The week went by in a flash, and next thing I knew, Susan and I were walking into the dance hall for the Full Moon Ball.
The stage was lined with a red carpet that flowed down a few steps to the center of a well-polished dance floor. Golden chandeliers were heavy with candles that lit the room with a warm white glow. There were huge bouquets of red roses everywhere.
A band was playing quietly at one end of the stage. The conductor was leading them to a slow tempo, waving his arms in a way that made them look boneless.
“Thank you,” Susan said to me. “Thank you for this amazing dress. I knew you were good, but this is really next level.”
She did look amazing. The dress had a fitted bodice onto which I’d hand sewn what felt like a million garnet colored beads that shimmered in the candlelight and almost looked alive. The skirt was crimson, floor length with a slit up one leg that stopped just below the knee.
“It was nothing,” I replied. But the pale purple circles under my eyes betrayed that I’d been pulling long nights this week, and my fingers were covered in needle pricks.
The other girls in attendance all looked gorgeous. Their dresses were designer, obviously expensive, and ornate. I spotted Caryn, who was wearing a long lace gown as bright white as her big teeth.
I fidgeted with my own dress, which I’d made using scraps left over from a school project. It was black, cut in layers and draped in a way that flattered my hourglass curves, with long sleeves and a gold lace overskirt.
The hall was packed. People were clustered together, whispering excitedly.
I followed Susan to where the concubine selection party was preparing for the prince’s arrival. To my surprise, there were a few human girls in the group, which was otherwise made up of noble female werewolves. Unlike me, though, they were at least noble humans.
“They don’t have much hope for actually being chosen,” Susan whispered to me, eyeing the human girls. “But I guess they just want to try their luck. Good for them.”
As far as I knew, only Lycans and werewolves had ever inhabited the royal palace. It was hard to imagine a prince or king choosing a human mate. They married female werewolves from noble bloodlines — that’s just the way it was.
Susan had insisted on wearing red lipstick that night for the first time, but now she kept asking me to check and see if any had gotten on her teeth.
“You look perfect,” I told her. I gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze.
I noticed Caryn watching us, whispering to her friends and snickering. She liked to make fun of our friendship, calling me Susan’s sidekick or assistant. I didn’t really care, especially that night — I was just there to support my best friend.
A sudden trumpet tune sounded. The ceremony was about to start.
The conductor turned to face the crowd and called out in a loud voice, “I present to you, heir to the Lycan throne, Prince Nolan!”
The crowd went crazy as the prince walked out onto the stage. Three other tall and handsome men followed him, walking in perfect unison. All of them were dressed in black suits, but the prince stood out easily at the front of the pack.
Nolan was indeed shockingly handsome, with dark features and a stern posture that commanded authority. As he descended the stairs, he turned to look in our direction, and for a brief moment we locked eyes.
My body reacted before my mind could form a complete thought.
I felt sick, faint, thrilled and full of dread all at once.
Nolan’s eyes were dark green, deep set, and intense. They looked right into my soul.
I knew in that instant it was him.
The stranger.
But the prince looked away and I took a deep breath, telling myself I had to be mistaken.
The bloodied werewolf that fucked me in a cave last week could not be the same man I saw before me now — a stately royal with perfect posture, neat hair, and chiseled cheekbones.
But, I remembered, the stranger’s features had been swollen from his injuries. Maybe I had touched those cheekbones when they were buried under bruises.
I couldn’t be sure.
#
The selection party was like a pageant. The girls took the stage for only a few minutes each, walking slowly to show off their bodies.
The prince watched from below center stage, with his attendants seated beside and behind him.
Some of us passed through our turns quickly. Others showed off talents, offering short performances for the crowd. One, a dancer, turned a beautiful pirouette; a few others attempted musical performances that ranged from dull to downright embarrassing.
Susan was last on stage.
She sang a tune I’d heard her practice before. In a clear, sweet soprano, she wowed the audience with a short melody and earned enthusiastic applause.
I’d asked Evan to meet me here with flowers, so we could bring them to Susan after her performance and act like her fans. I thought it might help her odds of attracting Nolan’s attention.
Evan met me near the stage and we rushed over to Susan as planned, throwing wildflower bouquets at her feet while she bowed before the crowd.
The prince clapped politely. The neutral expression on his face had not changed once since his arrival.
The applause died down. Susan and I took our places, lined up onstage in a row with the other contenders.
The prince stood and walked up the steps to the stage. Whispers ran through the anxious crowd. All eyes were on Susan, who trembled beside me.
The prince paced the stage slowly.
He came to a stop in front of me and Susan.
Then, inexplicably, he reached out and touched my hand.
It felt like a fire ignited inside me.
Before I could process what was happening, the prince pulled me forward.
We faced the crowd, hand in hand.
“Thank you all for coming to the Full Moon Ball,” he announced. His voice was deep and commanding.
“I believe,” he continued, “that I have found my future Luna.”
I couldn’t understand what was happening.
I tried to pull my hand free from Nolan’s, but he held on tight.
Looking at him standing there, his princely stature and simple confidence gave him an appearance of softness and grace. But his grip revealed an incredible, unmovable strength.
I stood beside him helpless for what was probably seconds but felt like an eternity. The crowd began to stir and grumble.
I turned to Susan. All the color had drained from her face.
One of the prince’s men paced over to us, carrying a golden laurel crown studded with sparkling emeralds, atop a red velvet pillow.
Nolan finally released my hand. He took the crown from the attendant and turned to face me, lifting it over my head.
Suddenly a blur of red rushed past me.
Susan stormed forward on the stage, stood at its edge and spun to face us.
Her face was no longer pale, but flushed red with anger, matching the crimson glow of the glass beads on her gown.
“My Lord,” she said, her voice shaky and loud. “There is something about Yena that you should know.”
My stomach sank. This could not be good. The crowd fell silent, as if everyone were holding their breath. Evan, still near the stage, stepped forward. “Susan,” he said. His voice echoed in the now eerily quiet hall. “What are you doing?” Susan’s eyes, wide with rage, were fixed on me. “My dear friend Yena,” she continued, her volume increasing with every word, “has a dirty little secret. She told me she had a one-night stand with a rogue wolf just last week. She’s no longer a virgin.” All the air left my lungs. I felt like I’d been sucker-punched. Over and over again, by a swinging pendulum I couldn’t get out from under. Every moment, the reality of this situation felt more and more unbearable. I began to shake. My legs felt as though they were about to go limp. Everyone was looking at me. Then I was hit with a wave of that specific kind of anxiety I’ve felt often in public — the shame about my weight, my appearance — and had the strange thought that if I’d have known this w
“But she’s a human, not a wolf. How can she possibly marry a Lycan?” It was Caryn. She asked her question loudly, but with what could be mistaken for a polite and reverent tone. She flashed me a cruel, toothy smile before stepping back into the crowd of girls that were now encircling me and Nolan on the stage. Whispers coursed through the audience. Then a single voice rang out from the far end of the hall, crying, “This fat human girl has tricked and seduced our prince!” The crowd roared in outrage. Another anonymous voice shouted, “The Gamma warriors should arrest her! Lock her up at once!” A cry of support rang out amongst the nobles. The armed guards posted at the entrance paced a few steps forward into the hall. They were members of the king’s guard, known as Gamma warriors, and they were heavily armed. I swallowed hard. My palms were sweaty. Nolan smirked at the crowd. He withdrew his hand from mine, reached up, and ran it through my hair, letting a long golden curl sli
I couldn’t help it. I kept thinking about that night in the cave. The shockwaves of pleasure the stranger sent through me. The primal sounds he made. It was hard to reconcile that memory with the man I saw before me now. I remembered the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around me. His big hands on my hips. His hot breath on my neck. And his big dick. He seemed to have a good idea how to use it. “Wait…” I said, snapping myself back to reality. “Were you really a virgin before that night?” “Yes,” he replied flatly. “Seemed like… you knew what you were doing.” He raised his eyebrows. “Are you complimenting me?” His mouth twitched, resisting a smug smile. I hadn’t really meant to do that. “Alright,” he said, “If that’s the case, then what’s the problem? I would guess that this” — he gestured to the laurel crown, which he’d set aside, having missed the opportunity to put it on my head during the ceremony — “is the best offer you may ever receive.” I cleared my throat and said
His face was close to mine, and I felt his breath on my neck. It sent a shiver running down my spine. The reporters, kept at bay on the sidewalk, were snapping away with their cameras and talking loudly into microphones. I turned away and reached for the front door, but he kept pace with me and slipped his arm around my waist. It felt like it belonged there. His hands fit themselves around my curves so naturally. I guess because… he knew them. His arms were so strong. Every muscle along the whole length of them bulged. He smelled like pine and sandalwood, like he’d just stepped out of the forest. I remembered this smell from the morning after our night together in the cave. But no. I had to stop letting my thoughts drip down into that memory. Every time, it made me feel like I was melting. Every time I thought about the feeling of his hot, rough hands all over every inch of my body. The way he’d fucked me. Shameless and giving and desperate and wild. His incredible strength.
