by Leia Stone
I yanked the top part up and refastened the clasp.
“Nai…” His voice was low and tinged with panic. “How many marks do you have?”
“What does it matter?” I snapped defensively.
His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.
“I see we’re back to you not sharing things once again,” I laughed, a sarcastic and biting sound. Then I spun and lifted my hair to show him the mark at the base of my neck. “There you go. Now you’ve seen them all.”
I pivoted to face him again, but instead of a smug or haughty expression … Rage looked terrified.
Not quite what I’d expected.
“What are you?” he whispered, his voice filled with awe and fear—his wide-eyed expression emphasizing his emotions.
His words slammed into me, shaking me to my core. What am I?
Not once had I seen the marks in that light … in a way that made me different. How could he ask that? As if I were a … creature, not a fellow wolf shifter and alpha heir.
Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision, and I raced away from him, through the grass, and into the woods. The back of my heel snapped, but I didn’t care. I needed to get the hell out of here.
“No!” Rage yelled after me. “I’m sorry!”
But this time, his apology came too late.
Chapter 21
The morning sunlight filtered through the window, brushing against my skin like an unwanted lover. I wasn’t ready for today. Or any day. How could this be reality?
Rage is my mate.
Hot tears pricked my eyelids, and I blinked them away. As I sat up, the memories of last night roiled through me, and my stomach clenched. That beautiful moment with Rage, my mate, dancing, kissing, trusting … he confessed his love. We both wore our mate marks out and proud … but then, all of it was destroyed because of these strange marks.
Even now, I heard his voice echoing in my mind.
What are you?
I stared at the elemental marks on my chest like hideous scars that declared me different. I didn’t want them.
But what were these? None of the other students had them; my dad didn’t have them.
I’m a freak.
After tying my hair into a top knot, I brushed my teeth and focused on the day ahead.
I needed to survive the midyear games tonight or I’d flunk out of Alpha Academy. If that happened, I wouldn’t be allowed to lead Crescent Clan. Nolan would take over. None of that was an option.
I spat into the sink with an angry snarl.
Screw Rage.
Screw Nolan.
Screw these marks!
I dabbed some concealer over my mate mark just in case Nolan was in the kitchen. The last thing I needed was for him to know I was one-half of the fated mate-pair. My plan: breakfast, and then head over to Harvest Dorm to run drills with my friends for tonight.
I slipped into yoga pants before pulling on a tight tank top and my sneakers. Popping into the kitchen, I skidded to a stop. Yep. Nolan sat at the island, eating my food. His eyebrows dipped into a scowl when he spotted me.
“Think you’re ready for tonight?” he growled.
I sighed. So not in the mood for his crap. I’d cried myself to sleep last night. Why couldn’t I have a peaceful breakfast before fighting for my life in front of all the teachers?
“Absolutely.” I gave him my back and opened a cupboard for oatmeal. “Are you?”
He hissed, a sharp intake of breath.
Ha! Maybe the universe had served him with a nick or cut to his hand. Total comeuppance.
But when I spun around, he stood inches from me, his face in front of mine. Glaring down on me, Nolan flared his nostrils, and his eyes were wide.
I jumped back, startled, and banged into the cabinet. Placing my hand over my chest, I tried to slow my thundering heart. “Geeze, psycho. You scared me!”
His eyes turned yellow as he slowly reached for me.
“What. Is. That?” He pointed toward my neck, curling his finger as if to touch the back.
Frick.
My mark. I’d forgotten about the one at the base of my neck and tied my hair too high.
I smacked his outstretched hand away then pulled my hair down, letting it cover my neck as I stepped past him. “Nell was practicing mark-forgery on me.”
Was that a thing? I didn’t know, but hopefully, he’d buy it.
He chuckled and shook his head. “You better be careful. If they catch you or her trying to pass for a high mage—that would only spell trouble.”
My eyes widened, nearly falling out of my head, and my throat went dry. After forcing a swallow, I glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”
Nolan shook his head like I was an idiot. “See you tonight, cousin.”
I sat at the island countertop, blinking at my cold oatmeal.
High mage? Why would he think that? Unless…
I swallowed, and a stone sank into my stomach.
Did the high mages have marks like these?
Just then, Kaja’s voice rang in through the front hall. “Hello? It’s unlocked. I’m coming in.”
I pushed the freaky marks to the back of my mind. First things first. I needed to get through the midyear games. Tomorrow, I’d go back to the library and find something about these marks. Maybe the lady behind the black door could help me again.
“In here!” I shouted to my bestie.
Kaja popped into view, wearing a thick black swatch of paint under each eye like an American football player or a warrior going into battle.
I burst into laughter, all of my problems forgotten at the sight of her.
“Too much?” she asked, frowning.
Grinning, I shook my head. “No, it’s perfect.”
She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “Damn right. We’re going to kick ass and take names.”
I nodded, knowing how high the stakes were.
“Hey, I never found you last night. Why did you bail early?” she asked, sidling up next to me with a frown.
