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.

in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but she was busy stuffing her face with all

Piper? I heard some truly terrible rumors.”

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

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

pick at.

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

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

for the first time that day, I took in

For now, at least, I was safe.

of last night continued to linger in my mind, even

Terry’s cold hands on

breath.

my wolf. Who was she? Where

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

was only worried for me and for the kingdom, but it

protect people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves

by Terry, or by Nicholas. I had my own heart and

Nicholas condemned, I wouldn’t let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the

care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on my own

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

him to be so isolated

of my heels on the tile

be alone?” I asked him. I had questions

blinked and his look of vulnerability faded. In its place

if it’s

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

hadn’t forgotten that Julian was also there last night. He had bome witness to the full

both to tell me it wasn’t

Nicholas moved away.

He wouldn’t

of my desire

I was still

angry about it. I did have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I