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.

turned in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but

Piper? I heard

tired eyes, but otherwise

throat, and left my half of the breakfast

pick

grounds?” I asked. It took

at some point last night and returned to

sense of relief and for the first time that day, I took in and exhaled a deep

at least, I

my mind, even as we broke from eating to

couldn’t help but feel Terry’s cold hands on me or smell his

breath.

my wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from? How had she gotten it? And why was

somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers.

in his heart he was only worried for me and for the kingdom, but it frustrated

organization was exposed, it would protect people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the only true way to keep Elva

Terry, or by Nicholas. I had

stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who

after seeing Elva safely into the care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on

searched through most of the palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him sitting alone on the

wasn’t like him to be so isolated or so

he heard the click of my heels on the tile steps, he

had questions and demands,

blinked and his look of vulnerability faded. In its place was

company if

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

there last night. He had bome witness to

the decency both to tell me it wasn’t my

Nicholas moved away.

Nicholas would have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have. But

my

I was still

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