Kattlyn

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alan asked as he brought me a glass of water.

I didn’t know what to tell him, what to say. I felt violated, stupid even for letting Jussin get so close. And then I ran away. And where was Alan that morning?

I took a sip, buying time before answering his question. He sat down on the couch next to me. When I finally looked at him, I decided I had to know.

“Where were you yesterday morning?”

He sighed loudly and dropped his head. It made me even more suspicious. What was he hiding? When he looked up, my gut clenched when I saw his sad smile. He reached over and grabbed my hand.

“This is not the way I envisioned it.”

“Envisioned what?” What was he talking about?

He took the glass from my hand and set it on the table. When he stood, he tugged me to my feet. We were mere inches apart as he held both my hands in his.

“Kattlyn,” he started and my heart fluttered. I didn’t know what was happening, but the way he looked at me . . . “After almost losing you, I realized how much I love you. I don’t want to be without you. Ever.”

I started to say something, but he laid his finger across my lips.

“Shh . . . just listen.” I nodded and said nothing. “I know you’ve been worried about this mating thing, but I’m not. I don’t know if we can ever have children, but I don’t care. I love you and I never want to be without you.”

He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Dropping to one knee, he opened the box and showed me what was inside. “Will you marry me?”

I didn’t know what he was talking about but this moment, with him down on his knee, it felt important. The box had a shiny crystal on some sort of round silver metal. I’d never seen anything like it before.

Alan waited but I didn’t know what to say. Finally, I asked, “What does that mean?”

“Will you mate me the human way?”

It felt like my eyes grew as wide as saucers. My heart filled with happiness and I wanted to squeal like Sydney. And I never squeal.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!”

He plucked the gem from the box, and holding my hand, he slid it on my finger. “I can’t believe it fits,” he said softly.

When he released my hand, he climbed to his feet. I held my hand up in front of my face, inspecting this odd adornment. It sparkled like a thousand slivers of glass when the light hit it just right. If you looked deeply into the clear crystal, there was a rainbow of colors inside.

It was the most precious thing I’d ever seen. Alan looked pleased as he watched me inspect the . . . “What do you call this?”

“It’s an engagement ring.”

“It’s beautiful.” I couldn’t look away from the sparkles. “Does this mean we’re mated?”

He chuckled. “Not yet.”

“What else do we do?” He pulled me close, kissing my forehead. “You’ll see.”

There was a knock on the door. “Come on in,” Alan called.

Sydney stuck her head in. “Well?”

“She said yes.” He was beaming.

Sydney came rushing inside. “Ooh, let me see.” She grabbed my hand and inspected the engagement ring. “It’s so beautiful, Kattlyn.”

“Thank you.”

“Come on. Krista and Chloe are waiting. We don’t have much time.”

“Time for what?” I asked as she pulled me out of the room.

“Your wedding, of course.”

I caught a peep of Alan’s face just before the door shut. He looked so happy.

“Where are we going?”

“My room. I have several dresses ready. I hope you like at least one of them. If not, I might be able to whip up something else. But a wedding dress takes a lot of time.”

I didn’t understand what Sydney was talking about, but she made me curious about a wedding dress. How different could it be from what I wore now?

Inside Sydney’s rooms, she had a special dressing room where she created her designs. I slowly looked through the gleaming white dresses. They were all so different, yet beautiful.

“You are so lucky, Kattlyn. None of us got to have our own wedding.” Krista sounded a little envious.

“Pick one,” Sydney said with a smile on her face.

One in particular caught my eye. I fingered the fabric as the light danced from the gems. “I like this one, but can I try them all on?”

“Yes!” they all shouted in unison.

Their excitement left me puzzled. Krista stepped in front of me with an odd expression on her face. I didn’t understand until she spoke.

“As little girls, we all dream about our wedding day. Who we will marry, what dress we will wear. It’s a huge deal. I’m sorry that you have to marry my brother the human way, but this is something we all dreamed about and never got to experience.” She held the dress up for me to take. “With everything that’s happened, we don’t have much time. I’m sorry.”

I took the dress from Krista. “Thank you, sister of my mate.”

A big smile spread across Krista’s face. “Just sister.”

Emotions welled up inside me, emotions that I couldn’t find the words to describe. I swallowed hard, gave her a heartfelt smile, and headed to the dressing area.

The first dress was strapless and felt tight around my chest. The second dress was puffy and cascaded out in a flare. It was beautiful but cumbersome. The third dress . . .

“Are you okay in there?” Sydney called out as I turned to see the back of my dress in the looking glass.

It was breathtakingly simple, yet exotic. Thin straps covered my shoulders that led to a plunging neckline. There was no back in the dress as it dipped to my waist and fell straight to the floor. A small piece of fabric trailed behind me as I walked. The entire dress was decorated with small clear gems that sparkled every time I moved.

I stepped out of the dressing area and heard the gasps from the other females.

“Oh my God!” Krista said as she circled me. “Sydney, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.”

Even Chloe said, “You look absolutely beautiful.”

Sydney stood there grinning before she sharply clapped her hands. “Chop chop. We don’t have much time. You need to get out of that dress and take a shower.”

“All right.” I grinned at their excitement. I still wasn’t sure what was happening. No one had ever explained this marry to me, but I was having fun.

When I stepped out of the shower, they pounced. Sydney wrapped a robe around my shoulders and Krista led me to a chair.

“Have a seat and I’ll do your hair.” I felt her fingers weave in and out. It took some time but it felt good as I felt her twist and pin some strands. I couldn’t even imagine what it would look like, and I was a little anxious.

Chloe held my dress, watching and waiting. I felt like a pampered princess.

“All finished,” Krista said as she stepped back.

“Don’t look yet!” Sydney blocked my view. “Put your dress on first.”

The way they were dancing around with excitement intrigued me to no end. Was this the way of all marrys? I stepped into my dress, heard the zippp, and then Sydney stepped back.

“Okay, you can turn around now.”

Slowly, I turned until I got my first look in the mirror and a tiny gasp escaped through my slightly parted lips. Who was that female staring back at me?

Intricate braids were woven through my hair and piled loosely on top and secured with pins. The white of my dress stood in contrast against my dark skin.

Krista touched my arm as our eyes met in the mirror. “You look like a goddess, Kattlyn.”

I couldn’t speak. To think that they did all of this for me . . . I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions.

Krista went on. “I am so glad you are marrying my brother and I hope this will be a very special wedding day for you.”

“Wedding day?”

“Yes. The day you marry your husband.” Krista grinned. “Or mate.”