16 Meg
Meg
“How am I supposed to breathe in this?” I tried to inhale and then exhale, but I couldn’t fully extend my lungs.
Say the word and I’ll slice us out. My wolf was trying hard not to panic while another layer of white silk was pinned against my waist.
“Hold still.” The dressmaker hissed at me as he stuck in another pin. He’d arrived just after I’d finished a breakfast of yogurt with bits of grains on top like some crunchy sort of garnish, and I’d been put on the makeshift platform in the front sitting room.
It took everything in me not to bare my teeth at the human male.
“You’re not supposed to breathe.” Helen sat perched on the edge of the sofa, moving her fingers over the screen on her lap in a flurry of activity. I didn’t even know why she was here.
As shifters, nudity didn’t bother us as much as it did humans. Mom had said being naked was a major taboo in the city. Even wearing only your undergarments was frowned on. Why they’d put me on display while I was stripped and re-dressed for this wedding was beyond my comprehension.
The sitting room had another fake fireplace. This one was adorned with gilded portraits of old men and women who looked very important as they watched me get prodded and pinned.
“It’s not very practical.” I turned as the dressmaker directed, stealing another glance of the driveway outside the windows. The rain had come back. A cool misting that fogged up the glass. And I hadn’t seen Roman all weekend.
I touched my lips unconsciously. For the past two nights, I’d lain in bed replaying that earth-shattering kiss right before he’d torn the floor out from under me and fled.
Still think we should’ve chased him down, she gruffed.
“I said, hold still.” A needle pierced my side.
I growled.
The man paled.
“Enough of that.” Helen slid the case closed over the screen. “It’s fashion. It’s not supposed to be practical. And he’ll never get a tight enough fit if you don’t stop wiggling.”
I puffed out my chest, hoping beyond all hope that she was right and he wouldn’t be able to make the dress any tighter. If this was fashion, you could count me out.
The dress didn’t even have pockets.
Katrina carried in a tray with a teapot and cups and little brightly colored cookies that had my mouth watering.
If I kept up my diet here, this dress wouldn’t fit in the next two weeks as it fell from what was left of my skin and bones.
“What do you think?” Helen asked Katrina.
She gave a curt nod. “Miss Meg looks beautiful.”
I tried to catch my friend’s eye and give her a smile. The dressmaker and Helen had already said as much, but coming from her, it actually meant something. Katrina was busy, though.
“Here, take a photo.” Helen handed Katrina her phone.
“Miss?” Katrina arched a brow.
“Oh, you know…” Helen waved her hand toward the door. “Get us both in it. Try and make the gown shine in this dreaded darkness. Give me something candid.”
“My gown will shine with or without the sunshine,” the dressmaker hissed under his breath.
“Of course it will, John.” Helen rolled her eyes, still motioning for Katrina to take another step back. “But this is just the sneak peek.”
I frowned as Helen turned toward me, crossing her ankles and resting her hands on her lap. From Katrina’s viewpoint, we looked like a mother and daughter bonding over the new dress I was getting.
Another pang of homesickness churned my stomach, and heat flushed my skin.
This wasn’t right. Not that I cared much about human traditions, but if I was doing this, it should be with my own mom and sisters. Not these strangers.
“Smile, Miss Meg,” Katrina said. It was only her genuine smile directed towards me that caused mine in return. She snapped some photos and gave the phone to Helen.
The councilwoman must’ve found a few that she liked. “There. The press will have these making the rounds tomorrow. You’ll be a headliner, John.”
The dressmaker beamed with pride, but I frowned again.
“Why do you keep staging all these photos?” I asked Helen.
She looked at me like I was stupid. “I guess you wouldn’t know about swaying public opinion, but I’m sure it’s similar to the way your aunt leads a pack.
There’s a certain image we want to portray to keep the people calm and entertained so that we can continue to lead them in the way they need to be led. ”
My frown deepened. Helen didn’t know me, so she didn’t know I was being groomed to take over the pack myself one day. And nowhere in any of my training did I learn that lying to the pack made for a good leader.
“You’re intentionally misleading them,” I pointed out. “Why not tell the truth?”
“Tell them what?” Helen laughed. “That the gods are coming back? That this arranged marriage is for their own good as we work to amp up our relationship with the mutants? What part of that do you think would not cause mass panic? No, dear. I’m sorry.
We’ll dole this marriage out in palatable batches to the public, while working within the parameters we were given to appease these gods. ”
Why does she sound like a villain?
Helen sipped her cup of tea.
My gaze went to Katrina, wondering if she was hearing the same thing I was hearing.
“Don’t worry about her.” Helen sighed. “My staff is loyal. They won’t betray my house.”
That wasn’t why I was looking at her, but Katrina nodded and curtsied before leaving the room. John poked me with another pin.
“Now….” Helen picked up her phone again. “Let’s see if we can find my wayward son.”
John had just about finished the dress when the front door opened. The tug in my chest drew my attention to the hall outside the sitting room, and I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw Roman.
Finally. For the first time in days, my wolf relaxed.
Remember what he said, I told her.
Still, I couldn’t help but look at his lips and recall the way they tasted. Or how his hands felt when they held me, like he’d never held onto someone so intensely before.
