Chapter 319

I stare at my name’s spot on the list, alone under Redman Blythe’s, completely shocked, as our entire table erupts in protest – just like every other table in the breakfast hall.

“Jacks!” I hiss, turning to him. “You didn’t pick me!?”

“Of course I picked you, Ariel,” he snarls, his voice low, leaning close. “I made deep cuts across my entire draft lift – and Rafe didn’t try to draft you at all, to give me the best chance of –“

“Rafe!” I gasp, turning towards him, my eyes wide. “You didn’t even pick me!?” My voice is squeaky with my betrayal.

“Don’t even start with me, Ari,” Rafe snarls, holding a hand out towards me with a single finger held up. “It was part of the plan.”

“The plan that went wrong,” Jesse growls, turning to glare at Rafe. “Seriously, what kind of shit plan was it that it ended up with Ari completey unprotected by any of us –“

Rafe and Jesse begin to bicker, their words getting lost in the noise of the room.

Ben glances at me, anxious, as Luca comes around to my other side. “There has to be something we can do,” Ben says, turning to look around at the chaos of the breakfast room. “Some sort of negotiation.”

Everyone bursts out with ideas then – going to the Captain to protest this, demanding a re-draft, offering Blythe a private trade, even pulling a Daphne and giving him some poisoned wine tonight to eliminate him completely from the Game. And as everyone spins out ideas I go very still, my breath coming short in my chest because…

Because as far as I’ve come in this Academy, and despite everything I have learned, I am definitely, definitely not ready to be alone in the woods with a stranger without any of my Alphas by my side.

What – what on earth could Blythe want with me?

Does Blythe – like Wright – want me dead?

“Hello Team Sinclair,” a smug voice says behind me. As one, each of my boys goes silent and turns towards that voice, snarls breaking from between their teeth.

Slowly I turn to look up at Redman Blythe. At my Captain.

“Hey, Clark,” Blythe says, ignoring all the murderous glares from the Alphas all around me, smirking down at my face. “I’m excited to work with you tomorrow.”

I stare at him for a long moment, and then I bare my teeth.

“This is fucking bullshit, Blythe,” Rafe growls, taking a step towards my Captain and making all of our heads turn to him. “It’s not going to stand.”

“Sure it is,” Blythe says, still smug, casually re-adjusting the book satchel slung at his side as he gives Rafe a pretty grin. “I didn’t do anything illegal at the draft. It’s not my fault you guys didn’t think of it first.”

I stare up at Blythe as he speaks, taking in the fact that he’s tall and well-built, like most of the Warrior cadets at this Academy. But his chiseled, nearly perfect face – god, he’s almost as pretty as Luca. He has none of Rafe or Jackson’s power and magnetism but…

I mean. Objectively, he’s a very handsome guy.

Luca snarls down our bond, sensing the direction of my thoughts, but I just give him a little mental shove – we have bigger things to worry about.

“How the hell did you manage to get one Cadet on your team?” Jackson growls, standing up to loom over Blythe, snarling down at him.

“Whoa, big boy,” Blythe says, laughing derisively at Jacks and taking a step back. “Give me some breathing room.”

Jacks just closes the distance, keeping the pressure on.

“I got one Cadet – the only Cadet that matters,” he shots me a grin here, “because I only drafted one.”

My mouth falls open – one? He only drafted me? But – why? What the hell is he thinking?

“You’re not going to win,” Jackson growls, taking a step closer. Blythe works hard not to give up his position, but he falls back another step when Jacks doesn’t stop.

“I am going to win,” Blythe snaps, glaring up at Jackson. “Because what, you’re going to have it in you to kill your pet?” He smirks now, looking around at everyone at the table. “Any of you are?”

My heart sinks when I realize that he’s right – that even if we’re all recognizing that this is a game, every single person here is going to have a hard time pointing a gun at me and pulling the trigger.

“You put yourself in a fine position, Blythe, but we’re calling your bluff,” Rafe snaps, striding to Jackson’s side and likewise glaring down at the smaller man. “Name your price to get Clark back.”

Blythe takes a deep breath, pursing his lips, making a big show of thinking about it. “Actually,” he says, turning to me with a smirk. “I think I’m good. I think me and Clark are going to have a lot of fun in our little team of two.”

I snarl at him, hating him at this moment. Because I know that this is about way more than just wanting the best sniper on your team.

Blythe – he wants something, and he wants it from me.

