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

to laugh uproariously and then

laugh too, and then they pick up a call: “Shrimp! Shrimp! Shrimp!”

to something besides that insane thing

growls, stalking forward within

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.

edge of my bunk. “Hey there, Shrimp,” he says, smirking at me, but not without

to say something but pain instantly flares over my entire face.

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

gasp and wince, but he shakes

I can’t smell anything with my nose all messed up, can I?

idea which of these boys

even think the word to myself.

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

her and closing my eyes again, wishing I

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

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

dying,” I sigh dramatically, collapsing back onto my pillow.

lightly on the shoulder. “You die, mom kills me – then dad’s only got Markie and Juniper left,

I flinch when laughing hurts. “Hey,” I say, suddenly remembering that

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 and thrilled.

though he can’t

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