Page 30 of Luna Trials

*

I sat down on the hard plastic chair in front of the mirror that had my name tag under the bulb lights attached to the top.

“I want to sit next to my packmate,” Stef said as she changed out the name of a girl–Keshia–with hers on the vanity table next to mine. That earned her a glare and I tried to smile at Keshia as she walked away, hoping she wouldn’t hate us both.

“Packmate?” I arched an eyebrow.

“Of course.” Stef sat down and stared at herself in the mirror.

“I’m assuming this has something to do with the social media stuff,”I added through our mental pack link as the line of women filed into the room looking for their name tags.

“Social media stuff?”She fluffed her blond hair.

“Never mind.” I growled.

“Ladies, please take your seats.” Molly came marching in, clipboard in hand. “The stylists are on their way.”

There was a flurry of chairs squeaking and little squeals of delight as everyone rushed to their chairs. Stef’s excitement was palpable. Their energy made me nervous. I silently scolded myself. It was only makeup and hair.How bad could this be?

A toolbelt of various sprays and brushes landed on the vanity table as big hands gripped my chair, tilting me backwards so I was staring up into the strange yellow ringed green eyes of a man.

My wolf sneezed, growling softly in warning.

“You’re a cat,” I whispered.

“No. I’m a cheetah.”

The chair spun around and he assessed me from head to toe. I tried to remain confident with mybest “I’ve got this”face as I looked him over too. He was handsome with sideswept golden hair and the clearest skin I’d ever seen on a shifter or human, wearing stylish Vans and dark washed jeans that fit to his lean muscular frame. The whole look screamed “edgy” in a way that let me know I definitely didn’t belong in this place.

“Don’t worry. I’ll fix you up.” The cheetah shifter winked.

The chair spun again, turning me back to face the mirror. I was seriously getting dizzy.

“My name’s Jesse.” He clipped his toolbelt onto his waist. “And you’re Aspen. I’ve seen the gossip. We’re going to play off that. I’m thinking fringe layers to frame your face. Really accentuate the natural beauty look.”

“Natural beauty?” My nose scrunched as I looked at myself in the mirror.

“Mmm-hmm.” Jesse nodded, twisting a strand of my hair toward the lightbulb and showing off the faint gold strands mixed in with the brown. “I love your highlights. Where’d you get them?”

“Highlights?” I stared at the color. “Um, the sun?”

My hair usually got lighter the more time I spent outside. But spring was just starting so it was still mostly brown.

“The Sun? That’s a fun name for a salon.” He pulled out a water bottle and started misting my hair.

“No.” I laughed. “Like the actual sun in the sky.”

“So natural, natural then. I love it. Let’s cut it off.” He brandished a pair of scissors, snapping them in the air. My wolf started growling and I closed my eyes, nodding.

It’s just a haircut. We’ll be okay.

*

“There.” Jesse took a step back, wiping the sweat from his brow.

I blinked, taking in the light blush to my cheeks and the softness of my hair as it fell around my shoulders. He left most of the length, but my head felt lighter and the makeup wasn’t too heavy. I still looked like myself. Just… enhanced. Glowing.

“What do you think?” Jesse spritzed a fine mist over me that drifted like glitter in my reflection.

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