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.

Robert shouts, urging me forward. “Let’s do

just stand there,

and then bellows, “The shrimp’s scared!”

too, and then they pick up a

something besides that

growls, stalking forward within

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

Everything goes black.

I open my eyes I see Jesse staring right at me, peering again over the edge of my bunk. “Hey there, Shrimp,” he says, smirking at me, but not without sympathy.

mouth to say something but pain

voice all stuffy from my poor injured nose, which I raise a hand to

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

with my nose all messed

no idea which of these boys are…

think

Both of them! Get up now, shift into me! I can smell them! I can do

closing my eyes again,

by something landing on my pillow that makes me jump. I gasp, opening my eyes, and then I scowl when I see a cellophane-wrapped sandwich and a water bottle next to me,

kid?” Rafe asks quietly, and I jump a little to see him standing where Jesse was

I sigh dramatically, collapsing back

shoulder. “You die, mom kills me – then dad’s only got Markie and Juniper left, their two worst kids. You know we can’t do

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

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

Rafe murmurs, shrugging Jesse off even though he can’t keep the corners of his lips from turning

Jesse says, leaning in to me. “He was like, bigger than Rafe, maybe – or at least as big – and totally brutal. You could tell he had never been