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.

had Elva

you okay, Piper? I heard some truly

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

the bile rising in my throat, and left my half

pick

It took great strength to keep

“Word is, Terry left at some point

filled me with a sense of relief and for the first time that day, I took in

least, I was safe.

my mind,

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

breath.

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

felt worse now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad

and for the kingdom, but it frustrated me

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 only true way to

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

I wouldn’t let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to

and Mark, I set off on my

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

to be so

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

I asked him. I had questions and

its place was the same sort of cocky

mind company if it’s you,” he

charms and took a seat on the

forgotten that Julian was also there last night. He had bome witness to the full extent of my

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

Nicholas moved away.

taken advantage. He wouldn’t have.

the circumstances of my

I was still

kiss me on the balcony. In time, I might