YENA

Luna was late to her own dinner. Or maybe she just wanted to make an entrance.

Nolan and I were seated in her dining room when she arrived. Dinner was served and steaming on the table. But the attendants waited to pour the wine until Luna came in several minutes after us, gliding into the room wearing a gorgeous, silky, copper colored gown.

To my surprise, she greeted us with a big smile.

Nolan and I got up from the table and bowed as she approached.

Luna told us to stand. Then as I started to turn back to the table, she put her hand on my shoulder to stop me.

Her hand lingered there, lightly, as she looked my body up and down with narrowed eyes.

Finally, she looked me square in the eyes and said, “You look good.” It wasn’t so much a compliment as an evaluation.

I thanked the queen quietly and looked at Nolan. He was in prince mode, not betraying any emotion on his face.

We sat and Nolan offered a toast to his mother. They started drinking wine like it was a competition. And then the two of them chatted for a while about something to do with Nolan’s work in Parliament.

I took the opportunity to eat while they discussed things I didn’t understand. I wasn’t sure how it would happen, but I had a feeling that at some point, this meal would take an awkward turn and I’d lose my appetite.

“So, what is going on with this clothing business of yours?” Luna asked me at last, shifting in her chair to face me.

“Oh,” I said, “it’s really in the beginning stages, still. I’m working on some design concepts, and when the time is right, Nolan is going to help me hire people to run the business side of things.”

Luna made a tiny movement with her head that might have been a gesture of approval.

“When the time is right,” she repeated. “That sounds wise. It would probably be best to wait to open the business until after your first pregnancy, at least.”

I was extremely proud of myself for how little I reacted.

It would have been even better if I could’ve responded. But my mouth went dry, and it was all I could do to set my fork down quietly and give her a polite nod.

Nolan cleared his throat.

“Yena is still very young,” he said quietly.

His mother shrugged.

“I was nineteen when I had you,” she replied, her tone very casual.

Nolan filled his mouth with a large chunk of potato and stared down at his plate.

It was my turn to try something.

But I made a big mistake.

“Well,” I said, “Nolan and I will have children, but maybe… maybe that can wait until after I study abroad, if I do that. It’s just an idea still, Nolan and I were talking about…”

I looked up at Luna and had to stop mid-sentence.

The look in her dark eyes sent a chill right down my spine.

“Study abroad?” she asked. The flat, emotionless tone of her voice was unsettling, especially matched with the fury I was seeing in her eyes.

She turned to look at Nolan, who was no longer doing a great job of hiding his emotions.

He took a deep breath and gave his mother a knowing look that seemed to say, I will tell you more later.

I chugged some ice water, trying to cool my temperature. My face was flushed and that was not helping anything.

Luna turned back to me as I regained my composure.

“In the human world?” she asked me.

I nodded and said, “I just thought maybe I could get a better education there.”

She shook her head. “You are a princess, Yena. Not an ordinary student at university.”

I lowered my eyes.

“And you have responsibilities here,” she added.

“I know,” I said. I couldn’t think of anything to say in my defense.

Nolan walked me back to our wing of the palace once the terribly awkward dinner was finally over.

But then he made an excuse to leave. I thought he might be heading right back to follow up with his mother.

Better him than me.

I needed a distraction, so I went to my studio and started working on Nolan’s birthday gift. His custom suit.

I hadn’t picked out any fabrics yet, but I needed to start with making the patterns anyway.

I got some tracing paper out and used my notes about his measurements to start drawing.

The jacket was the first thing I was going to make. I got a good start on it, then stepped back to give it a look.

I had to smile, thinking about how very broad Nolan’s shoulders were. I ran my hands across the length of the pattern.

I was going to need a lot of fabric.

Leaving my husband, even for a semester, actually seemed intolerable when I thought about what it would mean for my daily life. Eating dinner without him. Sleeping without him.

I would miss the warmth of him in bed. The touch of his hand. His kiss.

His incredible smell.

The electricity that sparked when our bodies touched.

But getting caught up in thinking about that made me want to reprimand myself.

Was that really all I wanted in life now? A big, strong man in my bed?

My mind and body went to war over that one.

Things like tonight were helpful. This dinner with Luna did a good job of reminding me of the path I was on here.

Someday, I would be sitting on her throne. Wearing her crown. Ruling the country.

That all still seemed crazy, but I was slowly coming to terms with it.

But even when Nolan’s mother was being nice to me, she was terrifying.

Is that what I was destined to become?

Lily’s intrusive, too-cheerful voice entered my mind.

You are destined to be a better Luna than she is!

That was a statement that could get you in trouble if you said it aloud. Especially here in the palace.

I caught myself looking over my shoulder to be sure I was alone. And laughed at myself when I remembered who was talking to me.

One thing was for sure. A princess was someone who was expected to breed.

It was crude to talk about it like that. But that was the fact.

Nolan wanted a wolf cub. And if we happened to have a girl, he would want me to get pregnant again. Because that was part of the whole point of his life…

Nolan and I were just a link in the chain. We were here waiting to take over after the current regime. And it was my job to give birth to a new heir that would follow after us, as well.

Thinking about it like that put me into a tailspin. It sounded so scary.

Suddenly the beautiful palace I’d grown comfortable calling my home seemed like a giant prison I was going to be held captive inside for the rest of my life.