The Luna Choosing Game

“It doesn’t seem like this exhaustion is directly related to her illness,” the doctor told me. We stood a

few feet away from the bed where Elva rested, watching her. “She likely got so excited for tonight that she

simply wore herself out.”

“So she’ll be alright?” I asked.

The doctor nodded. “She just needs a good night’s rest. Let her sleep. In the morning, I’ll return and

check on her.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

The doctor saw herself out. When she’d gone, Mark approached me.

“I can watch her,” he said. “I’ll stay inside the room. No one will get past me.”

I was worried about what Jane might have been getting up to at the gala in my absence.

Mark checked his phone. He frowned.

“Something wrong?” I asked. My heart began to race.

“Still no reply from Prince Nicholas,” Mark said. “I’m wondering if he received my messages.”

“Maybe he hasn’t checked,” I said. “When I last saw him, he was busy talking with the benefactors. It

would be rude to check his phone at that time.”

“Maybe.” Mark didn’t seem convinced. “I tried to warn him about Jane…”

“You don’t think…?” No, surely Nicholas would be able to tell the difference between Jane and me?

“You’d better get down there,” Mark said, and I agreed.

I went to Elva’s bedside one last time, and brushed some hair away from her face. She was sleeping

soundly, her chest steadily rising and falling with each breath.

“Sweet dreams, princess,” I whispered.

Then I stepped away.

When I walked into the ballroom, I felt the weight of many pairs of eyes all pressing down onto me.

One of the candidates hear me whispered to someone else. “She changed again. Who does she think she is? None of the rest of us got to change.”

I had no idea what they were talking about. I hadn’t changed. This was still my same gown.

Many of the candidates were glaring at me. Even Tiffany and Veronica were casting me dark looks. Only Susie waved when our eyes locked, though she looked more worried than pleased to see me.

I looked over the ballroom first for Jane, and then for Nicholas. Jane, I didn’t see. Nicholas was hurriedly

walking toward me.

When he stopped at my side, he asked at once. “What was today’s identifying answer?”

“Moon dust,” I answered as quickly.

He exhaled, but relaxed only marginally. His whole body seemed wired with tension. A muscle ticked at

the corner of his jaw.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why is everyone looking at me like they want to push me off a bridge?”

“Jane was here,” Nicholas said. “She pretended to be you. She… caused a stir.”

The fear that had taken root in my stomach blossomed now, spreading throughout the rest of my body.

“What did she do?”

“She purposefully insulted many of the benefactors while pretending to be you.”

Oh, no. To keep my hands from trembling, I worried them together.

Yet, as terrible as that was, I could tell Nicholas was holding something back. He seemed more upset

than seemed necessary, even for such an act.

“Did something else happen?”

He didn’t answer right away, so I pressed.

“Did she say something to you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. But it clearly did matter. He looked like he wanted to tear the room apart. Even his hands were curled like he expected claws at any moment. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

A shocking thought crossed my mind. “Are you close to shifting?”

He didn’t say anything, but that was answer enough.

I stepped closer to him and placed my hand on his chest. Beneath my palm, I felt the thunderous beat of his chest and the tense pull of his muscles.

He was struggling to keep himself in check.

Nicholas was typically so calm. I’d never seen him so near a shift before. The only other time might have

been when he had come to my rescue in Terry’s dungeon, but even then, he had emerged already in wolf

form. I’d never seen him actually struggle for control.