John Green

"Any colour preferences?" His sister asked him over breakfast on that Saturday and he just stared at her.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Gracie," he admitted freely. Colour Preference? For ?

Most of the time Luke couldn't care less which colour something was and when Daphne started talking about colour theory or mixing her own paint with pigments...then he was lost.

He liked watching her do that, but he never offered any advice because he had no knowledge about that and he was man enough to admit that.

Thankfully at least Daphne's obsession with painting had given him the idea to what he wanted to give her for Christmas.

He was still lost what he wanted to give her for her birthday, which was on New Year's Day, but at least her Christmas present was all finished. He still had two more weeks until her birthday so that was good...still, it was driving him nuts.

Nobody in his family had been very helpful either.

"For Daphne's dress. For the New Year's Ball," she clarified with a roll of her eyes. "Seriously, you guys are hopeless. Ollie told me to pick what I ," his sister snorted like that was the worst thing he could have said.

Right. Grace, Kiana and Daphne were going to Augusta to buy Christmas presents and dresses for the New Year's Ball, and Daphne had looked forward to that for days now.

She had never before gotten the opportunity to go shopping with friends so she was giddy with excitement and had smiled at him so brightly that morning that it had felt like the sun was rising in her room.

It had been startling to see once again how many of the things that Grace and he thought were normal were something strangely novel to Daphne. From takeout pizza or ice cream or to come home and have their mother ask them how school went...all of it was something that Daphne had never experienced before.

She didn't talk about it. She didn't need to. Her face expression was evidence enough that Daphne had never had this before.

But about the colour...Luke could honestly say that he had no preference. Daphne would look beautiful in whatever she chose. And as long as she felt comfortable in it, which was the most important thing, Luke couldn't care less.

"Daphne is the colour expert," Luke answered diplomatically instead. "I am sure she already has some ideas."

"She did mention something about pine green. I think we can all guess what that was inspired by," his sister said drily. Pine Green? What could have inspired that?

"The forest?" He asked dumbly, which resulted in his mother laughing and his sister rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I am sure it's the , Luke," Grace told him sarcastically. So the forest. He looked to his father for help, who just shrugged in response.

"Your eyes, Luke," his mother finally took pity of him with a laugh.

Oh.

"Purple." It suddenly burst out from him. He had never seen her in purple. And he wanted to. Something in the same startling violet shade of her eyes.

"And that's not inspired by her eye colour at all," Grace said with a wink and he just shrugged non-apologetic. Sue him. He wanted to see his mate in a dress that matched her eyes.

He loved her eyes, after all, loved how they were the strange colour that he had never seen before...or had he? Sometimes he did think he had seen them before, he just couldn't place them. They were beautiful though, looking at him with a happy sheen when he had done something to warrant that.

And then other times, they darkened when they had kissed, her eyes taking on a shade more similar to amethyst and no longer lilacs than they usually were.

"Your grandmother's amethyst set could be a good match with a purple dress," his father commented absentmindedly. "She did leave them to you after all," he said pointedly. It was an obvious hint to Luke.

He knew why.

His grandmother's, Marie Schuyler's jewellery collection, amassed throughout her life, was a bit of a town legend. She had been a magpie, adoring everything that glittered. Luke had ended up with a small pile of jewellery, most of it with semi-precious stones and interesting cuts.

Some of it was outlandish. Some of it was beautiful.

The amethyst set his father commented on had been an ongoing tradition between her and Luke's grandfather after which he had been named.

Marie had been born in February and Amethyst was her birthstone which her husband had first used in her engagement ring and then in a collection of jewellery that was given to her throughout their marriage to celebrate the births of their children and to anniversaries.

Only now, Luke remembered the ring that he knew laid safely in his father's safe. One day...One day it would hopefully be on Daphne's hand.

He shook his head, dislodging the thoughts that he knew were wishful dreams if anything and instead concentrated on the present.

