The Alpha's Broken Mate

Chapter 9

*Marissa*

    As we drove into town, I stared out the window of the back seat and tried to make as little conversations as I could. There was a few sentences or statements that were thrown my way which I easily dodged with a yes or no. My mom was content as she mostly engaged in conversations with my step-father talking about work and how she had a hard day. My step-father listened in as she talked and gave her a few noises or words to make it look like he was paying attention. I could see through his lies. He could not care less on what was happening at her job. He kept throwing side glances at me and interrupting my mother by asking me something about school or my studies.

    As we got closer to the mall, I could see a few of my classmates wandering around. They were laughing and having a great time. I could see the smiles on their faces and the joy in their eyes. I wondered what that must of felt like. How life would be if I was foot loose and fancy free; however, I knew that it was never a possibility for me. My step-father would never allow me to hang out with friends because he feared that I may be lead to my mate.

    Even though I would need to wait until I was 18 to be with my mate, a lot of wolves are drawn to theirs a few years earlier. They can easily become best friends, but will not know they are mates until one of them turns of age. I have never had a friend of the opposite s*x because of this. I was too weird anyways. I did not want a mate either. My mate would most likely treat me as my step-father treated me. Making me feel worthless or taking advantage of me because he could. 

    My mom pulled into an empty parking space and we all got out of the car. I pulled my hood up even more and put my AirPods away. My mom grabbed my hand and together we walked arm and arm into the mall. She smiled down at me and gave my arm a tight squeeze.

    "Here we are, sweet pea." my mom stated. "Where do you want to begin?"

    "I don't know, mom. I have never been to this mall and I do not know where any of the stores are that would have dresses."

    "Well whatever store you ladies pick, I will be paying." my step-father stated.

    "Since you don't know any stores here, I know a few that will have some dresses." my mother stated as she started leading the way to one.

    As soon as we walked into the store she picked, I was overwhelmed with dresses. There were dresses of all different shapes, color, styles, and sizes. I could not believe that the world would have room for any of this.

    "Do you know what kind of style you would like, sweet pea?"

    "What do you mean style?" I asked.

    "Well there are ball gowns that make you look like a princess, there are mermaid gowns that are very fit to your body, and there are mermaid ball gowns. Those are fit to your body but flare out at the end. There are also more styles but those are the three I know." my mom said.

    As she was explaining to me the different types of styles, I watched a guy start walking up to us dressed in a suit. He was tall and slim. He's suit looked more like a wedding suit and he looked like he meant business. His hair was jet black and slicked back as more of today's hairstyles.

    "Good evening ladies. My name is Josh and I am the store manager. You must be Cassandra, the Alpha's beta." he exclaimed reaching out to shake her hand. 

    "Please call me Cass." my mom replied. "This is my husband, Larry."

    "Hello, Josh." my step-father replied, shaking his hand as well.

    "And this is my daughter..." my mom started.

    "Marissa." Josh finished before he grabbed my hand and placed a kiss at the top. "The Alpha told me that you would be stopping by. I am a little surprised that you stopped by this late considering the party is tomorrow."

    "Yes I know. With Marissa in school, and us working, it is hard to find down time to come." my mother explained to him.

    "That is alright. I completely understand. Now what are we looking for today ladies? Are we going slim and sexy or beautiful princess?"

    "My daughter does not dress in dresses as you can see. She prefers sweats and sweaters. I'm not sure what color would look best on her or what dress is more her."

    "I like the colors red, black, purple, and blue. I'm not a huge fan of green or pink but I think I can make it work. I also do not like the colors yellow or orange." I added.

    "Alright perfect. What I purpose then, is taking you into the fitting room and having you change into something more fit like tights and a tight shirt that way I can see the way your body curves if that is alright." Josh told me.

    "That's fine." I replied.

    "Perfect. If you could follow me ladies."

