Love conquers all

When we arrived at the boutique, the saleswoman greeted us kindly.

“Good morning, girls! How can I help you?”

“Tomorrow is her 18th birthday and we would like some dresses for the party.” Abby replied, touching a beautiful yellow taffeta dress.

“That’s a dress that is in the plus size zone, come this way. I’ll show you some items that have just arrived. They are unique and I think you will love them.” She said proud and sure of what she was proposing.

She disappeared behind a door to re-emerge in with colorful dresses. They were real works of art, each of us chose hers and we went to the dressing room to wear it.

Once I wore it, I left the dressing room and went to the mirror. He was truly unique, it hugged my confident body without marking the shapes, on the contrary, he made them evident but in a sexy way. Felt beautiful! He was crimson red, fitted, V-neckline in front and straps behind, stopped a few centimeters on the knee, and was embellished with small swarovski. In the reflection of the mirror I thought I saw Nathan with an admiration grin. I turned towards the direction where I had seen him, but there was none. The girls were gorgeous. Andrea wore a beige chiffon dress up to the feet; Abby instead a long fuchsia, with a mind-boggling slit and Aurora an emerald green longuette dress. The saleswoman had perfectly combined our bodies with the dresses. We left the shop victorious, but before returning we had to go to the last shop: a lingerie shop.

As usual, one of the shop assistants approached us and offered her help.

I was looking for something elegant and sexy, not because anyone would see it, I had never had a boyfriend and I would not even have found my Mate, but it is said that if you feel sexy and beautiful people will see you as you do. Also because I knew that Nathan was out there and would see me. I wanted to have fun and drive him a little bit crazy! My dress was with thin straps so I needed lingerie with transparent straps or without. The saleswoman recommended a tight black lace corset with a matching thong.

“Do you want to try it?” She asked me and I was hoping so.

“If it can be done, yes!”

“Come on, I’ll help you with the corset!”

“Thank you;” I went into the dressing room by myself and when I had put on the lingerie I called the saleswoman to fasten the corset from behind.

“Perfect! Come and enjoy yourself in the mirror, you’re gorgeous”; she said to me with a smile.

When I left the dressing room, as I was walking to go to the mirror, I heard someone whistle in appreciation, I turned around and it was Andrea.

“You are a sexy thing, baby!”

“Thanks, I feel sexy!”

“You should get it.”

I looked in the mirror “not bad really”, I thought to myself. I looked up on my right shoulder, saw a man looking at me and a shiver of disgust passed me, his gaze was as if he were violating my privacy. I heard a menacing growl and looked over my left shoulder, there was Nathan getting ready to throw himself at the man.

“Andrea warns Val, he has to restrain Nathan.” In the meantime, I quickly went into the dressing room to change clothes. While I was at the cashier I looked out, nobody was there, there was only Niko. But I saw Andrea come back: “Is everything all right, don’t worry!” She reassured me by hugging me from the side.

At the parking lot Val asked: “Andrea, would you like to sit in the front with me?”

“I’d love that!” Her smile was one that hid something. When I got into the car I understood, Nathan was already sitting in the middle with a serious expression that you didn’t understand what he was thinking or feeling at that moment. What was I to say, what to do, I didn’t know what exactly had happened, so I sat in my seat in silence. As Val drove to the pack house and I looked out the window, Nathan took my hand. I looked into his eyes for a moment and smiled at him, he smiled back at me. It was strange but it seemed to me that I had forgotten everything that had happened. Feeling his warm hand made me feel safe and calm. We were nothing but friends, yet that gesture made me feel at home. I went back to look out at the landscape rushing out the window.

As soon as we arrived at the castle, Val greeted and thanked the warriors and Nathan, entering the house. I said goodbye to the girls and was left alone with Nathan.

“What happened?” I asked with a little fear of the answer.

“What happened where?” He said nonchalantly.

“You know where!”

“When?”

