My gaze was fixed to the television screen as I tried to soak in every possible detail of my ex-boyfriend.

In the three years since I’d seen him last, Nicholas had matured, filling out his previously lanky teenage figure. Skinny arms had widened with muscle. His broad torso tapered into a narrow waist.

He’d lost the boyish width to his face. His cheekbones had always been high, but now his jawline was sharp enough to cut glass.

He had been handsome when we’d dated.

But looking at him now, at the man he became..

He was jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

And apparently… a prince?

I’d known he was nobility, but I had no idea he was that high in the royal succession.

“Turn it up,” I said.

Anna increased the volume, until we could hear the newscaster’s voice.

“With the borders unstable and the economy in decline, the public has expressed fear for both their future and the future of the dwindling next generation. Through this choosing game, the royal family hopes to inspire the public…”

“It’s a good distraction,” I said. Everyone I’d encountered today had been talking about it, instead of their usual woes and worries. “

Anna said. “I’m inspired.” When I gave her a disbelieving look, she shrugged. “It shows the royal family is actually trying, instead of sitting up in their high towers, ignoring us. That gives me hope.”

The voice on the television continued, “In addition to providing entertainment and comfort to the everyday populace, the selection offers a unique opportunity for the princes, who have yet to find their mates. As per law, a prince needs a partner to inherit the throne.”

Logically, upon seeing Nicholas in the lineup for the selection, I knew he didn’t have a mate, yet still my brain struggled to make sense of it.

When we’d dated, Nicholas had been kind and generous, talented, handsome. How could someone like that have failed to find their match?

“Can you believe this?” Anna asked me. “They are all so handsome!”

The footage of the three princes played on a loop. This time, I was able to see more than just Nicholas. Like the person beside him. One of his brothers.

Julian?

Nicholas and Julian had both been classmates of mine at the Royal Academy, but they had hated each other. Everyone saw them as arch-enemies. They were actually brothers?

“The royal family requires all unmarried women aged 18 to 22 to apply,” the newscaster continued. “The deadline is in two days.”

The news segment ended, and another story began. Anna lowered the volume again.

Anna shifted on the couch, lifting one leg onto the cushion so that she could face me. “When are you submitting your application?”

I shook my head. “I’m a single mother, Anna. I don’t think that meets the criteria.”

“Elva is your sister’s baby, not yours. How long are you going to let yourself suffer for it?”

“Elva isn’t a burden.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. What I’m trying to say is that you are holding yourself back. You shouldn’t be stuck here as a waitress in a dead-end job with a handsy boss. You deserve more. You don’t belong here.”

Elva was more important to me than anything in the whole world. I had no intention of leaving her behind so that I could blindly chase a crown.

“What about you?” I deflected. “You don’t belong here either.”

Anna gave me a sad smile. “I’m too old to apply.” She shrugged. “Come on, Piper. There’s no harm in applying. You should submit the form. I’ll look after Elva if you’re selected. Plus, you won’t have to worry about your boss at the restaurant anymore.”

“Only if I’m selected, and that’s a big if.”

I couldn’t deny the temptation. My time with Nicholas had been… special. To be offered the chance to see him again sent my heart racing. But that was a problem in itself.

What Nicholas and I had ended a long time ago.

“I’m a single mother, I’d never get chosen. And even if I am, I would never leave Elva for anything, not even to become Luna.”

Anna sighed, long and slow. “If I were you, I’d never pass up this opportunity.”

Before I could reply, the news displayed the princes’ video again. Anna immediately unmuted the television.

“The applicant selection process will be screened during the royal consort ceremony. We remind our viewers that this traditional ceremony hasn’t been conducted in half a century.”

“Wow,” Anna gasped.

“During this ceremony, the royal family will utilize its ancient power to select 25 finalists from thousands of applicants. The process is expected to take a half hour. You can watch the entire ceremony right here on this channel.”

“Oh, I’ll be watching alright,” Anna said.

I had no intention of watching, myself. Nicholas was a ghost of my past.

We’d said goodbye three long years ago, but that didn’t mean I wanted to watch other women vie for his affections. The thought of seeing him fall in love in real time with someone else made my stomach twist into uncomfortable knots.

