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 she was busy stuffing her face with

okay, Piper? I heard some

hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued embarrassment over my body’s

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

to pick

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

point last night and returned to

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

least,

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

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

breath.

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

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

in his heart he was only worried for me and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the

the underground organization was exposed, it would protect people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities. It was the

Nicholas. I had my own heart and my own beliefs.

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

nanny and Mark, I set off on my own to

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

him to be so isolated

tile steps, he turned back to

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

and his look of vulnerability faded. In its place was the

mind company if it’s

charms and took a seat on the same step he

also there last night. He had

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

Nicholas moved away.

that Nicholas would have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being present

my desire

I was still

have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In