My father stood instantly, snarling, his fangs bared. He looked close to losing control of his wolf. That was not a good sign from an alpha wolf. I had never seen him this out of control. Ever. I'd seen him in council meetings. I'd seen him in the same room with the other alphas. He'd never been this angry and out of control. "She cannot be Chosen," he snarled at the headmistress. She just looked sad. She didn't seem afraid of an alpha's outburst. She was probably used to outbursts from upset parents. I sat rooted where I was, my hands clenched in my lap nervously. This was supposed to be impossible. I didn't understand how it had happened. I knew it had, but that information wasn't catching up to my brain.

"I know it is not the outcome you had desired. However, the fact remains. Samantha has been Chosen. She will be one of us. If you take her from here now, like you obviously desire to do, she will die. This is not what Samantha needs right now. She needs to be welcomed into our ranks. She needs your support. Due to her status in your society, we will work with you and your wife to determine what arrangements need to be made to appease the shifters. I also suggest you contact the other shifters to make sure that all of their children are tested. If one has been found to be Chosen, there could be others,"

"There has to be a mistake," my father insisted. "Shifters cannot be Chosen. That has always been the rule," the headmistress nodded sagely.

"I wish that were still true, but I have never been wrong, and I am not wrong now. Now, let us get Samantha settled in at the school. We will work the rest of the details out later," the headmistress stood and showed us to the door, obviously dismissing us. The first teacher nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, dear, it will all be ok," she promised me. I had the feeling she had had to reassure many teens that everything would be ok. I didn't see how anything would be ok at the moment. This was not supposed to happen. I was supposed to go home and break the news to my parents that I had chosen St. Ignatius instead of St. Xavier. I wasn't supposed to be Chosen. It wasn't supposed to be possible. We walked back out on the stage and the teacher went to the microphone. "Samantha Lykos has been Chosen," she announced to the crowd. My mom rushed to the stage in disbelief. I saw the looks of shock and horror on Caleb and his father's faces. They knew the problem. No one else here knew that I was a shifter and this should be impossible, but they knew. Caleb looked horrified and like he wanted to rush the stage too. I tried to give him a reassuring smile. I didn't realize how much my shifter friends meant until I knew I was going to be separated from them. Even if he was supposed to be trying to court me.

Once my mother had reached the stage, one of the teachers led us to the other side of the stage while the next student was called up. It still hadn't quite sunk in what happened. We were led to a small conference room with the other couple of kids Chosen. They were all looking as nervous as I felt. I didn't know what happened after someone was Chosen. I never had to worry about it. It wasn't supposed to be possible for me to be Chosen, so I hadn't actually bothered to look up or care about the consequences of being Chosen. I had been too busy focusing out how to get away from my controlling family. I guess I would be away from them. There was another boy brought in before the headmistress joined us.

"Good evening, new Apprentices. As you all are aware, you have been Chosen to join us here at Aiela Academy. I know this is very confusing and difficult to accept. All of the teachers will be willing and able to help you adjust to your new role as an Apprentice of this academy. You will be allowed to go home and pack a few things that you will need for your time here. You will be escorted there and back. I pray you do not try to escape your fate. Classes will begin on the 1st of September, however, you will be spending the rest of your summer break here, adjusting to your new role. Before I take any questions, I will answer the obvious first: Aiela Academy does train those who will become vampires,"