“I need to get some sleep,” I said, pushing weary body up off the couch.

“Please, d-don’t!” I cried, voice breaking in a sob. “Help!”

Nicholas, where are you? Save me. Please! Save me!

“Remember,” said a cruel voice in my ear. “You asked for this.”

No!

“No!” I shouted, springing upright in bed. Sweat clung to my brow. My breaths came out heavy and ragged.

But I was alive. I was safe.

Looking around, I recognized my bedroom. I recognized –

“Mommy?”

Elva stood beside my bed. She watched me with wide eyes.

“Why are you crying, Mommy?”

I touched my cheeks, wiping away tears. I tried to control my breathing and slow the pounding of my heart. I didn’t want Elva to worry.

“It was just a bad dream, honey. I’m okay.”

“A nightmare?” Elva asked.

I nodded.

In a rush, Elva left my bedside to go to her own. She returned with one of her stuffed bears. She held it out for me.

“Teacher said that toys help fight the nightmares. Mr. Fluff will pro… protect you.”

She held up the old bear with its worn button eyes and fuzzy fur so earnestly, my entire heart melted. I quickly accepted it.

“Isn’t Mr. Fluff one of your favorites?”

“Yep! He’s the best. So Mommy won’t cry anymore.”

I set Mr. Fluff beside me on the bed, then reached down and pulled Elva into my arms.

She giggled as I covered her face in butterfly kisses. The sound eased the remaining hurt lingering in my chest.

I would do anything for this little girl.

Elva fell asleep soon after. I returned her to her bed and tucked her in.

The news station had sliced together a preview for the consort selection ceremony. The flashes of Nicholas made my heart ache.

“Who will be selected as candidates for the Luna Choosing Game?” a voice said over the footage of the royal family. “Any woman in the kingdom could be selected. It could be your friend or your neighbor. Or, it could be you.”

I didn’t have time for such silly dreaming in my life. It would be a waste of time for me to even entertain the possibility of being selected. Wolf-less single mothers did not become Luna.

But, who would be the lucky girl?

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!”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see which of us make it through the preliminary selection. Then you’ll see!”

The screen showed the interviewer. “Children, hm? Does that mean we can expect you to have a big family, Prince Nicholas?”

The camera panned back to Nicholas. He gave a small smile, 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 family.”

The girls squealed in delight. “He’d make such a good father!”

Nicholas glanced at the camera, and for a moment, it seemed as if he was staring straight through it. I froze in place, like he could see me.

My heart ached.

He glanced off to the side again, looking at the interviewer, and immediately, I felt foolish. Of course, he couldn’t see me.

He probably hadn’t thought of me at all since the breakup.

I pressed my hand over my heart, hoping to soothe away the touch of pain there.

What was wrong with me? We hadn’t seen each other in three years. I couldn’t still be hung up on him. Sure, I hadn’t dated anyone else since, but that didn’t mean anything. I’d been too busy to date.

I wasn’t lonely. I had Elva, and I had Anna. I didn’t need romance to be content.

A bell 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 entirely different topic.

“The underground market 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 the kingdom.”

I dropped the plate of food in my hand.

The restaurant silenced at once, all eyes on me.

Nicholas continued, “The weakening of any one wolf, weakens the whole pack. We cannot let that go unpunished.”

“Piper,” one of the other waitresses hissed at me, waking me from my stupor.

I stood among ceramic shards and ruined food. “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 Nicholas’ interview.

By the end of my shift, I was worn down and exhausted. After my accident, I pushed myself as hard as I could, focusing solely on work and forgetting all else.

I did not once lift my eyes to the television again, not even when the table of girls bemoaned their disappointment with the selection results.

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

I worked until closing, scrubbing dishes in the sink. After washing away a particularly stubborn clump of food from a plate, I noticed how quiet it was around me.

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

Neither were the other waitresses, who had said they would clean the dining room. The lights in the dining room were dimmed.

I was alone.

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

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

But I was a moment too late. Boss had been expecting the attack.

