Lunaria~
Kieran stared down at our arms in surprise. "What are you doing?"
I tilted my head in a sweet way. "What, babe? You don't like it?"
"Get off me."
I leaned closer and turned to Elena. "Ooh, he smells nice."
"Get away from him!" Elena yelled. "I'm warning you, Lunaria."
I gasped and clung tighter to Kieran. "Elena, are you threatening me? Because I feel very threatened. Kieran, protect me."
"Enough!" Elena stepped forward. "You're humiliating yourself, Lunaria. Just admit you're not the real Moon Princess already."
"Oh, duh, of course. You are."
Elena's eye twitched. "This isn't funny."
I smiled. "Then stop setting me up so well."
Kieran pushed me away, jerking himself free. I stumbled and almost fell, but I managed to balance myself.
The next moment, he went to Elena's side.
"Lunaria, I want to break our bond," he said. "Someone like me deserves someone like Elena. Our statuses match, unlike you."
I blinked. "But what about me?"
He smirked. "You are nothing but an omega maid. An alpha like me deserves someone of equal footing. Someone like Elena."
I looked between them, not sure what to say. According to what the maids told me, I was sure the real Lunaria wouldn't be too happy with this development. But she's not here right now so…
I sighed. "Really? You're leaving me for someone who bedazzles her eyebrows?"
"They're moon crystals," Elena gasped.
"Whatever. Fine. Break up with me. But I'll let the world know that you're a really bad kisser."
He raised an eyebrow. "We've never kissed."
I let out a small sob. "After everything we've been through, all those two seconds of soul bonding."
His expression cracked and I could see his confusion.
"You're not heartbroken?" he asked.
"You're acting weird," Elena added.
I beamed. "I lost my memory."
Elena gasped, and Kieran watched me.
"You're lying," Elena snapped.
Kieran walked closer to me and leaned in to my face. "Listen here…"
I took several steps back and clenched my nose. "Wow, that smells like wet fur."
Kieran scowled and smelled his breath. "My breath does not.."
"Memory loss?" Elena cut in. "That's your excuse?"
I shrugged.
Without another word, Elena walked out of the ballroom, her face was red with anger and Kieran followed behind her, yelling her name and pleading with her to come back.
When the doors shut behind them, I realized that our little conversation had gone unnoticed by most of the guests. Except for those three musketeers, obviously.
But even they had turned away the moment Elena left the room. I looked around me, everyone was either talking or dancing or waltzing.
With nothing to do and no one to tease, I walked to the corner of the room and sat on the floor. I sat there for a while with my back to the wall. No one paid me any attention, it was either a sign of good manners or extreme avoidance.
I poked the embroidery on my sleeve and sighed. I was bored.
I sighed again, louder this time.
Some coming of age ceremony this was.
Wasn't I supposed to be the main character here? Why were they all ignoring me?
I sighed very loudly this time and not a single soul still paid me any attention.
Fine, I thought, if no one would pay me attention, I might as well leave.
I got up and walked out of the ballroom, into the car.
"Ready to go, My Lady?" the man behind the wheel asked.
I looked up at him. "Shouldn't we wait for mother?"
"Your mother left ages ago, My Lady," he replied.
Left ages ago? But I didn't see her go through the front door.
"Drive," I said.
And he did.
On the drive back to my new mansion, the driver kept asking all sorts of questions.
"Excited about your shift tonight?"
"You're finally all grown up."
"Your parents are so proud."
I nodded as many times as needed. I didn't even understand what he was babbling on about, and I was sure it was something unimportant anyway.
I was lying peacefully on my bed when my door was flung open without any prior warning.
My mother walked in with the company of a man who stretched his arms the moment he saw me.
"Darling," he said gleefully. "Daddy's home."
I blinked up at the man. His arms were still outstretched like he was expecting me to run to him. I didn't.
"Who the fuck are you?" I said with a snort.
His smile dropped and he looked at his wife. "What phase is this?"
She shook her head. "Memory loss."
Ah ha, so they were listening.
"Why are you here?" I asked as I swung my legs off the bed.
He smiled. "To see my little girl on the night of her first shift."
He said it with such pride that I almost wished I knew what he was talking about.
"You're about to become a true daughter of the moon," he said.
"Oh," I said.
"Come with me. We need to get you ready before midnight," he said as he got to his feet and started walking out of the room.
My mother followed behind him and I followed behind her.
"I trust the ceremony was tolerable," she said.
I shrugged. "It was boring. No one paid me any attention."
"Hmm," was all she said as we started descending down a flight of stairs.
They brought me to a round room that was bathed in silver lights. In the middle of the room stood a pool full of still water. Flowers I didn't recognize lined the walls. My mother handed me a white robe.
"Don't be scared. It only hurts the first time," she said.
I collected the robe from her. She smiled sympathetically and left the room with her husband, shutting the door behind them.
I stood there for a moment, before realizing that they'd locked me in. I looked around, there was no other exit and no windows either. There was a dome above with a circular opening where the full moon stared directly at me.
I sighed and walked to the edge of the pool. The water was perfectly still, I dipped a toe into it and the water pulsed.
"Uh…"
A hum vibrated through the room and the moon above shifted, just slightly. And that was when I felt it. It was like a thousand tiny claws were prickling my spine all at once.
It wasn't painful, it just felt uncomfortable.
My ears rang with a sound I couldn't place. I clutched at the robe, my breathing was getting faster and faster. My knees gave out and I fell to the floor with a thud. My breath was short and panicked.
What was happening to me?
As I lay there gasping for air, the prickling sensation only seemed to get worse. And at some point, it started to feel like my skin was too small for my bones. I opened my mouth to scream but only a choked sound came out.
And then, my spine arched against my will, I let out a sharp cry, one that didn't sound quite like me, or rather, like Lunaria. My fingers curled and my nails lengthened. My teeth ached as pressure built up in my gums before something sharp pushed through them.
My bones kept popping and shifting as it reshaped itself. My body felt like it was splitting into two, and to make matters worse, my thoughts were scattering. It was as if I was losing my consciousness, as if something else was taking over me. All I could feel was the hunger.
And that hunger overwhelmed me to the extent that I passed out.