The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0600

"Oh." Susie's eyes widened. "I suppose you wouldn't have known." She hung her head a little. "Tensions with the Bear People have more or less exploded. Mark says more and more soldiers are being sent to the northern border. War seems imminent."

I didn't want to believe that. "Surely there's something to be done to keep the peace?"

*The Bear People have made demands but those demands are impossible to fulfill."

"What are they?" I asked.

Before us, out on the lawn, Elva sat on the grass with the two wolves, Night and Silver, in sitting in front of her. They were all looking so intently at each other, it was like they were having a conversation. I wondered what they were saying.

Focusing on that was less heartbreaking than thinking of the reality of war.

*They want their princess back," Susie said. She made it sound like I should know what she's talking about.

My brow drew together. "We have their princess?"

Susie tilted her head. "You don't know the story of the lost bear princess?"

I shook my head.

Susie hummed thoughtfully. She tapped her chin with a finger. "Oh. It was something like twenty years ago, I suppose. One of their princesses was stolen away as an infant and believed to be brought across the border into werewolf territory."

I couldn't believe my ears. A stolen princess? "Why haven't I heard of this?"

"I'm not sure," Susie said. "Though I imagine the royals wanted to keep a lid on the whole thing. I don't remember ever seeing anything about it on television. It was only ever discussed in gossip groups. I remember my mom talking about it sometimes."

but not bothered with by commoners. A missing foreign princess did not affect the day to day life

any wrongdoing." Susie continued. "They said that the princess had been kidnapped by rebels among the

them, why wait twenty years to start

"There might be more going on behind the scenes in their own nation. But whatever the reason for it, the bears want their princess back. They said that if she isn't

kingdom without permission sounded like an

they hadn't, surely her bear would have

different. She would have likely spoken up by now, or had someone speak

if she was still alive, she would come forward now if not before, to stop the needless violence and death that a

grief. They'd taught us something about war at the Academy. They wanted us to be ready to fight, physically and mentally.

an entire generation.

their children. Children, their parents. Families would be broken apart. Babies would learn to fear the world far sooner

Susie said,

I asked, returning to

not just for royals, or even the soldiers, but for every

sad kind of smile. I never really considered feeling so much for so many to be one of my finer

need to be of stemmer stuff? Able to make the hard choices no matter who it hurt? So long as it was best for

didn't want to hope too much, afraid of how my heart my break when it all inevitably came crashing down around

looked back to where Elva was now laying down with the

wished that I could keep them safe, away

Susie smiled at him, but I jumped. I had forgotten how quickly and quietly he

Mark?" I asked when

Nicholas is waiting for you in his personal office," Mark said. "He has finished his

course," I

take you there,"

disturb her. She was resting so

an eye on her," Susie said. "Between the