A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

Love is Blind Part 1

** This story takes place the week after Echo and Gray return from their honeymoon. **

I walked toward the mall entrance with my friends, Ashley and Gemma, on either side of me. They had my arms looped through theirs so I wouldn’t need my cane. It made me feel a little normal.

They always tried to give me that life. We went shopping, to movies, and out to meals together often. They never let me feel disabled.

It was hard being the only wolf in our pack who was born blind. Nothing was made with blindness in mind. I was lucky that there was an elevator from the Beta’s quarters down to the lower levels of the pack house, or I would have probably broken my neck at a young age. Now, I could manage every staircase in the pack house.

When my brother, Mike, took over as Beta of the Hallowed Moon Pack, my parents got a single level home on the pack lands with a large yard. I was sixteen at the time. I was proud of my brother and happy to have a home that fit me and my parents so well.

We always figured this was just until I found my mate, though, my parents were more than willing to let my mate and I live with them so they could help with the pups. I’d heard mom worrying before that I wouldn’t be able to take care of children if I couldn’t see them. They always looked at what I couldn’t do rather than what I could.

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep scowling like that, Carmen.” Gemma snickered.

“Sorry. I’m just thinking of my mom. She tried to ground me today. I’m twenty-two.” I growled.

“What? To try and stop you from going out tonight?” Ashley asked.

“She’s pretty certain I’m going to be raped and murdered if I go out at night in the human city.” I scoffed.

“Your parents are way too overprotective. We’ve got your back.” Gemma said.

“Mom still hasn’t forgiven you for leaving me in the mall by myself so you could chase after that cute boy.” I chuckled.

“That was four years ago! I was trying to find my mate. His cologne was super yummy. So was he.” She giggled.

“You’re so bad.” Ashley laughed. “Curb.”

I stepped up on the curb. Ashley and Gemma had been with me since I was a baby. Ashley was the little sister of Ben, our Gamma. Gemma was her cousin who was adopted by Ashley’s parents after her own parents died in a car accident.

They had learned how to give me directions. When we were in kindergarten, they found me crying about not understanding colors and had helped me identify smells and tastes that they associated with colors. We were practically inseparable.

My biggest worry, though, was that I would lose them. Since the curse was lifted back in May, everyone was excited for the national mating conference. It would be held in a month. Families were putting together money so almost every young wolf in our pack could go.

Gemma and Ashley were going. They wanted me to go as well. I was tempted. As a ranked blood wolf, I probably had a second chance mate.

No one knew that I’d found my mate when I was eighteen. No one knew he rejected me because I was ‘defective’. I remember begging him to give me a chance.

His name was Jordan. We’d been in school together since pre-k. He was always nice to me. When I smelled my mate at school that day, I’d been excited. I wanted to do something normal. Something like all the other she-wolves.

He pulled me into an empty classroom and told me he couldn’t have a defective mate if he was going to become an elite warrior. He needed someone he could count on to take care of him and his home while he was away on missions and training. I would need too much attention.

Jordan said that he would reject me instead of trying to force me to reject him. He decided that he would chose a mate who would be a better fit for him. He said it was better for me, too. He liked me, but he couldn’t love me. He wanted me to have a chance at love.

I’d love to say he was turned down by every female he approached and was sullenly living in the warrior’s barracks, but that wasn’t true. He’d found a nice omega who lost her mate before she met him. They marked each other and had a couple of pups.

In May, he’d been one of the warriors to volunteer to go fight the hunters. He was shot through the heart with a silver bullet. His mate moved in with her parents to take care of the pups and they got money from the Alpha every month to help them out.

I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. I felt terrible about my relief at having been rejected by him. No one ever had to know he did something terrible when he was an idealistic boy whose dreams had been destroyed by a defective mate. I decided that I would protect his memory for his family.

Gemma and Ashley guided me around the mall talking about all sorts of things. They took me into several stores, helping me buy makeup and clothes. We went to a lingerie store, because my mom would never take me and insisted on plain cotton underclothes. I bought several bra and panty sets that were made of really nice feeling cloth.

Ashley told me what colors they were and if they looked as nice as they felt. My friends stopped me from looking ridiculous on a few occasions. I was grateful that the Goddess brought us together.

We were heading to the food court when Gemma stopped suddenly, jerking me to a stop. She bounced a little.

“Dear goddess, look at that dress, Ash! Wouldn’t Carmen look hot in it?” She squealed.

