The Wolves of Ossory

6. C U Next Tuesday

Alma

This week has killed me, and it's only Wednesday. I swear Artemis is about two pin pricks away from taking control and rampaging out of this shop, never to be seen again.

You got that right. I need to run! And all this tension is driving us both insane! She scolds me. I pretend to not know what

she's talking about as Fable moves around Maeve and I, pinning and clipping our gowns so she can make the adjustments. We haven't seen each other much since that night under the stairs. After I devoured that delicious-

AHEM! Get your mind out of the gutter. This is not the time and we have been over this. I cannot continue to be a therapist

to an insane human. Artemis growls at me, getting me out of my thoughts.

I know she's right. She helped me get over this heart break. Though I blamed her for not recognizing Fable as our mate, I knew. Deep down I knew she would never be ours. When Maeve and I went to university, I thought I had gotten over it, but

any time we had a break, it felt like we broke up all over again. Fable knew the moment we finished, well, you know...

Flash Back

"We aren't mates, huh," she had told me, she looked so d*** beautiful with her

pouty lips. It made me want to lie. But she knew, I knew, Artemis knew.

"No. My wolf came to me. She doesn't recognize you as ours," I had responded, tears in my eyes.

"I choose you, Alma. I want to be with you. Can't you just choose me, too?" she was getting choked up at this point.

"You know it's harder than that. I have my kingdom to think of as well. I love my people, Fable, and I could never turn my back on them for love. I don't get the right to choose anymore. I have to provide an heir. I have my own duties. I want this, I do, but this is bigger than you and me," At this point I had reached for her hand, but she had moved away as if my touch burned her. That was probably the worst part honestly. I couldn't touch her in public; what would my parents think? What if they took the crown from me, for not being able to give them an heir with a man?

I tried to date. Hell, I fooled around plenty with a few handsome fellas from other packs and even other species. It was nice, I guess? But it wasn't right. It didn't feel right, didn't feel genuine. It felt like I was hiding myself in this bubble of perfection for the world to see, while I just wanted to scream inside. The fact that she withdrew from my touch in private, the only time I could be myself, stung.

"I'm a witch! We could find a way to get an heir. There are ways, I just do not understand why you are making excuses! I would wait for you, Alma,"

I knew she was right. And over the years, following this encounter, I had debated with

Artemis over this and she had always assured me that we had something big for us and to wait it out. I couldn't tell Fable that though. She would take that rejection as her not being good enough for me. Which, by the way, is not true! But that is how it would sound. Maybe it would've gone better if I had said that instead of what I had said though...

"I don't want you to wait for me. I don't want you to wait for me because I don't know if I'll ever be ready to date you in public. I would be scrutinized by the masses. I know it isn't unheard of and it's accepted in our country, but it's different for me! I'm not like you, Fable! I can't do what I want or be who I want, let alone be WITH who I want and be accepted. So don't you dare try to

understand what it's like for me, because you are not royal and would never understand the pressure!" Yep, I said that. Artemis chewed my ass out for that one. I know I was in the wrong. So, when she slapped me, I didn't do

anything but take it.

"You, Alma, are a f*****g c**t, and a f*****g coward. Respectfully, your highness,

I'll be heading out. Happy Wolf Day you b***h," She conjured up a robe for

me and left, and even though it was inappropriate timing, her words turned me on.

Back to Present

Anyways, that was the last time I saw her for about a year. We are cordial now. Sometimes we catch up. But I know I hurt her deeply and I wish I could make it up to her, even though she is married now to another witch woman and has a little boy of her own. Maeve and she are still good friends, though not as close as before due to, well, the obvious. Maeve never knew about us either.

"Ow! Fable? That's skin?" Maeve whimpered, earning a chuckle from myself. Maeve scoffed at me and put her arms down, seeing as Fable had finished. She wandered over to me with the measuring tape and did a quick run through of all the pins she placed.

"I think you're both done. Now, what colors are we thinking for these gowns? I can whip up a real gallant gold, or maybe a cream white with pearl embellishments?" Fable asked, writing down some ideas in her designer notepad. Our dresses were currently just white gowns as Fable would use her witchery to morph this base into different textures and colors. She was very gifted in fashion, an eye for perfect designs and a never-ending creativity. This is what made her such a popular and sought-after designer for our kingdom.

"Our mantles are the royal family's colors. Maybe white would be better suited. Also, no pearls! The queen will have our heads if she sees any pearls in the vicinity of the palace!" Maeve replied, flailing her hands to emphasize how important it was that there be no pearls incorporated.

