The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0370
That was Jane. I had zero doubts.
What I needed to do now was keep my promise and alert Nicholas. Yet when I turned to find him, I saw him stepping onto the stage where the thrones were, with Olivia on his arm. The King and Queen were greeting them warmly.
I couldn’t exactly interrupt that without repercussions. Best to leave it.
I glanced around for Julian, but he was still missing. Where did he go?
The only one of our little group that I could locate was Veronica. I went to her now. She sensed my seriousness at once, and dropped the preamble of the dance.
“She’s here,” I said.
Veronica, to her credit, did not attempt to look around. She just kept looking at
me.
“Both Nicholas and Julian are out of reach,” I said. “But I have to act before Jane gets away. I’ll delay as much as I’m able. Please get Nicholas as soon as he’s off that stage.”
Veronica did glance this time, up to the stage.
“Do you need time to get ready for the magic to return my wolf?” I asked her.
She looked back to me. “I’m ready now. But it will cause a scene. We can’t do it here. We will need to move her. Piper, I don’t know…”
I’d never seen Veronica uneasy, even in other high-stress situations. Was she worried for me?
“We can’t let Jane get away,” I said.
“She’s baiting you,” Veronica said. “Just like we thought she would. It would be foolish to
go alone.”
I couldn’t argue with that, but to achieve the end goal of finally ridding us of Jane, I was willing to let myself fall into the trap.

“That’s why we gave me the cuff,” I said. “I can get closest.”
“Piper,” she said, frowning.
“I’ll be okay, Veronica.” It was nice, in a way, to know she was worried. It meant she truly did care about me. I had so few friends. Each one was very precious. I hoped Veronica knew she was a friend for life now, no matter how long or short
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415 BONOS
“You better be,” she said.
I nodded. “The minute Nicholas or Julian is free. Please. Let them know.”
“I will,” Veronica said.
I gave her a small smile, then I left her. I crossed over the dance floor, ignoring the cheers of the informal dancers and the glares of the more formal dancers. I came out the other side and felt like a soldier marching onto a battlefield.
Before me, Jane, dressed all in black, reclined on a chair. She had her legs crossed at the knee and dangled one foot, looking for all the world like she was enjoying herself.
Maybe she was.
It had me on edge. I would have thought she’d have her grunts with her somehow, but she was sitting alone at the round table, with not a soul around her.
As I came closer, Jane began to giggle as if I pleased her immensely with my very presence. Knowing how much she hated me, I immediately tensed further.
“Piper, you look like you might shake to pieces,” Jane said, a teasing lilt in her voice. “Does something have you frightened? Or someone, rather.”
“I’m not afraid,” I said, a lie. Truthfully, I was terrified, but I was also determined. Something Jane would find out very soon.
“Tense, then,” Jane said, sizing me up. “Like a coiled up spring. Or a prisoner heading for the chopping block.”
I tried to ignore the implication of death in her last remark.
“You, meanwhile, seem fall too calm,” I said.
Jane shrugged. “I’m just enjoying the night, and why not? Tonight’s the night I get to watch your world fall apart.”
I didn’t have the faintest idea what she was talking about. It could be bulls hit, but knowing her, it more likely meant she had a plot in the works.
It didn’t matter. I had to act quickly. Now. Before I lost my chance.
I glanced at her slim wrist. She wasn’t wearing gloves, breaking the rules of the Luna. Though she was breaking many other rules, simply by being here.
If I could get closer, maybe I could reach out and clasp the cuff over her wrist before she even knew what I was doing. She likely suspected me of some act, but
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I just needed a distraction, or a=
“Everyone!” shouted a voice.
The orchestra stopped abruptly, some players faster than others. One violin screeched out of tune. The man on the bass drum thumped for a few more beats.
I glanced behind me, to where Joyce was standing at the edge of the stage where his parents’ thrones were. He held his hands outstretched. He was speaking, but it was hard to hear.
“Someone give him a microphone!” called a good natured guest on the dance floor.
One of the musicians handed a microphone over to Joyce. He held it too close to his mouth. He sounded like a demon, words cr ackling in the speakers.
“I have an announcement,” he said.