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.

I had Elva in my lap, but she was busy stuffing her face with

okay, Piper? I heard some truly

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

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

pick at.

the grounds?” I asked. It took great strength

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

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

at least, I was

linger in my mind,

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

breath.

dress who seemed to have my wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from?

felt worse now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian

kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could

from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the only true

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

any of those innumerous

her nanny and Mark, I

the palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him sitting alone on the bottom

him to be so

he heard the click of my heels on the tile steps, he turned back to look at me.

I had questions and demands, but he seemed

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

if it’s you,” he

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

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

both to tell me it

Nicholas moved away.

He wouldn’t

circumstances of my desire

I was still

have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony.