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!”

mean we can expect

camera panned back to Nicholas. He gave a small smile, but his eyes were guarded. “It’s my duty as a prince to

delight. “He’d make

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

My heart ached.

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

probably hadn’t thought of me at all

hoping to

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,

I had Anna. I didn’t need romance to

it. When I returned to the dining room,

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

of food in my

once,

wolf, weakens

other waitresses hissed at

stood among ceramic shards and ruined food. “I’m sorry.” I quickly set to cleaning it. As I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my

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

even when the table

hadn’t applied. I wouldn’t be on

until closing, scrubbing dishes in the sink. After washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food from a plate, I noticed how quiet

clean the stove, or prep for tomorrow. Almost always, he was

clean

I was alone.

puff of hot air brushed the back of my exposed neck. The

I immediately swung around, ready to knock Boss

I was a moment too late.

knocked the plate onto the floor,

he pressed his hips hard to

I was trapped.

the buttons of my shirt, revealing my lacey

swelling within me, I struggled against him. He only held tighter, rougher, fingers biting into my hip

have the strength to break