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.

Elva in my lap, but

okay, Piper? I heard some truly terrible

a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued embarrassment over my body’s reaction to Nicholas

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

pick

It took great strength to keep

nodded. “Word is, Terry left at some point last night

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

now, at least, I was

last night continued to linger in my mind, even as we broke from eating to

I couldn’t help but feel Terry’s cold hands on me or smell his

breath.

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

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

kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the importance of

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

Nicholas. I had my

him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous

after seeing Elva safely into the care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on my own to find

palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found

wasn’t like him to be so isolated or

tile

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

of vulnerability faded. In its place was the same sort of cocky

don’t mind company if it’s

eyes at his flirtatious charms and took a seat

He had bome witness to the full extent of

to tell me it wasn’t my fault,

Nicholas moved away.

that Nicholas would have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have.

the circumstances of my

I was still

have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss