Chapter 12

His mouth near the microphone, Nicholas paused a moment as if thinking. Then he spoke.

“Miss Piper was chosen by the ceremony, and the royal family will honor that choice.”

He continued, “One of the many crises we face as a people is a low birthrate among werewolves. Any mother, especially one raising a child on her own, is to be commended.”

He paused, again gathering his thoughts. The way he spoke was purposeful and careful, each word carefully considered.

“Piper represents the cultural progression of our kingdom. We, collectively, have moved beyond the era of allowing only young maidens to be Luna. Now, any woman can have her chance.”

A few claps sounded in the audience, before the reporter spoke up again. “In addition to being a single mother, isn’t Piper also a non-werewolf?”

“Neither non-werewolves nor single mothers will face discrimination by this royal family,” Nicholas said, faster to respond than he had been before.

My heart pounded. That sounded like a defense of me. I forced that feeling down. No, he was defending his family from potential ridicule, not me.

“And what would you say to the dissenters?” the reporter asked. Some of the others began to insist he sit down. He’d already asked his fair share of questions. But the report continued to stand, unyielding.

Nicholas held his gaze. “I would ask those dissenters to continue to place their faith in us and the strength of this kingdom. Change is not a death of tradition, merely an evolution of it.”

Nicholas leaned back, finished with his response.

More claps sounded. Many of the reporters nodded in agreement.

I watched him in awe. He’d clearly had his reservations about me, but his answer had been perfect.

He was born for this, I realized. Raised to be the mouthpiece for the kingdom.

Raised to be King.

The reporter finally sat down, and another was selected. The rest of the questions were simpler, asked to gain soundbites from the princes regarding the beauty and poise of each candidate.

Julian did most of the talking.

No one mentioned me.

Then another reporter asked, “Will the political strength of the different packs influence the princes’ choices at all?”

The King stepped in. “The merits of each candidate will speak for themselves.”

“Yes, but –” the reporter tried to say. The King quickly cut him off.

“As much of the selection process will be broadcasted live, everyone will have the opportunity to witness the strengths and failings of each individual girl. The princes will follow the will of the people and make the correct choices.”

With the reporter silenced, he sat down.

The press conference ended shortly after that.

The royal family returned inside first, with the candidates following.

Back in my room, one of my maids greeted me excitedly.

“We watched the event on television,” she said. “It’s on every channel.”

Despite Lena’s dislike of me, the maids immediately took a shine to me once we had started talking, possibly because we had much in common. We’d eaten at the same restaurants and bought the same brands of clothes.

Immediately, we’d become like friends, and they treated me much more informally than the maids of the other girls, for which I was infinitely grateful.

“I hope the newscasters are saying good things…” I started.

“Wonderful things! They are praising the royal family for making such progressive moves. They can’t believe they are letting the princes have so much screen time. Traditionally, only the King and Queen ever made announcements.”

I nodded. I knew that, but she was so excited, I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to take away from her joy.

“The royal family is also receiving praise for including such diverse candidates in the selection,” she said.

“I’m glad,” I said.

“And you, Miss Piper. You should hear what they are saying about you.”

Honestly, I was afraid to know. But her upbeat demeanor let me hope she wasn’t about to tell me anything disparaging.

“Miss Piper, your presence has ignited the passion among the common people.” She clapped her hands together at her chest. “You’ve received a strong positive response so far. Some stations even called you a front runner!”

I blinked, stunned into silence. Me? A front runner in the competition?

No. Clearly those people didn’t realize how much Nicholas hated me. Once the cameras were allowed into the palace, and they saw the two of us interacting, they would learn the truth.

Nicholas hated me.

Julian only wanted to use me in his games.

And Joyce seemed utterly disinterested in the whole thing.

I wasn’t a front runner. I was someone barely hanging on.

Regardless, I thanked my maid for the information.

“Now,” the maid said, turning toward the closet. “It is time to prepare you for the banquet.”

The banquet. Right. Tonight was the first official banquet with all three princes and the candidates. We would formally dine in the dining room.

The trainers had reinforced the required etiquette for mealtimes that I had forgotten over the past three years. I felt comfortable enough to eat with the others casually, but to do so in front of the royal family and potential cameras, made me nervous.

Elva was requested to stay behind. A nanny had been hired for her, and was set to arrive soon. I had mixed feelings leaving her here, but she seemed content enough, playing with her dolls under her blanket fort.

“Wait until you see your dress,” the maid said, and led me toward the closet.

I wasn’t sure why I needed another dress. I liked my pale green one with the flowers.

But then the maid held up a velvet evening gown. Deep emerald in color, it was sleeveless with a v-shaped neckline.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had worn something like this. For work, I’d worn white button-up shirts and black pants. On days off, I wore slacks and t-shirts, with an occasional high-necked sundress.

Nothing like this.

The maid noticed my hesitation.

“Try it on,” she said. “And you won’t want to take it off.”

She was right.

Looking in the mirror, I barely recognized myself in the dress.

Even Elva looked at me with comically wide eyes. “Mommy, are you a fairy princess?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

She seemed certain. “You are.”

Elva’s compliment gave me the confidence I needed to keep my head high as I entered the ballroom.

The princes had priority when choosing seats. Julian selected a spot near the center of the table. Joyce claimed a seat at the far end. Nicholas wasn’t in the room yet. The King and Queen took opposite ends at the head of the table.

When it came time for the girls to sit, Julian instantly called me over. “Piper! Here!”

I was immediately suspicious, but didn’t dare deny his request, especially with the cameras watching from the corners of the room.

Ignoring glares from Linda and Olivia, I crossed the room and took the seat Julian offered beside him.

“You look gorgeous,” he said.

I blushed a little, but mostly wondered what he was up to.

The other girls filed in then, claiming seats. Susie took the open seat beside me. We smiled at each other.

As the last girl found her seat, Nicholas appeared in the doorway.

“Oops. It seems I’ve stolen my brother’s seat.” Julian started to rise.

I looked at him in urgency. “What?”

He flashed me a devilish grin. “Oh? Nicholas said he was going to be late and reserved this seat. Did I not mention that?”

No! He hadn’t mentioned that!

“Sorry, brother,” Julian said as he passed Nicholas to take his own seat further up, near the Queen’s end of the table. “Here we are!” he joyously announced as he plopped down. The girls beside him cheered.

Nicholas stood behind the back of the now-empty chair. The one he’d reserved, apparently.

Nervously, I glanced up at him.

He stared back at me, expressionless.