KENNA'S POV

When I finally go home, I sneak out at night. Kaden remains on his doorstep and watches me go. It was hard for both of us to part, but we knew it was time. If I stayed any longer, I would give into the sexual tension and remained in his house until I was two months pregnant.

I don't look over my shoulder as I walk away because I know if I find him watching me go, I'd likely turn back.

My cabin is cold when I enter it. There's a constant tap, tap, tap from the faucet, likely the only sound that has filled the house in these days.

I step inside and feel out of place. It has only been a few days, but I've forgotten details– where did I leave my towel? When did I last water the plants? Where are my slippers?

I know exactly where I left those items at Kaden's home.

But my home is not with Kaden. It's here, where I shut the curtains, pick up a book, and try to forget my boring life by getting lost in character's.

I find a new towel and run a bath. As I wait for the bubbles to foam, I go through my texts. I'm infamous for being a slow texter, so it's no surprise when I reject Chaney's offer to go clubbing two days later.

Now that I think of it, I've been a pretty shitty friend to her. I'm always so lost in my head that I pay her little mind beside her efforts to stay in my life. I should work on our relationship.

I read a text from my mother, declaring she's going to come over for the Day of the Flower. My stress goes through the roof. I sink into the tub and submerge my head, hoping the bubbles can wash away the nightmare I just read.

Not only will I have to deal with Sylvie, but also Kaden's mother and my own.

This will be a spectacle of theatrical proportions.

– • –

I return to work the next day. My vacation is over. As usual, I have few patients, so I spend much of my day staring out the window. Tomorrow, the festival will be in full swing. I have yet to plan an outfit, or what the hell I'm going to do.

There's one thing I've decided as I laid beside Kaden at night and stared at his sleeping form: I'm not ready to let him go.

He texted me this morning, asking me to stop by so we could talk about tomorrow. I haven't replied, because I have nothing to tell him.

After work, I go on a run, knowing that Kaden would be hunting me down. Then, I visit Chaney, who is surprised to see me but none the less excited to rant about the latest show. I appreciate her distracting chatter. I'd rather hear all about Netflix's "Married at First Sight" than debate whether I should rip Sylvie's hair out or kiss her feet, which are obsessed with chasing my business.

I fall asleep on Chaney's couch. She wakes me to invite me to go downstairs for breakfast, but I have no interest in ruining everyone's breakfast with tension. I ask her to bring me some fruit when she's done, and I spend the next thirty minutes pacing.

The birds are chirping outside; the pack chatting and laughing, and I'm in here, my world falling apart. I have no plan. I'll just have to wing it.

I eat the fruit Chaney offered me, bid her goodbye, and walk out of the pack house. On my way out, I pass three pack members carrying a long dress protected by a dust cover. It's so long that it's fit for a queen.

Sylvie will be breathtaking tonight.

I pull at the collar of my washed out t-shirt, and keep walking. I don't miss the stares. The gossip about me is hot today, because they know there will be a show.

My head remains high. I might not have a plan, the favor of the pack, or an eloquent dress, but I have pride. I will figure it out. My social and mental health will probably take a hit, but I trust myself that if I do the right thing and don't play dirty, the moon will light my way.

I peek into my windows to make sure Kaden isn't waiting inside. Instead, I find mother dearest comfortable on my couch. Although I had texted her that it wasn't a good time, nothing could stop her.

"Mom? I sigh as I enter. I don't even remember ever giving her a copy of my key.

"Kenna! I made lunch. Where were you?"

"I thought we agreed I couldn't see you today? Is there any chance dad can pick you up? Sorry, but it's really a bad week." I feel terrible, because I've never kicked her out, but today is the worst day for her to be around. She'll be so disappointed to see how little the pack thinks of me.

I can already hear her taunting words. 'See, Kenna? Not even your silly job as a doctor could secure respect. You should have married a man in high standing.'

"Don't be ridiculous. Go eat."

There is no escaping her.

"Thanks for lunch," I grumble as I walk into the kitchen.

After I'm done eating, I go to my room and sort through my clothes. I find a white a-line dress with a modest neckline. It's boring, but I will gather attention regardless of what I wear. I add pearl earrings, so I look like I tried.

I return to the living room, where my mother awaits.

"Can't wait for the flower festival. The territory looks so nice already. Why didn't you help with decorations, Kenna? You could have stumbled across a mate. You spend too much time indoors."

If only she knew I spent the past five days in doors with the most powerful man of them all.

"I'm so glad I'm too old to participate. Kissing another woman's feet? I've always found it degrading." She laughs. "They should be kissing mine."

