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 hadfour.
Harvest girls hadfive.
And Daybreak, even with the recent loss of their sister, hadthree.
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.
