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.

continued to argue, Susie turned in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap,

okay, Piper? I heard

shook my 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

left my half of the breakfast uneaten

to pick

grounds?” I asked. It took great strength to keep my voice from shaking.

nodded. “Word is, Terry left at some point last night and returned to his own mansion.”

words filled me with a sense of relief and for the first time that day, I took in and

now, at least,

thoughts of last night continued to linger in my mind, even as we broke from eating to

Terry’s cold hands

breath.

wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from?

able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian and me from continuing

in his heart he was only worried for me and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not

being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the

by Nicholas. I had my own heart and my

any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the right thing, and lost their wolves for

care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on

check the empty ballroom. I found

to be so isolated or

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

to be alone?” I asked him. I had questions and demands, but he seemed almost… lost sitting

and his look of vulnerability faded. In its place

don’t mind company if

his flirtatious charms and took a seat on the same step he was sitting

Julian was also there last night. He had bome witness to the

he had the decency both to tell me it wasn’t my fault,

Nicholas moved away.

He wouldn’t have. But

the circumstances of my

I was still

wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I might have wanted to have him do more.