As Krystal pulled away from the curb, the car filled with chatter. Tavi twisted in her seat to face Elle. "So, any cute boys you're hoping to dance with?" she asked with a grin.
"Tavi," Elle groaned, her cheeks flushing. "It's not like that."
"Oh, itsois," Krystal laughed from the front. "Your first real dance? That's practically a rite of passage."
I smiled, watching the exchange. It was nice seeing Elle so carefree and excited. She'd been through a lot in her young life. We all had. But moments like this, the simple joys of growing up... I wanted her to have as many of those as possible.
The car's steady hum and the ongoing chatter lulled me into a relaxed state. I turned in my seat and leaned against the door so I could see everyone in the car. Caleb had been quiet for most of the ride, only occasionally adding a comment here or there when directly addressed.
I found myself studying him, trying to place what seemed different. And then it hit me: his scent. Or rather, the lack thereof. I couldn't detect the usual markers that distinguished humans from wolves. He was just... neutral.
Before I could ponder it further, Tavi suddenly twisted in her seat to face Caleb. "Hey, not to be weird," she said, "but you don't have a scent. At all."
Caleb shrugged, his expression unperturbed. "I've heard that before. No idea why."
Krystal's brows knitted together slightly, and I could tell she found it as odd as I did. I caught her eye in the rearview mirror, a silent question passing between us. But before either of us could voice our thoughts, Bryce let out a loud groan from the back seat.
"Are we there yet?" he whined, his face scrunched in impatience.
Krystal sighed. "Almost, honey. Just a few more minutes."
True to her word, the mall came into view shortly after. Krystal pulled into the parking lot and found a spot near the entrance. As we all piled out of the car, Bryce immediately started complaining.
"Do we have to do this?" he asked, his lower lip jutting out in a pout.
Krystal fixed him with a firm look. "Yes, we do. Elle needs a dress for her dance, and we're all here to help her find the perfect one. We both need some new clothes, too, so stop yourbellyaching."
Bryce's shoulders slumped, clearly not thrilled by the prospect of dress shopping. Krystal's expression softened, and she ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Tell you what," she said, "if you behave and don't complain, I'll buy you an ice cream when we're done. Deal?"
Bryce perked up at that, a smile replacing his frown. "Deal," he agreed eagerly.
I hid a grin as we all headed toward the mall entrance. Leave it to Krystal to know exactly how to handle her son. She was a great mom.
As we stepped through the automatic doors, the mall's cool air conditioning washed over us. I took a deep breath, the scents of various shops and food court offerings mingling together.
"All right," Krystal said, clapping her hands together. "Let's find Elle a dress,"
Elle grabbed my hand, practically vibrating with excitement. "Come on! Let's check out this store first,"
Before I could respond, she dragged me toward a boutique with glittering dresses displayed inthe window. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I found myself grinning as we stepped inside.
The store was a flurry of activity, with girls and their mothers browsing through racks of dresses in every color imaginable. Elle's eyes widened as she took it all in, her smile stretching from ear to ear.
"Where should we start?" she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Krystal, Tavi, Caleb, and Bryce caught up to us, and we began sorting through the dresses together. Elle pulled out a few to try on, holding them up to herself and twirling in front of the mirror.
After taking a turn through the smallish store, Caleb looked at Bryce and nodded toward the entrance. “We’ll be on the bench in front of the store,” he said. “Yell if you need me.”
No doubt he’d carefully scrutinize anyone who came in the store while we were in here, but we were three very capable wolves together in here. Did we trulyneed an enforcer with us? No.
"What about this one?" Elle asked, holding up a pale blue dress with a flowy skirt.
"It's pretty," I said, "but let's keep looking. We want to find the perfect dress for you."
Elle nodded, putting the dress back and moving on to the next rack. We combed through the store for the next hour, pulling out dresses for Elle to try on. Each time she stepped out of the dressing room, she modeled the dress for us, striking poses and giggling as we gave our opinions.