“We’ll go to the Captain,” Rafe snaps. “We’ll –“

“Do whatever you want,” Blythe snarls back, whipping his head to glare first at Rafe and then Jackson. “The Captain set the teams. He already approved this. I’m not trading anyone.”

My brother and my mate each take another menacing step towards Blythe, who falls back, even as he glares at them. “All right,” Blythe says, his face twisting nastily, “I came over to introduce myself to my recruit, but this is getting to be too much.” He snaps his head back to me now. “See you at the helicopters tomorrow, Clark. I’ll look forward to it.”

No one says another word as Blythe turns and marches away, heading towards the door.

We’re all silent, even as the room continues to hum with gossip.

“Say what you want,” Ben says after a long moment, “that guy has…balls.”

“He’s a dead man,” Jackson snarls, vicious.

I reach up to Jacks then, putting a hand on his arm, wanting him calm. Then I turn my eyes to my brother and my cousin. “What can we do about this?”

“Go to the Captain,” Rafe says, turning to Jesse for confirmation. Jesse nods, steady and solid. “No way we can let this stand.”

Luca and Jackson sink into their chairs next to me, both moody, lost in thought, each of them trying to find a solution to this problem. Rafe and Jesse likewise sit down, leaning towards Ben, starting to discuss a negotiation process, seeing what they could do about organizing a trade if the Captain refuses to move me to another team. Jackson and Luca each chime in, offering their ideas.

I sigh, letting the boys all talk it through. Losing myself to my own thoughts, I turn back to my plate, picking up the draft list still sitting there, looking it over, my eyes catching again on my name listed below Blythe’s.

Redman Blythe – currently my Captain.

A man who I have given…little to no thought about in my entire life.

The real question is – who the hell is he? And what does he know about me?

I’m stressed and grumpy all day as I go through my study hall with Ben, trying to ignore the stares and whispers of literally everyone in the library. I have to admit, I don’t get much work done, and I wish that I was more polished at Faiza’s lessons so that I could literally just transform into someone else and ignore it all.

Nothing snaps me out of my mood until Ben walks me to magic class that afternoon – and even then, the only thing that pulls me out is shock.

“Luca?” I ask, my eyes going wide when I see him waiting outside the classroom door.

Seeing that I’m in good hands, Ben pats me on the back and I wave to him over my shoulder as I hurry to Luca’s side.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, tilting my head and standing close, peering up into his face.

“I was summoned,” he says, reaching out and rubbing a hand warmly up and down my arm. “By the Queen.”

“Mom called you in?” I ask, interested, turning towards the door. “Okay, but then why are you outside?”

“Because last time I tried to infiltrate the magic classroom,” Luca says, giving me a small smile, “some people had protests. I just wanted to wait for you.”

“Okay,” I say, grinning up into his face and slipping my hand into his. “Well, let’s go inside and find out what’s up.”

“After you,” Luca murmurs, gesturing towards the door. My grin deepens as I tug him with me into the classroom, giving a bright smile to Tony and Jacks, already in their seats, and Mom and Cora, sitting together on the desk.

The boys’ faces move from expressions of greeting to shocked surprise when I come into the room with Luca on my heels.

“Hi!” mom says, bouncing off the desk and ignoring Jacks and Tony as she runs over to me, wrapping me up in a big hug and then giving Luca one too. “Yay! I’m glad you’re here. I missed you, baby, and Luca – thank you so much for coming.”

“What’s going on?” I ask, reaching for my aunt Cora when she comes over to greet me too, wrapping her in a warm hug.

“It’s nice to see you too, trouble,” she says, a little dry, stroking a hand over my cap and then standing on her toes to give Luca a kiss on the cheek before gesturing us towards the desks. I move happily to my regular one and Luca, a little awkward, takes the seat behind me. I turn towards Jackson with a big smile, sending warmth and delight down the bond to him. His serious face breaks into a smile at that, as it always does, and he reaches out to take my hand, give it a squeeze.

“What’s he doing here?” Tony asks, peering at Luca with a frown.

“Great to see you too, Davis,” Luca snaps.

“How’s Becca?” Tony asks, dry, sending Luca a malicious grin.

Luca just blushes beet red and turns his face to stare at the front of the room, ignoring him. I turn to the front too, looking at my mom with wide eyes, kind of prompting her to start class and end the weird drama between these two. Luckily, Rafe and Jesse walk in at that moment, peering curiously around the room and instantly noticing our new addition.

“What’s going on?” Rafe asks as he and Jesse move to give their mothers hugs and then take their seats.