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

“It’s my duty as a

squealed in delight. “He’d

camera, and for a moment, it seemed as if he was staring straight through it.

My heart ached.

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

of me at all since the

hoping to soothe

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

had Elva, and I had Anna. I

the kitchen, signaling a meal was ready. I went back to retrieve it. When I returned to the dining

underground market is something that the royal family is investigating with the utmost seriousness. This illegal trade of wolves and their gifts is

of food in my

at once, all eyes on

of any one wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot let

the other waitresses hissed at me, waking me from

sorry.” I quickly set to cleaning it. As I did, I cursed myself

worn down and exhausted. After my accident, I pushed myself as hard as I

lift my eyes to the television again, not even when

applied. I wouldn’t be on the list. Why even bother

particularly stubborn clump of food from a plate, I noticed how quiet it

Almost always, he was the last to leave at night. But he was nowhere to

had said they would clean the dining room. The lights in the dining room

I was alone.

my

to knock Boss over the head

moment too late. Boss had been expecting

knocked the plate onto the

he pressed his hips hard to

I was trapped.

shirt, revealing my lacey white

Panic swelling within me, I struggled against him. He only held tighter, rougher, fingers

I didn’t have