    Josh lead us passed so many dresses to the back of the store where they had rows of doors. He lead all of us into the middle door and inside was two more doors. The middle of the room had a long hardwood walkway with a mirror at the end and a dew couches and arm chairs at the front.

    "Please Mr. Larry, have a seat while I have these two ladies go into their dressing rooms. There are already a pair of clothes in each room that I would like you ladies to put on. After that please come out and stand on the walk way so my attendants and I can begin our work." said Josh.

    I walked over to one of the rooms before stepping inside. Inside was an armchair with neat folded clothes along with mirrors all along the wall. The room was pretty big. I quickly looked away from my reflection, turning to the clothes on the arm chair. I quickly got out of my clothes and into theirs before walking out of the room not bothering to look in the mirror. As I walked out, I saw my mom up on the walkway. Ladies with measuring tapes were taking all kinds of measurements as Josh stood there saying numbers and colors. Another lady stood behind him writing things down in a notebook. As he finished, my mom stepped down and the ladies rushed out following the dark brunette with the notebook. I carefully walked over, keeping my head down and made my way to the walk way.

    "Wow Marissa." Josh exclaimed. "Your body is definitely not what I expected."

    I kept my eyes down making sure not to look at my step-father.

    "Please look up." Josh asked.

    I slowly looked up and saw my mom smiling at me which I returned with one of my own.

    "Just wait one minute, sweetheart as Christina went out to get some of your mom's dresses." Josh told him.

    I stood there awkwardly in front of everyone. I started to become a little paranoid, but as soon as the feeling came, I felt a sense of peace. I could once again, feel that presence of something else calming my nerves down and I was grateful for the relief. Not long after, Christina and her ladies came back carrying all kinds of dresses for my mother. They quickly placed her dresses in her room and rushed over to me with their tape measures. I stood perfectly still as they began their work.

    "So Marissa looks like a size 6 or 8 in women's. It's hard to tell because her chest and butt might be a little problem. She may need it to be costumed to her body. She doesn't have a big butt but she doesn't have a small one either. The same can be said with her chest. Her tan skin would look lovely in blue, red, purple, pink and maybe a semi light green. Her blue eyes would be perfect with blue though. Can I have one of you ladies take down her ponytail so I can see her hair?" stated Josh.

    One of the ladies was quick to get up and start working on the hair tie in my hair. Not long after was she able to get it out and my naturally curl hair fell down my back. I heard a few of the ladies gasp around me and looked at Josh for confirmation. He was also staring at me with astonishment.

    "She has very beautiful jet black hair. He natural curls would look beautiful with a little more touch ups and the length is astounding. Hair does not need to be cut and will do for any types of styles." Josh stated.

    He started calling out numbers and I stood there dumbfounded as I recalled everything he said. He didn't call me pretty or cute, but what stood out to me was that he called my hair beautiful. Since my father passed, I made sure not to cut my hair because I wanted to keep it long. He always said that I would look beautiful with long hair. It also was something that I kept healthy because my mother also had long hair. Her hair was not as curly as mine but was more wavy. I smiled at the thought of having both of them within my features.

    Not long after, Josh and half of his attendants rushed out to gather my clothes and the other half rushed my mom into the room. I quickly walked into my dressing room and sat down on the armchair. Soon there was a knock at the door and the attendants came in with so many different kinds of dresses.

    "Put her in that red ball gown first. Her parents are already waiting." Josh commanded.

    The ladies quickly got me out of my clothes and into the red dress he pointed at. It was very beautiful with glitter all around the skirt along with small diamonds. The dress had no sleeves, but it had diamonds to make it look like an off the shoulder dress. The dress reminded me a lot like Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast. I giggled a little which caused the ladies to smile before they rushed me out on the walkway.

    I slowly walked down towards my audience and could see the tears well up in my mothers eyes. 

    "You look beautiful sweet pea." my mother exclaimed.

    "Yes yes. She does look very beautiful; however, I am not looking for beautiful. I need her to look stunning and gorgeous. The dress flows off you rather well, but I think I need to see something more slim." Josh said. "Could you please tell the ladies to put the black one on next."

