The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 1

Working 14 straight hours at a restaurant was hard enough, but to do so while my daughter was sick, threatened to pull my heart out. On top of worrying about the overflowing orders, my daughter’s fever, I had to avoid the wandering hands of my boss. “Just a minute, Piper,” he said, sliding up beside me. Before I could escape, he placed his hand on my butt. “I need to inspect this.” His eyes were on the food, but his hand squeezed my bottom. I snapped, “Move your hand, Boss. Or so help me, I will dump these plates straight onto your head.”

He grinned like I amused him. “You wouldn’t dare.” He was right, and I hated that. The current economy in the Werewolf Kingdom was bad for everyone. So many people were out on the streets, unable to support themselves. Without this job, I’d likely be out there among them. As a single mom. Boss turned into me. He slid his free hand around my waist and pulled me against him in a mockery of a hug. He used the closeness to openly stare down the front of my shirt. “I have to take out the food.” I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat.

My stomach flipped. To my side, someone laughed. An older waitress plucked a roll of paper towels off the top shelf. “You shouldn’t resist, honey,” she said. “Everyone knows you don’t have a man at home. Unless…” She laughed again, loud and cruel. “Were you hoping to be chosen as Queen of the Selection?” Recently, the royal family announced that they were selecting potential brides for three princes. With updates regularly released over the news broadcasts, people flooded in to watch the televisions hanging in our restaurant. As far as I could tell, everyone was invested in the Luna Choosing Game – except me. Boss laughed too. Some spittle hit my cheek. “You are daydreaming if you think you’ve got a shot, wolf-less.” Roughly, he yanked me backwards so he could rub himself against the curve of my backside. The twitch of interest in his pants nearly made me throw up. He reached around me, hands gripping the shelves to my right and left, and boxed me in. “I’ll give you three days to decide, Piper. Either you come to me at night or you’re fired.” The rejection sat primed on my tongue. But he wasn’t done. “Aren’t your daughter’s medical bills due next week? How tragic, if you couldn’t afford them.” He smiled as he spoke, enjoying his own cruelty. All of the blood drained from my face. My daughter, Elva, had recently contracted werewolf pneumonia. I needed money for her treatments and her medicines. She still wasn’t recovered. Boss moved away from me then, leaving me in a daze. The rest of the shift was a blur. After work, I returned home to my small two-bedroom apartment. My roommate and best friend Anna stood in the doorway to the bedroom I shared with Elva. “How is she?” I asked. Anna watched Elva for me while I was at work. “She had a mild fever, but it just broke,” Anna said. “She’s okay now?” I couldn’t keep the worry from my

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