Midnight Kisses (Shifter Island #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,92

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