    I nodded before walking back to the dressing room. I told the ladies what Josh wanted and they quickly had me out of the red dress and into the only black dress in the room. The back was very low as it came just above my butt. I definitely was not allowed to wear a bra with this one. I was a little worried at first, but as the ladies started working their way up, I could see that the dress gave me enough support. The dress was very tight around my body and definitely showed off my curves. It had a slit along the slide that stopped midway into my thigh. The ladies soon ushered me out and I once again began my walk down towards Josh. 

    "You look sexy." my step-father blurted out.

    "Very sexy." my mother agreed.

    "She looks sexy if she was going to a funeral." stated Josh. "The dress looks beautiful as it shows off your natural curves. I do not like the color. It blends in too much with your beautiful hair. The slit is a little high for a young lady and we do not want those boys to try and take advantage of you before your mate finds you."

    "We are actually hoping she finds her mate. She turned 18 today." my mother stated.

    "Happy birthday sweetheart!" yelled Josh. "Now we more certainly can not have you wear that. We can not have your mate thinking you are a slut. We need a dress that shows off enough curves but also keeps things hidden. You might find your mate at this party. Tell the ladies to put you in that blue dress. I think that would be the one."

    I blushed and nodded before rushing back to the dressing room. The ladies quickly had me out of the black dress and started slipping the blue one on. One of the ladies decided to blind fold me as they began their work. Once completely on, one of the ladies guided me out onto the walkway.

    "YES! ABSOLUTELY YES! This dress shoes off your upper curves but also flairs out near the bottom to give you that elegant princess look. The diamonds go beautifully and the color looks amazing against your skin. Your hair will look beautiful with a little more curls and down with a little crown pinned to the top. Please turn her around so she can look at the mirror and see her reflection." Josh stated.

    The ladies turned me around and removed the blindfold. I blinked a few times to get accustomed to the light before looking into the mirror. I starred at my reflection with wide eyes. I could not even recognize the girl in the mirror. My mother walked up behind me with a tiara in her hand before placing it on my head.

    "You look stunning, sweet pea." my mother said.

    "Thank you mom." I slowly turned, giving her a quick hug before walking back into the dressing room and removing the dress. The ladies quickly had it wrapped in a box and lead my mother and me to the front. My step-father didn't say a word as he paid for the dresses and walked the bags back to the car. My mom and I walked to Olive Garden and waited for him to come back. As soon as he sat down, we ordered and waited for our food.

    "Before taking the bags to the car, I had your father pick up some heels for you and a few pieces of jewelry to match with you dress." my mom told me.

    "You didn't have to mom."

    "We wanted to." said my step-father.

    I nodded before the waitress walked out with our food. I ate in silence as my mom and step-father again made small talk. When we were done, we walked to the car and headed home. As my mom pulled into the driveway, I gathered my bags and walked them into my room. I put them in the closet before heading down to the kitchen. My mom stood with a cake in her hands and a smile on her face.

    "Happy Birthday, sweet pea."

    "Thanks mom."

    "Blow out your candles and make a wish."

    I blew out my candles while my mom went to grab a small box.

    "Your father and I bought you this for your 18th birthday years ago." she said with a sad smile.

    I quickly grabbed the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful jewelry set. It had earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace. I smiled before hugging my mom.

    "Thank you." I told her.

    "Look at the heart on the necklace." she replied.

    I grabbed the box and looked very closely at the center. With my sharp eye-sight I saw an engraving. To our little girl on her 18th birthday. You are strong and kind. We love you always. Love Mom and Dad XXX . Tears welled up in my eyes as I read the engraving. I looked at my mom and saw tears in her eyes too. We sat there crying for hours before we went to my room where we laid in my bed remembering different stories about dad. I slowly drifted off into a deep sleep with my mom next to me, smiling to myself. This was an amazing birthday.