Finding Truth Behind Legends
by Wizardtho
Chapter 43:
During our hunt, there seems to be a lack of debate or commotion in my mind. I realize that it’s because most of the shifters have phased back to their human forms.
Taha and I enter the backyard still in our animal forms. I see Lily and Zander both playing with little Kai, then I notice that all of the shifters are human… every single one, even Finn and Willow, who are entering the yard behind us.
Dad is holding open the bedroom porch door for us, and he offers, “Leah set clothes out for both of you.”
We quickly shift to dress and head back outside, where Zander explains, “Some of the tribal councils wanted to talk to each other. Since Sam was linked in through Jake, he shifted and offered to conference call each of the tribes. While you hunted, each tribe voiced their thoughts and voted.”
I look around my backyard at everyone, then back at Zander. He takes a breath before stating, “The vote was unanimous. All 12 tribes voted to stand with us.”
My legs wobble slightly as relief floods my body. I can’t help but let out a whooshed breath of, “Oh, thank the ancestors.”
Taha hugs me close to keep me stable, and I rest against him as I say in all seriousness, “Thank you… all of you. With your help, there is a real chance for us to change the current way of things… a real chance for us to make our families and tribes safer.”
As everyone splits off into their own conversations, I see Nova and Avory sitting on a blanket near the fire. I smile and walk toward them, hand in hand with Taha. When we reach the blanket, I grin down at Nova, “Can I steal your mate for just a few minutes? I promise I’ll bring him back to you in pristine condition. To sweeten the deal, I’ll even leave my mate with you as company.”
Nova tries to scowl at me, but Avory pats his leg, then laughs before kissing his cheek, “Oh, stop. You know you’re starting to love that little coyote as much as me. She’s done more for this pack in the last few weeks than some have done in months.”
Nova grins at Avory, shakes his head with a chuckle, then says, “Go have fun. You know I was only playing.”
Avory gives him one more kiss on the cheek, then hops up and links arms with me, “Let’s go get our men some drinks, Lovey.”
As soon as we make it inside, I spot Sinopa and Melody sitting in the living room with Lily, who is now rocking a half-asleep Kai. Avory directs us to the open loveseat, then pulls a few pieces of thick paper from his back pocket before sitting down. I sit next to him as he says, “This… is what I’ve been working on every spare moment for the last couple of days.”
He spreads 3 drawings out on the coffee table, and I can see the girls’ eyes lighting up. Lily laughs excitedly, “Dresses! Is that what had you distracted when I called yesterday?”
Avory blushes a bit as he nods, but he offers, “I did tell you that you’d find out why soon. Bella is letting me make her wedding dress. Now, Lovey, be honest.”
I look closely at each drawing, which isn’t just a sketch of the dress itself. It’s a drawing front and back of me in each dress. All 3 I would wear in a heartbeat, but I keep getting drawn back to the one on the right. I absolutely love that it’s blush pink. It’s floor-length, with 3 tiered sections at the bottom of the main part of the skirt. The bodice is shirred and form-fitting, but the back is completely open except for the straps. There are only 2 problem areas. I don’t like the harsh lines made by the bust line and 3 straps at the middle of my back.
I pick it up and say, “These are beyond anything I could have imagined, and I love all 3… but I have 2 questions. Can we change the bustline of this dress to a soft V, and can we make the top and bottom lines, here in the back, come to the centerline in the middle? Make them meet with like a small flower or something?”
He grins, then pulls the pencil from the table, erasing the thin strap on the top and bottom. He does the same to the bust line. Pulling a couple of pencils from his back pocket, he redraws the straps making an x with them meeting at the centerline. With a few flourishes of his hand, there is a flower where they connect. He bites his lip with a look of concentration as he adjusts the bust. “Like this?”
I immediately nod with a grin, “And you’re sure it’ll fit me the same way?”
Avory catches my gaze, then says seriously, “We’ll do as many fittings as you need, to make sure it fits you exactly how you want.”
I nod and grin, “This… is perfect. So beautiful. Name your price.”
