Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Jesse and I quietly pack our rucksacks over the next half hour while Rafe pitches a fit with the

Lieutenants, insisting that he be allowed to transfer to my team or me to his. Jesse grimaces at me,

shaking his head to let me know that he doesn’t think that it’s going to work.

I just sigh and roll my eyes at my cousin, communicating that I don’t even want it to work. I mean, it

would be different if I was being sent out in the forest with Jackson – but I’m not. As far as I know? No

one on my little team of five people wants me dead.

Eventually the Captain is called over and he has about four short words to say to Rafe before my

brother scowls and stalks back to our bunks, grabbing Luca along the way and dragging him with

1. US.

“You,” Rafe snaps, shoving Luca to a stumbling stop before our bunks. “Are responsible for him.” He

points a stark finger right at my face, his eyes still on Luca’s. “If Ari dies, you die. If he even gets a

papercut, you get a papercut. Am I perfectly f**king clear?”

“Geeze,” Luca says, looking Rafe over with surprise and a little distaste as he runs a hand through his

mussed hair. “Message taken, your Highness. I’d have done it anyway, all right? We’re friends.”

“You’d better f**king take this seriously –” Rafe leans in, just getting started, but Jesse cuts in smoothly.

“It’s so nice to have friends,” he says, looping an arm around Luca’s shoulders and grinning broadly at

my brother. “Let’s not try to drive them all away today, right? Rafe?”

Rafe scowls, leaning back and realizing that he’s going a little overboard.

I sigh and shove Rafe’s pack into his arms. Jesse and I prepared it while he had his meltdown at the

front of the barracks.

Rafe sighs and slings it over his shoulder, glancing at all of the candidates who are starting to filter to

the front of the room. “Fine,” he snaps, turning to me. “You take care of yourself, all right? You know

how to do this shit. Don’t let anyone boss you around or take advantage of you.”

“Right back at you, cousin,” I say, giving him a little glare – because as much as I love my brother, it’s

getting a little embarrassing at this point.

Rafe shakes his head at me as I pull my own pack on my shoulders and turn towards the front door.

And then as a foursome, we start to walk forward.

“Good luck out there,” Jesse says, his voice calm as he gives me a harmless little punch on my

shoulder. “You’re going to kill it.”

“Don’t be too jealous when I take first.” I say, grinning at him. And then we reach the door, and Jesse

and Rafe start towards their groups – Rafe giving me another anxious look before Jesse drags him

away.

Chapter 22

And then, quite suddenly, it’s just me and Luca. Alone..

“What’s his deal with him?” Luca asks, frowning after Rafe. “He treats you like you’re made of glass or

something.”

“It’s always been like that.” I sigh, staring after my big Alpha brother. “I’m the baby. I’ve always been

kind of…a mascot.”

Luca laughs and turns his eyes to me, and I can’t help but burst into a grin when the full force of his

smile hits me. “A mascot?”

“Sure,” I say. wrinkling my nose a little. “I’m the little spunky one. I get them all full of spirit and then

send them out to kick ass while I cheer on the sidelines. All of the victory, none of the work.”

Luca laughs again, slinging his arm around my shoulders, and I know we both ignore the tingles that

run through us like…god. I don’t know, like twinkling starlight under my skin, or fresh winter air blowing

in the first snow, or something equally dramatic and wonderful.

“Well,” Luca sighs, starting to walk towards our numbered van and taking me with him, “no sitting on

the sidelines today. Do you know how to do any of this survival shit?”

“A little bit,” I say, underplaying my knowledge in case it turns out that I forget it all when we’re out

there.

“Good,” Luca sighs. “You teach me to start a fire, I’ll punch anyone who comes at you. Deal?”

“Deal,” I say, grinning. But my face falls when we reach out van and the rest of our group turns to us

with cold expressions. I blink, surprised – because while I don’t know any of their names? They

certainly know ours, and they’re not happy to see us.

