The next two hours are…an education in boy world. I sit perched up on my bunk, staring around in awe. This room has more than a hundred boys in it right now, and we’ll all be sleeping in here together through candidacy. When that’s done, if we make it, we’ll move up to the castle to more private dorms.

But seriously? Until then? I’m kind of…thrilled.

The atmosphere here – it’s totally different than anything I’ve ever experienced. There’s a great deal of shouting and laughter, and two fist fights have already broken out, along with quite a few arm-wrestling matches.

Girls? We’d all be simpering and sizing each other up. Guys? They just clasp hands and smack each other on the back, instant friends.

But then a boy walks by in his underwear – which I’m not complaining about in itself – but my eyes go wide with shock when he just blatantly, casually dips a hand into his boxers and scratches his balls –

“So, what do you think, cousin,” Jesse says, making me jump as he pops up at my side, standing on Rafe’s bunk and using the leverage to hook his arms over the edge of mine, grinning at me. “Regretting your choices yet?”

“Boys are…” I whisper, still looking around with awe, “a completely different species.”

“I think our prim little Princess likes it,” Jesse says with a laugh, observing my fascination.

I laugh too and lift a finger to my lips. “Don’t tell Rafe,” I whisper, knowing my brother – like my dad - is crazy over-protective.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Jesse whispers back, giving me a wink. “Just…try to look more boyish, all right? You’re sitting up there like a pretty little barn owl, staring around with those big eyes.”

I gasp a little, realizing that he’s probably right. I hunch my back a little, unfolding my legs so that I’m not so prim. “Is this better?” I murmur, pitching my voice lower and laughing because I feel ridiculous.

“Just scratch your ass a little more around people,” Jesse suggests with a grin, “let people see you burp.”

Horrified, I glare at him. “Absolutely not.”

Jesse laughs and then holds out his arm to me, wrist up. “Here,” he says.

“What?” I ask, tapping at his closed fingers, thinking he has some little present hidden in his fist.

“No,” Jesse says, laughing, and then he beckons me closer. I lean towards him and, lightening quick, Jesse wipes his wrist across both sides of my neck and then across my own wrists.

“What’s that for?” I ask, frowning, confused.

“Scent marking,” he replies in a whisper. “Sometimes you smell like a girl. This will disguise it a little, make it not so obvious.”

“Won’t I just smell like you?” I ask, confused.

He shrugs. “We’re cousins,” he replies. “No one will notice or care.”

“Oh,” I say, and then I lean back in my bunk as Jesse jumps down and goes to talk to a light-haired boy who has just come to introduce himself to Rafe. I didn’t even think about smelling like a girl - what else is going to give me away?

I try to think it through, to strategize, but soon the room is so filled with young men that I can’t really think about anything else besides watching them, studying how they move so I can move like that and start to blend in. I can’t even really keep track of which one is which as they all move around the room, unpacking their personal items and introducing themselves to their neighbors.

Which is why it is so incredibly disconcerting when I find my head snapping to the left, my eyes frantically searching because…

Because I swear, I just smelled…the most amazing scent that has ever crossed my nose –

My wolf leaps inside me, which is itself shocking – she’s usually so calm that I sometimes forget she’s there –

Get it, she commands, instantly starting to prowl, go find it – you have to – it’s ours –

“What?!” I say aloud as I sit up stark straight, suddenly a little freaked out. But then I lift my nose and almost moan aloud when I smell it again – that incredible, amazing scent – the sharp bite of citrus, bergamot and wet pavement baking under the summer sun, apricots and almonds -

Something snaps within me, an almost physical twist that redirects everything in me – all of my goals, all of my dreams – just wipes them away in the singular pursuit of it, of him –

Mate!, my wolf howls, lifting her nose to the sky and singing the word, her feet dancing. Go! Get up! Go and find him – Mate! Mate! Mate!

And I gasp, pressing myself back against my pillows because I know it now – know it for certain in my heart and my bones – that my mate is here –

But as I look around, frantic, something…something else crosses my path.

And I do moan aloud this time, my lower lip starting to shake as I go limp, falling back against my pillows. I have to press my eyes shut against the leather and whiskey scent of him – red hot cinders and the sharp bite of pine on a night so cold even the air freezes -

And, to my horror, something else snaps within me, shaking me to the core, so much so that my shoulders start to tremble with it.

Because…because the other one is still there – and this one too -

They’re both still there, both bonds now calling to me, urging me to run in two different directions at once -

I’m suddenly nauseous, my head spinning as gravity reorients itself in two directions, trying to point both north and south at the same time, my internal compass spinning –

I raise my hands to my temples and give another soft moan.

“Ari,” Rafe says, coming to the side of the bed and peering over at me, concerned. “Are you all right?”

