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.

to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but she was busy stuffing her face with

I heard some truly

a cloudy head and tired eyes,

and left my

pick at.

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

left at some point last night and returned to his own mansion.”

filled me with a sense of relief and for the first time that

least, I was

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

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

breath.

black dress who seemed to have my wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from? How had she gotten it? And why was she teasing

never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian and me

kingdom, but it frustrated me

was exposed, it would protect people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and

Nicholas. I had my own

those innumerous other souls out there who just

care of her nanny and Mark, I

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

wasn’t like him to be so isolated or

the click of my heels on the tile steps, he turned back

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

In its place was the

if it’s you,” he said.

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

also there last night. He

tell me it wasn’t my fault, as

Nicholas moved away.

wouldn’t have. But

of my

I was still

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