"Am I mistaken then?" Hannah cast her scathing gaze over the crowd of women that had gathered, eager not to miss out on any of the drama. "Is malicious gossip considered polite behaviour in this pack?"

Gritting her teeth she scanned their shocked and indignant faces. Poorly hidden glimpses of gleefully malicious excitement mixed with many of their outwardly offended expressions. Hannah realised to her dismay that she had allowed them to provoke her. But angry, as much with herself as with the hostile she-wolves, she plunged on.

"Have you learned enough about me yet?" she asked. Tears threatened behind her eyes, the world swimming in and out of view, but she pushed them back, determined not to give them the satisfaction.

"So, which am I?" She swung around from one group to another as she spoke, her red hair catching the light like flames on a bonfire, her voice rising clearly above the undercurrent of whispers. "The naked whore" - her voice cracked for a second - "or the filthy rogue?"

She glared at them all, her jaw clenched, arms crossed defensively across her chest. Several of the women looked mortified to be called out in such a manner, looking anywhere but at Hannah. The nurses in particular, having so eagerly discussed her state of undress, blushed furiously at being caught out. The more devoted socialites merely sneered and smirked at her discomfort, safe in the knowledge that they were pack and she wasn't.

"You disgust me." Hannah's accent thickened as her anger grew. "I would have answered all of your questions had you bothered to talk to me."

She glared accusingly at several of the most prominent gossipers. Women who had spent half the afternoon throwing themselves unashamedly at their Alpha but judged her when they believed she'd done the same.

"It doesn't matter who you are." She glared spitefully at the woman in the ridiculous hat. "Common decency costs nothing, politeness costs nothing, kindness costs nothing. Congratulations, you're a disgrace to your family names and to your pack! It's quite clear you're not worth my time or effort."

Big hat paled; her fingers clenched tightly around an unfortunate napkin. She opened her mouth to deliver a blistering retort, but Hannah was having none of it and deliberately turned her back on the unfortunate socialite.

"My mother" - Hannah turned her attention back to the potato salad woman whose friends at least had the good grace to look suitably abashed - " would be ashamed to be associated with any of you two-faced cows!"

A deathly silence fell across the garden.

"Show some damn respect!" The bottle blonde's strident voice pierced the suddenly still air - the wolf within her audibly snarling to come out after Hannah's final insult. Stepping forward, she swayed unsteadily on her ridiculously high heels, her eyes turning a rich jet black.

Beyond caring about the consequences of pushing the enraged she-wolf past the reaches of her control, and apparently deep in the throes of a healthy death wish, Hannah laughed in disdain and snapped back:

"Respect? What would you know about it? Respect is earned. It's not a Goddess given right, lady. And you've not earned mine. So back off!"

The blonde began to shake violently, her control slipping in the face of such a blatant challenge.

Undeterred Hannah faced her, her eyes bright with unspoken disdain and making no effort to hide it. She'd simply been pushed too far with their unrelenting contempt for her. These puffed up, over-dressed popinjays had the gall to talk about respect? She'd seen barely an ounce of it all afternoon!

Inevitably, the wolf took over. With a vicious snarl the blonde began to shift right there in the middle of the lawn, her clothing tearing as her form changed in front of the, now genuinely, horrified guests.

Hannah observed her critically, trying not to wince at the wrenching cracks and pops coming from the shifting form. Fight or flight? Running was not an option - she wouldn't make it a hundred yards. She might make the quick dash to the oak tree but she was unsure whether she could climb high enough up the gnarled trunk.

That left fight. Perfect. Unconsciously she shifted her body into a fighting stance even as her mind dryly informed her that she was in an impossible situation.

The pack remained silent and frozen around her. A small part of her imagined Blake might be quite upset at their lack of interference later on as he scraped her tattered remains off the once pristine lawn.

But she also knew that they were under no obligation to come to the aid of an outsider, especially one who had allowed her temper to get the better of her and insulted half the women in the garden. She braced herself as the wolf's coal black eyes burning with malice locked onto its intended target. How many leaps would it take for those teeth to reach her? Five? Six?

However, there was one member of the party that no one had counted on.

Even as the now fully-transformed brown wolf began to stalk towards Hannah, a flash of black curls caught her eye. Nimbly darting through the legs of the growing crowd and before she could move to intercept her, Sophie had thrown herself into the line of fire.

"Leave her alone you - you - big bully!"

Hands on hips, eyes blazing, Ophelia's little girl stood between Hannah and the enraged she-wolf, her tiny frame a poor but very determined shield.

Time froze as multiple pairs of horrified eyes stared at the minature warrior in shock. A flash of consternation flickered in the approaching wolf's eyes - the human inside recognising the folly of attacking the Beta's pup. But her wolf was in charge now and it lacked the self-control necessary to halt their attack.

Finally spurred into action by the little girl - whose courage put them to shame - several of the other guests jumped forward to try and restrain the large brown wolf. It reacted with a snarl of irritation and continued to fight tooth and nail to reach them both.

Hannah took the opportunity to reach out and pull Sophie behind her, praying that one of the women from the oak tree group would have the sense to grab the little girl and take her to safety before the wolf wriggled free.

"That's enough!" the powerful voice of the Beta roared as he ran full speed down the garden towards them. Hannah could just see him, behind the frightened faces of the crowd, preparing to shift even as he pelted across the lawn; the sight of his daughter in the middle of the fray putting extra speed into his step.

He was too far away to reach them in time. In those few short seconds, as the wolf tore herself out of the arms that held her, the garden had never looked bigger. The distance between them and the house stretched to an impossible length and Hannah knew he'd have little chance of stopping the inevitable.

