Not Your Backup Luna

I crouched at my front door and sobbed. My mother hurriedly hugged me, a few tears dropping onto my cheeks.

"Chloe, at least you still have Mom."

After crying, I stood up, reheated the food, and cooked a birthday steak for her. To be a qualified Luna for Fred, I spent nine years studying Luna etiquette and culinary arts. I could remember the exact tastes of over twenty core Pack members. Yet, I had never cooked a single meal for my mother.

Under the dim light, my mother silently picked the rosemary off her steak. I bit my lip hard, tasting blood. For nine years, I remembered that Fred didn't eat raw garlic, and that the former Luna wouldn't touch black pepper. Yet I didn't know my own mother hated rosemary.

My phone screen lit up; it was Fred.

"I need large condoms. Bring them to the penthouse suite of the downtown hotel."

A line of explanation followed.

"This is just a trial. I'm not sleeping with anyone else."

I sneered and wiped my tears. Last week, he made me brave a rainstorm to deliver a bowl of nourishing soup, claiming Sophia had a poor appetite. When I arrived, he poured the soup into a dog bowl right in front of me. He said it was just a trial.

Last winter, he made me demonstrate my capabilities to the Elders. Afraid of looking bulky, I wore only a thin dress. Afraid of looking clumsy, I danced the Sacred Moon Ritual barefoot in the snow. After the dance, all the Elders applauded. I thought they had accepted me. But they laughed, calling me a pretty good dancer. Fred nodded, sipping his strong liquor, and told me to dance another round.

That night, I cried and asked him what I truly meant to him. He told me I was being too sensitive.

...

My mother touched my hand, glancing at my phone. I instinctively turned off the screen. She went into her room and brought out a heavily worn bank card. It held the money we had saved to buy back our old territory cabin.

"Chloe, pay him back the money we owe."

"Mom doesn't want to see you groveling in front of him anymore."

"Mom doesn't want to see you love so humbly."

I bit my lip.

"Mom, if we spend this money, we won't be able to buy back the old cabin in time."

"Dad's ashes are still buried in the yard. That is our real home."

My mother forced the card into my palm, her eyes turning red again.

"Chloe, wherever you are is our home."

I wiped my tears, called a cab, and went to that hotel. Pushing open the suite doors, Fred was lighting a cigar. Sophia waved at me with a smile, posturing entirely like the official lady of the house.

"Chloe, you're here."

I took a deep breath and looked at Fred.

"Fred, I will not keep pestering you anymore, and we shouldn't contact each other again."