#3 By the Light of the Silver Moon

Marigold

Stone insisted that I not help with the shopping bags. He and two of the guards carried everything to the elevator and into my room. I was standing in the middle of the closest that didn’t seem so empty now. I was surrounded by colorful bags and tissue paper, and I had no idea where to start.

“Ma’am?” A quiet knock came from the outside of the closest.

“Yes?” I called out, nudging open the doors,

“Oh, hi, Zoey.”

“Beta Ferra sent me to put away your things.” Zoey said, bowing her head.

“Oh, I can do it.” I waved my hand dismissively.

“Really, ma’am, it’s no trouble!” Zoey insisted. I sighed,

“Alright, Zoey, I’ll make you a deal. You call me Mari and I’ll let you help me put the clothes away.” I cocked my head to the side and stared at the housemaid. She blushed slightly,

“Okay….Mari.” She stammered. I laughed and clapped my hands,

“Good job!” I started pulling out the tissue paper from the colorful bags,

“Anyway, I could actually use some help with all this. I don’t even know where to begin.”

There was a large table in the center of the closet that Zoey used to lay out the clothes she was pulling from the bags. First, she folded the underwear, bras, socks, nighties, and pajamas. She left quickly and came back with a laundry basket full ov white hangers that matched the white closet inserts. All of the long pants were hung in one section, skirts and dresses in another, with casual shirts by themselves, dress shirts in a fourth section, and shorts in a fifth. She color coded each section.

Then, she put my bras in a drawer that had little inserts to help organize them, with my underwear in the second drawer and socks in the third. She folded all of my nighties on a shelf and my regular pajamas on the shelf below that. I blushed as she organized the lingerie on the third shelf.

“Ferra made me buy all that.” I said defensively, pointing at the silky garments. Zoey smiled politely,

“Of course, ma’am.” I sighed. At least she called me Mari once.

“Also, I’m starting to appreciate the fact that you’re going to be doing my laundry because there’s no way I can keep the closest this organized on my own.” I said, spinning in circles to observe the closest.

“No problem at all, ma’am, I’ll take care of it.”

“Zoey….” I groaned.

“Sorry ma…..Mari.” Zoey replied quietly. Lastly, Zoey organized my new shoes in a fancy looking shoe rack. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with just throwing them on the ground, but apparently that wasn’t the right way to do it.

“I also fully stocked the bathroom. I got more of the shampoo and body wash that you like, razors as you requested, and I took the liberty of picking up a few other things I thought you might need.” Zoey said as we walked out of the closest.

Zoey opened up the bathroom closest and showed me the extra bath items and towels. There were also several matching decorative baskets. She showed me the contents of each basket. One had an assortment of colorful bath bombs, the other had fragrent soaps, the third had bath salts and bubble baths, while the fourth had face masks and other spa like items. There were pretty clear jars that were labeled and filled with hair ties, hair clips, and bobby pins. Clear plastic drawers had cotton balls, Q tips, and sponges inside.

The drawers of the vanity were fully stocked as well. One drawer had a variety of combs and brushes, another had toothbrushes and toothpaste, a third had an organizer for the hair dryer, a curler, and a straightener, and the final drawer had famine products. I pointed to the final drawer,

“Good call.” I gave Zoey a thumbs up. Zoey blushed,

“I’m glad you approve, ma’am.”

“Also, thank you for all the items. It’s beautifully organized.” I admired her handy work.

“I appreciate your kind words, Mari.” Zoey smiled genuinely for the first time, excitedly using my name.

“You should be a home decorator or professional organizer.” I laughed at Zoey’s giddiness.

“Oh, I do enjoy doing those things very much, but I value my work as a handmaiden.” Zoey’s tone evened out as she bowed her head.

“Zoey, just because your family has been handmaidens for generations, doesn’t mean you have to be one too. You can do or be whatever you want. You have to follow your heart.” I told her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Just then, there was a loud knock on my door.

“Would you like me to see who that is?” Zoey asked.

“Sure.” I smirked, shaking my head at her. Zoey scurried off and opened the door. I flicked off the bathroom light switch and walked out of the room.

