The Enslaved Luna

Chapter 2

A knock sounded at the door and in walked a slender brunette with a heart-shaped face wearing a shift dress and beads. She smiled as she entered. "I hear you are the new Luna. I am Inez, one of the girls. Omar has tasked me with showing you about and getting you ready for dinner."

Lily eyed her cautiously. "And how long have you been held here?"

Inez smiled wanly. "Some girls are bought but some come willingly and I am one of them. You see, my family was very poor and this was the only way the rest of my sisters could eat."

Lily immediately felt regret as she thought about her own little sister whom she left behind. "How can you be with a man who you must share with others?"

Inez looked away. "I try not to think about it when my belly is full. I understand it may be harder for you as he is your mate."

Lily was incensed, but managed to pull herself back. "Mate or not, I am no one's slave."

Inez bowed her head and motioned to the door. "Shall we go?"

Lily held her head up high and followed her out. They passed through rooms and halls until they reached an indoor courtyard with a water fountain and palm trees. Beautiful woman after beautiful woman came out to gawk at her and Lily realized they all wore the same silver enclosure around their necks, preventing them from shifting and fighting back.

The woman named Isabella stepped forward and she was drop-dead gorgeous with raven-black hair and a smoldering stare. "Is this the new one?"

Inez did not look at her. "This is the Luna."

Isabella snickered. "She is not MY Luna. You may have that title because you are his mate, but he will grow tired of you just like he does all the other girls."

Lily gritted her teeth. "You may have him when I'm done with him. I don't mind sharing."

A few girls laughed and Isabella looked dangerously furious. "Don't say things you may regret, little one. This game you're playing; it's a dangerous one. Just know, I will always win."

She walked away to a group of women whose eyes sought to eat Lily up alive if they could.

Two women approached her and Inez. One was tall and lithe with red hair and the other dirty blonde with brown eyes. The tall one c****d her head towards Isabella. "Watch out for that one. She will do anything to win Omar's love. My name is Tanneth and this is Meredith."

Meredith nodded. "I would say welcome, but I know most of us did not come here willingly."

Lily felt better and smiled at them. "Can I ask how you two came here?"

Tanneth bit her lip. "I was a lowly cleaner here until Omar took an interest in me."

Meredith looked away. "I was bought just as you, but this is my second harem."

Lily was shocked. "You were sold before?"

Meredith nodded. "We women have no more rights after Asaraj came to power. I was studying to become a doctor at Uni when the war happened and got caught behind enemy lines trying to escape. Now, this is my life and if one master grows tired of you, you can be sold to another."

Tanneth cleared her throat. "And what of you? What did you do before the war? Before everything turned to shit."

Lily thought back to her home and her father. Her father ruled over their lands and this afforded her a life of luxury, but not content. She remembered years of her step-mother treating her terribly and how ambivalent her two older, half-sisters were. Only her younger sister, Ambrosia, cared about her. When she ran away, her only regret was not being able to say good bye to her. Lily decided to lie instead. "I had left for college when I was 18 as well and worked for the Red Cross for two years before the werewolves wiped out all the humans. I did what I had to do to get by for two years after that, but it was getting harder and harder to survive."

Inez slowly wept in the back and Meredith embraced her. "You'll have to forgive Inez. She's had a hard time adjusting."

Lily's hear broke at hearing these women's stories. "There's nothing to forgive. How are you treated here?"

Tanneth shrugged. "For the most part, the guards and eunuchs treat us fine."

Lily's ears perked up. "Eunuchs?"

Tanneth continued, "Yes, Omar only trusts men who don't have their private parts around his women."

Lily's eyes became wide. "That's barbaric."

"He likes to play games with us, but don't ever anger him," Meredith said under her breath, "You don't want to find out what happens, but things may be different for you. I'm not sure. As the Luna, he will want you to bear him children, but if we fall pregnant, we go under the knife."

Inez showed her the beautiful palace and grounds and then they returned to her room, where she helped her put on a red gown with a plunging neckline. Inez sat Lily at her desk, applied her make-up and gathered her alabaster hair into an updo. One of the guards collected her and brought her into a dark room lit by a few candles. A sumptuous feast laid before her as Omar stood up from his chair and escorted her to her seat.

Omar breathed into her neck. "You are looking beautiful, Luna."

Lily smiled. "I haven't accepted to be you Luna yet."

Omar sat down. "Not yet, but you will in time. We are mates and you will be mine in every sense of that word."

Lily looked down at the perfectly cooked duck in front of her and couldn't remember the last time she had it. "And how many women will I be sharing you with?"

Omar laughed softly. "Is that what's bothering you, kitten? The other women? You have nothing to worry about. YOU are the Luna and that's all that matters."

Lily took a bite of the duck and relished the taste. "And what if I ask you to release them in exchange for me being your Luna?"

He sipped wine from a goblet. "Don't be silly. The rules now state that I can have as many women as I want and you know it. My sources tell me you were an errand girl before this. Out there, you're merely a beggar. In here, you are my Luna and you should be grateful for that. You will want for nothing."

Lily suddenly had an idea. "Then I would like to request something."

"If it's within my powers, I will grant you it."

"As a Luna, I will need a handmaiden. A girl to tend to me. I want Inez to be my handmaiden."

Omar did not hesitate. "Done."

"You will not have relations with her after that."

Omar smiled. "Of course not. I've got other girls."

As he said that, anger swelled up in her as her wolf growled at her mate's treachery. "Are you taking them against their will?"

He laughed. "I have never done that. They want me."

Lily stood up. "I very much doubt that!"

Omar moved fast and before she knew it, he was at her side and had pushed her onto the table in a sitting position. "My little mate has some spunk to her. I like it. I can show you what all the other girls are begging for."

His intoxicating scent drove her crazy as his body pressed into hers again. She hated him. Hated him for what he was doing to her. "I hate you." She said to him.

He dropped his lips onto her bare shoulders and left a trail of kisses that made her shudder involuntarily. He reached his hand beneath her dress and rubbed her over her panties, unleashing her wetness. She hated that she responded to him, but she could not stop it. As his fingers worked in a circular motion, he licked her marking spot and she moaned.

He pulled away. "Not yet, little mate. I'll make you mine, first."