He knocked the plate onto the floor, where it smashed to pieces.

One arm circling around my waist, he pressed his hips hard to mine, wedging me against the lip of the sink.

I was trapped.

Boss’s free hand ripped open the buttons of my shirt, revealing my lacey white bra. He pressed his palm against my breast.

“Let me go.” Panic swelling within me, I struggled against him. He only held tighter, rougher, fingers biting into my hip and my chest.

Without my wolf, I didn’t have the strength to break free.

“Don’t be shy, wolf-less.” Boss pressed his nose to my cheek. I felt him smile against my jaw. “You have a child, after all. I know you aren’t a virgin.”

When Nicholas had touched me, it had been nothing like this.

Nicholas had been excited and eager, but gentle, too. He’d pressed his lips to my skin and –

Boss bit the side of my neck.

I cried out, and renewed my struggle. But it was too much. Without my wolf, he was just too strong.

“Be good and take what I give you,” Boss said. “Quit the blushing virgin act.”

“I don’t want you!” I shouted.

He laughed. “Who cares what you want?”

Then, suddenly, a sharp thud sounded, and the insistent press of Boss’s body fell away.

I opened my eyes.

Boss was unconscious on the ground. A group of soldiers in uniform stood behind where he’d been.

One of them, at the front, held up something near my face. When he lowered it, I saw it was a picture of me.

“Piper?”

Panic still clawed at my throat, silencing me. Even though they’d rescued me, I still didn’t feel safe.

Who were these soldiers? What did they want?

“Are you Piper?” the soldier asked again.

I nodded.

“Come with us,” he said. He signaled to his squad. They began to file out of the kitchen.

“…Where?” I managed to ask.

“Didn’t you want the royal consort ceremony?”

“N-no.”

“You were selected, Piper. We’re here to escort you to the palace.”

One of the soldiers dragged Boss out into the dining room. He was whimpering, begging them to let him go.

“I didn’t know. How would I have known?”

In the center of the dining room, the soldier dropped his hold on Boss and he crumpled onto the floor.

My attention flicked up to the television screens, which showed a replay of the selection process, displaying names, one after the next.

The 25(th) and final name was my own.

I didn’t understand. I never sent in an application.

“I had no idea she might be a future Luna,” Boss said, clutching his head. “If I’d known, I never would have –”

“For this slight against the royal family, this establishment will be shut down until further notice,” the head soldier said, cutting Boss off. Then the guard looked at me. “Some of us will escort you home, miss, so that you can gather your personal belongings.”

“How long will I be staying?” I asked. I felt like I was in some sort of dream. Any moment I’d wake up and be in that kitchen.

I never wanted to step foot inside of there again.

The soldier gave me a quizzical look. “Everything should have been made clear on your application.”

The application. Right. The one I hadn’t sent in.

I didn’t want to ask any more questions and risk drawing unwanted attention to myself, so I nodded. “Of course.”

A handful of soldiers near the entrance beckoned me to them. I followed them and they drove me to my apartment. When we arrived, I asked them to wait outside.

They complied, though one stationed himself right outside the door. “To help with luggage,” he explained.

I wasn’t used to that kind of care, so I looked at him strangely for a moment. He maintained a military stance, not seeming to mind my stare.

This was all too weird.

I opened my apartment door and walked inside. Anna excitedly met me just inside the door. Elva, not quite as excited, was still on the couch, playing with her dolls.

“Hi, Mommy.”

“Hi, Elva,” I called to her before looking at Anna, who seemed ready to bounce straight out of her skin.

“You were chosen! Can you believe it?”

“No.” I ushered her away from the front door. Yet even away from it, I still kept my voice soft so the soldier outside wouldn’t hear. “I didn’t even put in an application. How did they get my name?”

Anna quickly glanced away.

“Anna.”

“So I sent in an application on your behalf…”

“Anna!” I whisper-yelled.

“You don’t belong in this town, Piper, and certainly not in that job with that creepy boss.”

“I can’t believe this. What am I supposed to do?”

Her eyes found mine again. She held hands out, palms up. “You are supposed to participate in the Luna Choosing Game.”

