Once I’d washed and dried and emerged smelling like a meadow, I turned to get dressed. I found a bra and panties in the room’s dresser and they were all in my size.
Did one of the pack members just have a good eye for what fits a girl? Whatever they did, I appreciated the effort. I then turned to the closet, which I threw open wide. He wasn’t lying. He’d filled the closet completely.
Blouses, skirts, dresses for various times of the day, all lined up alongside shorts and pants. Stylish, some of them looking hand sewn, some from the human realm. And in my size.
How?
I kept thumbing through the clothing on the rack. I finally settled on a nice sundress.
It was a cheerful sunny yellow, splattered with embroidered daisies, and it accentuated and flattered my curves and draped comfortably over my broad hips. I picked a pair of straw sandals to go with it.
I left the closet, and the top of another dresser caught my eye. A whole array of perfumes was spread out there. There were bottles shaped like flowers, like bells, like sparkly ornaments. I started pulling the stoppers off and inhaling.
“You ought to go with the lily of the valley,” a feminine voice said from behind me, and I let out a startled squeak.
I spun around. A slender brunette girl was sitting in a nearby armchair, watching me as she rested her head on her hand. She looked to be maybe thirteen or so. I remembered her as one of the crowd from last night.
“Good morning. You scared the pants off me. Where did you come from?”
“The door?”
I glanced back at it, swinging slightly ajar. “I closed it.”
“That’s the thing about doors. They open back up even when you close them.”
She didn’t look like she was a teenager yet, but she definitely already had the mouth of one. “How long have you been in here?”
An eye roll. “I didn’t see you naked if that’s what you mean. I understand humans are weird about that.”
What was weird was people changing into animals, but I didn’t want to be rude. “What brings you in here, by the way?”
“Just wanted to check out my cousin’s mate. I’m Sarah, by the way.” She looked me up and down. “You’ll do. Things will work out for you guys.”
“Well…thank you?” I laughed. I spritzed on some lily of the valley. “Thatisdelightful. Want some?”
“No thanks, it’s Killian’s favorite, which means I hate it. And him.” She pouted.
“Oh dear. What did he do to you?”
Her lower lip stuck out. “Said I couldn’t get married until I was sixteen. Like, eons from now.”
“How old are you?”
“I turn thirteen in three months.”
“Well, sorry, I agree with him. Twelve-year-olds shouldn’t be getting married.”
That earned me another, even more dramatic, eye roll. “Ugh. Adults bite.”
I nodded. “We do, sorry. We are the death of fun.”
“If I have my fated mate and I can’t even get married to him, what’s even the point of it all?” Her scowl deepened.
“You can have a fated mate at twelve?” This whole concept was just getting weirder and weirder.
“Yeah, Paul even feels it. But Uncle Killian says I have to wait until I’m sixteen. At least. And Paul agrees. He says I’m worth waiting for, which is the most romantic thing ever, so why do I always have to have a chaperone when I’m around him?”
Ok, now I was starting to like Killian a little bit. He was sensible, cared about his family, and watched out for their welfare.