The Luna Choosing Game

By the next morning, the drug had worked its way through my system and I felt like my old self again. I

went down to breakfast, where I was reunited with Elva, who had stayed with Susie the night before by

order of Nicholas.

I was grateful for his foresight. Mortified as I was by my actions and sounds, I was at least spared the

embarrassment of explaining any of this to Mark or the nanny myself. Or worse still, to Elva..

A thought so stomach–churning, I dared not even think of it.

So when I did finally greet her, it was with a tight hug and big smile, the same as always.

Susie and I didn’t always sit together, but we chose to that morning. There were still many empty chairs with the previous elimination, and I was feeling vulnerable from what had happened the night before. I needed my friends.

Around us the girls were chattering about the curiousness of the evening’s events. Terry was to be one of the main judges of the night, but he never came to ballroom.

Also as curious, both Nicholas and Julian disappeared sometime in the night, only to reappear this morning, one with a black eye and the other with an injured hand.

“You don’t suppose the princes got into a fight with each other?” one of the girls asked.

“No,” Lilliana said flatly. “He is too mature to take part in such childish antics.”

“Julian does love to tease,” said someone else.

“Not enough to tempt a prince away from his decorum,” Olivia added. “Prince Nicholas been around Prince Julian for years. He’s surely built up a tolerance.”

“Well, then what happened with Sir Terry?“”

“Maybe he started the fight,” someone said, and another laughed. A third shushed them.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but she was busy stuffing her face with all the

okay, Piper? I heard some truly terrible rumors.”

head, pushing away her concern. I felt hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued embarrassment over my body’s reaction to

bile rising in my throat, and left my half of the breakfast uneaten on the

pick at.

I asked. It took great

“Word is, Terry left at some point last night and

and for the

now, at least, I was safe.

in my mind, even as we broke

couldn’t help but feel Terry’s cold

breath.

who seemed to have my wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from? How had she gotten it? And why was she teasing me with

now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian and me from continuing our

was only worried for me and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the importance

people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was

or by Nicholas. I had my

let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the right

and Mark, I set

of the palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him sitting

like him to be so isolated or so reflective.

click of my heels on the tile steps, he turned back to look

I asked him. I had questions and demands, but he seemed almost… lost sitting there.

of vulnerability faded. In its

if it’s you,”

a seat on the

night. He had bome

though he had the decency both to tell me it

Nicholas moved away.

have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being present helped

the circumstances of my desire much quicker.

I was still

angry about it. I did have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In