Chapter 43

550 24 0
                                    

"Well?" my aunt asked while I tried on a dress that she forced me to try on at a little boutique store she found at the mall. She stood behind me, her eyes gleaming with happiness and accomplishment because I had finally relented and did what I was told to do. "What do you think, Kat?"

I twisted this way and that in the flower dress she had me try on with pursed lips because I had no idea what to think, especially since I was in a dress like this. "I don't know..." I said and twisted the other way to study myself at that angle. "It doesn't look like me."

"Well, of course not, Kat," she said, and I rolled my eyes and scowled, not sure if I liked her being sarcastic with me or not. She squeezed my shoulder and smiled. "It's because you don't wear dresses that often."

I bit back a snort and twisted this way and that while I looked at the dress through the mirror.

The dress was white while the flowers were pink and looked to be like roses. The dress reached my knees and had a flared skirt. It brushed against my legs while I moved, and I had a feeling it would be a good twirling skirt. It was cinched in the middle, making the dress look as if it was two parts put together with sleeves that just covered my shoulders.

"You do have to admit, you do look beautiful in this dress," my aunt said, and I looked at her through the mirror and didn't say a word. She bit back a chuckle while she pulled the bow out of my hair. "You can always have your hair up like this." She twisted my hair into an updo and pressed it against the back of my head. "See?" she asked and pressed her cheek closer to mine. "You look beautiful like that."

I shrugged and didn't say a word. My cheeks grew a bit red, and I looked away from her in the mirror. I wasn't sure how to react, so all I did was look away from her. "Thanks, I guess," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Aunt Arie chuckled and lifted my chin until I was staring at myself through the mirror and her as well. "Don't look down like that, Kat," she said and kept my chin lifted so that I stared at myself and her through the mirror. "You are a queen and are very powerful. You can be modest, but don't look down to anyone."

I bit my lip and nodded, even though I couldn't move my head that much because of her hand. "Ok," I said and cleared my throat before I made a face and wrinkled my nose. "Can I get out of this dress?" I asked. "I'd like to get out of this before we see him."

My aunt chuckled and shook her head, and I pouted. A small spark of mischief filled her eyes, and I held back an eye roll while she let go of my chin. "I think it'd be best if we kept this dress and go find you some shoes to match it. I want you to get it."

I bit back a groan, but I nodded. I had a feeling that she wanted me to get this dress when she first saw it and had me try it on. "Fine," I grumbled, and she smiled triumphantly, happy that I didn't fight her. "What about my clothes, though?" I asked and raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I get out of the dress and take them with me, or else someone could steal them?"

"They'll be fine," my aunt said and brushed off my "worry" because we both knew that no one would use that dressing room. "I already have what you need, anyway." She let go of my hair, letting it tumble to my back, and moved some of it so that it rested in front of my shoulders with the rest behind me. "There," she said and played with it until both sides were even and had the same amount of hair. "Now, let's go get you some shoes."

***

I sat down on one of the little shoe stools and pulled on a pair of white flats. "I think that these shoes will work," I said and stood while my aunt looked at them before she looked at me. I twisted around and looked at them before I looked at her. "What do you think?" I asked and raised an eyebrow.

My aunt cocked her head while she studied me and the shoes before she looked at me again. "Go walk around a bit, Kat, and see how you like them."

I rolled my eyes and scowled but did what I was told to do and started to walk away from her. I walked around the vicinity of the area and then walked past the glass windows at the front of the store before I made my way back to my aunt.

Tigress growled, and the hair on my arms stood up when I felt someone staring at me and had a feeling that it was Cornelius. "He's here," she said, confirming my suspicions. "Keep walking away from him and back towards your aunt."

I rolled my eyes and scowled at my tiger spirit, annoyed. I knew that I had to keep walking away from him because I had to get to my aunt, who had what I needed to give to him. "Gee, thanks, Tigress," I said sarcastically, and she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "I had no idea that I needed to keep walking away from him when I don't even have what I need to give him. My, what could I ever do without you?"

My tiger spirit rolled her eyes and scowled, and I felt smug because I had made her annoyed with me. "There is no need to be sarcastic with me, Kat," she grumbled, and a small smirk appeared on my face.

My smirk deepened while I ducked my head and kept watching where I had to go through my eyelids. "There is always time for sarcasm, Tigress," I said, and she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You just need to get used to it."

"Hmph," Tigress said disapprovingly. She receded to the back of my mind without another word, and I smirked, satisfied about the lack of response.

I took a deep breath and let it out, growing nervous with each passing second that I drew closer and closer to my aunt. I had no idea if what I planned to do would work because I had no idea if he had been followed or not.

Hell, I knew that I was, even though I didn't give any indication that I saw a wolf or two or three from our pack and would probably give an earful to my mate when we got back to the pack about how I knew that I was followed.

But anything could change in an hour or two, and if Dominic got back to his clan and heard that he received a message from me, then I was sure that he would listen to the recording before Cornelius could get away from him.

He would know where I was going and who I was with. If he were smart and thinking clearly, he would know that Cornelius and I were trying to meet and to pull a cover over his eyes.

But that was if he was smart and thinking clearly. For some reason, I doubt that he was thinking clearly and was only thinking about how he wanted to be king after my uncle and I did our thing and beat the shit out of each other.

He wanted to be in control and didn't care about his motive on how to get it, and I was counting on that to throw a curveball at him and make a strike.

My aunt was waiting for me at the shoes with a pair of white heels in her hands, and my heart dropped. A small smirk appeared on her face while she looked at me, and she ignored the male that was following me with only a single glance in his direction.

Her smirk disappeared a small bit before she looked at me, and her smirk appeared. She flicked her eyes a little lower in a small signal to let me know that he was the one that I was waiting for, which I had already gathered, but my attention wasn't on that and what was in her hands.

I paused midstep, my eyes on the heels that she was holding. My heart pounded hard in my chest, and I had no idea if she was thinking of doing what I thought she was doing.

So I looked at her with wide eyes, and her smirk grew longer until it looked like a Chesire smile. "Aunt Arie," I said, not hiding the nervousness in my voice, and that smile grew larger. "What are those?"

The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)Where stories live. Discover now