Fable chuckled at that, erasing whatever she had drawn and scribbling something new. Our colors for the Beaulieu royal family were gold, white and a deep teal. Our mantles were teal with very small, white embroidered maple leaves running along the back and out to the end seams. You have to be very close to fully recognize the intricate design. The piece that adorned our shoulders and neck was white faux fur with black diamonds strewn about. The mantles were quite beautiful, and quite heavy.

I moved to stand next to Fable to see what she was drawing. The closeness felt awkward for us both and she cleared her throat, edging away just slightly and handing the sketchbook to me to look over. I felt a little part of me ache at

this gesture but quickly wiped any emotion off my face, studying her work. I

was very impressed, to say the least!

"Maeve! Come look at this!" I urged my sister to come over and look. She must've pricked herself on another pin because I heard her let out a grunt followed by a few curse words.

"This is incredible! Oh, I love this idea! And the lace would be gold?" Maeve exclaimed excitedly.

Fable snatched her drawing back and hovered her hand over it, her fingers making what seemed to be a rolling motion with her thumb starting at her pinky, brushing her other fingers, then curling them into a fist. The lead from her artwork floated like particles through the air until it seemed like it was all within her grasp. She closed her hand, bringing it to her lips and blowing the pencil

particles out. A great white cloud flew from her closed hand and when the fog cleared, a faint visual of her drawing shimmered in the air before us.

I'll give it to her. She was always good

with her hands. Artemis snorted in my head. I shh-ed her mentally and admired the magical illusion. It was a bit hard to see all the details, but the gist of it was brilliant!

"So, my vision for this dress is a simple, yet elegant off-white. I think silk for fabric, reasonably so, seeing as your mantles are very heavy. A fitted strapless bodice top with a very tasteful V-cut between the cleavage. A bit of flare right at the hips to give that modest look while also defining your curves. For this lace, I was thinking about instead of actual lace, making the

appearance of it. It will support the girls, but also seem magical and mysterious with a 'is it really there?' effect. Of course, paired with none other than gold heels!" As Fable described the dress, her words changed the illusion to match what she was saying. Magic always seemed incredible to me; this only confirmed it further.

"Fable," I gawked at her, "This is absolutely stunning! You are the most talented person I know! I love it! Thank you so much!"

"I love it too! It's the perfect coronation dress! Oh, I cannot wait to wear it!" Maeve ran over and gave her a huge hug, giddily jumping just a bit. Fable looked at me from over her shoulder, a sad smile pulling at her lips. I nodded at her and returned the smile.

Fable managed to shush Maeve enough to shoo her away, saying if there was any way for her to get these two dresses finished on time, we needed to let her work.

We watched as she turned to leave the back room, we were in to give us privacy to change back into our clothes, and with a snap of her fingers, the dress illusion flew through the door after her and both our dress's zippers dropped, allowing us to step out of the now floating gowns. As soon as we were out of them, they too fled after her.

"She is far too talented for this place. How lucky are we that she's here?" Maeve mused, still stunned by all the events.

"She sure is, Maeve. We are very lucky indeed. Benson should be here any moment to escort us back to the palace. We should one hundred percent convince him to let us go to the jeweler, and then to get an iced coffee," I schemed, pulling my jeans up and doing that little wiggle to get them over my a**.

"Oh, absolutely! Not even a question, Alma. Goddess, sometimes I feel like we're twins or something with the way you read my mind," Maeve smirked at me, tossing my shirt in my face as she finished getting dressed.

I laughed at her. "Impossible since you were adopted. Who even are you?" I joked, getting dressed and heading out to wait for Benson, giggling like we were kids again.

He strolled in quickly after, giving us a quizzical look. "Ladies," He discreetly bowed, holding the door open for us as we walked out to the SUV on the street. "Hope you found everything alright and didn't give Fable to much trouble," he glanced at us in the review mirror, raising one eyebrow.

"Us? Trouble? Benson we are the epitome of elegance and poise!" Maeve acted fake offended, adding a huff for extra drama. Benson only rolled his eyes and sighed, turning the car on and beginning the drive back.

"Ummm, actually Benson, can we ask a favor?" I asked, smiling my most pleasant

smile.

Without another word, he turned towards our favorite coffee hut, knowing us all too well. Maeve and I looked at each other, large smiles plastered on our face. A small pang of nostalgia passed through me, knowing these moments were going to

become rare. When Sunday rolls around, we will be saying goodbye to our fun, free selves. We will be watched more carefully, more security following us. Our free time eaten up by the duties of our kingdom. Everything will fall on our shoulders, and boy, was that a heavy load.

I pushed the dwelling feeling aside, reaching for my sister’s hand instead and giving it a squeeze, embracing every second of this for as long as I could.