The Luna Choosing Game

“How long did you wait, Piper? A week? Two? It couldn’t have been long.”

He sounds like he’s jealous. Or was that an illusion? He doesn’t care about me and is just mad at me.

Maybe the latter is more logical.

His dark eyes burned into me, leaving my heart in scorched tatters. Never in a thousand years would i

have thought Nicholas would be so vicious to me.

“It wasn’t like that.” I said, to try to defend myself.

He crossed his hands over his chest. He wasn’t going to listen to me,

“Why even come here?” he asked me.

“My application was selected…”

“Why even apply? Were you trying to get to me?”

“No,” I said.

“Maybe you regret your child’s father. Maybe you want me back.” He laughed once, bitterly. “Like you

have a chance.”

The words sliced into me as surely as if he’d been holding a knife. He had changed since I’d known him.

Three w

years ago, he’d been kind and patient. I’d given him my heart and he’d gently cradled it. So many

nights, we’d laid under the stars, trading kisses and stories.

Once, when he’d spent all night looking at me, I had told him, “You’re missing the

starlight.”

He’d replied, “I can see it in your eyes.”

The man before me now was nothing like the one I had known. The man here was arrogant, indifferent. and imposing in how he carried himself.

Breaking up with him had never been something I wanted to do. It hurt me still, thinking upon it, so I had tried to push it to the back of my thoughts

to focus on like work, and caring for Elva, that I could successfully distract myself from the pain of

now and seeing what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing back into

+15 BONUS

wonder if I was misremembering the past. Maybe

I wasn’t that young,

bite to my own voice. The hurt made it easier.

is a mistake, and

chill ran along my spine. “You are the only woman who ever dared to break up with me. Piper. I’ll never allow

walking out into the sitting room, and then out into the parlor. I thought he

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him. So

be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his misconceptions about me

hate him, but

knees beside the couch

our child. If we had stayed together, maybe he would have revealed his secret in

was a nice

wasn’t reality. My reality was very far

was wasting time, staying here. I needed to go home and look

I

I was so drained, from the trip,

quickly, my own

me Excuse me,

open my

me. I beg your pardon, miss, but the King Luna,

my eye. “Wait, there’s been

already disappearing out of

Elva sat up on the couch, watching me with curious eyes. “Is it time for more

have to be quiet though, okay? No one can talk when

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

pulled Elva into my arms

was standing atop some type of stage The King stood at

his Luna on one side. The three princes flanked his other

older than he did on the bills in my purse. He was pale with hollowed out

voice camed far, like he was accustomed to public

said, calming the crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations

this monumental event. We are very pleased by your presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted

whispered something in the