MOONLIT SEDUCTION

EPISODE FOUR

CHOLE

I wake up, and I'm about to call my mom to bring dinner for me, when I realize my mom is not here, and I'm not home. I stand from the bed with a grunt and proceed to the bathroom to bathe and clean up. I wear a robe and tie the sash around my waist. I enter the room and make a careful peruse of the closet. Everything in here is either too glamorous or too fabulous, and I can't wear it. I can't wear the former clothes either; they are too dirty. A knock on the door distracts me from my task.

"Who's there?" I ask while opening the door. Three maids are standing outside, each with a large box, which I suspect to be beauty kits; they bow before me. "Greetings chosen one."

Honestly, I'm flattered. "Greetings to you too. Rise." They rise. Wow, I do have powers. I decide to try my luck again. "Bow." They bow. "Rise." They rise again. "Bow..." I say it slowly this time, and slowly they bow. I'm really powerful. I suppress the laughter that's threatening to break free. I grin. "Rise and enter in."

They enter in and place the boxes on the vanity table. They all leave except one, who is sharply dressed and pretty. "My name is Kate, and I am your personal maid. What can I do for you?"

A personal maid? Hmmm. "There's nothing for you to do for me."

"I can help you get dressed for the claw feast."

"No."

"There must be something I can help you do." She looks around.

"Actually." I press a finger on my lips thoughtfully. "There is something you can do for me. There's nothing in that closet that's worthy for the chosen one to wear. Can you get me some oversized tees and shorts?" I see the ugly expression on her face, but I don't stop there. "And a face cap."

She bows her head in respect. "I'm afraid, but there's no place I can get an outfit like that in Moonfang Pack." She pulls the chair in front of the vanity mirror for me to sit down. "I can style your hair and treat you to an exquisite facial."

I sit down on the chair with my back to the mirror and my face to Kate. She opens the first box and starts applying things to my hair; her fingers work expertly on my scalp. I have no idea what she's doing on my hair, but I trust she's a professional. She opens the second box and starts applying lotions and creams to my face. She masks it. "We will wait for a few minutes." We sit together, and she's telling me about the dos and don'ts of the pack. I must say she's really friendly, and I like her.

"Time to take it off." She washed my face with clean water in a bowl. Just when I think she's done. She opens another box and starts applying more products to my face. And now I'm really getting worried because I can't see what she's doing on my face. She applies makeup to my face and styles my hair. "Perfect. You're so beautiful." She turns my chair around to the mirror.

And indeed, it's just perfect. My face looks like glass. I touch my face with so much care as though if I touched it a little harder I may break it. My hair is styled in a Queen Elizabeth signature hairstyle. The eyeliner highlights my almond-shaped blue eyes. "How long can this last?"

She stared at my reflection in the mirror. "As long as you want it to."

She moves to dress my bed and discard my dirty clothes. I open the closet and pick the least attractive dress. A short black gown that is strapless with a corset waist. I curse the dress; it's still too sexy. I wear a pair of boots first before wearing the dress. I stand in front of the mirror with my eyes closed. "Kate, could you please help me close the back of this dress by fixing the straps in the loops and knot it?"

She walks towards me and starts fixing the straps, only that her hands are too strong and their connection with my skin sends electric current through my entire body. Uncomfortably, I open my eyes and look in the mirror, but I don't see Kate; instead, I see Nick standing behind me. "Oh..." I gasp. "Where is Kate? I had no idea she was not in here. Please don't bother." I try to push him, but it's no use; he's too strong.

He steadies me by pressing strong, big hands on my waist. He brushes his lips on the tattoo on my shoulder and trails it up to my neck. "Relax. I won't hurt you." His hot breath against my neck caused heat to gather in my thigh. Why am I having such primal reactions towards him? He finishes locking the straps, but he remains standing behind me. He runs his hands on both sides of my body from underburst down to my hipbone. "You have such an amazing body." His words and the knowledge that he has seen me naked before cause my lung to contrast.

I can't breathe. I need help! I turn around, and our eyes meet; my ass is pressed against the dressing table, and Nick is hovering over me.

He leans in, and I think he's around to kiss me, so I lean backward; he's leans towards me again, and I leave backwards until my back is pressed against the table and our faces are just inches apart. His brown-gray eyes are just so dreamy, and his lips... but instead of kissing me, he turns his head in the right direction and picks up a diamond choker. He waves it mockingly in my face. He gently grabs my arm, pulling me upward with him. "Turn around," he orders. I turn around, and he places the jewelry around my neck and clasps it in place.

He turns me around to face him; he takes a step backwards to appraise my beauty. I feel like I'm under a microscope slide; the way his wolfish eyes linger on my breast is artificially high because of this stupid corset. 'I curse you, Corset!' His eyes move down to my narrow waist and then my wide hips. That's an hourglass figure.

A smile curves on his lips, and I think he's impressed. Now, that smile right there—if I ever said Nick was handsome, then I'm an i***t, because this creature in a navy blue suit standing before me is a god. Did any man have the right to be this handsome? Handsome? That's not even a word to describe this man! His eyes meet mine, and I'm out of breath. My entire body is covered in red blush.

"Breath..." He orders, and slowly I breathe in and out. "It's almost time. Shall we?" He stretched out a hand. I have no idea where we're going, but I nod and take his hands.

NICK

The Claw Feast is ongoing in the open field. This feast is an annual celebration where werewolves come out to celebrate another year around the moon. There are a variety of activities that are carried out, from wrestling contests between the warriors to declare the strongest warrior to dance contests among young shewolves to declare the most beautiful shewolf. A dance interlude for couples, a supplication to the moon goddess, and most especially the grand finale is where we are eating assorted meals from a large table as one family.

Last time, this year we were a whopping sum of 100,000 werewolves, but today we're a meager sum of 10,000 wolves. Some of us were lost to plagues, some at the warfront, and the most were kidn*pped by the rising army of the rogue beasts.

The feast started off with an opening address from my father, Alpha Bloodhood of the Moonfang Pack, followed by the announcement of the chosen one, which excited the pack, and they all bowed in acknowledgement. The Beta announced an Alpha council meeting to hold in a few days to deliberate on the way forward.

My eyes scan the crowd for the wolf of the night, Chole. Everywhere is dark, save for the moonlight. I activate my night vision, and I spot her in company of my little sister, Olivia, who's introducing her to every member of the park. I decide not to disturb them.

I turn around to join the conversation, and everyone congratulates me for finding the chosen one. Everyone except Alex, who is sitting alone in a corner with his custom black pants and black jacket.

He senses my stare and turns around, our eyes meet. His eyes glow in the dark, and it has the look that says. 'I can do better.' I'm about to break eye contact when he does something surprising.

He mind links me. 'Congratulations, Nick Bloodwood; you did excellent!'

I reply. 'Thank you, Alex Bloodhood.'

'You're welcome, little brother.' He smiles at me, and I return the smile. It feels so natural, and for this brief moment, it's like we're kids again, and I'm genuinely happy.

Before the moment passes, I decide to initiate conversation. 'How was your day?'

He ignores me, and I know he heard me. I ask him again, but still no reply. The smile disappears from his face, and he looks away.

Honestly, I think my brother may be bipolar; how else will you explain the theory that one moment he's happy and the next he's unhappy?