My eyes flicked to the hallway, and she gave me a knowing look of understanding. Nolan could be listening.
“Let’s go practice at my place,” she said. “The games don’t start until sundown. Plenty of time to chat about who you hooked up with.”
I nodded and grabbed my cold oatmeal. Then, we shuffled over to Harvest Dorm.
This place was like my second home. The burnt orange curtains, Fiona with her face in a book, quiet Rue either reading or writing. Even the maid staff. Everyone knew me.
But this time was different.
As soon as we crossed the threshold, fear prickled my skin and charged the air. Nerves churned in my gut, and I froze.
“You need to look UP!” Fiona barked, standing over Nell, who lay on her back on the living room rug. “Your enemy can be in the trees, and you won’t see them until it’s too late.”
Whoa.
The furniture was pushed to the walls, the coffee table gone; their entire living room had become a battleground. Fiona was graduating this year, so I knew she was taking it especially seriously.
Nell popped up and glared at her sister. “I’ve got it! I did this last year, remember?”
Fiona laughed, a harsh, brittle, mocking sound. “They grade first-years way easier than upperclassmen.”
Ouch.
“I said I’ve got it.” Nell turned, and her furrowed expression melted into a smile. “Oh, Nai is here. Hey, girl.”
Nell broke away from her sister, shooting her a parting glare, seemingly grateful for the distraction my presence brought.
Fiona and Mele started to spar, ignoring me while Rue and Nell came over to greet me.
“Where did you go last night?” Nell asked.
Rue cocked her head to the side and added, “We were worried until we saw your broken heels at the back door of your dorm.”
I took in a deep breath. I needed to get this part off my chest. “Rage is my mate. He confessed.”<
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Jaws dropped, and silence descended on the entire group of girls as their eyes widened. I sucked in a breath, followed by another, and then finally, one by one, they recovered from the shock.
“I thought it was Justice,” Rue said.
Nell grinned. “I knew it was Rage.”
“Are you okay?” Kaja reached for me, her eyes narrowed.
I wanted to tell them more, about the marks, about his question: What are you? His words burned their way into my soul until I felt empty.
But if I told them now, I’d become an emotional wreck, and I needed to concentrate on tonight. First things first. I’d tell them everything tomorrow.
“I’m okay. But … it didn’t end well,” I confessed.
Kaja pulled me in for a hug. Then Nell and Rue joined until we were all sandwiched together, and tears leaked from my eyes.
Fiona’s voice shattered our love powwow.
“Nai, you’re next!” she shouted.
We parted, and I wiped my eyes, nodding. I needed the distraction. The games were happening whether I was ready or not. I needed to win.
I strode over to the center of the carpet, and Fiona stared down on me, her eyes yellow.
“They will try to break you,” she warned. “You’ll be outnumbered. Nolan won’t help you, so you have to be smarter.”
Whoa.
Fiona was scary as hell, but this was how she showed love. She wanted us all at our best—even me. All the years I longed to have a sister, and now I did. Five of them. The Harvest girls were my pack.
I nodded, bringing my arms up into guard as I slid my weight back into a defensive stance.
Fiona assessed my stance, and then her gaze flicked behind me.
I spun.
Too late.
A duct-taped bag of flour slammed into my back, and I fell to my knees with a growl.
“You need to have eyes in the back of your head!” Fiona snarled. “Try again!”
I stood, readying my stance for another blow.
Thank the Mother Mage I had these girls.
Tonight would test everything within me, and may the healing mages have mercy on any wolf who got in my way.
“Welcome, students!” Headmistress Elaine stood in the clearing of the forest on the east side of campus, her voice amplified by magic.
She looked beautiful and healthy, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit of personal pride at that.
“And welcome, clans and esteemed guests,” she added.
Just like that, my confidence waned to almost nothing. Nerves churned in my gut as I scanned the crowd. Wolves from the outer fringes of the island sat in risers like an arena. Harvest Clan, Midnight, Daybreak, every one but mine. My gaze snagged on the High Mage Council, sitting high up on a platform stage with the alpha king among them. Why were they here?
Behind them, suspended in air, hung a huge hundred-foot white cloth as their backdrop. I smiled at the kind grandpa mage, and then the headmistress was talking again.
“At Alpha Prep, we pride ourselves on turning out the most dominant, battle-ready alpha for each clan.”
The packs standing around the clearing roared their approval as the students tipped their heads in pride toward their kin.
Nolan and I stood alone, no pack present to care.
“In an effort to hone our students’ skills, we do twice-yearly practical exams.” The headmistress turned to us. “This exam is a display of your elemental power. The power that separates you from the others in your pack, those who do not carry royal blood.”
Another roar from the crowd. A row of guards approached us, started to hand out colored vests, and a stone sank in my stomach when I was handed a bright green vest, the same color as Nolan’s.
“For this test, you will be paired on a team with the other heirs in your house,” she said boldly.
Two. There were freaking two of us.
Midnight had four.
Harvest girls had five.
And Daybreak, even with the recent loss of their sister, had three.
