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

I heard

head and tired eyes, but

my throat, and left my half of the breakfast uneaten on the plate

to pick

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

point last night and returned to his own mansion.”

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

For now, at least,

thoughts of last night continued to linger in my mind, even as

feel Terry’s cold hands on me or smell his terrible

breath.

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

I would never be able to find

and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the importance of discovering the truth.

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

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

wouldn’t let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who

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

check the empty ballroom. I found

be so isolated or so

on the tile steps, he turned back to look at

want to be alone?” I asked him. I had questions and demands,

of vulnerability faded. In its place was the same sort of cocky expression I’d

if it’s you,”

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

last night. He had bome witness to the full extent of my

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

Nicholas moved away.

taken advantage. He wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being

circumstances of my desire much quicker.

I was still

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