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.

her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but she was

heard some

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

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

pick at.

asked. It took great strength to keep my voice from

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

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

now, at least, I was

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

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

breath.

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

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

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

I wouldn’t be cowed by Terry, or by Nicholas.

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

care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on my own to

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

wasn’t like him to be so

my heels on the tile steps, he turned back to look at

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

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

company if it’s

a

there last night. He had bome

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

Nicholas moved away.

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

my desire

I was still

about it. I did have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the