Chapter 7

The start to my shift later that day went way differently than I thought it would. I had to tell my boss I was leaving, and knowing my luck it would go horribly. Thankfully, it seemed that the universe had decided to give me a break.

"I found a temporary ballet job. I’m set to perform for the lycan luna’s birthday banquet and I'm not sure how long I'll be there..." I was almost too scared to meet the owner’s eyes. She was a wonderful woman but had a temper when things didn’t go her way. I prayed she saw this opportunity for the blessing it was instead of as an inconvenience.

Fortunately, the owner looked genuinely happy for me: "Really! Oh congratulations, Eleanor, this is incredible news. I am sad to see you go but you absolutely cannot miss this opportunity.”

“Wait, really? You’re okay with me quitting for the time being?” I asked, growing slightly hopeful that things were taking a turn in my favor.

“Yes yes of course! If you want to come back, you're always welcome here," the owner replied enthusiastically, not even a hint of sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Thank you," I said, letting go of the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I stood to walk around her desk and hugged her tight. She returned my embrace wholeheartedly which made me smile with a hint of sadness. She was the best restaurant owner I had ever met and had made the last five years of work just the slightest bit more bearable. I thanked her once again and moved to let go of her when we were both startled by shouting at the front of the restaurant.

I hurried to see what the commotion was about, and was greeted by a wall of noise when I entered the main dining room. Truly, there was no scarier sound than a flock of adoring fangirls screaming over the city’s most eligible bachelor.

Lorenzo stood trapped at the center of the flock causing a stir among the girls. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he almost looked uncomfortable amongst the crowd. Almost like the Lorenzo I used to know. Almost.

"Eleanor, let go!" Lorenzo shouted over the crowd, reaching for my hand and pulling me towards the exit. As I was dragged through the throng of women, I felt a hand on my shoulder — it was Adeline giving me the most surprised look I’d ever seen on a person.

“You’re going with him? Ellie, that’s Alpha Lorenzo!” Adeline shouted, clearly she was just as starstruck as the other girls. I knew she was a fan, and I didn’t want to upset my best friend so I tried to explain as quickly as I could.

“He’s just my new employer, I agreed to work with him for the lycan luna’s birthday banquet and nothing more,” I assured her before being pulled away and out the door. I tried to keep my head down but couldn’t help but notice the envious glares being thrown my way as I made my way to Lorenzo’s car. Once safely inside, the luxury vehicle took off and we weaved through the streets away from the chaos of the restaurant.

We rode in silence save for the classical music coming from the radio. Lorenzo ignored me in favor of answering texts on his phone — alpha business clearly took priority over me. I looked out the window and began to recognize which part of the city we were driving in, and a pit slowly settled in my stomach as I realized our destination.

“Why are we still in Blue Moon territory? I thought they were your competitors?” I asked.

“Businessmen value profits more than competition. I need to take a call, but my assistant will show you around and get you up to speed on the performance,” Lorenzo said as the car came to a slow stop. The door opened from the outside and I stepped out silently, barely making it out of the car before it tore off down the block again.

Lorenzo’s assistant, a woman named Nadia, led me inside the building. The Moonlight Theater. It pained me to be back here. It was the theater my mother used to perform at, and now here I was, entering as a dancer myself. My mother was a once-celebrated ballet dancer as well, and she was actually the inspiration for my life long dream of becoming a professional dancer. As I followed Nadia through the theater my eyes were drawn to

the photos on the wall, most of which pictured my mother in her prime as the company’s lead dancer. My mother had passed away suddenly when I was six, and I hadn’t been back to this theater since then — I was never brave enough to face my mother’s greatness after my failure to stay in ballet school.

As Nadia led me to the stage, I was shocked to see dancers already rehearsing. I recognized them as Blue Moon dancers, led by none other than Cate. My heart sped up in anticipation, and the moment she saw me I felt the temperature in the room heat up ten degrees. The lioness held up her hand and her dancers stopped moving, then she stalked her way towards me and Nadia with a devilish grin on her face.

“What are you doing here Eleanor? Admiring something you’ll never have?” Cate said in a sickly sweet tone, her backup dancers giggling on stage as if she’d just unleashed the most devastating insult. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Cate somehow still needed to be put in her place and I would happily be the one to take that honor. I lifted my chin slightly.

“Actually Cate, I am here as the lead dancer for Black Moon,” I said, raising my voice, hoping to intimidate the other girls as well. But all I got was more laughter.

“Well aren’t you such a lucky girl!” Cate said between barks of laughter, the horrid sound filling up the theater. Nadia, who clearly took no interest in petty interactions between dancers, continued walking towards the back of the theater where I knew the practice studio was located. I followed her, trying to ignore Cate’s cackles and trying to hide my obvious blush of embarrassment that I could feel heating up my cheeks. What did she mean by that? Cate was always trying to pull one over on me, what could she possibly be up to now?

As I entered the practice studio, I suddenly understood why Cate was mocking me. Black Moon’s ballet troupe was underwhelmingly ‘amateur.’

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