He pulls his phone up, then shows me a picture of a pair of white-flowered flat sandals, “These would look fabulous, and I can model the flower at the center of your back after these. If you like these, I just need your shoe size. I can get everything done -dress and shoes- for $200. If you don’t like these, I’ll find something else.”
I shake my head, “No, those are super cute. I like them, and I wear a 7. Give me just a second.”
I head to my bedroom, close the door, then reach deep into the back of Taha’s underwear drawer for the envelope of emergency cash. Pulling $200 from it, I replace the envelope, then walk back out to join the others.
I hand the cash to a surprised Avory, who chuckles, “Wow, that was quick. Ladies and little tikes, we have ourselves a wedding dress.” I show the sketch to the girls, who all agree that it’s perfect.
Five minutes later, Avory and I return to our men, drinks in hand. They are chatting happily as we stop in front of them arm-in-arm. Nova looks up at his mate, notices his huge grin, and shakes his head with a laugh, “I swear you have some kind of crazy voodoo, Bella Swan. Both times you have disappeared with Avory, he has come back smiling from ear to ear.”
I shrug and smile, “What can I say… he’s very insistent when he wants something. I didn’t have the heart to tell him no.”
Avory gasps in mock shock as he hip bumps me and calls me sassy, but Nova nods with a laugh, “You and me both, Bella. I can never tell him no.”
Avory pats my arm in his, then smiles, “Bella and I have a breakfast date, so I’ll have to see if Mina will mind opening the shop for me.”
Nova chuckles, “Well, Taha asked if I would mind helping with the cabin since I have the day off tomorrow, so it looks like we have ourselves a double date.”
Suddenly Avory gets this giddy expression on his face, asking, “Oh… maybe… do you think I could persuade you into making those pancakes and special sauce? Nova was jealous when he heard about that, and it sounds yummy.”
I grin; it would be a filling and easy breakfast for a crowd, so I nod, “Absolutely. I just need to make sure I have enough apples. Be here at sunrise, and coffee will be on.”
During our hunt, there seems to be a lack of debate or commotion in my mind. I realize that it’s because most of the shifters have phased back to their human forms.
Taha and I enter the backyard still in our animal forms. I see Lily and Zander both playing with little Kai, then I notice that all of the shifters are human… every single one, even Finn and Willow, who are entering the yard behind us.
Dad is holding open the bedroom porch door for us, and he offers, “Leah set clothes out for both of you.”
We quickly shift to dress and head back outside, where Zander explains, “Some of the tribal councils wanted to talk to each other. Since Sam was linked in through Jake, he shifted and offered to conference call each of the tribes. While you hunted, each tribe voiced their thoughts and voted.”
I look around my backyard at everyone, then back at Zander. He takes a breath before stating, “The vote was unanimous. All 12 tribes voted to stand with us.”
My legs wobble slightly as relief floods my body. I can’t help but let out a whooshed breath of, “Oh, thank the ancestors.”
Taha hugs me close to keep me stable, and I rest against him as I say in all seriousness, “Thank you… all of you. With your help, there is a real chance for us to change the current way of things… a real chance for us to make our families and tribes safer.”
As everyone splits off into their own conversations, I see Nova and Avory sitting on a blanket near the fire. I smile and walk toward them, hand in hand with Taha. When we reach the blanket, I grin down at Nova, “Can I steal your mate for just a few minutes? I promise I’ll bring him back to you in pristine condition. To sweeten the deal, I’ll even leave my mate with you as company.”
Nova tries to scowl at me, but Avory pats his leg, then laughs before kissing his cheek, “Oh, stop. You know you’re starting to love that little coyote as much as me. She’s done more for this pack in the last few weeks than some have done in months.”
Nova grins at Avory, shakes his head with a chuckle, then says, “Go have fun. You know I was only playing.”
Avory gives him one more kiss on the cheek, then hops up and links arms with me, “Let’s go get our men some drinks, Lovey.”