We were totally outnumbered, and I was on freaking Nolan’s team. My breath grew shallow as I considered our odds. Stab-me-in-the-back Nolan … so not fair. But I remembered Nell saying they changed things up every year.
I felt Rage’s gaze burning into me from a few feet away as he and the Midnight heirs put on their blue vests, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking. Keep your head in the game, Nai.
Four guards entered the field then, each holding a colored flag, red, blue, yellow, and green, all colors that matched our vests.
“The midyear practical is Capture the Flag, magical version.” The headmistress smiled, and again, the packs went wild. Nell and Fiona rolled out their necks, appearing seasoned, and even Nolan bounced on the tips of his toes.
I, however, stared into the air, stunned. How was I going to get anything done with Nolan on my team?
I don’t know why I assumed they would scramble the teams evenly.
The guards disappeared then, running off into the forest to hide the flags.
“It’s less about capturing the actual flags than it is about showcasing your skill while you defend your territory and seek out other teams’ flags,” said the headmistress.
Okay … I exhaled with a modicum of relief. So … even if our flag was taken, if I could show a little bit of good magic defending it, I shouldn’t be kicked out.
“Now, listen carefully.” Her voice dropped low in ominous warning. “The rules clearly state you cannot openly attack a fellow student without cause, but you can and should defend your territory, or life, by any means necessary.”
What the what?
Nolan peered at me with a grin, saliva glittering on his teeth.
“We’re on the same team,” I hissed.
Creep.
“This battle-like scenario separates the weak from the strong.” Her voice was hollow like maybe she didn’t believe that line. She took a breath and then said, “So be careful, and let’s have a clean game.”
The crowd went wild, roaring and howling and stamping their feet.
A chill rolled through the night air, and I hugged my arms around my waist.
Father once told me Alpha Academy separated the alpha from the second in line. Getting in was easy—that was a birthright—but getting through four years here was what made one ready to lead a pack of animal shifters through any situation.
Now I understood.
This was what he trained me for. Every sparring session, every run through the woods, throwing knives, pinning Ellie to the ground until she’d submit, it was all to prepare me for this.
“We’ve stripped your beds and rubbed your scent around your pack’s territory. You’ll have to use your nose to scent out the other packs’ borders. At the center of each territory is a flag, in plain sight—and ripe for the taking,” she bellowed.
I jumped on the balls of my feet to dispel the nervous energy I was feeling.
“If at any time you fear for your life, shoot your colored flare gun into the air. If you do this, you’ll forfeit and be out of the game.” She paused, and I leaned forward in anticipation of her next words. “If you forfeit, you’ll be expelled from the school as well. Banished. Never allowed to become the alpha of your clan.”
Uh … what?
A guard walked up with a green flare, and I glanced sideways to see what the others were doing.
Just as I thought.
One by one, they declined to take the flare gun.
Well, there was no way I was going home, forfeiting my place in my pack.
“No thanks,” I muttered, and the guard nodded.
“A strong bunch this year!” the king yelled from the stage.
The crowd roared in approval.
Not one student took the flare. We were all in this to win. No matter what.
The headmistress chuckled nervously. “Okay, we have a network of night-vision cameras and spotlights throughout the entire game fi
eld. Your judges—” she pointed toward the king and five high mages on stage “—will be rating your magical ability the entire time. The game only ends when all four flags have been torn from their trees.”
Lights flickered, and then the forest appeared on the white cloth behind the stage. It was a projector screen.
Oh, Mother Mage, please don’t let me do anything stupid on live TV.
Dozens of little squares appeared, each one broadcasting a different patch of trees, and the four corners of the screen showed flags.
“You have sixty seconds to plan your strategy with your teammates. When the horn blows, the games begin, and I suggest you run to find your territory.”
My stomach dropped as I turned to face Nolan. “Okay, here’s what I think we should—”
“You think you’re in charge?” Fury glittered in his eyes. “I don’t answer to you.”
“What’s your deal, Nolan? We’re supposed to be a team.” When he said nothing, only sneered, I pressed on: “I know you and your mom have always hated me and my dad. But are you going to let jealousy screw up this game? Lose because of it?”
If he wanted to spend our sixty seconds together fighting, then so be it.
He shrugged. “I don’t like people who are born into privilege. Status needs to be earned.”
I laughed. As if his mother had ever challenged my father and won. “It was earned.”
He nodded. “And tonight it will be again.”
I glared at him, incensed at his stupidity, but before I could reply, I overheard Daybreak Clan next to us talking loudly.
“Let’s take out the green flag first. There are only two of Crescent. They’re weak.”
Looking at Nolan, I raised my eyebrows. “We should both defend the flag first, let the teams come, and when they see we are united, they’ll go for other flags, and then we can separate and go on the offense.”
He laughed. “You do whatever you want. I’m going for Midnight’s flag.”
“Nolan!” I shouted. This idiot was going to screw this up for the both of us. How did he even make it through last year on his own? The only thing I could think of was that he was the only air element in the school. So he had an advantage with that.
