My brain was a tangled ball of string. I led Archer down the meandering path of my Meta experience so far, but a trippy butterfly, warring aptitudes and general feeling of angst didn't uncover much.

"I'm pretty sure we were the only ones who saw something in the simulation. Everyone else left as soon as they were done, and no one reacted like you did." Archer swept a hand through his thick hair.

"Thanks for the reminder." I cringed as embarrassment's long fingers tickled my stomach again.

"Hey. I didn't mean it like that." His eyes lit up crystal-blue in a patch of sunlight that leaked through the curtains onto his face. "Besides, you ran through the simulation faster than me. A hundred bucks says I'd have been on the floor as soon as I'd finished the wolf puzzle. Look at me — I'm huge! I would have taken the whole table down with me." Making a gruesome face, he flung his arms out to mimic a clumsy fall.

My lips curled into a smile. "Good point." I felt my shoulders relax a little. It was nice of him to try and make me feel better. "So, do you think this means you're like me? Maybe your aptitudes are sorting each other out and you'll end up in Cognition instead of Kin?"

Kin. Huh. It was kind of neat to notice the school's lingo start falling off my tongue.

Closing his eyes for a second, Archer sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. On the one hand, it'd be nice to have a surprise — I've trained for years to stream Kin. On the other hand, I've trained for years to stream Kin. What a colossal waste of time if it turns out I've been Cognition all along. Plus, my dad will freak. So, there's that."

"Why does your dad care so much about Kinesthesia anyway? I mean, I get it, he wants another soldier in the family, but Cognition's cool, too. What's his deal?" As usual, my mouth worked faster than my brain. Maybe Archer's dad was none of my business. "Sorry — I guess that was a bit nosey of me."

"It's ok. I'm the one who mentioned him." He gave me a half-smile and shifted in his chair. "Do you know why your parents got involved with this place? The original project, I mean."

Grabbing a pillow from my bed, I hugged it close and leaned back against the headboard. "Yeah. My dad was one of the project's founders. Mom lost like seven pregnancies before they joined the program themselves. As I said before, I didn't know about any of this until my symptoms made it impossible to hide. It's an understatement to say I was pissed to throw our old life away and come to Mendel."

"So, knowing what you know now, do you wish they'd told you earlier?" Archer's eyes caught mine and I looked down at my hands.

"I mean, a compromise would have been nice. I felt like they lied to me by keeping things secret, you know? They thought they were giving me a normal childhood, which I guess I can appreciate. I didn't have the pressures you've mentioned, so I suppose I should be thankful. But a little information would have gone a long way." I shrugged. "Not much we can do about it now."

"No, there's not. Funny, huh? We can't change the past, but that doesn't stop us from struggling with it anyway."

Good point. It sounded like he'd thought about this before. Or maybe he'd just had longer to wrestle with our not-so-immaculate conception.

Pushing himself up from the desk chair, Archer walked back over to my shelf and picked up the picture of my parents and me again.

"I get why you were upset they kept secrets from you, Marin. But it sounds like their intentions were good. And you look pretty happy here, for what it's worth."

I watched his powerful shoulders rise softly as he took a slow breath.

"My brother's the reason I'm here." For a minute he looked almost vulnerable, despite his size.

"Your brother? Did he go to Mendel too?"

"No. I never met him, but he's had a bigger impact on my life than anyone I know."

Huh? My head tilted slightly to the side as if the position could somehow help me process what he was saying a little better.

Placing the picture frame back on the shelf, Archer walked over to the bed and sat down at the edge of the mattress. A few feet bridged the gap between us, but his proximity made my cheeks burn. I rested a cool hand on the back of my neck, thankful the room was dimly lit.

"My brother's name was Lewis. I've seen pictures, some videos, that kind of stuff. He had blond hair, a sweet smile." Clearing his throat, Archer looked past me to the window. "I guess Lewis seemed healthy at first, but he started getting sick around his first birthday. "

Oh no. When Archer said he'd never met his brother I figured the outcome wouldn't be good, but having a sick baby must have been a special kind of hell for his family.

