35. Sadie
SHOPPING
“Um, there’s been a mistake,” I said as I peeked my head out of the dressing room.
Xerxes had taken us to the “shopping district” of the city, which was one massive skyscraper.
The central part of the building was hollowed out, and a glass elevator went up and down continuously.
On all sides, going 120 floors into the sky, were shops for clothes, the home, and everything else a person could think of.
It was a far cry from the small businesses in the shifter realm.
I didn’t even know it was possible for so much stuff to exist.
“No, there hasn’t,” Aran said tiredly as she tapped her foot outside the changing room.
After the flyer got delivered yesterday, she’d sat in the corner of the room, in the dark, with a pipe in her mouth.
She wouldn’t come to bed or talk to me.
I’d forced her to come along on the trip, knowing she loved shopping.
She’d pointed out that I was risking getting executed and she was risking being forced to rule a bloodthirsty realm, all so we could pick out clothes for a BDSM club.
I’d told her it was worth the risk.
I was pretty sure she’d only agreed to the trip because she was low-key hoping we’d be attacked and she’d have a reason to fight people.
Sadly for her, she was still enchanted as a boy and the High Court had released a picture of her looking very girly and different with pin-straight hair.
But she still wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to hide her curly blue hair and bright-blue eyes.
Odds were basically zero that she’d be recognized.
As long as her disguise held, we were safe.
I called out from the changing room, “No, there definitely has been a mistake. I don’t understand how they made it so the straps cover everything but my boobs and vagina. How does that make any sense?”
I quickly pulled back the curtain to flash her my outfit.
The black material crisscrossed in straps starting at my ankles and climbing up to cover my throat.
Aran was in the throes of a deep depression, but my getup still made her jolt with surprise.
Cobra, who was walking past at that exact moment, tripped and slammed his face into the wall.
“Buy that. Immediately,” he croaked.
Aran rolled her eyes and pulled her other choices off the hanger. “Try this.” It was a gossamer white fabric that had fluffy feathers and sparkles across the boobs and sleeves.
I pulled it on and gasped.
The white contrasted with my gold skin and made my hair shine like pearls.
The feathers were fluffy and feminine, and the fabric showed my body when I moved, but I didn’t feel completely naked like in the other outfit.
“You’re a genius,” I said to Aran as I opened up the curtain.
“I know, I’m a great shopper,” Aran said, but her voice was strained and her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
What was a surprise was that all four of the men, who were supposed to be finding their own clothes, stood behind Aran.
“Princess.” Ascher groaned and shoved his tattooed fist into his mouth.
“Oh fuck, baby girl,” Xerxes muttered.
“Love,” Jax breathed out roughly, eyes wide as he admired me.
“I told you guys,” Cobra said to the men as his eyes darkened. “Although, Kitten, I personally prefer the last one.”
“Noted.” I tapped my mouth like I was considering it. “Don’t care.”
I shut the curtain with a snap.
When I’d settled on getting the nightie in white, I walked to check out.
However, I glanced at the tag and nearly passed out.
It was ten thousand credits, and the symbol next to it was the same money symbol used in the shifter realm.
Ten thousand credits was the cost of a large house, and about what Jax said they had paid us for each battle in the shifter realm.
“Aran, did you see the price?” I showed her the tag.
She shrugged. “So?”
“Wow, very royal of you.”
The despondent expression was still pasted on her face as she explained, “Sadie, the mannequins in the store are all covered in jewels, and there are real crystals in those feathers. The material is butterfly silk, which is the most expensive fabric in the realms. What did you expect?”
“I’d set my budget at fifty credits,” I said sadly as the butterfly silk sparkled in between my fingers.
“I don’t know if you want me to act like I relate to you right now, but I don’t speak poor-unfashionable-person language. Sorry.”
My spirits lifted. If Aran was feeling well enough to joke, then maybe she was back to her old self.
I chuckled, but Aran’s face didn’t twitch.
“Oh my sun god, you’re not joking.”
She grabbed a leather strip off the wall that was covered in skulls and started to wrap it aggressively around her throat.
It dawned on me what she was doing, and I slapped her hands, pulling it off her. “Really, in a public store?”
“Better than being queen of the fucking fae ,” she snarled and pouted as I held the leather strap away from her.
“Shut up,” I whispered furiously. “Someone will hear you and take you back.”
“Kinky, Sadie.” Ascher walked by and grabbed the strap. “Didn’t know you were into props.”