But I don’t reply, my eyes pressed tightly shut as I concentrate on my wolf, on the ridiculous thing that she’s saying –

Inside of me she prowls back and forth, giving little hops of excitement, turning in eager circles, her tongue lolling from the side of her mouth.

Get up! She urges me, snapping her teeth with glee, go and find them! Now!

What?! I say to her, frantic. But that’s ridiculous – we can’t – we’re in disguise!

Go!, she commands, and I find myself sitting up straight, my eyes flying open despite myself. Go and find them! We need to meet our mates!

But as I look around the room – it’s too much of a mess. I know that they’re here – but I have absolutely no idea which ones they are.

“Seriously, Ari,” Rafe says, peering at me closely. “You’re…all pale. Are you okay?”

I spin my head to look at my brother with frantic eyes, my breath coming fast now. Behind him I see Jesse turn, confused, looking at me with curious worry.

I open my mouth to stumble something out – anything – to beg them to help –

But before I can, a loud clap sounds at the head of the room and we all spin towards it. Everyone goes silent, staring at the Academy Captain standing there with four Sergeants. He’s a gigantic man with a rough, craggy face that doesn’t look like it’s seen a smile for twenty years.

But I can’t think about that now - my head still spins, and I do my very best to keep my eyes forward and concentrate on walking as my body begins to adjust, not allowing myself to be distracted by my surroundings or by my stupid wolf, who is howling at me – begging me to go find them, to hunt them down, to strip off my uniform right now and –

The Captain scowls around at us, clearly displeased with our disorder.

“Fall in,” he snaps. “It’s time for your first examination.”

“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.

“Come on!” Robert shouts, urging me forward. “Let’s do it!”

But I just stand there, shocked.

Someone starts to laugh uproariously and then bellows, “The shrimp’s scared!”

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

This, somehow, spurs me on – and finally gets my wolf to pay attention to something besides that insane thing that happened this afternoon – two boys – two scents –

Kill him, she growls, stalking forward within me. Show ‘em all…

And so I start to step forward, my lips curling back, raising my own fists the way Rafe and Jesse taught me to, moving fast towards the other boy –

Everything goes black.

When 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. “How you feeling? He got you good.”

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

“Ith it…” I say, my voice all stuffy from my poor injured nose, which I raise a hand to gingerly touch, “Ith it broken?”

Jesse takes a moment to 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.”

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

So, I have no idea which of these boys are…

God, I can’t even think the word to myself.

Mate! My wolf gleefully supplies, dancing around inside of me, ignoring my pain. Your mates! Both of them! Get up now, shift into me! I can smell them! I can do it! I would love to do it!

I scowl, ignoring her and closing my eyes again, wishing I was still knocked out.

A 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 scowl when I see a cellophane-wrapped sandwich and a water bottle next to me, along with a packet of pain killers.

“You okay, kid?” Rafe asks quietly, and I jump a little to see him standing where Jesse was before, peering at me closely.

“No, I’m dying,” I sigh dramatically, collapsing back onto my pillow.

“That breaks the pact,” he says, shoving me lightly on the 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 that to them.”

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

Rafe 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 and thrilled.

“You’re being dramatic,” Rafe murmurs, shrugging Jesse off even though he can’t keep the corners of his lips from turning up.

“No seriously,” 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 formally trained, but he just went into his fights like a damn madman –“

“Really?” I ask, curious, sitting up a little. “Which one was it?”

“That big boulder over there,” Jesse murmurs, pointing across the room. I see him instantly – who couldn’t? He’s seriously gigantic – rivaling even my dad in size. He hunches over in his bunk, looking down at his mattress with his arms resting lightly on top of his knees, totally stoic but clearly disappointed to have come in second. His dark hair falls in his face like he can’t be bothered to push it away.

“You beat him?” I ask, turning shocked eyes on my brother.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Rafe snaps, frowning at me, offended.

I laugh a little and lean over to give him a shove on the shoulder. “You’re right,” I say in an overly-girly voice, like a deranged cheerleader, teasing him. “No one can beat Rafe Sinclair!”

Jesse laughs with me, turning to watch Rafe turn red as he scowls.

“Eat up,” Rafe mutters as he hops down from the bed, “and take the painkillers.” Then he hesitates, looking over his shoulder, and leans in to whisper. “There are some closed shower stalls, but…I don’t think you should go in there anytime soon. All right?”

“I’ll do it in the morning,” I say with a yawn, reaching out to grab the cold water bottle and press it to my face, moaning a little at the instant relief. “I’ll get up at 3, before anyone else.”

“Okay. Wake me up too. I’ll come with you.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “You need sleep. It’ll be okay.”

“Just wake me,” my brother growls.

I nod to appease him and lean back against my pillow with a groan.

Fine, my wolf growls as I drift of, displeased. But tomorrow, we’re finding them!

Unfortunately, as fate would have it, tomorrow is too long of a wait.