"It took months to figure out what was wrong. As it turned out, Lewis was born with a genetic disorder. Dad's clout helped him access a bunch of specialists, but nothing helped. Lewis died before he turned three."

Muffled laughter from the hall wafted under the door, filling the room's silence as Archer paused for a second. His sigh sounded like it weighed ten pounds, at least. It fell heavy from his lungs like he was tired from chasing well-worn thoughts. Chasing but never catching them. Chasing but always left behind.

"Lewis' disorder was rare, but testing showed an anomaly in my dad's DNA. I think he blamed himself for Lewis' death, so it was up to him to fix things for my mom. A good soldier finds solutions and pushes forward, you know? Dad's always had access to classified programs and
once he did some digging, Project Alpha kind of fell into his lap."

"Project Alpha?" My parents had never given the program a name. The words Alpha PACK Infinitum were strewn all over campus, so it made sense. Project Alpha Forever. I wondered how many babies came after us? And how many came after them?

"Yeah. Project Alpha. The perfect solution for a man who felt responsible for a broken son would be to create an unbreakable one, right? So, my dad's obsession with Kin? It's all about Lewis. It's definitely not about me."

Wow. I couldn't wrap my brain around the immense pressure fuelling his father's expectations. Shame brewed in the pit of my stomach. Compared to Archer's origin story, my journey to Mendel was quaint.

So my parents took an unconventional road to happiness? So they did their best to make me feel loved and secure? So they'd hidden the truth for too long? At least they hadn't made my whole life revolve around my genetic potential.

"I'm sorry, Archer." My voice came out small and I busied my fingers picking at a sharp feather that poked through my pillowcase. "For Lewis. And for sounding like a brat about my family. You're right — I was happy growing up. That's why I was so upset when things changed. But I didn't arrive at Mendel with any assumptions about who I should be, so I guess that makes me lucky."

"Don't." Strong hands folded in his lap, Archer looked over his shoulder at me. "Don't feel sorry for me, Marin. And don't apologize for your feelings. It is what it is. Besides, it's not all bad. My mom's pretty great, actually. And without the project I wouldn't be here — neither would you."

It is what it is. Maybe it was time to start accepting some things I couldn't change.

"One more thing." Archer turned to me, the dimple in his cheek reappearing for the first time in hours. "Without the project, I definitely wouldn't be this stacked." Making a muscle, he kissed his bicep and waggled his eyebrows at me.

The air's tension buckled under his silliness and laughter bubbled up from the bottom of my belly.

"Oh my god, you're such a dork!" I swatted him with my pillow and his hand moved at lightning speed to catch my wrist.

"Oh I am, am I?" His smile was wide, his teeth white. When his eyes met mine, something flip-flopped in my stomach.

Overhead, a bell rang three times.

Archer and I froze, sparks flying behind my eyes at the sound like they had the first day of Meta. Only this time, sparks flew from the skin at my wrist, too. Archer's fingers rested there, strong, gentle and warm.

"Please excuse the interruption students, but we're asking for your attendance at a special meeting in the Great Hall." By now the dean's voice was familiar to me. As usual, her tone was measured, polite, under control.

"Attendance is mandatory. Please make your way to the Great Hall as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation — more details will follow after you arrive."

I dropped my pillow and Archer's hand let go of my wrist. We listened a moment further, but the announcement seemed done.

"I guess we should probably go."

Did his voice sound a little reluctant?

"I guess we should."

Did mine?

Getting up from the bed, we walked toward the door, I grabbed my shoes and followed Archer out into the hall.

***

Thanks for reading! It feels like I've been writing this chapter forever. What do you think of Archer's story? Any thoughts on what might happen next? Please vote if you enjoyed the chapter and I'd love to hear your comments!