I sucked in a deep breath at the wave of honey that came over me. I looked towards the source of the smell and took in the sight of my mate. I hadn’t seen him all day and that was enough to have me swooning over his appearance.

“Thank you, Zoey.” His husky voice filled the room as he waved Zoey away.

“Hi beautiful.” Finn smirked at me, walking across the room.

He grabbed my face in his hands and pressed his warm lips to mine. I sighed against his soft lips, leaning my body into his. His hands found their way around my waist, running up the length of my back. I threw my arms around his neck and held onto him like my life depended on it. Finn sighed and released my lips. I gasped as I came up for air.

“I missed you, too.” Finn chuckled, giving my chin one last squeeze before stepping away. I whimpered quietly at his absence.

“Did you have fun today?” Finn asked.

“It wasn’t terrible.” I shrugged, earning a laugh from Finn.

“Well thank you for entertaining my sister’s shopping habits.”

“She was lovely.” I shrugged,

“Although, we do have quite different tastes.”

“Yeah, I imagine. Do you want to show me what you got?” Finn asked, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.

“Do you really care?” I asked.

“Of course I care, love, I care about everything you do.” Finn looked slightly offended.

“Well, in that case, you’re just going to have to wait and see like everyone else.” I teased. Finn growled playfully, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close to him,

“Mine.” He said in a low, deep voice. I giggled against his affection,

“They did say something interesting today.” I changed the subject.

“Oh?” Finn stepped away.

“They said that you made an announcement to the pack about me.” Finn groaned,

“I was going to tell you.” He stammered, almost like he thought I would be upset.

“It’s okay, I’m not mad.” I said, taking his hand.

“I know you’re not ready for anything big yet. I just wanted to brag a little about you.” Finn smiled.

“And warn your ex’s that you’re off the market.” I added, whipping the smile right from his face.

“I’m going to kill them.” Finn growled. I assumed he was talking about his Beta and Gamma,

“Baby, you have nothing to worry about.” I shushed him,

“I’m not worried. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Finn looked like he didn’t believe me.

“If you say it’s nothing to worry about then I believe you.” I replied with a lazy shrug.

“You’re amazing.” Finn gave me a quick, but passionate, kiss.

“What did you do today?” I asked curiously.

“Oh I just took care of some pack stuff, answered a few work emails, and spent some time with my parents.” Finn replied, taking my hand and leading us to the sitting area.

“Can I ask you something?” I said, picking at my fingers nervously.

“Baby, you can ask me anything. I don’t have secrets from you.” Finn picked up my hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I was just wondering what you do for work.” Finn explained to me how he was the CEO of an international art exchange company.

“The company practically runs itself at this point, I only focus on the cases I’m actually interested in. But, it provides a good way of life for the pack and for me, and now for you, too.”

“I liked working.” I said, sounding almost defensive.

“You can work if you want to, love, whatever you want.” Finn shrugged. I sighed in relief. I was having a hard time getting used to all the freedom Finn was giving me. I had to keep reminding myself that he didn’t want to control me.

Finn and I decided to stay in for the rest of the day and watch movies. I was tired and over stimulated from my day of shopping, and Finn was all too happy to hide away with me. We talked and got to know each other well into the night. At around midnight, I asked him to leave so I could shower and get ready for bed.

“Goodnight, my love. Sweet dreams.” Finn cooed, kissing my forehead and then my lips before slipping out the door.

I decided that tonight was as good a night as any to try out the bathtub. I rummaged through the closest for some of the bubble bath and bath salts I saw earlier. I ran the bath water as hot as I could stand it and added in the product. Once the tub was full and the bubbles nearly overflowing, I peeled off my clothes and settled in.

I soaked in the tub for what seemed like an hour or more, but couldn’t get myself to completely relax. My muscles were tense, like I was gearing up for battle, and my skin was crawling with anxiety; my body was restless and on edge. I sighed and gave up on the bath. Stepping out, I wrapped myself in a towel and walked across the bathroom to get my pajamas from the closet.

I misjudged the grip, or lack thereof, provided by the marble floor and slipped on the water dripping from my own body. I slammed down on the floor hard, landing on my tailbone. I yelped in pain and jumped at the sound of my bedroom door banging open.