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!”

see which of us make it through the preliminary

showed the interviewer. “Children, hm? Does that mean we can expect you to

“It’s my duty as a prince to continue the lineage. But, yes, I’d

girls squealed in delight. “He’d

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

My heart ached.

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

me at all since the

my heart, hoping to soothe away the

each other in three years. I couldn’t still be hung up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since, but that

Elva, and I had Anna. I

retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room, Nicholas was still on the screen, but speaking on an entirely different

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

the plate of food in

restaurant silenced at once, all eyes on

one wolf, weakens

the other waitresses hissed at me,

As I did, I cursed myself so loudly in my thoughts, I couldn’t

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

television again, not even when the table of girls bemoaned their

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

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

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

would clean the dining room. The lights

I was alone.

my exposed neck.

cleaning, I immediately swung around, ready to

late. Boss had been expecting the

plate onto the floor,

hips hard to mine, wedging me

I was trapped.

shirt, revealing my lacey white

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

I didn’t have the strength to

his nose to my cheek. I felt him smile against my jaw. “You have a child, after all. I know you aren’t a