Beautiful Luna

Side Story 2 - Beneath The Moon's Promise

Hazel Moretti had always been a force of nature—bold, witty, unapologetically herself. She laughed loudly, dressed like royalty even on casual days, and always had something clever to say. But there was one thing she had kept quiet, buried beneath all the glitter and glam.

Her long-standing crush on Sir Nathan Reid.

He wasn't just any knight. Nathan Reid was stoic, disciplined, and dangerously handsome. He stood tall in the royal guard, eyes like steel and a voice rarely used. To most, he was unreadable. To Hazel, he was a challenge.

From the time she turned seventeen, she started to flirt openly.

"Careful, Sir Reid," she once purred, leaning against a column beside him. "If you keep guarding the palace with that face, hearts will start falling faster than arrows."

He didn't glance at her. "I'm here to protect the crown, not steal hearts."

"Too late," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

Other times, she'd brush by him with a teasing smile, whispering, "If you're going to keep watching me like that, at least buy me dinner first."

He'd always reply dryly. "Eyes forward, Lady Hazel."

He never entertained it. Polite but distant. Her jokes bounced off his armor, her teasing fell flat. But Hazel was no quitter.

What began as fascination turned into something deeper. She admired his loyalty to the crown, the way he always arrived early to every training session, and how, even in silence, he commanded presence. But the more she tried to get closer, the more he seemed to resist.

He was kind—but formal. Guarded—but respectful. She hated how much she liked him.

Still, she couldn't help herself. To get his attention, she even flirted with other Alphas in his presence—laughing louder, touching arms, tilting her head just the right way.

She didn't expect it to work. But it did.

Nathan would grow still. His jaw would tighten. Once, he even gripped the hilt of his sword so hard his knuckles went white. He didn't understand why he felt so on edge, why something inside him burned every time she smiled at someone else.

It was irrational. It was infuriating. And it only made Hazel want to tease him more.

At Levi and Giovanni's coronation ball, Hazel had worn a gown that shimmered like starlight. She'd danced, laughed, and soaked in the admiration of many... but her eyes had searched only for him. And she saw him then—standing at the edge of the ballroom, perfectly straight in his silver-trimmed uniform, guarding the king and queen.

She approached.

"You clean up well, Sir Reid."

He looked at her, his jaw tight. "You look beautiful, Lady Hazel."

It was the first time he'd said that. Her heart skipped.

"Would you care to dance?" she asked, extending a hand.

He stared at it, then back at her. "I am on duty."

She stepped closer. "But if you weren't?"

He hesitated. For the briefest moment, something flickered in his eyes. Then, softly:

"If I weren't... I'd say yes."

Hazel didn't press further that night. But it was the start of something—barely noticeable, but real. And she was determined to make him hers.

But what Nathan said that night haunted him. The next day—and every day after—he avoided Hazel. Embarrassed, uncertain, and frustrated by the truth he refused to accept.