The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

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!”

which of us make it through the preliminary selection. Then you’ll

that mean we can expect you to have a

my duty as a prince to continue the lineage.

in delight. “He’d make such

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

My heart ached.

interviewer, and immediately, I felt foolish. Of course, he couldn’t

me at all since

hoping to soothe away

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 didn’t

retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room, Nicholas

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

dropped the plate of food in my

once,

wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot

of the other waitresses hissed at

“I’m sorry.” I quickly set to cleaning it. As I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my thoughts, I couldn’t hear any more of

the end of my shift, I was worn down and exhausted. After my accident, I pushed

lift my eyes to the television again, not even when

hadn’t applied. I wouldn’t be on the list. Why

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

he was the last to leave at

clean the dining

I was alone.

back of my exposed neck. The stench of

been cleaning, I immediately swung around, ready to knock

too late. Boss had

onto the floor,

hard to mine,

I was trapped.

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

struggled against him. He only held tighter, rougher, fingers biting into my

my wolf, I didn’t have

shy, wolf-less.” Boss pressed his nose to my cheek. I felt him smile