“I never wanted to do this,” I said. “If I go there, I’m going to be humiliated. I don’t fit the criteria, Anna. I have a daughter.”

Anna shrugged. “What’s the harm in trying, Piper? If you go and they disqualify you, you come back here and nothing will have changed. But if they accept you…”

“That will never happen.”

Anna sighed dramatically. “At least try. If only so you can get a free vacation to the Capital. Elva’s never seen it.” Anna kneeled down, claiming Elva’s attention. “Wouldn’t you like to see the palace, Elva? Where the King and Luna live?”

“The Luna had a pretty dress,” Elva said.

“She has a lot of pretty dresses,” Anna said. “And so do a lot of the other girls there.”

Elva gasped. “Really?” When Anna nodded, Elva turned her doe eyes up to me. “Can I see the pretty dresses, Mommy?”

This was a low tactic from Anna. How could I resist Elva’s doe eyes?

“Okay,” I said. “We can see the pretty dresses.”

As Elva cheered, I gave Anna a flat look.

She just smiled. “You’ll thank me later.”

Despite the royal family’s magic having made the selection, choosing me had to have been some kind of mistake. I couldn’t say that, of course. To dispute the judgement of the royal family was akin to treason.

What I could do was take Elva into the palace to see the dresses, and then politely withdraw from the competition.

We arrived to the palace at dawn, pulling into a long circular entryway. Carrying Elva, I followed the soldiers to a room to prepare for the morning’s social.

I thanked the guard again. He seemed less surprised this time. At the door, he whispered, “Good luck, ma’am.”

Twenty minutes later, I had changed and help Elva into the nicest outfits we had brought. We matched in simple sundresses. I brushed Elva’s hair up into curly pigtails. I kept my own down, which was unusual for me. Lately, I always had it up in a bun for work.

Dressed, we followed a waiting maid down into the main parlor, where many beautiful women had begun to gather. Their dresses were much more elaborate than mine, the other girls looking like they had stepped out of the latest expensive fashion magazines.

Elva’s eyes went wide as saucers. She pointed to one dress, and then the next, like she didn’t know what to look at first.

In the corner of the room, a maid had set up a table of mimosas and parfaits. I ushered Elva over there and handed her a parfait and a spoon. Her eyes, however, were still on the dresses.

Elva blessedly didn’t seem to notice the sneers and sideways glances the two of us were earning simply by being present. One woman looked at my dressed with a disgusted sort of snarl curling her lip.

Embarrassment struck me and I lowered my chin.

“Elva, honey, let’s…”

Elva wasn’t beside me. I glanced up, alarmed, and saw her only a few feet away, reaching for a woman’s sparkly pink dress.

“Elva,” I said, hurrying to stop her.

But I was too late. Some of her parfait dripped over the side of the cup and onto that sparkling dress.

“Oops,” Elva said.

I placed my hand on Elva’s shoulders, easing her back. “I’m so sorry,” I said to the woman.

The woman’s eyes were fire. Her glare shifted from me to Elva to back again. “Get that runt out of my sight.”

“It was an accident,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” Elva said, voice small.

“There shouldn’t even be a child here. What are you, a nanny? Who do you think you are to attempt to mingle with potential queens?” Her words were cruel and cutting, so ugly compared to her pretty face.

Elva’s shoulders shook. She sniffled loudly.

This was no reason to make a child cry. My own anger spiked. “Now, hold on –”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” the girl snarled. “Get out!”

Suddenly, she shoved me – hard. I hadn’t been expecting it, and without a wolf, I couldn’t stand against her strength. I fell backwards, down to the ground.

I released Elva only so I wouldn’t bring her down with me.

With me out of the way, the girl turned her aggression toward Elva. She shoved her toward the exit, pushing roughly.

Elva was crying in earnest. She’d totally dropped her parfait, and it splashed out, wasted, across the floor.

I scrambled to my feet.

An authoritative voice called out. “What’s going on here?”

Elva must have sensed something protective about the man. She ran straight toward him. He leaned down to catch her.

My heart jumped into my throat.

Elva ran straight into Nicholas’s arms.