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.

me. I had Elva in my lap, but

heard some truly terrible

hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes,

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

to pick at.

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

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

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

at least, I was

my

couldn’t help but feel Terry’s

breath.

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

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

worried for me and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me

into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the only true

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

matter what Nicholas condemned, I wouldn’t let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls

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

empty ballroom. I found him sitting alone on the bottom stair, deep in

wasn’t like him to be so isolated

on the tile steps, he turned back to look at

I had questions and

In its place was

mind company if

eyes at his flirtatious charms and took a seat

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

it wasn’t my fault, as well as to make

Nicholas moved away.

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

the circumstances of my desire much

I was still

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