Moonbound desire

Ashley POV

It was an impulse decision that meant I had to follow my best friend who had a spare ticket because her other friend was sick. Her seat was one of the most expensive, almost in front of the stage. She was a huge fan, the type who buys everything related to the boy band, even seemingly useless things like paperweights. That was her biggest idol the one and only, Jayden Ronan Keller.

My worst nightmare right in front of my eyes — Oh, and also my mate and fiancé.

Of course, she didn't know that last part. Nobody does, or I wouldn't be standing in one of the front rows, still breathing. She only knew about my family and Jayden's long-standing relationship and that we often celebrated holidays together. Some media had reported about us because I was supposedly the heir to Red Moon Inc., the huge international company owned by my late grandfather, Alpha Eros Van Smith of the Red Moon Pack, and well, he was Jayden R. Keller, the personnel of the boy band "Boyz Hits Bullets aka BHB", the "Golden Man", the "Hunkiest and Sweetest" guy, the "Idol sought after by 9 different entertainment agencies", every girl's secret wet dream - yes, I had heard it all from my best friend and her friends. To be honest, it was too much information.

Actually, Jayden and I have known each other since we were kids. Both of our parents know each other, and we often go on vacations or family gatherings together. Jayden is the youngest son of Alpha Roger Keller of the Crimson Pack.

For me, he will be the boy who will always ignore me at family gatherings and pry into everything I like. He'll also be the kid who always looked the other way when Hannah and her pets bullied me from first grade until graduation.

At least that's what I thought before I saw him on stage, in person, for the first time. Suddenly, I found it hard to believe that I'd ever met him outside of the concert arena - or that I knew him at all.

His hair was freshly dyed and cut, he was probably wearing more makeup than I was, and he was probably wearing tight trousers on purpose. He moved with a grace that could only come with practice and practice and more practice, and he sang and danced with gusto, with more power than I could muster sitting down. We were both the same age, 20 years old and yet I realized that he had truly and undoubtedly reached the best times of his life. He wasn't a boy anymore.

And to be honest, it scared me.

When the song ended, deafening screams and thunderous applause echoed throughout the stadium. Grimacing and covering my ears, I watched as the lights on the stage quickly dimmed, obscuring the view of Jayden and the other six members. Just when I thought it was safe to relax, a new song started, causing screams and yells to erupt again - especially from my right, where my best friend and her friends were standing. I didn't understand what was going on until a spotlight in the center of the stage illuminated the shape of a person.

Jayden raised the microphone to his lips and began to sing.

All I could do was stare, mesmerized by his performance. There was such passion and emotion in his voice and face - even the way his fingers sometimes flexed and relaxed around the microphone fascinated me. Mostly it surprised me.

All my life, growing up with him, he had never shown any particular emotion. More often he was stiff, reserved, or even cynical. But in that moment, as he danced and sang on stage, he seemed as vulnerable as he had ever been. I only got to see such a performance once.

He finished the song with a few lingering notes and a final dance move that matched the beat. The lights had dimmed, but in the darkness I could see the lines of his slender body against the backdrop. I stared in amazement, savoring the sensual curve of his lips, his half-closed eyes, and the sweat dripping down his temples and neck. I caught a glimpse of the boy who once had a nose too big for his face, but that image was quickly replaced by the man I and ten thousand other pairs of eyes could see. He was very handsome.

By the end of the concert, my ears were almost deaf. My best friend and her friends were in tears and their voices were hoarse from screaming. They had recorded the entire concert with my best friend's very expensive camera, and when I finally left the stadium, they were frantically searching for the moment when one of the band members - I think his name was Jean - blew them a kiss from the stage during one of the songs. The three of them shared a YouTube channel entirely dedicated to this group and were already talking about editing, who they were going to annoy on the Internet by uploading the entire concert, and so on and so on.

I exhaled loudly. My phone screen showed 22:34. I could still call my parents' driver, but I didn't want to make a scene. There were still a lot of people gathered in the exit area, and in case they recognized me. Although I was dressed very casually, I had no doubt that some people would put two and two together if they saw a girl my age leaving a boy band concert and getting into a very nice car with a private driver. Really, I didn't need any more media to cover my relationship with Jayden, even though we were already engaged.

That was one of the conditions Jayden had set from the beginning. I looked at my best friend, Eva. "Eva, I thought you said you were going to call your mom."

She looked up at the camera and smiled shyly. The orange light from the streetlamp overhead made her brown eyes sparkle and her light brown hair shine. "Sure, I just need to see it again." She furrowed her brow. "I can't believe you've never been to one of their concerts. I guess your parents and his parents get along." She held up two fingers and crossed them.

"Well, they do," I said reluctantly. "Not that he and I are. He has no reason to make me come to the concert anyway."