Putting a piece from that set on Daphne would be nearly as good as a claiming bite for most of the people in the room, making it clear who her mate was and who belonged to Daphne.

And Luke couldn't find a fault in that. He wondered quietly if she would.

He could hear Ollie's car approach and he wasn't surprised to find his sister jumping up.

"I think that's my call to go," Grace said with a grin. "I'll be back in the afternoon...depending on how quick we are."

"Be careful," Luke told her, which resulted in a roll of her eyes.

"I promise there is not going to a single bruise on her," Grace promised him gently. "She can take care of herself."

He knew that. That didn't mean that he didn't worry.

"Have fun!" Her mother said with a smile and Grace darted out of the kitchen, probably to greet her mate.

It took less time than he thought until Ollie came into the kitchen, brightly smiling.

"Good Morning!" Ollie exclaimed. "Ready to go running through the forest with a hoard of 10-year-olds?" He asked him and Luke sighed.

They tried to get most of the smaller children together on weekends to go on runs. And this weekend it just so happened to have been given to Ollie and him as a job.

It didn't bother Luke, not really, it could be amusing.

(And surprisingly ...like the times with the chickens. There was to hope that he wouldn't need to stop any of the younger members of the pack from hunting rabbits this time, but somehow he didn't hold out much hope for it.)

"I'll go hide some chew toys in a few moments. Maybe they do better with a fresh scent," he suggested, the doubt obvious in his voice but Ollie just laughed.

"Not all of them are going to be as good at tracking as you are," Ollie replied. "But let's get going. It's always fun."

As usual, Thalia, the youngest wolf in their immediate family was Luke's small brown shadow, a similar russet brown shade to her older sister. She was still quite small for her age and Luke preferred her not to be caught in the fray even when she was a fierce fighter if it came down to it. She had bit the heck out of a teenager the last time they had tried to take a chew toy from her.

She was also already better than some of the High School Freshman and figuring out where to find one of the chew toys and had victoriously emerged from the forest after three minutes, carrying a bright orange plastic bone that she was now happily chewing while laying on the forest ground.

*Luke!* she exclaimed dismayed when he swiped at the bright orange plastic bone in front of her, baring her teeth at him. She was maybe a quarter of his size, a little furball that didn't really look scary as much as adorable and that they all loved to tease.

*Come on, Thali, don't you want to share?* He teased her, but she just growled at him, protecting the orange chew toy and he backed off, letting her win.

*Is Daphne going to come run with us soon?* She asked him suddenly and suddenly Luke's brain was empty when he tried to come up with an answer for that.

*Your mate, Luke," Ollie told him, mentally laughing at him and Luke just rolled his eyes.

*Well, that depends if she wants it. She hasn't shifted yet,* Luke answered honestly. It was best to just tell Thalia the truth. Lest she was going to get out her interrogation skills that according to his uncle were .

*Why?* Thalia still asked and Luke sighed softly.

*She wasn't born a werewolf like you were, Thali. So if she shifts its gonna be the very first time and she is a bit scared of that,* Luke explained, trying to keep it at least a bit children safe. Thalia's head cocked to the side when she considered it.

*You should tell her that it's fun,* she told him decisively.

*You think that is gonna change her mind?* he asked Thalia amused but she nodded with all the trust in the world.

*She can go running with you! And go find chew toys with me!*

For a moment his cousin stayed quiet, obviously thinking about something else.

*Are you going to protect her?* she finally whispered. *I heard mummy and daddy talking about...her mummy hurting her...why would anybody hurt Daphne? She's so nice.*

For a moment his breathing stopped.

*She is my mate, of course, I will protect her. Nobody will ever hurt her again, I promise, Thali,* Luke brought out hoarsely. How for God's sake had Thalia even found out about that?

*Why would her mummy hurt her?* Thalia questioned, her paws clawing in the ground.