“You stop right there,” Tina said. She put my coffee down on the table in front of me, a little too hard. A blob of whipped cream slid off the top and started melting down the side. “Peter, you are not going to sell our daughter to settle a debt,” she said, staring daggers at him. “It’s okay,” I said, and I reached out to Tina. She pulled away. “It’s not okay,” Evan snapped. I already had the gold business card, and my cell phone, in my hand. “It’s actually my choice, alright?” I said. That got them to quiet down. I made the call. While it rang I took a few shallow breaths and tried to prepare what I was going to say. I didn’t plan to, but when the line picked up I just started talking before the prince could answer. The words just rushed out. “Hello Nolan — I mean, Your Highness — I changed my mind and I’m so sorry about what I said last night. If you’ll still have me, I’ll marry you, but I’ll need your help with something first and I just have to get it out, I need ten millio
YENA We hid out in the house all morning. Peter had been taking calls from his lawyer, his partners, and his creditors. He told them he was doing everything he could, but that he needed more time. Then they showed up at the house. Evan went around and locked all the doors. Tina pulled the curtains closed over every window. Men were knocking on the door nonstop — banging it hard — trying to wear us down, get us to open up. Peter told us not to be scared. They’ll go away, he said, if we ignore them. I was pretty sure he was wrong about that, though I really couldn’t guess what would happen if we just kept on hiding there in the dark. Peter turned his phone off. He hadn’t told anyone the whole story yet. Hopefully, no one besides us and the prince knew yet that I’d rejected his proposal. Not that anyone would believe it, anyway, if we told them. How could an ordinary girl — a commoner, and a fat girl at that — not take the prince up on such an undeserved offer? I stared at the phon
Evan’s face flushed, going beet red. “My relationship with Yena,” he said, is none of your business.” Nolan knew full well what kind of relationship Evan wanted with Yena. He could smell it. It almost made him laugh, to think that the boy actually felt he was fooling anyone. The way he followed his sister around, watching her every move… Nolan’s blood felt hot. It gave him a tight, unpleasant feeling in his chest, thinking about Yena and Evan. He took a step toward the door. Yena was still standing there on the porch in an embrace with her adoptive mother, oblivious to the conversation taking place inside. The prince turned back to Evan and looked him dead in the eye. “Why is it,” Nolan asked, “that you are so obsessed with her?” Evan was silent for a few seconds. The two stared each other down, neither one flinching. “Yena,” Evan finally said, “is the most beautiful girl in the world to me. If you can’t see that — if you can’t see how amazing she is, then let her stay here wi
YENAOn some sort of embarrassed impulse, I actually reached up to my mouth and wiped it with my hand.There was no drool.I felt my face get hot.It was unbelievable. He had such a skill for pushing my buttons. And could do it so fast.He took one step forward and leaned against the door frame. We were face to face at a sort of four-way intersection of dark, empty hallways.Nolan was tall and broad, and cast a shadow that enveloped me in darkness.“Stop fucking with me,” I said.“Well,” he replied, “you were the one eye-fucking me first.”The dim moonlight drifting in through the windows hit his eyes and lit them up. They were hard like stone, deep green in shadow, and staring down at me with the prince’s signature brand of smoldering condescension.A rush of desperate desire surged through me, starting at my throat and flooding downwards.I swallowed as quietly as I could and thought about turning around. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of being rewarded for this kind of behavi