“Do you really want to play this game?! Good! In the shop when I was wearing my underwear! Do you remember that?” As I spoke Nathan growled hissing through gritted teeth. He remembered that moment perfectly, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

“That man was looking at you too much, he was looking at someone who wasn’t his!”

“I didn’t like how he looked at me, but it wasn’t your problem.”

“It was my problem...”

“What happened to that man?”

“He went away with his tail between his legs, Val threatened to report him for looking at his underage sister. I would have ...”

“Do not continue. I still do not understand what...” Nathan approached me in a moment, took my face in his hands and captured my lips in a kiss. My first kiss! I had fantasized so many times about my first kiss. I wish it had happened differently, at a different time, on a different occasion. I had no reservations about who, because I had some feelings for Nathan, so I would have kissed him eventually. In spite of everything I was thinking that was an amazing kiss. I couldn’t imagine my first kiss better than this! He pulled away and looked me straight in the eye, still holding my face in his hands.

“Myra, I want you to be mine. I know we’ve only known each other for a very short time, but I feel I can only live near you!” I was shocked by that statement, how long had we met, one week? But the problems were different.

“Nathan I ... you will have a Mate somewhere and I ...” I will be dead in no time, I said the last part in my mind, I was not ready to talk about my state of health, not now that I had not yet decided what to do.

“I believe you are my Mate.” He said with a sad smile, because he thought I would refuse it.

“You can’t be sure until you’re eighteen.”

“My birthday is in a month.”

“Mine is tomorrow, but I’m human so I’ll never know my Mate.”

“I’m your mate.”

“I wish I could be as sure as you are about this.”

“Stay with me, from now until my birthday, where we will discover that you are my Mate.”

“You look really convinced, eh!”

“I know what I want!”

“Ah yes, what is it that you want?” He came up to a few inches from my ear to whisper: “I want to love my little bird!”

I had never blushed in my life and yet, at that moment, it had happened.

“Can I think about it until tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is fine!” He kissed me on the cheek and walked away.

Lying on my bed, I thought and thought. There were many considerations to keep in mind, starting with the fact that I would soon be leaving this world. Could I fall in love and feel the weight of the pain of leaving everything when I have to go away? Could I make Nathan grieve for my loss? Could I let Nathan go if we found out in a month that he wasn’t my Mate? Among the “could” that my mind was wondering I fell asleep. The answers would eventually come, but not at that moment.

The next morning I woke up with a terrible headache and sneaked to the medicine cabinet. I thought I was alone but I heard someone behind me. I turned to see who it was, holding the pill in my hand, which I hid behind my back.

“Val, good morning!” I greeted him with a guilty smile.

“Good morning, little bird!” He said with a frown, he knew me too well not to have noticed that I was hiding something behind me, plus my stupid beating heart, spoke loud and clear of my guilt.

“What are you hiding back there?”

“Don’t tell mom anything!” I said almost mimicking the phrase with my lips to avoid being heard. I showed the pill and pointed to my head. A grimace of pain appeared on his face and he squeezed me tightly in his arms. My brother was the most infuriated, the most ruthless person in this world, but he was my brother and feeling his love for me was reassuring. I hadn’t talked about my illness with him either, but my parents certainly did.

“Happy Birthday darling!” My mother said as she entered the kitchen beaming.

“Thanks Mom!” She hugged me and I had tears wanting to come out, but if I had allowed it at that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to shake my mother off, so I tried to find the strength and say, “I’m going to get ready for school.”

As soon as I arrived in my room I went to the shower and under the jet of hot water I released the tension, crying myself out.

As I was leaving for school, my mother called me: “Myra, you may as well not go to school today.”

“I have to go, we have the math test today.”

“Okay, good luck then, and have a good day, honey!”

“Thanks mom, have a nice day you too!” The math test was an excuse, but I had to go because I would be busy at school, at home I would do nothing but think about the next day. None of the options I had would save my life, I just had to decide when and how to die.