Page 59 of Losing My Siren Luna
“Quite the snitch you are, Yasmin. A man gets a little rough with you, and you go blabber like it was something unexpected? That was hardly something to get worked up about.”
“Three men tying up a woman with wolfsbane infused ropes and raping her for hours on end is not something to get worked up over?” Lady Vera tilts her head, “Good to know. Next time I get such a request, the job will go to you. Since Yasmin was given a position serving the new Luna at the castle, she will not need such work any longer.”
At Lady Vera’s words, Leona’s eyes widened, and flashed in anger while quickly looking at me.
“You hired a woman to serve you who continuously served yourhusbandin the past? If I had known such a position was open, I would have gladly-”
“I created the position for a poor woman who was tricked by one of her colleagues into being brutally raped all night,” I growled. “There would never be such a position for you.”
“And Yasmin will be serving no one but the Luna from this day forth,” Percy snarls, “because she has already agreed to become my chosen mate.”
To say I was surprised would be an understatement, but not as surprised at Leona. She almost appeared to be steaming from the ears, staring at Yasmin with so much jealousy and hatred.
She tried to ruin the girl last night, but instead it led to Yasmin’s way out of such a harsh life, and now she has a wonderful man wanting to claim her as his chosen mate. It makes me curious what happened to his fated mate, since chosen mates are usually only taken in the case of a fated mate’s death, but that is his business. If he or Yasmin wish to tell me one day, they can. If not, that is fine too. I am just happy for both of them.
“You would take a whore werewolf as a chosen mate?” Leona snaps, making Percy growl menacingly, stepping forward as if he wished to dismember Leona himself.
“No,” Yasmin pulls on his sleeve, “I just want to leave in peace. She isn’t worth it.”
Cherum snorted, “The Luna said much the same.”
Lady Vera threw her head back with a “Ha!” then smiled sweetly at the miserable woman. “Seems we are all in agreement then. Leona, go ahead and pack your things, for you will be leaving here at once. I will not have someone I can not trust in my establishment.
Leona scoffs, “You’re throwing me out?! I’m your top earner. Everyone asks for me.”
“Now, that’s not true. Everyone requests Yasmin's service every night, and you try to permanently harm her to steal her favor with her clients. What madame would I be if I let you stay and remain a danger to the other women who also work here? No,” she shakes her head, “Maurice here has been kind enough to call for more guards, and you are to leave at once, or be forced out. Your choice.”
Leona growled, “You will regret this,” she then turned her hate-filled eyes towards me, “All of you.”
~
Leona left with little incident, just lots of sour looks, and the guards merely stood at the doors to ensure her departure. Yasmin and I decided to eat a light lunch across the street and have tea with Cherum watching over us while Percy and Maurice stood watch outside.
Our breakfast was ruined, thanks to my ever inconsiderate and rude husband, and Cherum insisted that I had to eat. I wasn’t very hungry after our run-in with Leona, but I am enjoying my time with Yasmin. She is bubbly and bright, making me feel at ease. Even Val is loving her more and more now that she knows she is no longer a threat to our bond with our mate. Not that it matters if she were. Lachlan himself is the biggest threat to our bond. No one else.
Yasmin is currently staring out the window with a lovestruck expression at Percy, and it makes my heart so happy to see her happy. Who would have thought when the incidents occurred this morning that we would reach this sort of outcome just hours later?
“So,” I grinned at my new friend, “congratulations to you and Percy. I’m surprised, but so happy for you both.”
Yasmin blushed, “I was surprised too. I mean, he, uh, did come to see me often after his mate died in the war, but I never knew he harbored those feelings for me. It had been a while since I last saw him, too. I thought that maybe he had forgotten about me, or he was like many of the others who like to pretend those transactions never happened.”
I tilted my head, intrigued by how they got to the point of agreeing to be chosen mates. I don't want to discriminate, but it is quite surprising that Percy would take a woman of the night he used to visit as a chosen mate. “It must be difficult to separate personal feelings and being professional in that line of work.”
Yasmin snorts, “There isn’t really a professional way to handle being a whore, Luna. I just tried to keep my head down and when it was over, it was over. I never let feelings into it,” she sighs, then looks out the window at Percy again, “Until one night, a grief-stricken warrior came in after losing his mate. It was hard not to have feelings when all he wanted was for someone to sit and listen to everything he would miss about her. The first time I took him upstairs,” she smiles warmly, “we didn’t do anything other than talk. The next time, I held him in my arms while he cried. It took him quite a few visits before we ever got to the, um, usual services. He was always kind and gentle. Unlike any man I ever had.”
'Any man she ever had' momentarily made me think of Lachlan, wondering if he was rough or gentle with her, but that fostered feelings of jealousy I didn't want to feel, so I quickly put those thoughts away before Val got worked up. I felt her getting grouchy at my wayward thoughts, and I don't want to have reasons to have negative feelings towards Yasmin. It's not her fault myhusbandis a manwhore.
This isn't a time to be upset. I'm happy for her and her new love with Percy. Percy is a good man, and from the way he protected her this morning, I know he will be tender and loving with her, respecting her as a woman and not measuring her worth by her past profession.
I reached across the table and took her hand in mine. “It sounds like you both have been each other’s saving grace for a while now. I truly am happy for you.”
Her cheeks turned that lovely pink hue, and she smiled embarrassingly. “Thank you.” She then fidgets nervously in her seat, still holding my hand in hers. “Um, Luna. About this morning, do you think maybe you should speak with the Alpha? I know he was excessively angry, but I really can understand why he didn’t want me to be around you.”
I tilted my head in confusion, “I thought we already talked about this? It's unforgivable the way he treated you.”
She grimaces, “Maybe, but it wasn’t out of malice, but probably out of concern for you. I am what I am, and he did visit the brothel on occasion. That was a known fact throughout the pack, so I don’t think I am speaking out of turn to say that. Last night, though,” she bites nervously on her lip, “The Beta and Gamma made sure all of the girls knew that he would not be visiting us any longer, and you were his true Luna. We were all warned to stay away from him and you. Technically, I didn’t listen to that order.”
“Really?” That doesn’t even sound like something he would do. “Did Cherum, perhaps, orchestrate that? I can’t see the Alpha saying something like that.”