As soon as we make it inside, I spot Sinopa and Melody sitting in the living room with Lily, who is now rocking a half-asleep Kai. Avory directs us to the open loveseat, then pulls a few pieces of thick paper from his back pocket before sitting down. I sit next to him as he says, “This… is what I’ve been working on every spare moment for the last couple of days.”
He spreads 3 drawings out on the coffee table, and I can see the girls’ eyes lighting up. Lily laughs excitedly, “Dresses! Is that what had you distracted when I called yesterday?”
Avory blushes a bit as he nods, but he offers, “I did tell you that you’d find out why soon. Bella is letting me make her wedding dress. Now, Lovey, be honest.”
I look closely at each drawing, which isn’t just a sketch of the dress itself. It’s a drawing front and back of me in each dress. All 3 I would wear in a heartbeat, but I keep getting drawn back to the one on the right. I absolutely love that it’s blush pink. It’s floor-length, with 3 tiered sections at the bottom of the main part of the skirt. The bodice is shirred and form-fitting, but the back is completely open except for the straps. There are only 2 problem areas. I don’t like the harsh lines made by the bust line and 3 straps at the middle of my back.
I pick it up and say, “These are beyond anything I could have imagined, and I love all 3… but I have 2 questions. Can we change the bustline of this dress to a soft V, and can we make the top and bottom lines, here in the back, come to the centerline in the middle? Make them meet with like a small flower or something?”
He grins, then pulls the pencil from the table, erasing the thin strap on the top and bottom. He does the same to the bust line. Pulling a couple of pencils from his back pocket, he redraws the straps making an x with them meeting at the centerline. With a few flourishes of his hand, there is a flower where they connect. He bites his lip with a look of concentration as he adjusts the bust. “Like this?”
I immediately nod with a grin, “And you’re sure it’ll fit me the same way?”
Avory catches my gaze, then says seriously, “We’ll do as many fittings as you need, to make sure it fits you exactly how you want.”
I nod and grin, “This… is perfect. So beautiful. Name your price.”
He pulls his phone up, then shows me a picture of a pair of white-flowered flat sandals, “These would look fabulous, and I can model the flower at the center of your back after these. If you like these, I just need your shoe size. I can get everything done -dress and shoes- for $200. If you don’t like these, I’ll find something else.”
I shake my head, “No, those are super cute. I like them, and I wear a 7. Give me just a second.”
I head to my bedroom, close the door, then reach deep into the back of Taha’s underwear drawer for the envelope of emergency cash. Pulling $200 from it, I replace the envelope, then walk back out to join the others.
I hand the cash to a surprised Avory, who chuckles, “Wow, that was quick. Ladies and little tikes, we have ourselves a wedding dress.” I show the sketch to the girls, who all agree that it’s perfect.
Five minutes later, Avory and I return to our men, drinks in hand. They are chatting happily as we stop in front of them arm-in-arm. Nova looks up at his mate, notices his huge grin, and shakes his head with a laugh, “I swear you have some kind of crazy voodoo, Bella Swan. Both times you have disappeared with Avory, he has come back smiling from ear to ear.”
I shrug and smile, “What can I say… he’s very insistent when he wants something. I didn’t have the heart to tell him no.”
Avory gasps in mock shock as he hip bumps me and calls me sassy, but Nova nods with a laugh, “You and me both, Bella. I can never tell him no.”
Avory pats my arm in his, then smiles, “Bella and I have a breakfast date, so I’ll have to see if Mina will mind opening the shop for me.”
Nova chuckles, “Well, Taha asked if I would mind helping with the cabin since I have the day off tomorrow, so it looks like we have ourselves a double date.”
Suddenly Avory gets this giddy expression on his face, asking, “Oh… maybe… do you think I could persuade you into making those pancakes and special sauce? Nova was jealous when he heard about that, and it sounds yummy.”
I grin; it would be a filling and easy breakfast for a crowd, so I nod, “Absolutely. I just need to make sure I have enough apples. Be here at sunrise, and coffee will be on.”