In fact, Jayden had often tried to get me to stay away. He said there was nothing special about it and that the shows often failed due to carelessness and technical errors. He even claimed that they didn't really care about their fans and that it was very tense and uncomfortable to watch them perform. Come to think of it, I was actually very suspicious when I saw how the concert went. Of course, they had started the whole thing with makeup and expensive outfits, but they constantly had interludes where they talked to the audience and thanked them and each other. The show ended with them just wearing T-shirts - albeit with their own logo - and holding a microphone. It all felt very honest in the end, and up until then, the production values were very high, with good sound, lights, scenes that could go up and down, and more.

"Still," she says. "It's just weird, considering your relationship."

"It is," I admitted. He could be rude - very, very rude - but I never thought of him as a liar. "Maybe I should ask him why he never invited me."

Hearing this, Eva's friends stopped fiddling with the camera options. "How? Oh my God, do you have his number?" they shouted almost in unison.

I was tempted to punch one of them when I saw a couple of girls turn their heads to see why they were yelling. Eva quickly calmed them both down.

"Shut up, you two. Ash, still, right?" Eva asked incredulously.

"No," I replied with a snort. "But I'll go backstage or whatever and look for him."

For a moment the three were silent. But then they opened their mouths and burst out laughing.

"What?" I asked.

"Good luck getting past the security," Eva's friend said in a breathless voice. "I mean, really. Good luck."

"Yeah, it's not like anyone else has ever tried," the other friend laughed. "Not at all."

I frowned. "I'm just telling you, I'm friends with one of the members."

"Guys," Eva said after they had another bout of invisible fairy laughter that clearly missed you with her wand. "I don't think she understands."

I crossed my arms. "Obviously I don't understand."

"It's okay," she said. "Just let her go. It's funnier that way."

"Good idea," the other said. "Ashley, we'll wait here, don't worry."

Eva was still giggling as she spoke. "It's no use," she said. "Think how many times fans have tried to get backstage, lying that they're cousins or something. You'll just be one of thousands of crazy people. Besides," she added a little more quietly so I could hear her, "the media will get it, somehow. How many times have you not complained that you wish you could change your life with someone else?"

It was a valid point. But her friends had hurt my pride, and now I almost felt like I had to prove them wrong.

"Yes, but since I can't, I'd better accept it," I replied as I turned and started to walk away from the girls. "I'll be back soon."

"Good luck!" one of them said sarcastically, making all three of them laugh.

I wanted to show them. Deciding not to sound like a typical fan-stalker, I made up a lie. It wasn't too hard to convince one of the guards in the exit area to let me in to look for the missing key. He followed me, and while I pretended to search, I kept an eye out for signs backstage. There were some cleaners already at work, and a few people with badges around their necks walking around checking the cables, but otherwise, the stadium was empty, and I couldn't ask any of them where the artists were.

"I probably dropped them in the women's bathroom," I said to the guard after a minute or two of fruitless conversation with the janitor.

He nodded. "Let's check there."

Fortunately, I had visited the bathroom before the concert, which was next to a set of sturdy-looking gray metal doors. I knew the door was locked because my friend had tried to open it to no avail. However, my last chance was to find Jayden on the way out of the stadium, and maybe those doors were the way out of the backstage area. I knew it was an almost absurd thought, but my pride was still hurt and I thought I should give it a try.

I didn't see him on the way, and the doors remained closed and probably locked as before. In frustration, I entered the women's restroom and took one last look at the gray door.

Someone was in one of the stalls. I went to the sink to wash my hands, to do something while I felt more and more embarrassed. My keys were burning in the breast pocket of my jacket, so at least the lie would have a happy ending.

Through the mirror, I saw a short girl with brown curls coming out of the stall behind the sink. At first I didn't understand why there was something strange about her, but then I realized.

And suddenly my feelings dropped to earth.

She is Blair Anderson, an artist, and singer, as well as a model for one of the gogirls magazines! For this season's edition. Beautiful as the moon with a silky voice and a bright, optimistic personality, and a smile that could melt iron. Everyone has heard of her. She rose to fame faster than Selena thanks to the movie "Her Secret Legacy" and I know she became an "It" icon in Hollywood.

Blair wasn't just in the bathroom at the stadium where the boy band Boyz Hits Bullets had just performed. She's wearing his jacket — and no, not the one he wore on stage, but the personalized one he wore to a New Year's Eve party with my family almost a month ago. And most obviously, she was wearing the necklace I bought for his graduation. Moreover, His scent wafted strongly from her.

My inner wolf began to growl. Something amiss had happened, as if to confirm my suspicion, Lea, My inner wolf roared, 'He has cheated on us, our mate has cheated on us.'

That son of a bitch had been cheating on me.