Amelia bounced around the store with me, and I carefully selected another shirt I wanted to try on. It was strange to have so many choices, and I lowered my arm as Amelia tossed another jacket onto the pile.

We were greeted eagerly as soon as we arrived among the pack, and I was surprised when the four vampires followed us in. Viktor explained to Iaton and Wylen that he needed to speak to the Alpha while we were here, and the group had left our side, heading to what I assumed was the Alpha’s house. I didn’t know much about the Amber Sky pack, considering their lands were so far from the Grave Crest’s. A part of me was grateful, as it meant it was unlikely any would recognize me, and we soon reached the shops where Amelia immediately dragged me off to buy new clothes.

I was mostly determined to get work clothes more than the suits I had been wearing, as I hated the latter. The latter reminded me too much of all the fake presentations I had been forced to attend with my mother, and I shook my head as I tried to dispel the thoughts. Choosing another pair of pants that looked like they might fit, my arms were soon filled with so much cloth that I could barely keep the green journal in my hand, and I shook my head as Amelia tried to hand me more.

“I think this is enough,” I chuckled, doing my best to make my way to the fitting room. “I need to see what fits and what doesn’t before we choose anything else.”

“Alright, alright!” She finally gave in, bouncing off to look at some of the other outfits. Apparently, Alora had given her leave to choose a few things for herself, and I couldn’t help my bright smile as I finally managed to fit into the small fitting room. I quickly laid out the clothing and set down the journal, finally pulling the fountain pen from my pocket. It took a while to sort through everything, and I smiled once I had all the clothes organized.

“Now, let’s see…” I mused to myself, deciding to start with the suits. Despite my disdain, I had to at least choose a few, as formal dress was required when presenting before the Queen or Prince. The suits I had worn over the past few days had belonged to Iaton, who was only slightly taller than me and made it easier to guess my size. I held the first shirt against myself, almost laughing with Amelia’s tastes. “Not for me.”

I quickly worked through the options, making sure to set the clothing I wasn’t keeping in the return box inside the stall. I settled for three simple black suits, accenting each one with a blue tie. I then turned my attention to the work clothes, unable to help my eagerness as I removed the last pair of suit pants from my legs. A knock came to the door, and I chuckled as I fought to remove the clothing.

“Amelia, I told you we needed to wait,” I laughed as the door opened, but I had no chance to react as a cold hand covered my mouth, and I looked up to see Virgil in the reflection of the stall’s mirror. He quickly closed the door to the small room, a wicked grin on his face as his eyes met mine in the reflection.

“Not so talkative now, I see,” he cooed, and my heart pounded in fear as he breathed against my skin. I started to move, but he tightened his grip on my face, quickly locking my arms behind my back with his free hand. Restrained, I felt my entire body freeze, despite the rage in my mind and my wolf’s fearful insistence. He paced in my chest, frustrated by my body’s response. “Normally, I’d have more fun, but the prince is determined to make this difficult for me and I’ve gone too long without a taste.”

He dragged his tongue along my exposed neck, and I began to breathe rapidly, wishing my body would react the way I wanted to. So many years of fear and wanting to hide had trained me to freeze and just hope it would go away. Even though now that I could run, my feet didn’t know how.

‘You don’t have to run,’ a voice that was neither my own or my wolves resonated in my mind, and my fear and disgust only mounted as Virgil began to kiss my neck. I needed to do something before he could bite me! The voice chuckled in my mind, as if it was amused by my inability to act on my thoughts. ‘You can fight, my dear.’

The words almost felt like a spell, and I watched as my violet eyes were swallowed by darkness in the reflection. Without thinking, I jerked my head back, headbutting the vampire and surprising Virgil enough to make him step back and loosen his grip. I twisted in his arms, freeing myself, and I immediately grabbed the fountain pen where I had left it on the journal. I was panting in my fear, but now that he wasn’t holding me, all the rage seemed to overflow. My wolf growled with me as I faced the vampire, pointing the fountain pen at him as I glared.

