Talons

Chapter 70: The Costume

Rhea’s POV

It’s been more than a month and I’ve lost almost all of my weight. Between dancing, working out and singing, my body was forced to pull from its stores at the rate Sylvia needed it to. We have no down time, not that I had any before, but living among my own kind, who don't need as much sleep, has been good for us.

There are still stubborn areas of my body that Jovan tells me aren’t going anywhere. My wolf agrees with him, telling me that women have natural fat deposits, and she cannot get to them. I feel like an ant, but my cousins think my body is amazing, and many of my nonrelatives, who once ignored me, have tried to get my attention, which is not working. 

Don’t get me wrong, they are extremely handsome, but they remind me of Jack, so I'm not interested. In fact, I'm not really interested in anyone. I’ve entertained one guy and allowed him to take me on a single date, but he immediately thought that meant s*x, and it was an instant deal breaker for me.

I’ve become an excellent dancer, whether it's to reggaeton or salsa, I’m less stiff now that I’m more comfortable with who I am. I don’t know if it's because my cousins are all eccentric, or maybe it's because my aunt pushed me outside of my comfort zone, but I don’t feel like I need to hide anymore, I just prefer to, which is different.

“Gordita,” My aunt shouts. Obviously, the name stuck with me, and I respond by pushing Grace into the room she’s sitting in. “Look at you two besties,” she says, planting a kiss on Grace’s cheek before giving me one of my own. “Did Miracle give you the materials to make a costume?” She asks and I nod.

“I have it, but can I please go traditional?” my aunt shakes her head.

“This place needs to pull in more tourists. This is our busy season and with your culito (little or cute ass) they will follow behind you like flies.” I glare at my aunt who starts laughing when she realizes that she just insinuated that my butt stinks. “Aye, just like your mother; loosen up.”

“Seriously Titi; you have like twenty nieces, why do you need me?”

“Silencio,” (Silence) my aunt says, and I feel the command in her words. I submit to it because I don’t want her going back to tell my mother that I can ignore alpha commands. 

I push Grace out of the room, and we go back to where we were working on my costume. Her coordination is off, so she cannot feed herself, but using fabric glue to stick feathers onto a premade skirt is easy enough, and she enjoys it. 

I don’t care what I wear, but every time she places a feather somewhere a little too random, I glare at her, making her chuckle in a way that is only unique to her. 

“You better not be trying to make your little cousin look stupid,” I say, and Grace drops the materials in her hands as her muscle spasm from laughter.  I apologize, giggling a little as I hold and steady her. I'm not laughing at her; I just enjoy when she's tickled.

Grace calms, and we go back to decorating, but for some reason I’m like a comedian to her, so every disapproving sound I make triggers her laughter, something that all my cousins enjoy hearing. They always compliment me on the way I treat her, telling me that not everyone has the patience, but Grace isn’t bothersome to me. 

Sylvia and I know what it feels like to be stuck inside of our mind, so I can sympathize with her. Not only that, she and I have a connection that I can't really explain.

She's technically a rogue since she cannot verbally express her intent to join a pack, but since she has never belonged to a pack, she too is considered packless.

I remember the look on her face when I told her that we were the same. I told her that she and I were one, and it was as if she was waiting to hear those words, and I had just given her something she craved.

Another few weeks go by and my mother calls. I answer and she asks me when I plan to come home, but the truth is that I don't. 

I'm happier with Titi Beautiful’s pack, and since she owns a gym, a bar and a nightclub, I can run money through the businesses to help pay the tax penalty she will face if she allows me to join her.

"What do you mean you aren't coming home? You haven't finished school."

"That's okay," I say nonchalantly, and my mother hangs up on me. I  send her a text to tell her that I'm sorry and I love her, but she doesn't reply. 

Soon after, Priscilla and Jovan call a meeting to tell everyone that they have chosen one another as mates. I'm excited for them, mostly for Priscilla, who was made rogue by an abusive alpha, and everyone insists we have a party to celebrate.

