Page 61 of Wedding the Werepanther

Kayla

When I walk out the back door, I come to such a hard stop that the iced lemonades I’m carrying slosh on the tray, spilling little splashes of citrusy scent.

The backyard has been transformed into a Mario wonderland. This shouldn’t be so surprising, since I’ve been right in the middle of everything, setting it up all day, but this is the first time I’ve taken a step back to take in the full effect.

Two-foot mushrooms dot the grass, their red caps covered in white polka dots. Violeta and Jasmine helped me make them yesterday out of papier mâché, along with the taller stacks of gold coins that stand on each side of the arbor. My closest friends among the Witch Bitches spent the morning helping me paint them. Golden power-up stars decorate the wisteria-covered arbor, while another batch floats overhead, powered by Severin’s magic. When it gets darker, they’ll glow. You can evenjump up and tap them, just like in the game, and they make your hand tingle with magic.

Two long picnic tables wait to the side, groaning under all the Mario-themed food. There are personal pizzas and adorable mini spaghetti and meatball appetizers, fruit bowls, and peach cobbler. A grill stands waiting on one side, along with all the hamburger fixings, and on the other sit casks of orc ale and cider. Luke used a crystal to wrap the area in a stasis spell to keep everything fresh, so we can start to eat immediately after the ceremony. This was all Violeta’s idea: if we were going to have people over to help with the fake wedding, why not have a fake reception that turns into a real cookout party?

She trots over to me, followed by the other Witch Bitches, who swarm around the cold drinks with the zeal of gamers who forgot to hydrate coming off a long campaign.

The men have long since cleared out. Jace and Rune took Shadow into town before we started decorating so as not to spoil the surprise. Severin, Luke, and Thorvinn left to join them once they did their parts, and I sent along the white tux and top hat for Shadow to wear so he can look like Mario from the Odyssey wedding scene.

A super sexy Mario that is, whose werepanther form is like a hot Bowser. Yum.

One by one, the empty glasses clink back onto the tray, and Violeta pulls out her phone to check the time. “The guys will be here in an hour. Let’s get you ready!”

“Yes!” Skye claps so hard the blonde curls of her 1950s retro hairdo dance around her pretty face.

Hannah takes the tray from me, Jasmine hooks my elbow to pull me into the house, and Autumn runs over to her ancient Land Rover to carry everyone’s dresses inside.

They shove me into the shower and take turns doing quick washups at the sink. By the time I’m out, they’re wearing arainbow of bright dresses: Violeta in red, Jasmine in lime green, Skye in hot-pink, Autumn in teal, and Hannah in neon blue. I didn’t ask anyone to buy anything Mario-themed, just to bring the most colorful dresses they own to match the hyper-bright colors of the game.

I’mthe one who’ll be in costume.

Once I blow-dry my hair, Violeta sits me down in front of my vanity and does my makeup while Jasmine styles my hair. Both of them are far better at this than I am, and by the time they’re done, I look so good I almost don’t recognize myself.

“If I ever get married for real, you guys havegotto do this again.” I turn my head from side to side, admiring the reflection in the mirror. “I actually look pretty.”

“Girl, youarepretty.” Jasmine wags a finger at me. “So don’t go thinking you’re not.”

“Let’s get you into your dress,” Skye says as Autumn and Hannah hold it up.

They all help me into it, and as a final touch, Jasmine secures the crown on my head and steps back. “Ta da!”

I twirl in front of the mirror in my Princess Peach costume from a couple of Halloweens ago, all pink and girly with oversized blue gemstone jewelry. The two colors kind of work with my purple hair, turning me into my own version of a video game heroine: bright and colorful and over the top. It’s not the white wedding dress from the Odyssey game, but I’m probably the only one here who knows that, and I like this one better anyway—it’s classic Princess Peach.

The sound of kitchen-cupboard applause comes from below, and Victoria writes,“What a pretty pink!”

“Thank you all so much.” I try to wrap my arms around all of the Witch Bitches, and they bury me in the middle of a group hug. “You guys are the flipping best. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“Are you kidding?” Skye beams up at me. “This is fun!”

Everyone murmurs their agreement, and Violeta says, “Plus, we get a party out of it!”

Laughing, we break apart, and the next few minutes are a swirl of rustling clothing as the other women jockey good-naturedly for the mirror to do last-minute touchups.

I follow them down the stairs easily in my bright pink sneakers covered in gold glitter instead of the Heels from Hell. Everything about this costume is comfortable and cut to my size, no Girdle of Doom required.

“Snickerdoodle!” Skye shrieks from the bottom of the stairs. “What the fudge isthat?”

I crane my neck in time to see the green shirt inchworm its way across the hall to disappear into the living room. “That’s, uh… That’s another of my creations.”

“Is it a shirt?” Autumn asks, glancing back over her shoulder to wiggle her eyebrows at me. “A man’s shirt?”

I’m so flipping busted. But instead of trying to deny it or wish I could disappear, I own it. “Yeah, it’s Shadow’s. I kinda found a new way to get him shirtless the other night.” I grin. “It crawled right off his body.”

They whoop and lift their hands for a round of high fives.