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.

continued to argue, Susie turned in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but

okay, Piper? I heard some truly

away her concern. I felt hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise

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

pick

left the grounds?” I asked. It took great

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

words filled me with a sense of relief and for the first

at least, I was safe.

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

help but feel Terry’s cold hands

breath.

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

so many unanswered questions. It felt worse now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the

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

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

cowed by Terry, or by Nicholas. I

I wouldn’t let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the right thing, and lost

and Mark, I set

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

be so isolated

heard the click of my heels on the tile steps, he turned back to look at me. “Piper.

had questions and demands, but he seemed

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

if it’s you,” he

flirtatious charms and took a seat on

also there last night. He had

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

Nicholas moved away.

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

my

I was still

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