*I don't know Thalia. Her mother was...ill,* Luke brought out. He had no want whatsoever to try and explain to his 5-year-old cousin why Daphne's mother had started to hurt her. Or how she had been addicted to drugs and alcohol. Or how Daphne didn't talk about her ever. Or how Daphne still flinched away if somebody moved to fast, how he could feel the scars on her body when he touched her.

They made him furious. Every single one of them told the story of another time that somebody had hurt his mate and he hadn't been able to protect her. He hadn't been able to protect her for far too long.

*If I get the flu I don't hurt other people!* Thalia exclaimed indignantly which resulted in Ollie snorting in dark amusement. Luke looked at him helplessly and he could hear Ollie sigh.

*Daphne's mother had another kind of illness...she gave Daphne the fault for everything that went wrong in her life, even when it wasn't her fault at all, and so she lashed out," Ollie explained, his voice making it obvious that he was furious about it, but keeping himself on a tight leash. *Daphne's mother is dead, so she won't ever hurt her again. You don't need to worry.*

*Is Daphne sad about that?* Thalia asked them, far too perceptive for her own good.

*Of course, she is," Luke answered honestly. *But you know what makes it better? If you give her lots and lots of hugs."

Thalia giggled at that, but at least she let the topic go. At least something.

Sometimes he wondered if there ever was going to be a time where Daphne would talk to him about Michelle Emerson. And other times, he wondered how he was supposed to listen to her recount that trauma without wanting to kill her mother.

Luke wasn't sure if he was ever going to be ready to have an extended conversation about Michelle Emerson without wanting to kill the woman.

He couldn't though. She had managed to do that before any of them could get their claws into her. It was an empty justice to him.

***

Daphne had never before went shopping with friends. Mostly because she had neither friends nor money, and so that hadn't been something she had ever needed to worry about. But now...now suddenly, she had both and she needed a gown for a fancy ball that she was going to attend with her and...

She felt a bit like a child wanting to play dress up, to be honest.

She couldn't help herself. She was giddy with happiness, unable to stop grinning like a madwoman.

They went to a big department store, somewhere that according to Kiana was where they had found their dresses for the last two years.

Quite soon, Daphne was surrounded by tulle, satin and sequins.

And also completely overwhelmed.

Grace and Kiana both seemed to know exactly what they wanted, knowing exactly what styles would suit them while Daphne was decidedly indecisive.

She had no idea what she should pick. No idea if a bright red one was a good idea, or something pink or blue...

She didn't like most of the dresses that looked like somebody threw glitter all over them. They were too much. She didn't want to look like a disco ball.

She just wanted a pretty dress that Luke would find her pretty in and that was...

Grace looked beautiful regardless of which dress she chose to put on. She was tall and thin, her body muscular and athletic from both cheerleading and but simply being a werewolf and Daphne couldn't help but feel slightly jealous about that.

Grace tried on two dresses and settled on the first. The colour was soft sage green, working perfectly with the near golden skin colour of Grace. Thin straps cupped her shoulders, holding the tight dress to her body, that wrapped around her body with cleverly designed folds. The bodice was embellishment with pearls and stones and sequins, glittering already under daylight. The skirt was slim fitting and had a slit on one side to make walking easier. Grace looked great in it. Elegant and grownup and sexy.

Three words that Daphne would never look, she realised.

Kiana picked just as quickly, a canary yellow dress. It made her beautiful brown skin seemingly glow from within even in the harsh lights of the department store and while the dress had no embellishment in sight it was everything but simple. It was strapless, the bodice strapless and straight at the top. The skirt consisted of different fabrics all the same yellow colour. It should have looked like somebody randomly threw different fabrics around her waist and sewed them on. On Kiana, it looked effortlessly cool.

And Daphne...Daphne still had no idea what she wanted.

"You need something that doesn't overwhelm you," Kiana said thoughtfully, going through the rails with the kind of focus that wouldn't be out of place on a battlefield..

