Filed to story: Shifter Academy: Taming Her Wild Mates (Ivy) Book PDF Free
Rafe just shrugs. “I think you got a bad turn, being pitted against me in the bout today. So, I figured, why not give you a shot. We were doing it anyway – one more isn’t much.”
I smile at my brother, who is trying to play off his kindness, even though we all see through it. The truth is that Rafe likes an underdog – he can’t help it, he’s soft-hearted like mom, even if he pretends that he’s not. It’s probably why he acts tough all the time – so no one figures it out.
“Well, thanks,” Ben says, smiling and running a hand through his hair. “I mean it. Thank you.”
“It’s no bid deal,” Jesse says, gesturing for him to come over. “I noticed, on the first day, that you’re…kind of shit at throwing a punch. Let’s work on that.”
Ben laughs and nods and the two get to work as I walk over to Rafe and wrap my arms around his waist, unable to help myself.
“My big brother is nice,” I say softly, grinning and giving him a squeeze. “Don’t tell anybody,” he mutters, pushing me away. “Now stop trying to get out of work. Up!”
I sigh and stare up at the bar, thinking that the last thing I want to do is chin-ups. But as I stand, staring, regretting my choices, suddenly Rafe grabs me by the waist and hoists me upwards so that my only choice is to grab the bar and swing from it or fly across the room. “Rafe!” I gasp, glaring at him. “I told you – stop throwing me around!”
“I’ll stop throwing you around the day you can do a chin-up unassisted,” he says, smirking at me and putting his hands beneath my feet so that he can take a little bit of my weight, making it just a little easier for me to lift my weight. “Now let’s go, Ivi – three sets of ten, and then we’re doing pushups.”
I groan, but I get started – because even as I complain?
I know they’re just doing it for me. That my brother and my cousin are skipping their chance at a hot shower and first in line for food to help me.
And that outweighs any of the misery of chin-ups.
Which is saying something.
Because I am…really bad at chin-ups.
“Come on, Ivi!” Rafe shouts, laughing at how much my arms tremble as I work to pull myself up so that my chin rises above the bar. “Let’s go! Seven more, and then a break, and then six thousand after that.”
“I hate you,” I grumble. But he just grins at me. Because he knows I mean the opposite. And I sigh and get to work, trying very very hard – and failing – to not think about Luca, who is probably stripping down for his shower right about now…
I’m almost too exhausted to notice how fast the next week passes. Jesse wakes me up early every day, and I scowl at Rafe, who snores peacefully while Jesse drags me out the door for our run. He seriously puts me through my paces, too, not even relenting when I try to bribe him.
“Please,” I beg, “I’ll give you my crown -“
“Why would I want your crown, I’m a duke -“
“But dukes,” I pant, “don’t get anything pretty to wear on their heads -“
But Jesse just laughs, and makes me run harder. The candidate lessons are no less brutal. Every other day is spent running through that damn obstacle course, and even though Jesse and Rafe make me work out every night I still can’t climb that damn chain. I mean, I am getting better, which is satisfying. I can pull myself up about three feet of it now. But still, every day, after ten minutes of trying, the Lieutenant at that point on the course blows the whistle and lets me climb the ladder, The Hidden Princess At All-boys Alpha Academyputting a further demerit on my time.
Even Ben gets up faster than I do now, looking down at me with apology in his eyes as he does. But I just scowl and wave him off.
Rafe and Jesse really put the time in with Ben and I every evening, which has actually become as fun as it is useful. Ben has proven himself to have one hell of a sense of humor, and he makes me laugh so hard it feels like my sides will split. Even Rafe, as he pushes us around and tells us to get back to work, can’t help but smile.
Still, it’s nice to have made a real friend.
Every day the four of us eat our meals together and every morning our eyes go immediately to the ranking list to see what the previous day’s exams – if any – have done to our numbers.
And while I’m never, ever going to beat out the big guys like Rafe and Jesse – I have to say, I’m holding my own.
This morning, I grin when the numbers come up to see that I’m ranked at 75 – a personal high spot for me. Jesse slaps me on the back, laughing and grinning. “Nicely done, Ivi!” he says, smiling at me with true pleasure. “Looks like the marksmanship competition yesterday did its work.”
He’s not wrong. There are still enough hand-to-hand bouts that while my win against Jackson and my second place on the logic exam pulled me out of the cut zone above 96, I’ve been hovering right on the edge for days. But yesterday, when they finally put a crossbow and then a gun in my hands? Then I really showed them what I could do. Because even if dad didn’t let me train like Rafe did, he always made sure I could handle myself with a gun – more than handle myself, really. I came in second, falling only behind Rafe but beating Jesse, who came in at 5. “Thank you,” I say, preening a little as I dig into my pancakes. But when my eyes fall on Ben’s blank expression, I feel instant guilt. Because here I am celebrating, and I didn’t even look to see how he did.
“We’re going to get you there, Ben,” Rafe says as my eyes fly back to the board, where Ben is ranked at 100. “Four spots. That’s nothing.”
“You really are getting faster, Ben,” I say, nodding to him encouragingly.
“Don’t fuss over me,” Ben says, his face breaking into a smile as he waves a hand around at us. “I’m fine. Seriously, it’s fine, it’s way better than 119, where I was. So. Progress is a good thing.”
I smile at him, nodding, even though a knot twists in my stomach. Because there are only 5 days left until the final ranking, and both of us are still in a great deal of trouble. None of our runs of the obstacle course have counted yet, and the one on the last day? It counts as double any of the rest of the tests, because we’ve practiced it so many times.
And Ben and I? Even despite our extra credit work after hours with Rafe and Jesse – we’re still crap at it. Inwardly, I sigh, wondering how much better we can even get, or what the other exams will be.
We can do it! My wolf yips encouragingly, prancing around inside me. We are strong and brave! No one can stop us! Smiling, I run a mental hand over her fur, grateful for her high spirits and constant support.
