The Fake Luna

Chapter 2

Sia

I wrote a cheesy su!cide note and left it at my cube in the dorm. We live in one of Teddy’s cringy cubes — the kind of place that would fail every safety inspection if anyone actually cared. The mermaids get the best side with ocean views and AC. Me? I’m stuck near the washrooms, where the smell is free and the pipes scream at night. It’s small, boring, and suffocating.

Not that Teddy would care if I dropped dead.

Luckily, I don’t work at night. The kiddie section only opens during the day. I take a deep breath and leave my room. On my way out, I bump into the devil herself — Lily. She shoulder-checks me hard and laughs as she walks past.

B!tch.

~~~~

Finding a werewolf? Not hard.

I spotted a group of girls giggling on a yacht at night. Loud music, flashing lights and a bunch of rich airheads. Well aren't they dumber than a jellyfish 0rgy—partying at night in a yacht on the ocean. Well good thing their stup!dity works in my favor.

I dove into the water and shifted into my siren form, swimming closer in silence.

There were five girls and a bunch of guys, probably drunk out of their minds. The girls reminded me of Lily and her hoodrat crew. I didn’t like them already.

All of them were marked. Except one.

Long black hair girl in a red dress.

She kept going on and on about how she was so lucky to be mated to some guy named Killian. I don’t know who that is, but she’s unmarked, and that’s all I need.

The girls had those annoying valley girl accents and hyena laughs that made me want to drown them on principle.

"Oh my gosh, Marilyn, you’re like literally so funny. I literally gagged when I saw that post." The blonde shrieked, clinging to unmarked black hair.

Marilyn, so that's her name.

I needed to get her in the water — fast. Any minute now, one of those hoodrats would find my fake su!cide note.

I swam to the other side and spotted the captain. He was busy at the controls.

I hummed the Titanic rhythm — an old siren tune with a mind-control twist. The song slipped into his head like silk-covered poison. I planted the command: crash the yacht, destroy the controls, make the whole thing go boom. I hummed another order for the men to attack Marilyn’s friends.

I dipped under just as the explosion went off to avoid being sighted. A muffled boom thundered through the water.

When I surfaced, the yacht was in ruins. Screams echoed across the waves… then silence.

Marilyn was floating alone, eyes wide, panicking.

"Help! Help! Please, something went wrong! Call for help — our yacht sank and those guys attacked my friends!"

I swam closer. Even in my siren form, my upper body still looks human enough. She didn’t realize what I was. She only saw a potential savior.

I’d already studied her voice, her face, her body. That’s all I needed.

"Sorry sweetie, Superman is on maternity leave. Bye-bye."

Her eyes widened in terror. She squeezed them shut, probably trying to signal her mate through that famous werewolf mate link.

Too bad for her. The crescent moon was high tonight, and that gave me just enough sea power to block her wolf’s call.

I grabbed her by the throat and dragged her deep. Fast and ruthless.

She shifted into her wolf mid-panic, desperate to fight. I yanked her farther down, deep into crushing pressure. She shifted back to human form as her body gave up. Wolves can’t survive this deep. Only sea creatures can.

Her body imploded in my grip.

Goodbye, Marilyn. Your life is mine now.

I swam to shore and let the waves carry me in. Slowly, I shifted into Marilyn’s form.

Long black hair, pale skin with her face and her body.

I tested it — shifted into her wolf. It worked then shifted back into her human form

I laid back on the sand, pretending to be the helpless survivor. I knew someone would come looking for her soon.

I was ready to be found.

~~~~~~

Killian.

I slammed the file onto my desk, the papers flying and smacking the wall.

All I asked for was information on Coco Bel.

Instead, they sent me files on Lily, Diana, and Fiona — those plastic Barbie dolls I couldn’t care less about.

Coco Bel.

That name's been stuck in my head since that damn aquarium trip.

At first, I only went because Leila begged me to see her favorite mermaid.

I didn't even look up from my phone — until I caught a glimpse of who was making my niece excited like that.

And I was floored.

The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

She had a petite curvy frame, really long deep red hair and an aura so… magnetic, I couldn’t look away.

She swam up the tank like she belonged in the water — but everything about her pulled at me.

I need to know more about her.

Suddenly… my heart raced. Not from attraction. But from… dread?

It was like a bond — some faint string of a mate link — almost ignited… then vanished.

Something was wrong.

My phone buzzed.

"Sir, it's Luna Marilyn… her yacht lost signal." Her bodyguard's voice was strained.

Marilyn mentioned she was going out to celebrate the engagement.

I didn’t ask for details — I didn’t care.

I called her, but there was no answer.

