Page 41 of Wedding the Werepanther

“Everythingwould be a lot more fun without it,” I mutter. “Like breathing.”

“You can’t breathe?” His voice becomes deadly serious. “That’s unacceptable. You’re never to wear this contraption again.”

“No arguments here.” I flutter a hand. “Now shoo. The faster you go, the faster I can get out of this torture device and into something more comfortable.”

My closet door bangs, and Victoria writes,“Still a dress!”

“Okay, yes, a dress.”

Shadow stops in the doorway. “Should I change as well?”

“No,” I say. “Keep the tux on.”

“I do look magnificent.” He smirks and gives me a flirtatious wink.

“And humble,” I call out. “We can’t forget that.”

His laughter echoes from outside.

I go into battle, vanquishing my foes one after the other. The Diabolical Dress falls from my upper body, and I wrestle my way out of the Fabric of Destruction, leaving it a defeated heap of white crinoline. Next, I tackle the Girdle of Doom, ripping it from my body with a sucking sound and taking what feels like my first deep breath in years. Finally able to sit down, I collapse onto the mattress and strip the Heels from Hell from my feet and wiggle my toes in the soft throw rug I keep beside the bed.

Victoria flicks the overhead light on and off, and I hurry to my closet and pull out one of the dresses I haven’t worn in ages, a long-sleeved lavender wrap dress that’s both comfy and pretty. I leave my hair up and slide on a pair of flat silver sandals.

Shadow and Dewdrop wait in the formal dining room, where Pepperpot will serve dinner. This time, Shadow’s gone ahead and put us all at one end of the table, so we can see each other without worrying about the candelabra. The table settings are even fancier than before. Victoria had him get out my grandmother’s good china, which I never use.

He’s also arranged for the brownie to bring food for Dewdrop, and the little dragonet falls onto his fruit appetizer of strawberries and sliced kiwi with relish.

Shadow butters a roll for me and sets it on my plate. The brownie bread is so light and airy and perfect it practically melts on my tongue.

As we eat our delicious five-course meal, he asks me about video games, and I pepper him with questions about all the different places he’s seen in Faerie.

By the time we finish the last bites of our “wedding” cake dessert, I’m full and happy and a little buzzed.

Shadow lifts his champagne glass, looking absolutely gorgeous in his tux as the candlelight plays over his handsome face. “To my wife.”

My lips curl as I drink. Everything—and I do meaneverything—went wrong with the ceremony, but maybe the Weddingpocalypse didn’t turn out so bad after all.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Kayla

The next evening, I steer my Beetle down Main Street with Dewdrop standing on my lap, his front paws hanging over the open driver’s side window. I worried about him not being belted in until he showed me his “sticky” magic. Normally used to keep from falling out of trees when asleep, the dragonet can also use it to bind him temporarily in place in the car.

“What’s that?” He asks every second, constantly pointing to something new. “And that?”

A laugh escapes me as I try to keep up with his curiosity, but it’s going to take several more trips into town to make it through everything he wants to know about the colorful shops, the humans, and all the different types of fae.

He lets out a loud squeal of delight at seeing a troupe of gnomes cartwheel down the sidewalk.

After I tell him what they are, I ask, “Don’t you already know all the fae?”

“Just dragons. No one else visited the glen until you and Shadow.”

“Huh.” I guess the dragons really are protective of their realm and the dragonets. I can totally see why. Dewdrop’s incredibly sweet and trusting, more so than any Earth animal, so it’s kinda hard to tell if he has any survival instincts.

After parking as close to I Touch My Shelf as I can get, I hurry into the bookstore, wanting to get there early so Dewdrop can meet everyone as they arrive instead of all at once. He probably wouldn’t mind, so maybe I’m actually doing it for me. Last week’s Witch Bitch Spicy Book Club meeting felt a little intense—I’m not used to being the center of attention.

“Kayla!” Hannah bustles over to me, smiling widely, her fox familiar bounding along at her heels. “And you must be Dewdrop.”