One leap, two...

Fueled by anger and a prophetic sense of the inevitable she stood her ground, keeping her chin low so as not to expose her throat and bracing herself for the impact of a one hundred pound wolf landing on her chest. Maybe if she went for the eyes she'd be able to blind the bitch before it killed her.

Three leaps, four...

Even as she tensed her muscles, her hands continued to frantically gesture towards Sophie behind her back, her eyes never leaving the snarling ball of fur and teeth in front of her. At the last second, she felt rather than saw common sense finally prevail as someone summoned up the courage to dash over, snatch up the protesting little girl and carry her to safety.

Five leaps, and... She couldn't help it. She closed her eyes.

Just as her adversary was about to strike, a snarl that shook the very ground they stood on ripped through the air around them with extraordinary volume.

As one, every wolf in attendance shivered and fell to their knees. Even Hannah, without a wolf and not a part of his pack, felt the awesome power that resonated off the giant black wolf that had thrown itself in front of her, cutting off the she-wolf's attack.

Focused on her adversary and the advancing Beta, she hadn't seen him coming... but my Goddess! She saw him now. He was magnificent in his anger, his black coat gleaming in the late afternoon sunshine, his golden eyes showing everyone that he was still in complete control of his wolf, even now.

Towering over them all, the Alpha communicated directly through the pack-link, talking to each and every wolf in the garden.

His huge wolf stood aggressively over the cowering she-wolf that had collapsed on the ground in terror, forcing her to submit to his dominance over her. Hannah watched in awe as he bared his teeth and gripped the brown wolf's throat in his mouth, a deep growl vibrating into the unfortunate wolf's neck and she lay on her back shaking, her tail tucked between her legs.

His point made, Blake slowly backed off, turning to check on Hannah while his relieved Beta scooped his daughter up into his arms behind them. He sniffed at her hand and she realised it was still clenched into a tight fist in front of her. Letting out the breath she'd been holding, she allowed herself to relax slightly and looked once more into the shining eyes of her saviour.

"I'm ok," she murmured reassuringly at him.

I'm ok, she repeated to herself in wonder.

The guests shivered as the Alpha looked at them all one by one, his golden eyes shining brightly. Hannah had no idea what words were being communicated between them, but she could see the impact they were having on the group.

Not one of them dared to look their Alpha in the eye, though a few stared at Hannah with accusatory looks on their faces - looks that swiftly disappeared when the giant wolf snarled in their direction. But most kept their eyes cast to the ground in genuine remorse for their part in the upset.

Unexpectedly, an intense feeling of deep satisfaction rose up within her as she watched her critics cower before them and she felt a dominant smirk creep across her face.

It was only when she registered the look of surprise in Marcus's eyes as he watched her that she pulled herself up short, ashamed of the feelings she'd allowed to briefly take control of her. Later she would be left to wonder where they'd come from.

The brown wolf let out a distressed whimper and she redirected her attention to the silent conversation of the pack. Many of the women were exchanging looks of shock. One or two frowned as though deeply troubled by something Blake had told them. Several nodded their heads in silent agreement and Marcus wore a look of approval. The large black wolf seemed completely unmoved by the reactions from his pack.

Two of the Male guests, alerted to the situation by their hosts sudden disappearance, had followed him down the lawn and now moved forwards to herd the new prisoner away, their expressions grim. The brown wolf slunk off between them, her tail still tucked firmly between her legs. As she passed, her golden eyes shot Hannah a look riddled with hatred and one of the men growled at the errant wolf, forcing her to look away.

Shaking out his fur the Alpha snorted softly, glanced one last time at Hannah and padded slowly back towards to house, nodding to his Beta as he passed. It was a silent signal that the barbeque was well and truly over. There had been enough drama amongst the pack for one day and the guests began to drift off in groups, typically already whispering amongst themselves - dissecting the events of the afternoon.

Hannah stood by herself near the ancient oak, unsure if she would be welcomed back at the house after ruining their party. A small hand slipped into hers.

"Come with me, Hannah," Sophie ordered, tugging her up the lawn.

Hannah shot an unsure look at Marcus.

His unusually grave face twisted into a small smile, beckoning her forward.

The Omegas, drifting down to clear up, watched her as they made their way through the abandoned picnic areas and she was surprised by the level of respect they showed her as she passed.

Blake must have ordered them all to mind me, she reasoned to herself.

*

Once back at the house and away from prying ears she began apologising profusely to both Marcus and Ophelia.

The latter had sunk into the large rocking chair in the kitchen and was alternating between hugging and lecturing her small daughter. It was only as she'd followed Marcus past the ruins of their party that Hannah realised just how much trouble she'd caused the Beta and his family - especially placing their daughter in such terrible danger.

In her guilt, she forgot that most of the events that afternoon had been out of her control.

"Please, stop apologising," Ophelia said, closing her eyes in exhaustion. "It's my fault really. I never should have thrown you to the wolves, so to speak. I should have known they wouldn't be able to resist stirring the pot."

"It's not your fault," Blake said coldly as he stalked into the room. "nor is it yours," he directed at Hannah, cutting her off before the guilt-ridden young woman could begin apologising to him as well. The tension in the room seemed to increase tenfold, reflecting the harshness in the Alpha's voice.

"What now?" Marcus asked from the corner, his face as rigid as his Alphas.

"I'm going to do something I should have done right at the beginning," Blake replied grimly. "Hannah will move in with me tomorrow - " he held his hand up to ward off the protest from his Beta - "there will be fall out from today Marcus, you know it's coming."