Good Stuff

Melindana’s POV

I walked around the room slowly, taking it in properly this time without the maid hovering over me with that worried expression.

The room was large, larger than it had to be for one person, and everything in it was delicate and expensive and arranged with the kind of obsessive care that said whoever lived here had both the money and the time to care deeply about such things.

“So Alpha Luca is my husband,” I said out loud, more to myself than to the maid who was still standing near the doorway watching me with her eyes filled with surprise. I stopped pacing. “And who was the woman standing beside him when we pulled up?”

The maid’s hands tightened slightly in front of her apron. “Alpha said she is his fated mate, Luna. Her name is Hailey.”

I turned that over in my head for a moment. “So I am not his fated mate.”

“No Luna.”

“Then how exactly did I become Luna.”

The maid opened her mouth and then closed it again and I could see the worry sitting right behind her eyes before she even said anything. I didn’t push. I had already gotten what I needed from her face alone.

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully. “Luna, if you are upset about any of this, your father Alpha Alexandra is always there. He would not stand for any of this, you know he would get justice for you.”

I looked at her. “My father.”

“And this father of mine,” I said, keeping my voice even. “He is where exactly.”

“Blackthorn Pack, Luna. He is the Alpha there. One of the wealthiest and most powerful Alphas in the entire region.” She said it with a quiet pride that suggested she thought very highly of him. “If you wanted to go back to Blackthorn, Alpha Alexandra would make sure nobody could touch you. He would get justice for you, Luna, whatever you needed.”

I turned that over quietly. A powerful father, a title, a house full of money. Whatever I had woken up into, weakness was not part of it.

“What is your name,” I said.

She blinked. “Luna?”

“Your name. What do I call you.”

“Julie, Luna.”

“Julie,” I said, stopping my pacing. “The woman outside, Hailey. Has she been settled in?”

Julie hesitated. “Not yet Luna.”

“See to it.” I moved toward the dresser. “She is a guest in this house and I am still Luna here. It is my responsibility to make sure she is comfortable.” I opened the second drawer and looked through it until I found what I was looking for, a set of expensive lingerie. I held it out to Julie. “Put this in her room.

“Luna, are you sure you want….”

Have the kitchen send up food, something warm and properly made.

Julie stared at me in disbelief. Whatever she had been expecting me to say, it was not that. She took the clothing piece from me.

“The Alpha has found his fated mate,” I continued, turning back toward the mirror. “That is a good thing. The least I can do is make sure she feels welcome.”

“Can you arrange that?”

“Yes Luna,” Julie said slowly.

“Good.” I turned away from the mirror. “Now I want a bath drawn, hot, and after that I want a massage arranged. My back is sore and my head is still hurting.” I moved toward the bed and sat on the edge of it. “And tell the kitchen I want wine sent up, something good.

Julie nodded and moved quickly, clearly more comfortable with instructions and errands.

The bath actually helped. The hot water worked through the soreness that had settled into the muscles of this small soft body and I lay in it longer than I intended to, staring at the ceiling and running through everything Julie had told me.

I was in a complicated situation. That much was clear.

By the time the massage started I had drunk half a glass of wine and decided that it was genuinely excellent. I lay face down on the bed while the girl Julie had called in worked through my shoulders and I stared at the dark wood of the headboard and thought about everything I had woken up into.

So Alpha Luca had his fated mate. Good for him. I had absolutely no feelings about that man and I was not about to manufacture any. I had woken up in the body of a woman whose father was one of the most powerful and wealthy Alphas in the entire region, with a title, a house that looked like it belonged in a magazine and wine that was honestly some of the best I had ever tasted in my life.

Who cares about this husband and his so-called mate, am I supposed to be crying over him? Nah.

The girl worked a knot loose from somewhere near my left shoulder and I exhaled and reached for my wine glass on the bedside table, lifting my head just enough to take a long slow sip before settling back down into the pillow.

I set the glass back down and then picked it up again almost immediately. It really was exceptional.

I turned my head slightly toward where Julie was standing quietly near the door, waiting to be needed.

“Is there more wine where that came from?”

Julie nodded once.

“Please honey,” I said, settling back down into the pillow, “fill my glass. This is good stuff.”