The Alpha's Hidden Mate

One of the Guys

*Ember*

“You can’t do that, Ember!”

Ruby’s warning echoes through my mind as I approach the Alpha Academy main building. Wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt I “borrowed” from Emory. Not that my cousin wasn’t more than willing to help when I snuck to his room later that night and asked him if I could take his place at the academy. He’d been all about it. Ruby, on the other hand, spent hours trying to talk me out of it. When I cut my hair, she cried.

Now, here I stand with Emory’s papers in my hand, doing my best to look like a boy, to talk like a boy, to… be a boy. f**k. This is hard.

And I haven’t even made it inside the building yet.

I adjust the backpack I have slung over my shoulder and make my way up the steps. A few other nervous-looking guys about my age warily make their way inside as well. Today is the first day of the new semester, so the sons of Alphas from all over the area are here to begin their training.

Or in my case, the daughter.

The main building is massive and probably two hundred years old. Made of brick, with ornate plaster finishes and pillars along the porch, it’s overwhelming, to say the least. Pushing through a wide set of oak double doors, I step onto a polished white marble floor and stare down an endless hallway.

“Holy s**t,” the guy next to me mutters under his breath.

I turn to look at him and am greeted by an impish smile and an incredibly unruly mop of dark hair. “Impressive?” I ask, lowering my voice as much as I can without sounding cartoonish.

He gives no indication that he thinks there’s anything strange about me. “You can say that again. Goddess, I wish I was anywhere but here.” He chuckles under his breath.

“Same,” I manage, but that’s not true. I’m glad I’m here. I just hope I can figure out a way to stay here.

I’m on my own now, though, and that is scary. Emory rode with me on the train as far as he could, but then, I had to go on by myself while he transferred to another train to head toward his sheep farm prospect. I hope my father doesn’t catch up with him and demand he tell him the truth.

I pray my cousin and I are both good at hiding.

“I’m Luka Waters,” he says, bringing me back to the present. He extends a giant hand. “River Pack.”

I take his hand and give it a firm shake, hoping my fingers don’t look too dainty. “Emb–Emory Flame.” s**t! I almost gave myself away within the first minute! “Uh, Fire Pack.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Same.” I’ve decided to keep my talking to a minimum. I’ll be the strong silent type or something.

“Looks like everyone’s headed that way.” Luka gestures down the hallway where lots of other new students are strolling along, looking around themselves in awe. “Guess we should head?”

I nod and take a hesitant step forward. As we walk down the hall, we’re greeted by dozens of large portraits of imposing Alphas in gilded frames, most of them with their foot on the corpse of a slain wolf or raising an arm to hurry their wolf armies forward. I almost roll my eyes, it’s so ridiculous. Why do men have to fight all the time? If women were in charge, the world would be a lot more peaceful of a place.

Eventually, we come to an office where a line of about four other new students are waiting their turn to check in. We barely fit in the door, and I’m left sort-of blocking the exit, but until everyone scoots up, I have no choice but to stand here.

I can only see the back of the student who is checking in right now, but he has light blond hair and is incredibly tall, with broad shoulders and the sort of rippling muscles that make the girls swoon. Compared to him, I not only look like a weakling, I look like a toddler.

He thanks the woman behind the counter and turns to walk out of the room, headed straight for me. My eyes lock on his, icy blue with a ring of silver around the irises. He’s unbelievably handsome–but that’s not why I’m staring. There’s something else, something familiar about him. I’m sure I’ve never seen him before, but I feel like I know him, like something deep within me has always known him.

He comes to a stop right in front of me, our eyes still locked on one another. I swallow hard, waiting for him to say something, anything. He only looks at me.

“Wh-what?” I stutter, trying not to give myself away, but at the moment, I’m completely unsure of where I am or what’s going on.

“Uh… door,” he says.

Only, I mishear him and think he says, “Adore.” As in adorable. So, I say… “Thank you.”

His eyebrows furrow, and if it weren’t for Luka grabbing me by the arm and hauling me out of the way, I might’ve continued my line of nonsense and told him I find him adorable, too.

“Emory, you’re blocking the exit,” my new friend whispers.

“Oh. Right. Right.” By now, I’ve stumbled a couple of steps toward Luka. “Sorry. I… uh… misheard you.”

“No worries,” the blond Adonis says, shaking his head, but I’m sure he thinks I’m a complete and utter moron. And who knows what Luka thinks of me.

As soon as he’s gone, I drag a hand down my face. “Shit.”

“Yeah, I know,” Luka says, and my eyes widen. Did he think that guy was totally hot, too? “Kyan is pretty damn intimidating. I sure hope I don’t have to spar against that guy.”

I stare at him for a moment before I realize what he’s said–what he thinks was wrong with me. “Oh, uh, yeah. Right,” I mutter. “So intimidating. For sure.”

“Especially for a little guy like you,” Luka adds. “But don’t worry. I’ve got your back.” He claps me on the shoulder, and I start to relax just a touch. Maybe I can pull this off after all.

Soon enough, I’ll be at the front of the line–and we’ll find out.