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!”

us make it through the preliminary selection. Then

that mean we can expect you to have a big family,

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

squealed in delight. “He’d make such

for a moment, it seemed as if he was staring straight

My heart ached.

side again, looking at the interviewer,

probably hadn’t thought of me at all since the

heart, hoping to soothe

couldn’t still be hung up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since, but that didn’t

wasn’t lonely. I had Elva, and I had Anna. I

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

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

dropped the plate of food in my

silenced at once, all

“The weakening of any one wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot let that

the other waitresses hissed at me, waking me from my

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

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

again, not even when the table of girls bemoaned their disappointment with the selection

be on

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

the cook had to clean the stove, or prep for tomorrow. Almost always, he was the last to leave at night. But he was

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

I was alone.

brushed the back of my

immediately swung around, ready to knock Boss over the head with it. Anything to get

I was a moment too late. Boss had been

plate onto the floor, where it smashed to

hips hard to mine, wedging me against the lip of the

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

didn’t have the strength

him smile against my