Of course, she doesn't see the religious part of it. I've participated a few times in my old pack, and never saw a problem with it because the Luna was a genuinely beautiful woman inside and out.

"Kiss your toe fungus?" I tease. "Did you ever get that checked out? I'm a doctor, you know."

"Kenna!" she reprimands, snapping her heels together. "Don't insult your mother!"

"Sorry," I grin.

She goes on a rant about respect, and I drone her out until she stands up and claps her hands. "When did it get so late? We have to get ready!"

Well, here we go. The circus is in town.

I drag my feet as I shower and change. My mother, of course, finds a dozen things wrong with my fress, but I don't care to find a new one. We walk barefoot to the center of the pack, following the torches, flowers, and crowds of people.

"See? I told you that dress is horrendous. Everyone is looking at you!"

Their attention has nothing to do with the dress.

"How dare she?" someone whispers. My heightened hearing has never been a curse until now.

"They're not staring at me," I tell my mother. "They're looking at you, mom. You're so pretty."

She guffaws, turning more heads our way.

I chuckle, too, but the laugher dies in my chest when I spot Sylvie in front of the packhouse, entertaining a crowd. She's wearing... a white dress, just like me.

My face pales. Her dress is magnificent, trailing behind her at least five feet. The pearls that adorn the bodice sparkle under the sunlight and nearby torches.

The pearls that dangle from my ears feel heavy.

She looks like a bride in her after party, and I look like the vengeful home wrecker. Needless to say, she's better dressed than I am.

Besides Sylvie stands an older woman, but I can't tell if she's Kaden's mother.

Goddess, I need a fucking drink.

"Mom, do you want anything?"

"No, dear." She looks around, and I can tell she's getting overwhelmed by the unexplained stares.

I tug at my skirt, feeling regretful about wearing white of all colors. I approach the bartender and ask for a margarita.

"Nice dress," he says as he hands me my drink. His voice tells me that wasn't a compliment.

Chaney finds me. She greets my mother and talks about anything that comes to mind, probably trying to make me feel welcome. Her company only keeps us busy for another hour, when the ceremony begins.

"Everyone!" the woman who I saw in Kaden's portrait appears. She's elegant, poised, and beautiful. A heck of a Luna, and most definitely Kaden's mother.

She stands in front of the pack house. "My son is running a bit late as he had to check an issue at the border, but he would want you all to enjoy this night. Let us say thank you to the Moon Goddess, to mother nature, and to all the mothers that nurture and love us all. Today, I pass a flower onto Sylvie, who has been beside my son for years, providing support and inspiring dignity among us all."

Dignity? The bitch shows up crying on my lawn every other weekend.

Kaden's mother passes a red rose to Sylvie, who is grinning from ear to ear. She's loving the attention. I'm hating mine.

"Besides the stresses she has endured lately..." Kaden's mother looks directly at me, like she knows who I am.

"Sylvie has remained strong, as any Luna would. Let's hear a round of applause for her."

Everyone but Chaney and I clap.

My mother elbows my ribs and hisses, "Don't be rude!"

My hands feel heavy. I don't think I could clap them even if the Moon Goddess commanded it. Instead, I bring them together in front of me and intertwine my fingers.

I know everyone is staring. I'm attacked by silent hostility. It's in their whispers, their thoughts, their gazes. They probably wish I was between their palms so they could crush me as they celebrate Sylvie.

What I'm feeling... this rejection and isolation... I would not wish it upon anyone, even Sylvie.

I want to run away–probably into Kaden's arms, but I'm no damsel in distress. That role belongs to Sylvie, and I would hate to leave her unemployed.

"Please, bring out the chair."

Two men go into the pack and return a minute later with a throne-like chair adorned with roses. They set it in front of the pack house, and Sylvie walks around it, her long dress trailing behind. She sits and crosses her legs over each other.

A hand presses against my back. At first, I think it's Chaney, but the hand is too large.

"Don't even think about it. If you kiss her feet, I will tackle you and fuck you into the ground. Do you hear me?"

Kaden's words make me shudder, and my mother gasp. I think she, Chaney, and I were the only ones that heard him.

"Kaden!" his mother yells. "You're back."

He grumbles as he leaves my side to greet his mother.

"What the hell was that?!" my mother whispers.

"Let's begin paying respects, ladies," Kaden's mother declares.

The women form a line, leaving Chaney and I at the end. My mother has to step away since she can't participate.

"You alright, Kenna?" Chaney asks, looking nervous on my behalf.

Hell no. I still don't know what I'm going to do when I reach the front of that line.

It gets shorter and shorter, Sylvie's ego likely swelling with every kiss to her feet that she manicured, shaved, lotioned, and probably tap danced to prepare for today.

