Morgan Ever since I left Blue River territory, I have been noticing a change in myself. I can’t explain it yet as it is very erratic, and every time I think I have it figured out, it changes again. One thing I do know for sure — my hearing has increased a lot, and I’m not talking about being able to hear things close to me. I was riding along a forest when I heard whimpering, and I stopped because I thought it came from beside the road. But I had to walk over a mile before I found the source. A female about my age was lying on the forest floor, cuts and bruises all over her body. I took her back to my bike to attend to her wounds. Her Father was grateful I found her and made sure she came home safely. It was also the first time I thought I heard someone’s thoughts. At first, I wanted to ignore it, but I decided to inform her Father as he walked me back to my bike. He didn’t ask anything — he just nodded his head, and I hope he will keep it in mind for the future. It is my seventeenth birthday, and I am finally at the gate of the Academy. I get quite a few strange looks, but every Wolf and Lycan steps aside to let me pass. The Lycan at the gate gives me a strange look. I pull to a stop in front of him and remove my helmet, only to be met with a dumbfounded look from the guard. “I am reporting for duty,” I say to the guard, and he asks me for my acceptance letter. I pull it from my back pocket, and when I hand it to him, I take the chance to look around me. Every Wolf and Lycan around me is staring at me. I’m not sure if it has to do with the fact that I am a female or with the fact that I am only 5’5”. Well, maybe it has to do with the fact that I just arrived on my Harley, and Amra is laughing in my head. The guard gives me directions to the main building, and after I put my helmet back on, I ride through the gate, heading toward my future. I watch the terrain as I slowly make my way over to the entrance. The main building is where I will get my education, my temporary room, and my meals, while most of the other buildings house the unit members. The moment I pull to a stop, every Wolf and Lycan on the front steps turns around. Almost every female has a smile on their face as they look at my Harley, but the moment they look at me, those smiles falter. I get off my bike and remove my helmet without looking at any of them, and I hear gasps when my black hair comes into view. Elder Larson walks down the steps, and I hold out my acceptance letter. He nods his head as he takes it from me. He smiles when he opens it, and within a second, another Elder approaches us. “You will be skipping the first two weeks of training. Your test results were the best we’ve ever had, and it would be a waste of time to make you attend,” Elder Larson says. Most of the other Wolves and Lycans stare daggers at me. Looks like they don’t like finding out that someone is smarter than them, and I have to stifle a smile when Elder Larson informs me I will only have to attend the introduction morning.Elder Emmett tells me that he will be my tutor for the next two weeks. “We think you could become a great asset to the King, and I will put you through a few more tests to see if our instincts are correct,” Elder Emmett says. The introduction morning was a morning that showed me that most of these Wolves and Lycans think very highly of themselves. They barely paid attention to Elder Larson as he explained what they could expect over the next two weeks, and during lunch, I could hear their remarks on some of the other students — remarks that pissed Amra off. I did pay attention, and I got the hidden message that Elder Larson gave: excel in your classes and you might end up as team Captain. But the other hidden message he gave was one I would enjoy much more — if you failed, you would be sent home without a chance to ever be accepted again. My two weeks with Elder Emmett were amazing, and I surprised him when I was able to pass every test he gave me. He tested my knowledge of Pack hierarchy, my knowledge of our laws, and during my second week, he gave me hypothetical cases to solve. I spent lunch with the rest of the students, and with each passing day, I got more annoyed with them. The worst out of them was Nigel, the second Son of the Alpha of Shadow Rock Pack, and a close second was Marge, the second Pup of Shadow Rock Pack’s Gamma. Both of them thought they were the best of the best, and both were arrogant enough to boast about it. Today we will hear who has made team Captain and who will be sent home. I doubt Nigel and Marge realize that they might be on that list, and I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they hear that they are not as good as they seem to think. I have watched the other students over the past two weeks, and I know who I will choose as a part of my team. I sit down in a seat at the back of the room and let my eyes glide over the other students, all of them chatting among themselves. Every conversation halts as Elder Larson steps onto the stage, and I hear a few gasps when the King follows him up there. Another thing most of them didn’t hear during the introduction morning. “Good morning and welcome to the final day of the try-out weeks,” Elder Larson says, and I can see a lot of confused faces. Elder Emmett chuckles softly, and I glance at him to see a smirk on his face. I think they knew not everyone had been paying attention.