Mom burst into my room bright and early the next morning. "Happy birthday!" she greeted me as I groaned and tried to roll back over and go back to sleep. The sun was nowhere near up yet. "C'mon darling, you can go back to sleep after the ceremony," she promised me. I groaned again at her as I rolled myself out of bed. It was only 2am. Mom left me to dress in the dress she had set out. I had complained vehemently, but she insisted it was tradition and I had to wear a dress.

My brothers were so going to make fun of me...

I trudged downstairs, feeling extremely awkward in the stupid dress. And heels. Why on earth did I need to wear heels? I'd never worn heels in my life. I wanted my converse back. Mom glared at me like she was reading my mind. I tried to put on a smile, but I knew I wasn't succeeding.

I stayed half-asleep through the car ride. It wasn't terribly far to the choosing, but it was 2am and I was tired. I hadn't gone to bed until midnight. For some reason mom failed to inform me that I would have to get up at 2 and I had therefore been up late talking to Lissa.

We arrived at 3am, as ordered, according to mom. "Don't worry, Sam, it'll all be over soon," she reminded me as we got out of the car. She gave me a quick hug. There were a few other kids getting out of cars nearby. I saw a familiar face and tried not to groan. I hadn't realized that any other shifters had birthdays today. "Oh, I didn't realize that Caleb would turn 15 before school started," mom commented.

Caleb Silverwolf was tall, athletic, handsome, and a wolf shifter. His family was from one of the strongest tribes in the area. He was also the firstborn son. I had a feeling that dad eventually wanted me to marry him, or at least consider him, but he wouldn't say so to me. I didn't want to deal with this either. I had met Caleb before, plenty of times, we'd basically grown up together. I couldn't remember him ever seeing me in a dress before, though, just what I needed. I tried to hide behind my dad, but Caleb's father saw us and walked over.

"Good morning," he greeted us as he, and Caleb, came over. Caleb looked over me appraisingly and gave me a smile, almost a grin. He liked what he saw, so he could make fun of me for it later when our parents weren't watching.

"Morning," my father replied gruffly. He didn't want to be up this early either. "We should go inside and get this over with. It's not like either of them can be Chosen," Mr. Silverwolf inclined his head.

"Yes, but unfortunately, the tradeoff for not being outed as shifters, is that we must jump through the same hoops as the humans," Mr. Silverwolf replied. He turned with Caleb, who gave me another grin, and headed through the open arched outer gates. The Academy was a giant gothic manor. It was hard to figure exactly what it looked like at this time of night. There weren't many lights lit outside, but there were enough to make out the path up to the school. I stayed close to my parents, nervous as we walked up the gravel road to the school. One of the teachers met all of us at the main entrance. She was pale, thin and gorgeous. She only looked to be in her 20s, but I had the feeling that she was much older than that.

"Good evening. Welcome to Aiela Academy. The Choosing will begin shortly. Please follow me," she turned and led us all inside. My parents looked calm. They had been through this a few times before already, and I was in no danger. We were led just off of the main hallway into what appeared to be a conference room. We were all bid to sit, and I took a chair between my parents, glad for my father's strength beside me. Caleb and his father sat in the same row with us. The same teacher stood before us again. "I know this is an inconvenient time for all of you, so we will get right to the proceedings. We will call each of your children up to the stage. One adult may join them. We will step off to a side room where the Choosing will take place. The verdict for each child will be announced here," she explained swiftly. Most of those gathered nodded along, either remembering their own Choosing, or had been through this with their own child already.

A few kids were called up before me. Only a terrified-looking pale girl was Chosen. She and her parents were escorted to a different room after that. The girl was crying. After that, the kids looked even more scared. "Caleb Silverwolf," the teacher called. Caleb and his father walked up confidently to the stage. I wasn't surprised when they came back quickly. Caleb wasn't Chosen.

"Samantha Lykos," I stood and smoothed out my skirt as my father and I walked toward the stage. I nervously took the steps up, trying to make sure I didn't trip. Usually my balance was very good, but these heels were really throwing me off. "Right this way, dear. No need to be nervous," the teacher, even more beautiful up close, led us with her cat-walk like lope to the room right off the stage. It was a small room with a desk, two chairs on one side, and a chair inhabited by an even older-feeling woman, though again, she only looked to be in her thirties.

"Welcome, Mr. Lykos, Miss Lykos," she greeted us, indicating that we should take a seat. I sat nervously, with dad following a moment behind. "I am the Headmistress of Aiela Academy. Don't worry, dear, it only hurts for a moment," she promised me. She took my hand gently and flipped it so my palm was up. With an extremely well-sharpened nail, she punctured one of my fingers, releasing a drop of blood, which she gently licked away. I was grossed-out for an instant, and stiffened, my instincts wanting to fight her. My father put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. The headmistress looked surprised.

"It is unprecedented, my dear, but I am afraid I must inform you that you are one of us. You have been Chosen,"