Before I could explain the situation, Aran chimed in, “She also wanted that ball gag,” and pointed to the most terrifying-looking device I’d ever seen in my life.
Ascher smirked and added it to his pile of toys. “I like the way you think.”
“I’m going to stab you,” I whispered aggressively at Aran as two very tall beta women, with hair down to the floor, sashayed by.
They had black whips in their hands and an assortment of revealing clothes.
“Why haven’t you come up to check out?” Xerxes asked as he walked over.
He must have found clothes, because he had a sparkly black bag on his arm.
Xerxes wore a baseball cap and had sprayed some type of enchanted mist that temporarily masked his cinnamon scent.
“I need to find new clothes. Can you believe this?” I shook my head and showed him the price tags.
His purple eyes crinkled with confusion. “Do you need a different size? I can ask.”
“Yeah, it’s not gonna fit her muscles,” Aran said sarcastically.
“Now you’re just being mean. See if I stop you from strangling yourself next time.”
Xerxes looked back and forth between us with confusion.
Aran rolled her eyes like she didn’t care and chewed at her fingernails.
“No, the price, Xerxes. Can you believe this? It’s robbery!” I showed him again.
Xerxes shifted back and forth awkwardly. “I don’t get it.”
“See, Sadie, you’re just being dramatic. Stop being poor,” Aran said as she looked around warily, like she’d just noticed that she was exposed in a public place.
I had a sick realization. “If you ever rule, you’re going to be a bloody dictator, aren’t you.”
“One could fucking hope.” Aran itched at her back and walked away like she was bored with the conversation.
Xerxes cleared his throat and said softly, “Baby girl, you’re not buying this.” He took the hanger out of my hand and gave me an intense expression that made my stomach flip.
“I know. I just need to find a different store.”
He stared at me for a long moment.
Ever since the “heat incident,” where I’d accidentally come on his vibrating dick a dozen times, Xerxes had been looking at me with a dark expression.
I love you hung in the air between us like a tangible weight.
I breathed shakily, unsure how he could make me feel so on edge just by staring at me.
Xerxes turned around, but instead of handing the items back to the lady who worked for the store—she was modeling one of outfits that had cutouts around the boobs and lady bits, which was truly inspirational—he walked to the counter.
“You’re back, Sir Xerxes. Did you find everything you wanted today?” the beta sales lady asked sweetly, leaning forward to showcase her exposed boobs.
“No,” I said quickly and lunged for the overly expensive nightie in his hand.
Xerxes shoved me aside with one hand and sent me sprawling across the floor.
“What she meant is I’d also like to buy this in the emerald-green color,” Xerxes said.
Why would he get two of them?
We only had one day to complete the third trial.
“Of course, sir. You have great taste.” She giggled, completely ignoring the fact that he’d just manhandled me. “Do you want to pay again by fingerprint?”
I launched myself at him, but he expected my move and grabbed me by my ponytail.
Xerxes yanked my head back till I yelped.
“Be good, baby girl,” he murmured into my ear as he restrained me.
Then he turned back to the worker and nodded casually, like he wasn’t manhandling me, and pressed his hand on the shimmering black stone.
Apparently, the payment system worked throughout all the realms and was enchanted to connect a person to the amount of credits to their name.
Jax had explained that money in the shifter realm worked in the beast realm through this credit system.
My mind was still blown.
Seemed suspect.
“Oh, look, sir, since you’ve spent seventy thousand credits today, you qualify for a free toy.”
I choked. “Wow, what a bargain.”
“I’ll take the sex knife.” Xerxes smirked and picked up a small, glittering blade that was encrusted in rhinestones and glowing with a blue enchantment.
My mind had stalled at the words sex knife , so I almost didn’t process that the cashier was writing down her address on the receipt.
“I’d love to play with you, sir.” She gave him a coy look and walked around the counter.
She swiveled her hips suggestively, showcasing her crotchless panties.
My stomach twisted with an unnamed emotion, and I suddenly had the urge to shift into a saber-toothed tiger and pop her head like a grape.
Xerxes arched his brow down at me, and I realized I’d been making a low growling noise.
He didn’t stop staring at me as he said, “No, I’m taken. I already have an alpha.”
Then he took his bags and dragged me by the ponytail out of the store as I glared back at the lady and told her with my narrowed eyes that I would destroy her if she ever came near Xerxes again.
We all piled into the massive glass elevator, and it dropped with a whiz. Our feet lifted off the floor.