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,municating 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, ncing 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 re – 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.


    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 ss 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.”


    Lucaughs 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.”


    Lucaughs 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, underying 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 whoes 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 unrted, 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.


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    “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.”


    “n Wright,” the tallest says, stepping forward and ring 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


    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 n an easy smile. “And these two?”


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


    paie–skinned guy is rted to n 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 n,” Luca says, stepping forward with some venom in his voice. “It’s not rk’s


    fault that your own pets are so damn ugly.”


    I smother the tiny absurdugh that tries to burst when I hear him say that, and n stares at us in


    shocked surprise, having no idea how to respond.


    “Yeah,” Luca says withplete confidence, ring down into n’s face and then flicking his eyes to


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


    thought.”


    n 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 thest 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 andugh 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 andughing 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


    n, who res 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


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


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


    “Oh,e 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 particr 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.” Iugh, 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.