The One True Luna

Settling In

The first few days living as a rogue are just as terrible and difficult as one would expect. For a girl like me, at least. I haven’t taken a shower, all of my clothes are dirty and my hair is a mess. I haven’t done my skincare routine in ages and I’m scared I’ll never get to do that again.

I’m scared, point blank.

"You're really a spoiled little princess, huh?" Amaya laughs at me when I just can't make myself eat today's lunch. Skewers of roasted bunnies .

Those poor little bunnies. I refuse to eat them.

"I’m not spoiled, they were just very cute," I whisper, my lip quivering again, but I force it to stop before I start crying again, "And I'm not even that hungry, really. I can let my wolf hunt later and also, you're nursing. You need this more than me."

"Arielle,” she gives me a tired look and tries to push that roasted bunny flesh into my mouth, I move back, “This isn’t about this specific bunny. You haven’t eaten as a human yet.”

“Well, because it’s not necessary, is it? I’m getting more than enough nutrients from what my wolf eats,” I murmur. Amaya turns to give Gabriel a look and he shakes his head at me in disapproval, then moves closer and grabs my arm.

“Look. You’re very, very skinny,” Gabriel says. And he’s not wrong, I am actually getting skinnier than ever before.

“Well, thank you,” I smile, making him look at me like I’m stupid. He’s very good at that look.

“That is not a good thing,” he says and shakes his head, wrapping his hand around my bicep, all the way, “I could kill you in a second. Anyone could, even Jax.”

“Oh, stop it. Jax wouldn’t kill his favorite aunt,” I say and try to get away from him, but he’s still holding me, “Gabriel, dear… I just don’t feel hungry. My appetite is gone.”

“Fine. Try to escape my grip and I’ll let you skip lunch today,” he says. I scoff and move away, trying to escape, but he holds me like it’s nothing, “It’s not fair, you’re a man.”

“Men are your biggest threat, so you should be able to fight them off,” Milo says, suddenly very serious, “Amaya looks small and harmless, but she can take me down.”

“I could totally win a fight against Amaya. No offense, girl,” I add, shrugging. She laughs, not intimidated in the least.

“Prove it. Go against Amaya. If you can escape her, you can continue to skip meals,” Gabriel says, finally letting go of me. Amaya takes the bite of bunny she wanted to force on me and nods before getting up, ready for anything. I gulp and get up too. I guess this is how rogues do things? “If she takes you down, you have to start eating as a human too. It’s not enough to only feed your wolf. You won’t die, but you’ll get even weaker.”

Alright. I totally can do this.

I crack my neck and study Amaya deeper. She’s around my height, but a little more muscular. Still, she just gave birth to Jax six months ago, how strong can she really be?

“This is just a lesson, so I won’t go too hard on you,” Amaya says with that soft voice of hers. I just nod and get ready, but before I even know what’s happening, she’s running to me like a wild beast.

“Ah!” I squeak and duck when she jumps at me, but she still manages to jump on me like a deranged monkey on coke. My knees buckle immediately and we go down, with her on top of me, “Oh my god, that was cheating. You scared me by acting crazy.”

“Oh, god. That was even worse than I was expecting,” Gabriel groans, covering his face with a hand, “Try to get up.”

I move to one side, then to the other. Amaya is not budging. I try for around one minute before just… giving up. She’s won.

“Pathetic performance from Luna Arielle,” Milo narrates, “Princess Amaya wins by a lot. The crowd goes crazy.”

“Shut up,” I grumble, then sigh in relief when Amaya finally gets off me, “Fine, I guess I have to eat.”

“Yes,” Amaya says and points at the food before sitting back down, “Even if it’s not the fancy food you’re used to. Rabbits are a great source of protein, easy to hunt and they’re tasty. Also, you need to train.”

“Train for what?” I ask, accepting the bunny skewer from Gabriel with a grimace. I truly don’t want to eat it, but I’m a woman of my word, “Are there… threats?”

“There are always threats for us,” Gabriel responds, but I tell myself not to get scared. He’s even more of a Negative Nancy than my mat—than that i***t Cain, “As rogues, we’re never truly safe. Being ready for anything is always a good idea. Training won’t hurt you, but being this weak definitely will.”

“Alright,” I respond, “I’ll train with you guys. The last thing I want is to become a burden after you took me in.”

“You’re not a burden, Luna Arielle,” Milo says, eating his own skewer, “But you’re not an asset either. We have to take you there. I’ve been a rogue for ten years and I know that strength is everything out here. Having a strong body is a good thing on itself, but once that’s done, you have to train your mind too. Having a strong mind makes you a survivor and then there’s really nothing out there that could ever take you down. I see potential in you.”

“Really? I’ve been here for five days and I’ve cried all of them,” I laugh at myself, deflating and feeling the dark cloud covering me again, “I don’t see any potential in myself, to be honest. I’m too old to learn new tricks, I just lost everything, I don’t have anything to look forward to… thank you for saying that, Milo, but…”

Milo makes a strong, loud and rude noise to silence me. I look up to him with wide, startled eyes.

“Pity Parties are not allowed here,” he says and points right at my face, “You will survive, there is no other option. And if you really want something to look forward to… I have an idea.”