some drinks and stories, everyone begins to loosen up.
“Okay,” Helen says, nibbling on one of my cakes. “You can bake, I’ll say that for you. These are amazing.”
“Thank you,” I reply. “I really just want to do everything I can to be a useful member of the pack.”
“Keep baking,” Fern says, toasting me with a wine glass.
Most of the other women join the toast, and a knot of tension around my ribs slowly unwinds.
This might be the first deep breath I’ve taken in over a week.
I let myself relax, and the night grows late. By the time the men come to pick up their wives, all of us are shrieking with laughter and telling silly stories.
“You guys look like you’re having fun,” Rhys says, coming up to us with a smile on his face.
“We are,” I say happily. “How’s Cassie?”
“Sound asleep on a bunk at the kids’ camp. A couple of grandmas are spending the night there.”
“Great,” I reply. “Everything is just great.”
“Yeah,” Rachel says from beside me, leaning over to touch my arm. “I tell you what would be really great—”
Rachel never finishes her sentence, because she falls out of her chair, flat on her face. Most of the women laugh and make drunk jokes, toasting Rachel’s clumsiness.
“Rach?” I ask, kneeling on the ground. “Are you okay?”
I turn her over gently, and her face is completely white. Her eyelids flutter, and a trickle of blood oozes from the side of her mouth.
“Rachel!” I scream, shaking her. “Wake up!”
Her eyes flicker open, staring up and swimming back and forth. “What happened?” she chokes out, through shallow, rasping breaths.
“You fell,” I say, tears trickling down my cheeks as I hold her in my arms. “Are you okay? Have you had too much to drink?”
“No,” Rachel mutters. “I’ve barely had any. I…”
“You did this!” Helen screams, throwing her glass to the ground where it shatters into a million pieces. “You poisoned her.”
“How dare you!” I scream back. “I love Rachel—she’s my friend! Besides, how stupid would I have to be to poison her at my own party, with food I made?”
“That might be your cover,” Fern says scathingly. “This is how you take us down from within.”
“No,” Rachel mumbles, her voice strained. “I was dizzy this morning… my powers were weak. I wanted to come to the party, but I just ignored it…”
Rachel’s voice is so soft that only people very close by can hear it. The rest of the party looks like it wants to lynch me on the spot.
“Rachel,” I moan, shaking her. “Please. Hold on. I can help you, I know I can.”
My friend shakes her head, her eyes slowly closing. She takes one last rattling breath, then goes limp in my arms.
“Rachel!” I scream, shaking her. “No! Don’t die, please don’t die!”
I don’t have time to cry or grieve as the other women grab me and yank me to my feet. Helen has one arm, and Fern the other. Some of the girls gather around Rachel.
“She’s dead,” Carly says, looking up at me accusingly.