“Wow. That is nice. It’s got cap sleeves and is low cut in the front. The bottom goes to mid-thigh and is form fitting. It’s green like young grass. Kind of bright, not like lime green, though. We should go in and look at it. If you like the material, you have to try it on.” Ashley told me.

“Okay. Let’s try it. I haven’t really found something for the club yet.” I smiled.

They led me into the store. It smelled like expensive perfume, silk, and leather. This was not a cheap store.

“Welcome to Southland Song. Can I help you ladies find anything?” A woman asked.

“Yeah. Can you tell us where to find dresses like the green one in the window? Our friend wants to see them.” Ashley said.

“Of course, just so you’re aware, that dress costs five hundred dollars.” The woman replied.

“Then the quality must be amazing.” I smiled. “Where will we find it?”

My friends guided me through the store, probably following the sales lady. They stopped and thanked her before letting me go. I stood and waited. They would find my size.

“Here it is.” Gemma told me. “Put out your hands.”

I did as she said and she draped the dress over my hands. I rubbed the material. It felt really good. Soft and stretchy. I smiled as I touched it.

“Would you like to try that on?” The woman asked.

“Yes, please.” I replied.

Ashley took my arm and guided me through the store. She took me into the dressing room and told me where everything was. My mom would’ve stayed in the dressing room with me and dressed me herself. My friends were a lot more considerate.

The door closed and I stripped, making sure my clothes went on the bench and not under it. I’d had to call people in before because I couldn’t find my shirt. It was embarrassing.

I put on the dress. It clung to my skin gently. I made sure the skirt was down and hadn’t gotten tucked in any way before I went out the door. It felt really good, but I didn’t know how it looked.

“Wow. That cut is amazing, but I hate the color.” Ashley said. “It looked good on the mannequin, just not on you.”

“Here’s one in ice blue.” Gemma said. “I think it will be really cute.”

“That’s the same color as my eyes then, Gemma. You know I hate that. What else is there?”

“We have that dress in a carnation pink.” The sales woman offered. “I think it will accent your eyes well and pairs nicely with your dark hair. Did you want to look in the mirror before you try it in another color?”

“That won’t really help me.” I replied. “I’m blind. Thank you, though.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…. I’ll go get that dress.” She said quickly and I heard her hustle away.

“Maybe we can get a discount off that.” Gemma snickered.

“I have enough for this dress and some other stuff. Dad gave me his card before I left and told me to get whatever I wanted.” I grinned.

Even though I had a good paying job, I was a little spoiled. My mother blamed herself for me being born blind. I tried not to abuse it, today was my revenge for her trying to ground me. She had to cut the apron strings. I was an adult.

The sales lady brought the dress and another one that she thought would look nice on me. It was her peace offering, I suppose. I never had a problem with people not realizing I was blind. I actually liked that it wasn’t obvious.

Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely blind. When I was in wolf form, my wolf, Blanche, could see as well as a natural wolf. The first time I’d ever seen my parents’ faces was through my wolf’s eyes. I couldn’t see certain colors and couldn’t see nearly as well as other werewolves, but I finally had a chance to see the world around me.

The second dress had amazing material that made me want to rub my face all over it. There were straps that crisscrossed in the back and attached to the low back. It was tight in the bodice and only slightly looser in the skirt.

When I put it on, I smoothed the skirt and found it went to just above my knees and had a slit that went almost all the way up to my hip. I blushed as I thought of how much skin I was showing. The dress made me feel daring. I wanted it.

I walked out of the dressing room and Gemma gasped. I bit my lips together and waited for them to say something. I could feel them walking around me and occasionally straightening something out.

“Well?” I asked impatiently.

“This is way hotter than the other dress.” Gemma said.

“It really suits you, Carmen. It’s a classy sort of sexy. You’re definitely getting laid tonight.” Ashley snickered.

I blushed again. Not a lot of guys were into the idea of having s*x with a blind girl. I wasn’t a virgin, but the dry spell was more like a two-year long drought at this point.

“What color is it?” I asked.

“Burgundy. Like a really dark purplish red. It goes really well with your hair and it makes your skin glow.” Ashley told me.

“What do you think?” The sales lady asked.

“I’ll take it. I love it. Thank you so much. I feel really pretty in this.” I smiled at her.

“I’m glad you liked it. If you want to get changed, I’ll go grab some options for shoes. What size are you for shoes?”

“Seven. Thank you again for all your help.” I replied.

I went back to the dressing room and changed into my clothes. Gemma came in when I opened the door and grabbed my dress before guiding me to the chairs to wait for shoe options. This was going to be the best night. I could just feel it.