My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," August said softly as she walked next to Greta through the market.

"You will have to get used to it eventually. And I imagine you will if you keep having feelings like the one you are having now," Greta chuckled.

"Is that… are you telling me that's a Luna thing?" August asked.

"I wouldn't know. I'm not Luna," Greta winked at her.

"But…" August started before her brows furrowed and she stared into the distance, considering all of it.

"Is it that difficult to believe? You are mated to my brother. Stop doubting yourself, August. For all of our sakes," Greta mumbled.

August felt scolded at that, and she frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to doubt myself or your brother."

"I know," Greta sighed. "Don't worry about it. It's all still so new. I don't blame you."

They walked a bit longer before arriving at the front of a dress shop. "Dresses?" August's eyes went wide.

"What did you think we would wear?" Greta laughed.

"Costumes of course," August replied.

"Well, costumes can mean different things. Like Halloween, Samhain was often considered a liminal festival where thresholds between worlds could be breached. It was once thought that portals between these worlds would thin and become permeable so that things like spirits and fairies could pass from the otherworld to walk amongst us. Fairies would snatch people to take them back to their world. And once the portals closed after Samhain, those taken would be trapped," Greta explained.

"So to avoid that, people started disguising themselves. But it was always very simple. Even just turning a jacket inside out was sufficient. It became much more elaborate for Halloween," she laughed. "We keep it simple here. We still often wear masks, but since no one dresses formal here ever, this is one of few nights we do. I doubt the fairies would recognize us lycans all dressed up," she laughed again before stepping forward to enter the dress shop.

"Is there anything else I should know about it? Any sacrifices or ghosts of the dead returning?" August asked with a small chuckle as they entered.

"No, of course not. It's just fun," Greta laughed.

"Will the pups be there?" August asked.

"Oh, yes! They will. It's something they very much look forward to. But it's usually a bit more laid back with the pups. There will be a separate area at the pack house for them to enjoy something more similar to the Halloween you are used to—bobbing for apples and goofy stuff. Why do you ask?"

"I just thought masks would be a fun project for the kids to work on. They can design their own. We could do paper mache or something," August thought aloud.

"Oh, I like that idea!" Greta exclaimed.

"Just wait until we get back to the house. I want to show you the sketches I made for the woodland sculptures project I texted you about. I want to start that with them tomorrow and see what kind of ideas they have for it. It will be a pretty long project, but maybe we can have more than one project going simultaneously. I was also thinking about doing separate lessons for the few are into photography. Do you think that's too much?" August asked as Greta began searching through racks of dresses.

"No, I think we could make all of that work. It just depends on how much you want to do. If you don't think it will be too much for you, I'm sure there will be pups interested," she answered. "What do you think of this one?" Greta pulled a black lace dress from the rack.

"It's beautiful," August answered. "Can't go wrong with black."

"Is it too boring?" Greta asked.

August was about to protest when a young woman approached them. "Would you two like to look at some dresses I have kept aside? I imagined the Hallowell women would visit me at some point."

"Oh, yes! How thoughtful of you, Lauren," Greta replied. "All of your dresses are so beautiful."

"Thank you," Lauren curtsied happily and turned to lead the way to a back room.

On the way, Greta turned to August. "Lauren designs and sews all of these dresses by hand."

"That is incredible, Lauren. You are so talented," August said.

"Thank you so much," the girl beamed. "It's something I have loved doing since I was a pup. But now I get to dress strong, beautiful women instead of my little dolls," Lauren laughed. She presented them with a rack of dresses that had been kept from the main floor. "You can try them on back here if you'd like. I will close the door behind me," Lauren smiled politely, leaving them.

Greta pulled a simple red satin dress from the rack and draped it in front of herself, giving August a questioning look. "The peach hair is a bit of an obstacle isn't it?" she asked.

August giggled softly. "I love it actually. You look very anime."

"Is that a good thing?" Greta raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Very sexy," August giggled.

"Try it for you," Greta suggested.

"Eh," August said, taking the dress. "I'm not feeling it for me. It is a little too… um, red."

"What's wrong with red?" Greta asked.

"Attention," August answered simply. "Lots of attention."

"But you are our future Luna, sis," Greta said. "Attention is going to happen whether you want it or not. It might as well be for wearing something stunning like this," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, causing August to giggle.

"That's okay," August said.

Greta groaned. "Okay, let's find something you're comfortable with."

All the dresses were breathtaking. August had noticed something unique and special about each of them, and now knowing that the young lycan out front had made them all by hand, they seemed even more magical. This hidden place in the forest continued to surprise her.. It seemed so surreal that she was here.