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.

they continued to argue, Susie turned in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but she was busy stuffing

okay, Piper? I heard some truly terrible

and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued embarrassment over my

my throat, and left my half of

to pick at.

the grounds?” I asked. It took great strength to keep

left at some point last night and returned to

filled me with a sense of relief and for the first time that

now, at least, I was safe.

my mind, even as we broke from

for the day. I couldn’t help but feel Terry’s cold hands on me or smell his

breath.

thoughts about that girl in the black dress 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

questions. It felt worse now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not

kingdom, but it

into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the only true

I wouldn’t be cowed by Terry, or by Nicholas. I

daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the

the care of her nanny and Mark, I

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

be so isolated

on the tile steps, he

want to be alone?” I asked him. I had

faded. In its place

mind company if it’s you,” he said.

rolled my eyes at his flirtatious charms and took a

night. He had bome

the decency both to tell me it wasn’t

Nicholas moved away.

He wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being

my

I was still

I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I