Moonchild

CHAPTER THREE: PENELOPE

I was interrupted in my grief by a knock on the door. "Go away!" I shouted, my voice hoarse from crying. Instead of obeying my wishes, the door opened slowly and a girl with short hair walked in.

"Hi." She said, smiling. "I'm Persephone. It's nice to finally meet you."

"I'm Penelope." I responded. "What do you mean finally?"

"Apollo was so excited when he brought you back here. Don't let him fool you. He's a hopeless romantic when it comes to all that love shit. I tease him about it all the time." She chuckled. "I'm Leo's mate by the way."

"Who is Leo? Sorry, I haven't been here long." I felt my face heat up, but I smiled when Persephone laughed.

"It's alright. Leo is to be the head Warrior when Apollo becomes Alpha. He's blond, looks grumpy a lot." She trailed off, waiting for my response.

I suddenly remembered the blond boy who sliced Malakai's throat and gasped. "I do know him. He killed my brother." I whispered, tears blurring my vision. Persephone sat on my bed and took my hand.

"Apollo told me. I am so sorry that you had to see that. You see, no one here really likes raiding other packs. Alpha Alexander has a certain homicidal complex and it's not the best." She squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry for your loss. What was his name?"

"Malakai. He was my best friend." I smiled sadly. "He had this blond head of hair that constantly got in his eyes and he had the sweetest smile. He was a goofy kid."

"I wish I could have met him. He sounds lovely." Persephone pulled me in for a hug. "You know, Apollo is right outside. You should talk to him."

I pulled back. "Why? He just let my family, my only family, die!"

"I know it seems horrible and trust me, it is. Apollo is nothing like his father. He's kind and gentle and loyal and he will love you forever." She brushed my hair from my face. "You'll have to talk to him eventually, or your wolf will suffer."

"I know and that's the hard thing." I sighed. "My wolf has been complaining since I told him to leave me alone, but I'm not sure I want him. He scared me."

"Well, you should come down for dinner later. My friend Stella and I will come get you ready at five. Is that all right?"

I nodded and Persephone stood up. She walked to the door and said something to someone, most likely Apollo. She winked and shut the door quietly behind her.

I let out some air and flopped back on the pillows. The moment I shut my eyes, the door flew open. Persephone stuck her head back in.

"What sizes are you?" She asked. I rolled my eyes and got out of bed.

******************

At precisely five, I decided to take a shower. I had spent most of the day in bed or sitting on the balcony. Apollo's room was equipped with such a beautiful view over the grounds that I couldn't resist taking a look, even though it was raining hard. As the raindrops had cascaded down on top of me, I allowed myself to cry as hard as I wanted.

The shower was large, almost large enough for two people. It made me wonder if Apollo was the type of boy to never shower alone. The warm water was welcome after the cold rain and I almost moaned as the feeling covered my entire body. I stayed under the warm water for almost twenty minutes, until two voices invaded the tranquil silence.

"Penelope!" Someone pounded on the bathroom door. "It's Persephone! I'm coming in!"

"Wait!" I screeched as I turned the water off and reached for the towel. The door flew open and I screamed as I made an attempt to cover my naked body. Persephone didn't look twice.

"Oh we're all girls. We all have the same parts. Penelope, this is Stella." A girl with blue hair walked in and waved. I wrapped a towel around myself and waved back. Persephone grabbed a hair dryer and pushed me into a chair. Stella operated the dryer while Persephone pulled and brushed my hair in every direction, much to my painful dismay.

Eventually, my hair was dried into its normal wavy style. The two of them went to work curling it until it fell against my head in neat waves. It looked like I was out of the early 1900's.

Persephone and Stella stepped out while I put my underwear on and then brought in a dress. It was a satin dress in a light pink. I ran my hand over the material, a little stunned. I hadn't ever worn anything so expensive looking before. The back was more open and it showed a lot in the chest department, but I didn't mind.

"Trust me when I say that this dress will drive him crazy." Persephone wiggled her eyebrows. "Since it's a fancy dinner tonight, he will be looking pretty good as well."

"My goal isn't to socialize with Apollo." I sighed as they slipped it over my head. Stella chuckled.

"He won't be able to keep his hands off you. Apollo has never been much of a fuckboy, but he won't be able to help it with you."

"Yeah, she's right. Charon has always been the player, but Apollo is the romantic. He'll be super turned on when he sees you."

I rolled my eyes and sat back down as they did my hair and makeup. My hair was plaited and put into a variety of braids, while my makeup was light pink with a bit of eyeliner. They applied a mauve pink lipstick and turned me to the mirror.

Whoever the girl in the mirror was, it wasn't me. I had never looked more beautiful. "You two are angels." I gasped. Stella and Persephone laughed.

"Grab your heels and come to my room. We need to get ready too." Persephone tossed a pair of shiny black heels at me and we snuck down the hall.

An hour later, the three of us walked to the dining room. Persephone was in a gold dress, while Stella wore a dark blue one. Stella had chosen a crown of silver stars to perch delicately on her blue hair, making her look like a princess.

We put on our best smiles and pushed open the doors to the dining room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the three of us. Leo and Apollo looked like they were going to fall over at the sight of us. Another boy whose name I didn't know walked over to Stella and took her hand.

"That's her mate Edmund." Persephone whispered. "They're getting married next spring."

I nodded, still trying to avoid Apollo's eyes. He looked very handsome in an all-black suit and shirt. His hair was slicked back and he looked like a prince. My wolf began to bug me, reminding me of how sexy he looked.

"Just go over there, grab him by his tie and kiss the day away."

"You're a little late Nova. It's evening." I scolded her. She growled something about excuses.

Persephone grabbed my hand and pulled me over to Leo, Apollo, and Charon. Charon had a blonde hanging off his arm and he didn't look very happy about it.

Apollo's eyes grazed my body hungrily and a chill shot up my spine. I was still against talking to him, but it seemed like I would have to be civil after all.

At least that would shut Nova up.