“In a story, there is always the main character,” Hallsworth spoke as the class ran circles around the huge gymnasium. “An individual whose survival is vital to the narrative. They get all the luck, plot armor, and the privilege of a happy ever after as their ending. Unfortunately, this is real life, and there are no such thing as main characters in the real world. All of you are fodder, and the next time you even blink could be your last millisecond on this plane of existence. No heartfelt speeches, tearful goodbyes, or dying wishes.”Arrows – wooden ones – randomly shot from parts unknown, occasionally disrupting the pace of most of the students. Andre slightly tilted his head forward to avoid an arrow aimed at his temple as he ran, and his peers behind him stumbled back at the object whizzing by.Even though he was an omega, what he lacked in strength, his enhanced senses made up for. Sure, it didn’t stop him from getting slapped by bigger and stronger wolves, but it was excused by
Zoel snickered as he stared the blond superhuman down. “Go ahead. Use those dumb eye beams of yours again. I’ll make sure to deflect them into one of your buddies’ hearts this time.”“I don’t need them to put you down!” Rafe scoffed, watching the gamma wolf closely.His surroundings disappeared, looking for the subtlest signature of when his opponent will come after him. Eventually, there was a brief gleam in Zoel’s dark eyes, and this time, Rafe was ready when the older male finally charged. His lackeys, Kodan and Radulf de Boule, did as well, but he didn’t pay them any mind. Joe could take care of himself, but he made sure to keep a close eye on Andre.Zoel was fast on his feet, but the blond was able to move his head back away from the punch aimed at his nose. The gamma kept up with his attacks, throwing fists and legs at him every which way. Rafe did the same, skillfully switching between offense and defense each second.Meanwhile, Joe was duking it out with Kodan. Being the leane
Despite a tumultuous first day, the rest of the week seemed to pass by seamlessly – or rather, as much as it could. In Andre’s mind, the last class of the day with Miss Hallsworth made the week slog by quite a bit. He was all too happy that it was Friday.“Oh, man,” the omé let himself fall back on his bed, blowing out an exhausted breath. “I don’t think I can take another day of that class. I can’t keep walking around without being able to feel my limbs.”Rafe chuckled as he headed over to his own, taking off his sweat-drenched shirt. “Your muscles are tearing themselves apart right now, but by the end of the weekend, you’ll wake up feeling like a whole new man. Trust me on that, dude.”“Of course, you’d say that. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. Heading to the gym after a class with Miss Hallsworth? I think we need to take you to a psychiatrist soon because that is crazy.”Although Andre couldn’t help but let his eyes roam over his best friend’s body, his stomach stir
“Three and a half hours,” their lion shifter coach, named Sarabi, spoke near-monotonously as they moved toward the edge of the War Field. “That’s how long this whole thing will take. Six groups for six tests, and you’ve just done two. Which calculates to thirty-five minutes a station. Thankfully, Emais is strict when it comes to time, so this won’t take a second more.“Okay, so, luckily for us, we get the boring part over with early. You’ll be completing a brief written exam. And I use the term ‘exam’ loosely. It’s just a test of intelligence, where you’re currently at mentally, and what your abilities are.“There’s right or wrong, but none of it’s for a grade or anything like that. If you do exceptionally well at this but fail at all the others, you can still be useful. Brains over brawns is how the saying goes, so remember that. Let’s take it to the shed.”Rafe made sure to pace in front of the group as they all followed Coach Sarabi to a single-story structure just a few feet away
“I’m so fucking sick of that bastard!” Rafe hissed, his fists clenched on his knees, seething while glaring into his lap.Andre, seated next to him at the bleachers he had been watching from, rubbed his best friend’s back soothingly. The hover screens had been focused on other participants at the time of the confrontation, but he had a feeling something went wrong the second Rafe popped back in on home base.“He’s the biggest of schmucks, yeah. He ruined your favorite shirt.”The blond had to button up his flannel, not wanting the extra embarrassment on his walk of shame to the sidelines. “Lindsay said Aspen would do something about him. Lo and be-fucking-hold, he’s still finding ways to be the biggest pain in our asses!”“Well, the official club members are allowed to spectate a lot closer and comment on performances. I think I saw your coach let Zoel transport over to where you were. Maybe he thought he was gonna recruit you or something.”“Well, that’s dumb,” Rafe scoffed. “Don’t t
“Feel the bird. Be the bird,” Joe murmured as he mimicked a monk in the midst of meditation, hovering five feet over his seat in the Adam Society common room.Rafe, levitating right across from him, snorted. “That’s shit’s so stupid. I’d rather be an eagle.”“Bro, I’d rather be an alkonost than anything.”“No, you’d rather date an alkonost.”Joe shrugged shamelessly. “I mean, they’re usually cute.”“It’s a bird with a woman’s head,” the blond balked at him. “It’s still a bird, through and through.”“Expand your horizons, man,” the noirette responded with a wink, making the Hermes superhuman shake his head in disgust.Andre, sitting in the chair between them and doing homework, giggled at their silly banter. The only one absent was Daeran, who chose to take up sleep early. A smart decision since in the next nine or so hours, they were going to be beating and getting beaten the crap out of and by their opponent in a tourney. However, the omé was on his way to becoming a diligent student
The next day, before the second half of tryouts began, the four first-years, Lindsay, and the other humans gathered for breakfast in the main building cafeteria.“He was a bumbling idiot,” Rafe retold the events of last night as he and Andre shared a couple of twinkies. “I mean, more so than usual.”Lindsay looked up from fiddling with her WardNav and blew out a breath laced with both approval and disappointment. “If he were human, his future would be clear. Potbelly, permanent five o’clock shadow, and beer bottles littering his trailer floor. Honestly, you probably should have left him to drown in his own puke.”“I second that,” Rudy agreed loudly, his mouth full of waffles. “Better yet, you could have sacrificed him to whatever spirits were haunting the place.”Sam glared at her brother next to her, silently scolding him over talking with his mouth full.“That’s what I’ve been saying, but no…” Rafe rolled his eyes as he glanced at Andre, putting all the blame on the omé.The young w
Daeran confused himself.The thought crossed his mind multiple times since he decided to try out for Combat. In fact, he was usually confused. Bewildered and panicked and just scared straight out of his mind. At least, it’s been that way lately. Ironward brought up a lot of dirty laundry in the closet where he thought he had shoved into the deepest, darkest corners. Though, he couldn’t help the relief that settled at the prospect of having something to… beat the crap out of.There was somewhere in his brain that said that he should be feeling shame for that. Fighting and hurting others. Two things he hated he was good at, but since the scuffle with Zoel, he had to put a cap on that.It was time to let his “beasts” out.And right now, he was going to charge headfirst into the-“Here I come, little sheep!” the black, bipedal, and impressively built panther, navy strips running down his shoulders, galloped across the empty, sandy landscape they were transported to.Ah, shit.“Um, okay,”