–

skin. Next to “Well, look who it is,” says the tallest a broadly built guy with dark hair and pale, pale him

stand his shorter twin and another who looks unrelated, with dusky brown hair and freckles. “The

Prince’s pet, and his pretty boy bodyguard.”

I blink in surprise and a little bit of wonder, my mouth falling open a bit. What the what the hell

is this?

–

Luca, to his credit, responds much more ably, dropping his arm from my shoulder and putting his hands

on his waist, grinning at the three other guys with the easy confidence of a man who can punch their

lights out in a second.

Which, granted, he probably can.

“I’m sorry,” Luca says, his words easy though his tone carries just the barest edge, “looks like our

reputation, naturally, proceeds us. But I can’t say the same for you, as I have no f**king clue who

you are.”

“Alan Wright,” the tallest says, stepping forward and glaring into Luca’s face. A little bit of me is pleased

that he has to look just slightly up to do it. “And you should know me, Grant

I’m ranked

Chapter 22

higher than you.”

I tilt my head a little in surprise because I do recognize the name – alongside my two mates, my

brother, and my cousin.

it’s consistently in the top ten,

“For now,” Luca says, giving Alan an easy smile. “And these two?”

“Perry Gibson and Graham Wright.” Alan growls, and I quickly put together that the slightly shorter

paie–skinned guy is related to Alan somehow, though I’m not sure it matters how. “And none of us are

pleased with the way that your little pet here has been getting perks because he’s connected to the

royals, even though he’s clearly the weakest candidate here –”

“Hey!” I protest, stepping forward with a frown because I mean – I’m shit at a lot of stuff, but I have

definitely held my own in marksmanship and the intelligence exam

“Don’t be so jealous Alan,” Luca says, stepping forward with some venom in his voice. “It’s not Clark’s

fault that your own pets are so damn ugly.”

I smother the tiny absurd laugh that tries to burst when I hear him say that, and Alan stares at us in

shocked surprise, having no idea how to respond.

“Yeah,” Luca says with complete confidence, glaring down into Alan’s face and then flicking his eyes to

Perry and Graham – Alan’s pets who look equally surprised. “Nothing to say? That’s what I f**king

thought.”

Alan is still speechless with a confusion when Luca grabs my arm and pulls me into the van with

him.

“What the hell was that!?” I hiss, following Luca to the back of the van, where we take the back bench.

“It doesn’t matter what you say,” Luca murmurs to me as we watch the other three climb into the van

after us. “As long as you do it with the authority and get the last word. That guy has no idea what just

happened – it will keep him thinking all night, which is what we want.”

I shake my head at Luca and laugh a little, kind of impressed with the way he lets his sheer confidence

carry him through the word. Honestly, he didn’t do much, but he definitely got the upper hand in that

conversation. Why can’t I do things like that?

“That’s good,” Luca says, smiling and laughing along with me, his words whispered. “Let them see you

laughing – don’t let them see that they rattled you.”

“I mean, they didn’t –”

“Well maybe they should have a little bit, Shrimp,” Luca says, raising his brows and looking forward at

Alan, who glares back at us over his shoulder for a moment. “Because that guy could definitely kick

your ass, and he definitely wants to.”

I purse my lips a little considering it. “Well then I guess I’m lucky that I’ve got my pretty boy body

Chapter 22

guard to keep me safe.” I say, turning to look up at Luca with complete innocence.

His face bursts into a grin as he looks down at me. “Pretty boy, am I?”

“Oh, come on.” I say, my eyelids dropping a little in disbelief, “it can’t be the first time you’ve been

called a pretty boy, has it. Grant?”

“I’ve endured that particular slur all my life,” he sighs, tilting his head back and staring at the roof of the

van like it’s a great burden he’s had to bear. “It’s just been so hard being this good looking.

“Poor baby.” I laugh, shaking my head. I open my mouth to tease him more, but I don’t get the chance,

because our Lieutenant climbs into the front seat of the van and starts to drive us away from the

barracks and out into the wilderness.