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!”

we’ll see which of us make it through the preliminary selection.

“Children, hm? Does that mean we can expect you to

but his eyes were guarded. “It’s my duty as a prince to continue the lineage. But, yes, I’d like to have a large

squealed in delight. “He’d make such a good

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

My heart ached.

to the side again, looking at the interviewer, and immediately, I

probably hadn’t thought of me at all since

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

up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since, but that didn’t mean anything. I’d been

I had Elva, and I had Anna. I didn’t

dinged in the kitchen, signaling a meal was ready. I went back to retrieve it. When I returned to the dining room, Nicholas was still on the screen, but speaking on an

with the utmost seriousness. This illegal trade of wolves and their

dropped the plate of

silenced at once, all

wolf, weakens the

other waitresses hissed at me, waking me

ruined food. “I’m sorry.” I quickly set to cleaning it. As I

After my accident, I pushed myself as hard

my eyes to the television again, not even when the

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

washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food from a

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

they would clean the dining room. The lights

I was alone.

hot air brushed the back of my exposed neck. The stench of alcohol permeated

plate I’d been cleaning, I immediately swung around, ready to knock Boss over the head with it. Anything to get

was a moment too late.

plate onto the

waist, he pressed his hips hard to mine,

I was trapped.

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

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

didn’t have the strength to

him smile against my jaw. “You have a child, after all. I know you