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.

shouts, urging me forward. “Let’s do

just stand there, shocked.

uproariously and then

they pick up a call: “Shrimp! Shrimp! Shrimp!”

on – and finally gets my wolf to pay attention to something besides that insane thing that happened this afternoon –

she growls, stalking forward within me. Show ‘em

forward, my lips curling back, raising my own fists the way Rafe and Jesse taught me to, moving fast towards the other

Everything goes black.

bunk. “Hey there, Shrimp,” he says, smirking at me, but not without sympathy. “How

my mouth to say something but pain instantly flares over my entire

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

press my nose between his thumbs, pushing at it experimentally, which hurts like 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.”

my nose all messed up, can I?

which of these boys are…

I can’t even think the word to

them! Get up now, shift into me! I can smell them! I can do it! I would

eyes again, wishing I was

by something landing on my pillow that makes me jump. I gasp, opening my eyes, and then

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

I sigh dramatically, collapsing back onto my pillow.

me – then dad’s only got Markie and Juniper left, their two worst kids. You know

smirk, laughing a little, but then I flinch when laughing hurts. “Hey,” I say, suddenly remembering that I missed the big event.

just gives a casual shrug but Jesse pops up behind him. “Of course he won!” Jesse says, looping a proud arm around Rafe’s shoulders. “You should have seen the brute he had to take out though, Ari,” he continues, his eyes wide

he

bigger than Rafe, maybe – or at least as big – and totally brutal. You could tell he had never been formally trained, but