The Luna Choosing Game

It had been three days since Boss made his proposition: either I sleep with him or I get fired.

I needed one more day’s pay to cover Elva’s most recent bill. Once I had that, I could resign and hopefully find something else.

Boss trailed his eyes down the length of my body. Staring openly at my breasts, he licked his lips. “Don’t think I won’t, Piper. I’ll be waiting for you.”

In the restaurant, all of the female patrons talked excitedly about the selection. To cater to them, Boss turned all of the televisions on the walls to the royal consort ceremony broadcast.

“Which one do you think is the most handsome?” asked one patron to her friends.

They’d ordered a plate of loaded nachos to share. I carefully placed it in the center of their table.

Another girl spoke quickly. “Are you kidding? The others are cute, sure, but Nicholas is obviously the hottest.”

The other girls quickly agreed.

Startled, I hovered at their table. They were right, of course. Nicholas was the most objectively attractive, but to hear people talk about him so casually still surprised me.

For three days, I’d tried to reconcile in my mind that the Nicholas I had known was also the eldest prince of the kingdom. But I still couldn’t quite manage it.

Nicholas had always been proper. But a prince?

“Piper, is it?” one of the girls at the table asked me. I jumped, realizing I was still standing there. Yet before I could apologize, she asked me, “Which one do you think is the most handsome?”

“Nicholas,” came my automatic answer. “Excuse me.”

Embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming, I forced myself to focus on work. And I succeeded – until I heard Nicholas’ voice come from the speakers.

“The kind of woman I’d prefer?” Nicholas said. “Someone loyal. Strong. Even tempered. And she has to like to children.”

“Check, check, and check,” came a voice from the table of girls. “He’s describing me! It’s meant to be.”

“Dream on. He’s clearly describing me.”

“You don’t even like kids!”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see which of us make it through the preliminary selection. Then you’ll see!”

we can expect you to have a big

his eyes were guarded. “It’s my duty as a prince to continue the

girls squealed in delight. “He’d make such

moment, it seemed as if he was staring straight through it. I froze in

My heart ached.

glanced off to the side again, looking at the interviewer, and immediately, I felt foolish. Of course, he couldn’t

me at

pressed my hand over my heart, hoping to soothe away the touch of

was wrong with me? We hadn’t seen each other in three years. I couldn’t still be hung up on him. Sure, I

had

I went back to retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room,

utmost seriousness. This illegal trade of wolves and their gifts is dangerous for every person in

of food in my

at once, all eyes on

one wolf, weakens the

waitresses hissed

to cleaning it. As I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my thoughts, I couldn’t hear

of my shift, I was worn down and exhausted. After my accident, I pushed myself as hard as I could, focusing solely on work and forgetting

not once lift my eyes to the television again, not even when the table of

be on the

the sink. After washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food from a plate, I

had to clean the stove, or prep for tomorrow. Almost always, he was the last to leave at

would clean the dining room. The lights

I was alone.

air brushed the back of my exposed neck. The stench

plate I’d been cleaning, I immediately swung around, ready to knock

I was a moment too late. Boss had been

the plate onto the

he pressed his hips hard to mine, wedging me against

I was trapped.

hand ripped open the buttons of my shirt, revealing my lacey white bra. He pressed his

swelling within me, I struggled against him. He

didn’t have