One Year As His Luna

MIRA HARVER

I am almost entering my house when a black car stops and two men wearing suits run toward me.

I try to run, but they grab me and push me inside the car.

Everything happens too fast.

“Let me go!”

I see guns on their waists so I don’t try to resist.

When the car stops, I am pulled out and I get confused when I see a luxury hotel.

I ask them what I am doing here, but no one tells me anything.

“Please, tell me why I’m here, please...”

Before I can ask more questions, I am pushed through a door and freeze when I see a man with his back to me wearing a suit and holding papers.

I try to open the door, but it’s locked.

I don’t look back when I start banging desperately.

“Help! Someone help me! Please! Open this door! Get me out of here!”

“Stop,” he says quietly, but I don’t stop.

“I said stop,” he repeats, louder.

I slowly turn, looking at him angrily, seeing that his eyes are golden.

He is a werewolf.

What does a werewolf want with a human girl like me.

“You are not in danger here, so stop banging on that d*mn door.”

I let out a nervous laugh.

“Of course I am. I was kidnapped!”

He sighs as if he has no patience with me.

“You were not kidnapped. You were brought to me.”

“Your men took me here by force. That’s not kidnapping to you?” I ask angrily, and he closes his eyes for a few seconds.

“I apologize for that, but even so, it was not a kidnapping.”

“Who are you?”

He doesn’t answer, he just looks at the papers and starts to read:

“Your name is Miranda Harver, 22 years old, born in this city, works as a waitress at night to pay for your sick mother’s medical treatments...”

My eyes widen when he keeps saying information about me that he should not know.

“How do you know this?”

“Because I needed to know everything about you.”

He doesn’t move, but I am still afraid.

“Are you a psychopath?”

He almost smiles, but it doesn’t happen.

“My name is Javier Lecleir.”

He looks back at the papers.

“Your mother has a rare condition. Degenerative, and she doesn’t have much time left without the right medication.”

“Don’t talk about her,” I growl.

“The treatment is expensive. Much more expensive than you can afford.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He looks at me and takes a step forward, and I feel my back hitting the door behind me.

“Open this door now...” I whisper.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about. I know the name of the hospital. I know the amount of the last bill. I know they will suspend the treatment in a few days.”

“Why am I here?” I whisper.

“Because of a contract.”

I look at him, confused.

“Contract?”

“Yes.”

I laugh nervously.

“You kidnap me to talk about a contract?”

“I brought you because I needed you to listen carefully and accept my proposal.”

I cross my arms.

“Then say it already.”

“I can save your mother.”

“How?”

“By paying for everything. Hospital. Treatment. Doctors. Everything.”

I can’t believe it.

“And what do you want in return?” I ask.

“One year.”

“One year of what?”

“A contract with me.”

“What kind of contract?”

He doesn’t answer, he just keeps looking at me, and then I see that there are several photos of me spread across the table.

“You will be my Luna for one year.”

I can’t react at first, and then I start laughing nonstop.

Out of control.

“You must be joking. This is some kind of joke, right?”

Javier gets irritated by my laughter.

“It’s not a joke.”

I keep laughing.

“You’ve lost your mind. I’m human.”

“I know.”

“Werewolves don’t bond with humans.”

“I know the laws among werewolves, Miss Harver. You don’t need to be my real Luna. You need to pretend.”

My laughter dies.

“You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“This is absurd. I can’t accept this.”

“You will.”

“No. I’m not your partner.”

“You will be my Luna in public. Nothing more.”

I cross my arms tightly.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

He extends the contract to me.

“Read it.”

I don’t take it.

“I know little about werewolves. But I know every Alpha has a mate.”

“Exactly. And I need one to inherit the pack for good.”

I frown.

“Without a Luna, I can’t fully take over. And I’m not willing to fall in love.”

“So you hire one.”

“Exactly.”

I look at him more closely, not able to understand why he wouldn’t just hire someone better than me.

“And the payment?”

“More money than you have ever had.”

I look at the contract.

“And my mother?”

“She will have a real chance to live.”

I blink and take a deep breath, remembering my mother dying a little more each day in that hospital.

I would do anything for her.

“And what does this contract include?”

He answers without hesitation.

“You will not sleep with me. We will not share a bedroom. There will be no intimate relationship.”

“Not a chance.”

“The only touches allowed will be in public,” he continues. “Arm. Waist. Hands. Nothing beyond that.”

“And feelings?”

“Forbidden.”

I take the contract, feeling my hands trembling.

“I still don’t know how I’m supposed to pretend to be a Luna.”

“You will be trained.”

I look at him, seeing that Javier is closer now.

“By whom?”

“By me.”

We stay looking at each other for a few seconds, and then I look at my name on the contract.

“You could have any other girl, so why did you choose me?” I ask, whispering.

He takes two steps, stopping in front of me and making me even more nervous.

“Because I want it to be you. You have strong reasons to accept what I’m asking, and I know you will try hard, Miss Harver.”

“Call me Mira.”

I sign the contract and hand it to him.

At that same moment, our hands touch, and I look at the scar on his wrist, but I don’t ask questions.

“Great, Mira.”

Javier takes me to my house, where I grab everything I need to move into his place.

I was expecting a large apartment, but I’m shocked when he stops the car in front of a huge mansion.

“This is your house?” I ask, surprised, and he nods.

“Yes, it’s one of them.”

My eyes widen as he grabs my things and invites me inside.

