Novels by Bena Yang

The conversation with Zayen about my poor life choices was cut short when a guard burst into the room looking panicked and out of breath, which was never a good sign because guards were trained to stay calm during emergencies and this one looked like he'd seen something that broke his professional composure entirely."Luna," he gasped while bowing quickly. "There's been an attack on the northern border. Multiple casualties and the Western Coalition is claiming it was retaliation for your engagement to Alpha Kieran."My stomach dropped through the floor and suddenly kissing Kieran on balconies seemed like the least of my problems."How many casualties?" I asked while already moving toward the door."At least fifteen injured, three dead," the guard reported. "And they're threatening more attacks if the engagement isn't dissolved immediately.""Dear Goddess," I said while my hands started shaking. "This is my fault.""This is not yo

I was in the middle of planning our defense strategy when the alarms started blaring and someone shouted that the Western Coalition wasn't waiting for my five minute deadline to expire before launching another attack, which seemed rude but also completely predictable given how this day was going."They're at the southern gate," a guard yelled while bursting into the council chamber. "At least thirty soldiers, maybe more.""Of course they are," I muttered while standing up so fast I knocked over my chair. "Because why would they give us time to actually prepare?""Luna, you need to get to the safe room," Zayen said while already moving to escort me away from danger."Absolutely not," I said while heading toward the armory instead. "I'm not hiding while my pack fights.""You don't know how to fight," Elias pointed out while keeping pace with me. "You can barely walk without tripping over air.""Then I'll trip over them," I said whi

The feast was going surprisingly well for about ten minutes before I managed to spill wine on myself, drop a fork that somehow landed in the lap of a visiting diplomat, and accidentally elbow Kieran hard enough to make him choke on his bread while I was gesturing enthusiastically about pack politics I didn't actually understand."I'm so sorry," I said for what felt like the hundredth time while dabbing at the wine stain on my dress. "I swear I'm not usually this much of a disaster.""You're exactly this much of a disaster," Lily called from three seats down. "This is actually pretty normal for you.""Thank you for that helpful commentary," I said while glaring at her."Just keeping everyone's expectations realistic," she replied cheerfully while raising her wine glass in a toast.Kieran was still recovering from my elbow attack and I noticed he'd moved his plate slightly out of my reach, which was probably a smart survival strategy given

After the feast finally ended I escaped to one of the balconies because I needed air and space to process the fact that I was apparently developing real feelings for someone I was supposed to be fake engaged to, which was possibly the most on-brand disaster for me to create. The cool night air felt good against my flushed skin and I leaned against the stone railing while trying to figure out how I'd managed to complicate an already complicated situation even further."Running away from your own engagement party?"I turned to find Kieran standing in the doorway and my traitorous heart immediately started racing in a way that proved I was absolutely in trouble."Just needed some air," I said while gripping the railing tighter. "All that dancing and not destroying things was exhausting.""You did destroy several things," he pointed out while moving to stand next to me. "Two wine glasses, a fork, my ribcage, and possibly my feet.""My feet ar

I spent the walk back to my room trying to figure out how to explain to my three magically bound Lykoras that I'd just agreed to continue the fake engagement with Kieran for several months, and every scenario I imagined ended with someone getting upset or jealous or both. By the time I reached my door I'd worked myself into enough anxiety that I didn't notice the door was already open until I walked in and found all three of them waiting inside like some kind of intervention committee."We need to talk," Zayen said from where he was sitting in my reading chair with his arms crossed."That's never a good way to start a conversation," I said while closing the door and leaning against it because my legs suddenly felt shaky. "But yes, I also need to talk to you about something.""About why you were in a compromising position with Kieran Blackwater?" Elias asked from his spot by the window where he'd probably been brooding dramatically."It wasn't comp

The morning of the public announcement I woke up to find that someone had laid out a formal dress on my chair that was way too fancy for someone who could barely walk across a room without causing property damage, and I immediately knew the Moon Goddess was laughing at me from wherever she spent her time watching mortals make terrible life choices."Goddess, if you're listening," I said while staring at the dress, "this would be a great time to send me a sign that the fake engagement isn't going to end in disaster."The dress promptly fell off the chair and landed in a heap on the floor."That's what I thought," I muttered while picking it up and trying to figure out how to put on something that had approximately fifty buttons and what looked like built-in structural engineering.Twenty minutes later I was stuck halfway into the dress with my arms in positions that definitely weren't anatomically correct and I was seriously considering just showin