There are five women in the line, then there are three, then Chaney goes, and now I'm facing her down.

Time freezes. It's like the entire pack is holding its breath in suspense.

Sylvie has a smirk on her face. Her legs remained crossed, although she lifted her foot a few inches, desperate to feel my submissive kiss against it. She's like Cinderella waiting to receive her slipper. She clutches the rose in her hands, not seeming to register the pain of a thorn digging into her skin. There are small daisies growing from the dirt beneath her feet. Simple and pretty, but below the rose.

Sylvie's makeup is spotless, her dress made specifically for her. She must have invested weeks to perfect this look. Oh, how she must have daydreamed. She had all of this time to reject the honorable title, because she knew what it would bring both of us to a final match, but she chose to come.

Kaden's mother clears her throat. It's time.

I bend down at the waist and lower myself until my knees hit the cool, scratchy grass and my dress pools around me.

Sylvie leans forward, like she can't get any closer to the sight of me on my knees. I swear I see shadows hover over me as well, as if the pack is mimicking her.

I meet Kaden's eyes. He's on the brink of patience, so angry that his face is as red as Sylvie's rose and the blood that trails from her scratch. Without a doubt, the second I bow my head, he will keep his promise and tackle me.

I reach a hand out and pluck one of the daisies from the grass. I stand up with the tiny but mighty flower in my delicate hold.

The pack gasps. Although I fell to my knees, I never bowed my head.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kaden's mother demands.

"Great Luna," I address her. The daisy trembles in my fist. Goddamn, I must be suicidal for this, but it's what feels right.

"I thank you for leading the ceremony, but I'm afraid it would be inappropriate if I bowed down to a woman in lower status than mine. The hierarchy must be respected."

Kaden senses things are going south, and leaves his mother to stand beside me. When he takes my hand, Sylvie stands from her throne. Her eyes are already watered and ready to drown the pack in her sob story, and her lips pouting from the perceived injustice.

"Doctor!" Kaden's mother booms. "You are not above any other female in this pack."

"There seems to be a misunderstanding," I reply. "Please allow me to clarify. I've gotten closer to your son, and hereby accept his proposal as his chosen."

Kaden's hand tightens around mine. He probably hadn't expected. Hell, I hadn't expected this either, but my brain works in mysterious ways.

"No!" Sylvie cries.

"Settle down," Kaden's mother tells her without looking at her. She's regarding me with a careful expression. She didn't expect me to deal this hand. We're playing chess— a queen against a queen, and although she's older and more experienced in life, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

"But–" Sylvie interjects, shifting— no, stomping her freshly kissed feet.

"Keep it together, dear. Lunas don't whine," Kaden's mother reprimands.

"Great Luna," I interject. "I came here out of respect for you and to the Moon, and to tell the pack that regardless of the rumors, I'm still proud to be one of them. That is all. Can I leave, or do you insist that I kiss the feet of this lower-ranking woman?"

"Lower ranking?" Sylvie hisses.

"Lesser woman?" I suggest out of spite.

Sylvie looks at Kaden's mother, waiting for her to wreak hell on me. Meanwhile, Kaden clutches my hand tightly, as if ready to pull me out of this disaster.

Kaden's mother crosses her arms over her chest. She's thinking hard, and she's not enjoying it. Her jaw is set with irritation, and I know that her decision will reveal what kind of leader she is.

"Now that you have clarified your status as my son's chosen, Doctor Kenna, you're not required to bow to no woman but the Goddess herself. Yes, you may go as you please."

The Luna lost the battle against me, but unlike Sylvie, she knows how to take a loss with dignity.

"And what about me!" Sylvie interjects, grabbing her skirts to stomp towards me.

I can't wait to pound my fucking fist right through–

Chaney steps on the train of Sylvie's dress, propelling her backward. Sylvie falls and topples over her magnificent throne.

"Oh, no!" Chaney gasps, ever the actress. "I'm sorry. It's the dress. It's so long I stepped on it by accident."

"You..." Sylvie is trembling with rage, but with the pack's eyes on her, she knows she can't show her true colors.

Kaden's mother sighs. "Goddess, be with us." She walks around Sylvie to get her out of sight, like the disgrace that she is.

With another deep breath, she claps her hands. "The celebration continues, everyone! Enjoy the night." Then, she walks into the pack house, leaving Sylvie to pick up her muddied skirts. She doesn't leave, though. She goes to a group of women to viciously gossip, as leaving would be admitting defeat.

"Kenna!" my mother practically roars my name.

Although Kaden still holds my hand, I don't dare to look at him. I'd rather face my infuriated mother.