I stood up, my chair scraping the floor, already storming toward the door.

My men followed behind me without question.

Something wasn’t right.

~~~~~

I shifted into my wolf, black fur rippling as my paws hit the ground. The cold night air filled my lungs, the crashing waves nearby roaring like warning drums.

We fanned out along the coast, my men silent but focused. The yacht was gone. No sign of the others.

Then…

A scent hit me. It was Fruity and floral — like fresh strawberries tangled with wild gardenias.

It clawed at my chest, pulling me forward.

That wasn’t Marilyn’s usual scent.

But it was… familiar, somehow maddening.

I followed the trail across the sand, paws digging into the wet shore. The scent grew stronger, carried on the sea breeze, until I spotted something small up ahead.

A flash of red fabric clinging to a body.

I trotted closer, lowering my head. The shape curled along the shore, waves lapping at it weakly.

I snapped the wolf link open in my head.

“Over here. On the shore, I’ve found her.”

Shifting back to human form, I moved fast, crouching beside her

Marilyn must’ve been swept ashore after the yacht went under.

Her skin was cold, her red dress torn, soaked in seawater and sand.

I brushed her damp hair off her face as she coughed weakly, her lips parting, eyes fluttering open. They were quite blue. Almost as if they were glowing.

Something prickled at the back of my mind — but I shoved it aside.

“Marilyn,” I said quietly, my voice rough. “Can you hear me?”

But as her eyes met mine, the wrong scent still clung to the air.

And that buried sense of dread refused to fade.

~~~~~

Sia.

Holy mother of Neptune!

When I fluttered my eyes open — after expertly pretending to be unconscious — the man glaring down at me was… not just cute.

He was breathtakingly, and dangerously smexy.

Hazel eyes sharp enough to slice me open.

Thick eyebrows with that perfect, broody, evil arch — the kind that screamed "your doom," yet every cell in my body wanted to climb him like a tree.

His lips were pink, and moist.

A teasing stubble kissed his jawline.

And that wolf cut? So hot.

I was too stunned to speak.

" It's me Killian. Do you remember what happened?" he asked, voice low and deep — the kind of voice that belongs to nightmares and wet dreams alike.

So this was Killian.

The one Marilyn kept blabbering about. Why does that name sound familiar? I'm sure I heard it somewhere.

And yep… he was handsome all right.

The type of handsome that a Greek god would envy.

I blinked, playing my part.

"I… I don't remember," I whispered, wide-eyed. "Where am I? Who… who am I? Who are you?"

His expression darkened, eyes narrowing like I’d slapped him.

~~~~

I was hauled off to a hospital.

The pack doctor poked, prodded, and asked a bunch of silly questions while shining lights in my eyes like I was some broken doll.

I’m a natural. I gave him nothing.

Just the same rehearsed line:

"I have no memory, doctor. Please help me get better."

The doctor sighed, turning to Killian.

“She has amnesia. She can’t remember anything — no people, no events. Take it slow with her. The memories will return with time.”

"Noted," Killian said, flatly.

The doctor left, finally giving me a moment alone with the hunk wolf.

The more I looked at him, the more my brain screamed like I’d seen him before.

That body frame. It tickled something deep in my memory.

"Look," he growled, crossing his arms, towering over me. "I know you don’t remember s**t, but next time, don’t go yachting in the ocean at night, you dimwit."

Well damn!

"You’re a f!cking Luna. We’re getting married soon. The last thing I need is a pack funeral with you as the main event. So stop making stup!d decisions."

Oh my!

Is he really scolding me like a harsh, lecture daddy right now?

See, I was right. Marilyn and her friends really were stup!d.

I nodded, playing the sweet, sorry card.

"I’m sorry."

He glared at me, jaw clenched. "Don’t be. I’ve got reasons to believe it wasn’t just an accident. From now on, you’ll have a bodyguard glued to your side 24/7. Don’t pull that stunt again."

I nodded again, all obedient and remorseful on the outside.

But inside?

Thanks for nothing, Marilyn.

Now I’ve got to put up with being babysat because of your stupid life choices.

Hold on a minute!

Did he just say Luna?

Yes! Jackpot!

I didn’t just land any random wolf identity — I got the Luna. Wife of an Alpha. Ruler of the pack beside Mr. Grumpy Hunk over there.

All I need now is for him to mark me.

But I have to be so careful.

No singing.

Not even a hum or

a damn whistle.

There’s no telling what my real voice could do to a werewolf — especially an Alpha.

The last thing I need is to accidentally seduce the entire pack… or worse, make Mr. Grumpy Hunk suspect I'm an imposter.