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

I heard some

some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise

in my throat, and left

to pick at.

It took great strength to keep my voice from shaking.

Terry left at some point last night and returned to

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

now, at least,

continued to linger in my mind,

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

breath.

have my wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from?

able to find

for me and for the kingdom, but it

like me from ever being manipulated into giving

or by Nicholas. I had my own

those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the right thing, and

and Mark, I set off on my own

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

wasn’t like him to be so isolated or

my heels on the tile

alone?” I asked him. I had questions and demands, but he seemed almost…

his look of vulnerability faded. In its place was the

mind company if it’s you,” he said.

took a seat on the same

hadn’t forgotten that Julian was also there last night. He

tell me it wasn’t my fault, as well as to make sure

Nicholas moved away.

have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have.

circumstances of my desire much quicker.

I was still

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