I really needed to stop reading romance books. I was turning into a cliché.
Roman’s throat worked as he stared at the dress and I could see the torment in his walled-off face, but it was Justus who whistled.
“Damn, mutant. You’re going to be the talk of the city.” Justus strolled into the room like he owned the place. Which, I guess he did.
“It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.” John scolded as he packed up his sewing supplies.
Justus waved him off. “This isn’t a traditional wedding. Isn’t that right, Mother?”
“Behave.” Helen sighed as Justus sank onto the settee beside her.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” He crossed his ankle over his knee and waved his finger in the air. “Well go on, mutant. Turn around. Give us a little show.”
The growl that tore from my chest surprised even me. “I’m not your puppet.”
“No?” Justus grinned. “I thought we all were puppets for these gods of yours, apparently.”
I wanted to argue that they weren’t my gods, but I didn’t even care about this conversation. Not when Roman stepped back like he did, taking my heart with him.
“If there’s nothing else…” He spoke softly, not a hint of the pain I felt burning through my body in his tone.
“You’re dismissed.” Helen shooed him like he was nothing more than a dog.
Justus laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want to stick around to see if she’ll wolf out in the dress?”
Roman took one last look at me before he turned and marched out the door.
My cheeks were burning as I gathered up the fabric near my feet. “I’m done here.”
“Come on,” Justus called after me. “I was only teasing. Learn to take a joke.”
Helen muttered something to her son, but I didn’t stick around to find out what.
Despite my wolf howling for me to chase down Roman, I fled up the stairs to my room. Every inch of my skin was on fire and my thoughts raced a mile a minute.
I wanted to go home. Back to my pack where I was needed. To my family who wanted me.
Curse the gods! I screamed internally, throwing open the bedroom door. This is their mess. Not mine. I don’t owe anyone anything.
I told you we shouldn’t have listened to that goddess. She’s the one who…
“You called?”
I cried out, then clapped my hand over my mouth, seeing Morrigan lying on my bed. The goddess was in her leather pants and matching corset again, lounging like I’d woken her from a nap.
“What are you doing here?” My stomach dropped. “Is it my family? Are they okay?”
“What am I? Their keeper? Don’t they have an Alpha for that?” Morrigan sighed at the look on my face. “They’re fine.”
“If you weren’t with them, where have you been?” I asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, wolf, but since you asked so nicely. I’ve been visiting Olympus, Asgard, Heaven, Xibalba, Takamagahara, Mount Meru, Hawaiki, temples throughout Egypt—and many other temples throughout the world—and I’m exhausted.”
My eyes widened with each place she mentioned. Hearing it all laid out like this made it feel more real. “I still don’t understand how all these gods can coexist.”
“They can’t.” Morrigan deadpanned. “That’s why it’s imperative that they all stay in their respective places, asleep.”
“And are they still asleep?” I wondered aloud.
“Of course they are.” Morrigan brushed off the question as she sat up suddenly, changing the subject so fast I almost got whiplash. “What in goddess’s name are you wearing?”
“It’s a wedding dress,” I mumbled, trying and failing to reach the zipper on the back myself.
Great. I was going to be stuck in this thing all night or risk going back downstairs to ask for help.
I do have claws, my beast offered.
“Here.” Morrigan snapped her fingers. A rush of wind, and I was back in my normal clothes while the dress hung from a hanger in the middle of the walk-in closet.
“Thank you.” I took a full breath, still warm, but able to cool off a bit.
“Don’t say I never did anything to help.” Morrigan watched me move about the room. “I’m assuming the wedding planning is coming along well.”
“It’s still set for the full moon like you commanded.” I perched next to her on the edge of the bed, trying to think of the best way to approach this. “About that… Is there any other way to appease the gods? I was thinking—”
“There’s your problem,” Morrigan said. “You think too much. Just do what you’re told, and we’ll get through this.”
I studied her from the corner of my eye, knowing the answer anyway, but needing to hear it from her mouth. “You knew about Roman.”
“Roman is none of your concern.” Morrigan’s eyes flashed white while her voice took on that haunting trance-like sound.
My wolf growled as I stared down the goddess. “He’s my mate.”
Morrigan blinked. “And you’ll stay away from him like a good wolf, at least until well after the wedding and we make sure the gods are happy with our sacrifice.”
Why does she not sound sure?
A breeze picked up and rain beat harder against the glass, drawing my gaze to the window.
Morrigan leaned closer to my ear. “You may think the weather is bad here, but out there, your family doesn’t have the protection of the walls. You’d do best to remember that, and remember our ultimate goal.”
An alpha’s knowing washed over me, causing a numb sense of acceptance, even as my insides burned with rage, and I nodded. It was my duty to protect the pack. “I understand.”
“Good girl.” She patted my leg. “Now I need to get going. Was there anything else you wanted of me?”
I shook my head.
Morrigan smiled. “Next time, you don’t have to curse the gods. Just pray.”
She was gone so fast I could’ve imagined her visit if not for the cold rush of truth in her wake.
The goddess had lied to me.
Many times.
What else is she lying about?