Saving the Rejected Luna

Barbara

After Luna Natalie brought us up to her quarters, we stood in the middle of the room and waited for her to give us an order. She clapped her hands, and three maids came bustling in, to my surprise. They bowed to Natalie, and she turned to face us.

"Since you said you have no suitable attire, I shall provide you with a few of my own. My maids," she said, gesturing to the she-wolves who came in.

"Will assist you in getting ready."

With that, Natalie walked to her massive walk-in closet. She started rummaging through an assortment of clothes- no doubt designer clothes bought from Romania's most expensive clothing stores.

Sure we weren't allowed in Romania, much less their stores, but Alpha Lucius had wolves who were loyal to him and did favors for him when he asked. Natalie, Luna Adeline, Alpha Lucius, Alec, and all the other elite wolves in the pack could shop online for their purchases. The wolves working for Alpha Lucius would then send the assets to our packhouse, where we would collect them, underhanded, of course.

While Natalie searched for clothes for us, I took the opportunity to look around Natalie's room, designed for a future Luna. The walls were a gorgeous eggshell white, the floors were marble, and the bed stood in the middle, with a vanity table a chest of drawers on either side. There was a huge flat-screen TV in the wall, a massive window, a sofa, and a loveseat, not to mention the walk-in closet.

She and Alec stayed in this room, having mated already, but the Luna ceremony was yet to happen. Natalie would become the new Luna of the Emerald Guardians, and Alec would become the Alpha. Then the day after the Luna ceremony, Alec's best friend, Evan Michaels, would become the new Beta, and his other two friends, Josh and Kevin Anderson, would become the new Gamma and Delta.

"Here, try these on, see if they fit,"

I was snapped to awareness when Natalie tapped my arm and pressed a pair of skinny black jeans, a pink cotton t-shirt, black knee-high stilettos, and undergarments in my arms.

"Mollie will assist Tali, and Gina will assist you, Barbara," Natalie said to me. "I shall wait for you to finish, and then we shall depart in my Mercedes."

"Yes, Luna, as you wish," I said with a bow. She motioned me to go to her adjoining bathroom so I could shower. I was surprised by her kind gesture, and so was my wolf Ariel.

"Why is she being so nice to us? She's never nice to us. She always treats us like trash or dirt under her feet," Ariel said.

"Maybe she has a change of heart, I mean, she was probably happy that we helped her, and this is her way of saying thank you, "I replied as I walked into the bathroom to shower.2

When I had washed my hair and taken a thorough shower, I changed into new clothes and was thrilled to see that they fit me perfectly. I emerged from the bathroom, drying my hair with the towel. Natalie sat on her bed, checking her messages and waiting for us. Tali came out three minutes later.

Natalie glanced up and saw us, and her eyes showed pleasure in our new clothes. Tali wore a blue denim skirt and white sweater with three-inch heels.

"You both look lovely, Mollie, and Gina will now assist you with your hair and makeup," Natalie said. "Ladies, if you may."

Gina and Mollie bowed to Natalie and ushered us to the mirror.

Gina sat me down and picked up a brush and comb, and began to pass them through my long blonde curls, put in some Shea Butter, and I was surprised at how gentle she was. When she finished my hair, she moved on to my makeup. She added orange eye shadow, mascara, pale pink lipstick, and eyeliner, making my orange eyes pop. I gazed at my reflection and sighed. I looked beautiful.

Tali's hair reached her shoulders and was straighter than a pin. Mollie brushed it and put in the same Shea Butter and blow-dried it, and Tali's hair was sleek and smooth. Tali didn't like makeup much, so mascara, eyeliner, and lipgloss were all she would have.

When Gina and Mollie were finished, they stepped away for Natalie to see us.

She clasped her hands together and looked delighted with our appearance.

"Very good. You both look marvelous. Come, let us go. We shall go first to the mall, then the spa to get manicures and pedicures for you and Tali, and finally the hair salon. I want to dye my hair, the Luna ceremony is in a month, and I would love to try something new with my hair."

Tali and I gasped. The Luna ceremony was in a month? That information was to be kept confidential! Why would Natalie tell us that?

"Luna Natalie, why would you tell us the date of your ceremony?" Tali asked cautiously. "That information is to be kept confidential, not meant for anyone outside the inner circle to hear."

Natalie laughed at this. It wasn't a laugh of scorn or sarcasm but one of amusement. She patted our shoulders, picked up her purse from the bed, and made her way to the door, where she glanced back at us.

"Exactly. Confidential. No one else is supposed to know the date of my Luna ceremony. However, I trust you both. And trust is not something I bestow unto just anyone; I feel you both can be trusted with this information, can't you?" she asked, her smile still intact.

Tali and I glanced at each other, contemplating the best, most suitable answer. Natalie waited patiently for us to talk. Then finally, we made a snap decision.

"Yes, Luna Natalie, you can trust us," we said firmly and in unison. Our answer pleased her because she smiled again and turned to leave.

"Wow, that was... surreal," I said breathlessly. "She's so nice. You might think I'm crazy, but Natalie seems to be the perfect Luna for our pack." Tali looked at me and searched her face for anything that would betray what she felt. But instead, I saw she agreed with me.

"She might have been nasty before, but she seems to have... changed. I mean, why else would she do this stuff for us?" Tali stated. I nodded, and we left her room and walked down the stairs where she was waiting at the front door.

We walked outside, and I glanced to our left and saw Artemis mowing the lawn. Was she doing Tali's job? Why?

"Maybe Natalie told her to?"My wolf volunteered in my head. I nodded and continued the walk to the garage, where Natalie had her Mercedes Benz. It was a gorgeous silver and had black flames streaked across the fender.

Natalie opened the front door and climbed in with me in the passenger seat and Tali in the backseat.

"Our first destination, the mall," Natalie said as she revved the Mercedes' powerful engine, making us both jump slightly, much to her amusement. I felt terrible about leaving Artemis to do all the pack chores but decided she would probably work better alone.

With my thoughts on Artemis at the back of my head, I leaned back in the car's plush leather seat and relaxed as Natalie reversed out of the garage and onto the main road. I peered in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Artemis, and she looked sad as she watched us. I felt sad to see her like that, watching us so wistfully, but there was nothing I could do about it. My instincts told me to forget about Artemis and enjoy the outing, and Barbara Sandersalwayslistens to her instincts.