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

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

with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my

swallowed down the bile rising in my throat, and left my half

to pick at.

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

left at some point

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

For now, at least, I was safe.

night continued to linger in my mind, even as we

help but feel Terry’s cold hands

breath.

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

somehow, because I would never be able to find the

kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the

protect people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the only true way to

or by Nicholas. I had my own heart and my

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

of her nanny and Mark,

before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him

like him to be so isolated or so reflective.

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

be alone?” I asked him. I had questions and

and his look of vulnerability faded. In its place

company if it’s you,” he

a seat on the same step he

last night. He had bome

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

Nicholas moved away.

wouldn’t have.

circumstances of my

I was still

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