In Titi Beautiful’s pack, no one goes looking for their fated mate and no one is eager to find one. If it happens, it does, but if it doesn’t, they move on. Since a lot of them are half-breeds, they find choosing a mate better than being rejected because their fated partner, if they have one, is not happy with their lineage.

The only person who wants to wait is Julee, who is twenty years old. She's an omega, and not a guide, but she swears that she had an encounter with the goddess and was told to wait. I once asked her what she was waiting on, and I swear she looked at me as if I were the sign she was given, but she didn’t answer.

The morning of ‘the chosen party,’ as it has become affectionately known, my aunt has everyone, including Julee, show her their costumes. This afternoon, we go out to the beach and basically flirt as we hand out flyers. 

A cheap cruise line is stopping at the island, and my titi says it's usually filled with young people who are bored out of their minds after being on a ship with very little for entertainment for three days.

Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with that, and I get to walk the boardwalk, where there are natives and tourists mixed. Titi says that I will be able to draw in both crowds because of my ability to speak Spanish.

It is no surprise that she looks at my costume for the longest amount of time, but she knows that Grace made it, so she doesn’t say much.

When the time comes, I slip into the feather and glitter covered skirt and bikini top, then I add a few more details to it. Grace is watching me get ready, and I ask her to close her eyes. She does, and when she opens them again, I’m holding a costume for her as well.

“Your mother would kill me if she knew I was going to put this on you.” Grace’s muscles start spasming in excitement, and I hug her, surprised when she's able to hug me back. I look up at her face and see tears in her eyes that I quickly wipe away. “Don’t make me cry, my makeup is done already, you know how long it takes me.” She starts laughing, and I hug her tighter.

Once I get her changed and I make sure not too much of her skin is showing, I ask her to close her eyes again. I run out of the room and come back with pieces of cardboard that I fit to her wheelchair and decorated to match the costume I made her.

“Keep your eyes closed,” I warn, making her chuckle as I lift her out of her day chair, and back into her wheelchair. “Open them,” I say, making sure she's in front of the mirror.  I'm no i***t and her costume is modest, but cute.

Grace doesn’t smile, laugh or cry; she's oddly still as she just stares at herself. She looks a lot like Fortunate with the way I've done her hair and makeup. I know I may have imagined it, but I could swear I heard her thank me in my head.

I shake it off, telling her that we need to hurry before her mother catches us and doesn’t let me take her, but Jovan spots us, and starts screaming for my aunt. I try to push Grace out as fast as possible, making her laugh, and I’m glad I put her in the chair that had a safety belt because she’s so tickled that she can barely sit up straight.

I know we aren’t going to get away; we needed to sneak out unseen, but Jovan is running around trying to make things perfect for his chosen mate, so it would make sense that he was the one to catch us.

“And where do you two think you are going?” I hear my aunt say, she's driving a car beside us, and my uncle is in the passenger seat shaking his head.

“Too far Muñeca,” he says, and Grace and I start laughing loudly. My aunt gets out of the car, and I think she's going to smack me and take Grace away, but she starts gushing over her daughter. She takes several photos of us, and then she tells us to get in the car so she can drive us to the boardwalk. 

“You should have told me that you wanted to take her. I would have said yes.”

“Sorry titi. I was wrong.”

“Sorry?” My uncle repeats as a question.

“Muñeca, kidnapping an alpha’s daughter is serious. If Jovan hadn’t told us that he saw Grace leaving with you, your titi and I were prepared to shift. There are always humans around; it could have been disastrous.”

“Yes Uncle Johnathan.” I fold my shoulders in, and my uncle reaches back to gently pat my head. 

“How does Mavis discipline someone so sweet?” he asks, making me smile. “And you,” he says, pointing to Grace in mock anger. “This is the last time I want to see you dressed like that, got it?” Grace starts chuckling and I hold her hand so that her muscles don’t spasm as much. “How do you do that?” my uncle asks, and I look at him in confusion.

“Do what?” I question, but he suddenly stops speaking, and I know it's because my aunt is linking him.