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 she was busy stuffing her face

Piper? I heard some

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

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

pick

the grounds?” I asked. It took great strength to keep my voice from

at some point last night and

for the first time that day, I took in

at least,

to linger in my mind, even as

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

breath.

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

worse now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian and me from continuing our investigation. 1

me and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he

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 only

Nicholas. I had

or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to

and

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

be so isolated or so

the tile steps, he turned

want to be alone?” I asked him. I had

vulnerability faded. In its place was the same sort of cocky expression I’d

mind company if it’s you,” he

at his flirtatious charms and took a seat

Julian was also there last night. He had bome witness to the full

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

the circumstances of my desire

I was still

angry about it. I did have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I