“Don’t you ever touch me again,” I panted, watching the amused look on his face as he chuckled. His golden eyes almost seemed to glow in the dressing room, and it was clear he still didn’t see me as a threat.

“You should put down that toy before you hurt yourself,” he smirked, giving me the same hungry smile he had shown the night he brought me to the mansion. My heart thundered in my chest, but I only held the pen tighter. The unknown voice still seemed to echo in my mind, and I was determined to not let him have his way. I didn’t know if I could actually stop him, but I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. “Broken dolls like you should know your place.”

“You know nothing about me,” I hissed, but the vampire only laughed as he motioned to my nude body.

“You are a beaten and broken wolf born in-between and a tragedy to all around you. You are never wanted and will never be wanted,” he chuckled, and I felt my resolve wane with his words. Was I really that transparent? Is that how all the vampires saw me? Virgil seemed to notice that his words were affecting me, and I raised the pen more as he took a step toward me. “Nothing you do will change what you are. A doll, meant to be played with and–.”

“Virgil!” The vampire was interrupted as we heard his brother’s voice, and even I could tell that Rowan was frantic. “I swear to the fucking Queen, you better not be in here! Viktor is ready to murder you!”

Virgil closed his eyes in frustration, all of his hunger replaced with annoyance as he glared at me. The vampire made a point to blow me a kiss before he stepped back, leaving the dressing room as I heard his brother confront him.

“Where the–”

“Am I not allowed to shop too? Viktor is such a worrier,” Virgil scoffed, brushing off his brother’s concern and worry. “I was just trying on a few things.”

“Yeah, and you know I don’t believe that crap,” Rowan spat back, and I slowly collapsed onto the clothes still on the bench, my heart pounding as I kept the pen in my hand. Even as their voices faded away, Virgil feeding his brother his lie, I couldn’t convince myself to move. I couldn’t even convince myself to dress, still able to feel Virgil’s disgusting tongue on my neck. Why had I frozen? Why hadn't I been able to push him off? Where was Amelia?

“Kira?” Just as I thought of her, I heard the young girl’s voice, and I watched as she slowly pushed in the door, tears running down her face as she closed it. She was clutching her neck, and I almost immediately jumped to my feet, grabbing her wrists.

“Show me.” I demanded, watching the way the girl jumped and clutched her skin tighter. But I didn’t need her to show me, I could smell the blood that was leaking between her fingers and my wolf could smell the fear and shame that poured off her. Despite my lack of clothes, I pressed her against me, grinding my teeth as my anger against Virgil grew.

“I’m sorry, Kira, I’m–”

“Shhh,” I quieted Amelia, gently petting her hair as she started to cry against me. I did my best to swallow my anger, stepping back from her as I looked into her eyes. “Let’s finish up and go find Viktor, okay?”

She nodded wordlessly and I did my best to smile, not wanting the girl to blame herself. I quickly slid on a pair of the pants, relieved that they seemed to fit as I picked out one of the shirts. As soon as I was dressed, I selected a few more pieces of clothing to add to the suits I had already chosen, and I quickly grabbed the journal and pen as I lifted the smaller pile of clothing. I didn’t even bother to move the rest from the bench as I stepped out into the store, and I looked up as Viktor started to walk in.

The prince didn’t say a word, but his eyes quickly drifted to where Amelia was holding her neck. The anger that filled his expression mirrored the anger in my own chest and I watched as he immediately stepped back out. A part of me was glad to know that Virgil would immediately pay for what he did to Amelia, but another part of me wished Viktor would have waited. He had no idea what had happened in the dressing room, or why Virgil had bitten Amelia in the first place.

“I’ll tell him later,” I whispered under my breath, feeling as Amelia moved closer to me. I frowned as I saw the tears running down her face again and I did my best to smile. “Let’s get these, and then we can find Iaton. I'm sure they have bandages here we can use until we find him.”

Amelia only nodded wordlessly as we walked up to the shopkeeper, and my heart ached for the girl next to me.