"Your features are quite soft so nothing harsh either," Grace threw in, holding up a blush pink gown before she hung it back up. "You need something that suits you and not..."

"Here try this on, one," she threw a blue dress at Daphne, with a floral pattern.

She didn't even need to close the zipper to know that it was a no. She looked like she wore an antique wallpaper from the 1860s in dress form.

"Maybe not," Kiana said drily. "We don't want people to ask if that is her grandmother's curtain," she teased Daphne who just rolled her eyes.

Kiana instead tried to talk her into an orange one that made Daphne look like a vampire in need of sleep, her skin tone so ill-suited for it that it prompted to ask Grace if she was alright.

There was a light green one that she quite liked but when she tried it on, it was much too long in both skirt and bodice, the waistline hitting her somewhere near her hip.

"I found it," Grace exclaimed, shoving an absolute monstrosity of a dress in the changing room that was so big that it took up most of the room.

It was a beautiful plum colour, layers upon layers off tulle. A dress fit for a princess to be honest.

"Are you sure?" Daphne couldn't help but ask as she touched the ridiculous tulle skirt. "Isn't that...too much?" She asked hesitantly but Grace shook her head.

"Just try it on, alright?" Grace insisted.

Trying to get it on wasn't as terrible as she thought it would be. She could thankfully step into it, the tulle holding itself around her body. The skirt was huge, resulting in the tiniest waistline she could possibly have. Tulle sleeves were cupping her shoulders, the front cutaway in a soft sweetheart neckline that made the best of what little breasts she did have.

It was simple, apart from the skirt, nothing that screamed Look at me!. And that was what Daphne had wanted.

It was girly, without being childish and she liked to imagine that she actually looked pretty in it. Her eyes seemed to take on the dress colour and she liked how her hair seemed to be even lighter than it usually was.

She stepped out of the dressing room, Grace grinning brightly.

"I am a genius," Grace exclaimed.

"You are," Kiana agreed with a laugh. "It looks great, Daphne. I love the skirt."

"Can one of you close the back? I can't reach it," Daphne asked, turning around.

She hadn't even thought about the scars that everybody that Kiana or Grace would see, to busy letting her hands glide over the tulle of the dress.

It was Kiana's gasp that made her sharply remember them again, remember how ugly they were, how extensive they were. The dress would hide them, but currently, it didn't.

"Oh god, Daphne," Kiana breathed, the quietly uttered words like a hit to her stomach, and Daphne turned back around her hands going to pull the dress together, to hide the scars so that nobody would see them.

"Daphne," Grace said softly, "It's alright, come on, let me close the dress up," Grace told her, a wan smile on her face, but Daphne could feel her hands shake when she zipped up the dress easily.

It hid the scars, nothing more to see, but that didn't stop Kiana from staring at her with big brown eyes, her eyes seemingly so much bigger than usual.

"I...they don't hurt anymore, do they?" Kiana asked her, her voice breaking. "I mean..."

"I don#t want to talk about it," Daphne pressed out. She didn't, she didn't...she couldn't."

Kiana opened her mouth back up but Grace interrupted her before she could say something, making Daphne's stomach flood with thankfulness.

"Kiana," Grace words were soft. "Let's get them paid for and wrapped up.

Daphne couldn't get that out of her head, even when she had paid for the dress and they were driving back to Fairbury. She still saw Kiana's shocked expression, still saw how her friend had stared at the scars.

She knew that her scars were extensive. Even werewolf healing hadn't been able to stop them from forming.

They were all over her back, mostly hidden by her clothing but they were there. She knew that.

And when Luke and she ever...ever moved on to do something that involved less clothing then he was going to see them as well. And that was making her terrified.

What if he thought that her scars were ugly? What if that visible reminder of her...her trauma was the thing that pushed him over the edge and made him decide that she wasn't worse the hassle after all?

She couldn't help it when the first tear run over her cheek.