“Come in,” he says.

I take a deep breath and step inside.

I stop walking, looking at everything around me, imagining how rich he is.

“Don’t just stand there. You live here now,” he says.

“Do you live here alone?”

“Yes, I don’t like company all the time.”

I follow him upstairs, and then he opens a door at the end of the hallway.

“This is your bedroom.”

My eyes widen again when I step inside, seeing that it looks like a movie bedroom.

“All this… is mine?” I ask, incredulous.

“Yes.”

He opens the closet doors, and inside there are many dresses, coats, shoes, everything organized. Everything new. Everything clearly expensive.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I say.

“You didn’t, but you need it. You will be seen. Watched.”

“You are ridiculously rich,” I murmur.

“Don’t get confused. You are only here because of the contract.”

I close the closet.

“I know.”

Javier watches me.

“And you need to remember that all the time. You are not my girlfriend or my wife. You are my Luna for one year.”

“I know that.”

“One more thing. You need to behave like a female werewolf. Fast.”

“I am human.”

“Yes, but no one can notice.”

I cross my arms.

“And how exactly do you expect me to fake that?”

“You will observe. Imitate. Learn. Confidence. Posture. Control.”

“I’m not like you. Everyone who looks at me will know I’m human.”

He opens a drawer and then shows me golden contact lenses like his eyes.

“I prepared everything. Always wear these in your eyes when we are in public.”

I take a deep breath.

“And when does this so-called training start?”

“Now.”

I frown.

“Now?”

“Yes. Tomorrow night, I will introduce you to the entire pack.”

“Tomorrow?” I repeat.

“We don’t have time.”

“What kind of training?”

“Body connection.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Dance.”

I’m speechless for a second, and then I start laughing nonstop.

“You must be joking.”

“I’m not.”

I laugh louder.

“You want me to dance now?”

“Yes.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“It’s tradition. The Alpha dances with his Luna in front of everyone,” he says seriously.

I shake my head.

“This won’t work.”

“It has to work. Come.”

He leads me to the living room.

“Stand in front of me.”

I obey, nervous, and then he steps closer to me.

When he touches my hand, my body reacts before I do.

“Relax. You’re too tense.”

“Maybe because you’re touching me,” I snap.

The corner of his mouth curves.

“Answer like that in public and it will be weird.”

“I’m not a doll,” I say.

“No, but you need to look comfortable with me.”

“I need to pretend that I like you...” I whisper, and he nods.

He places his hand on my waist, bringing our bodies closer, and then whispers in my ear:

“Breathe and relax, Mira...”

I obey.

He starts guiding me slowly, teaching me how to dance in his world.

“Look at me,” he says.

I do, seeing his face very close to mine.

“Don’t look scared.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“You’re doing well,” he admits.

That surprises me.

“I’m surprised you can compliment someone,” I tease.

He smiles slowly.

We dance slowly even without music, and I think I’m doing well.

Javier increases our pace and spins me twice before dipping me back.

I stop breathing when our faces are very close again.

For a second, I think he’s going to kiss me, but I pull away quickly.

“That’s enough,” I say, almost running.

I go back to the bedroom with my heart racing.

I close the door and lean my back against it.

What the hell was that?

Hours later, I wake up thirsty in the middle of the night.

I put on pajamas and leave the room to get some water.

I go down the stairs slowly, trying not to make noise.

I reach the kitchen, grab a glass, and fill it with water.

I’m going back to my room when I see an open door.

I take a sip of water and widen my eyes, choking when I see Javier there.

He is training shirtless and notices my presence when I start coughing uncontrollably.

I try to breathe, but I can’t.

He runs over to me.

“What happened?” he asks.

I can’t answer. I just cough.

He grabs my arm.

“Breathe.”

I finally manage to.

“You...” I say, pointing. “Without... a shirt...”

He looks at himself.

“Does that bother you?”

“No,” I answer too quickly. “I just... got scared.”

He smiles.

“You choked because of that?”

I cross my arms.

“Idiot.”

“You have a very dirty mouth for a future Luna. You need to learn to control yourself. If I were naked, you’d have a heart attack...” he teases.

I step forward.

“Don’t talk to me like that.”

I raise my hand to hit him.

Before I can, he grabs my wrist and pushes me against the wall.

We are very close, and then his mouth moves near my ear, his chest pressing against my body.

“A Luna doesn’t hit her Alpha,” he murmurs.

“I’m not your Luna,” I reply angrily.

“In front of everyone, you will be. Control yourself, Mira. I’m not a patient man, and I won’t tolerate that dirty mouth...” he whispers in my ear again, still holding my wrists beside my head.

MIRA HARVER

That night I need to pretend to be someone I am not.

I put on the red dress from the closet and the golden contact lenses he asked me to wear.

I go down the stairs slowly, trying not to fall in the high heels.

I feel beautiful, but I have never worn anything like this before.

I take a deep breath.

When I reach the last step, I notice Javier is staring at me.

I frown when I see that he doesn’t stop looking at me.

“What is it?” I ask, nervous. “Is it bad?”

He blinks, as if coming back to reality.

“Bad?” he repeats, with a faint hint of mockery. “No. You look… like…”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Like what?”

“Like someone who belongs with someone like me. Everyone will think you are a female, not a human.”

I cross my arms, trying to hide my nervousness.

“I’m terrified. What if I do something wrong?”

He steps closer.

“There will be a lot of people. They will t