The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

“Time for the ranking,” the Captain growls, looking around at us with distaste. “You’re dressed in your grey candidate fatigues because you have not yet earned your Academy black. The bottom twenty percent of candidates will be cut at the end of the second week of candidacy. I suggest you take this seriously.”

The Captain surveys us, his eyes cold. “Today’s test,” he barks out, “measures what you won’t survive without at the Academy: physical prowess. Rafe Sinclair! Kenny Dextrin! You’re up – first blood wins!”

The Academy is famous for teaching its students the most cutting-edge methods and technologies – but first ranking is determined by a fist fight!?

The match is over shockingly fast. Rafe knocks Kenny down and bloodies his nose within thirty seconds.

When Luca Grant is called, I smirk a little. Luca dances around his opponent and taunts him for a while before whipping out a swift uppercut that knocks the other boy clean over. I bite my lip a little, admiring his technique – and the spread of his muscled shoulders – when to my horror I hear my own name.

Or at least, my pretend name.

“Ari Clark! Robert Brown!”

My jaw just drops open because – god, I’m such an idiot – but as long as I’ve been standing here watching, I’ve never thought about how I was going to have to do this!

I groan as I realize that I slipped into my Princess identity – I’m used to standing on the sidelines, watching Rafe and Jesse fight –

“Let’s go, Clark!” The Sergeant snaps when he sees that I haven’t stepped forward.

Rafe, next to me, sighs and puts a hand on my back, shoving me forward. I look back at him in shock but he just shrugs, his eyes clearly saying you wanted to join the Academy, kid.

Frantic, I turn to Robert, who is already stepping into a fighting stance. As he puts his fists up and I finally realize that I’m actually supposed to punch him, the candidates all around us start to shout and whistle.

urging me forward. “Let’s

stand

and then bellows, “The

then they pick up a

something besides that insane thing that happened this afternoon – two boys – two scents

stalking forward within me. Show

to step forward, my lips curling back, raising my own fists the way Rafe and Jesse taught me

Everything goes black.

again over the edge of my bunk. “Hey there, Shrimp,” he says, smirking at me, but not without sympathy. “How you feeling? He got

something but pain instantly flares

my poor injured nose, which I raise a hand to gingerly

hell. I gasp and wince, but he shakes his head. “Nah, cousin, you’ll be all right in a few days. You’ll have one hell of a black eye, though.”

with my nose all messed up,

which of these boys

even think

up now, shift into me! I can

my eyes again, wishing I was still knocked out.

few minutes later, though, my rest is interrupted by something landing on my pillow that makes me jump. I gasp, opening my eyes, and then I scowl when I see

Rafe asks quietly, and I jump a little to see him standing where Jesse

I sigh dramatically,

kills me – then dad’s only got Markie and Juniper left, their two worst kids. You know we can’t do that to them.”

a little, but then I flinch when laughing hurts. “Hey,” I say, suddenly

a proud arm around Rafe’s shoulders. “You should

murmurs, shrugging Jesse off even though he can’t keep the

– or at least as big – and totally brutal. You could tell he had never been formally trained, but he just went