Ch. 171..175: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 171-175
Chapter 171
“Ariel!” Mark shouts, bounding across the room like the big puppy that he is and grabbing me in a hug.
“Baby!” I shout, dropping Luca’s arm and laughing as I hug my brother back, my eyes pressing shut with the pleasure of it. Mark- he’s not even the baby of the family, he’s nearly two years older than Juniper, but he’ll always be my baby, and he lets me fuss and cluck over him like a mother hen.
“I’ve missed you,” my Markie murmurs, hugging me close and tucking his head down against my hair. “June’s been so mean to me and there’s no one to stop her
(C
I laugh, pushing back a little so I can look up into my little brother’s sweet face. Mark favors Rafe and my dad, of course, but he’s more of a mix than
Rafe and I are. While Rafe and I are our parents‘ twins, Mark has some of
mom’s softness in the curve of his cheeks, in the lighter highlights in his
hair.
“Main, you’re bigger than June,” I say, grinning up at him and shaking my head. God, when did baby get so tall? Has it always been like this, or did he grow in the couple of months I’ve been gone? He’s Rafe’s height now, or at least almost. “Just shove her over –
))
But before I can finish giving Mark my very best sisterly advice, a screech
sounds in the room and all of our heads whip to the left, where five kids charge for Jesse the second he steps through the door.
“No, no!” Jesse sounds, deliberately dramatic as they leap all over him. “ Not the piranhas! They’ve got me! I’m being eaten alive! No, NO! They’re taking me down!” All of Jesse’s siblings grab onto him, shrieking and laughing, pulling him to the ground despite his mock protests, piling on top of him, shouting his name and how much they’ve missed him.
I grin, watching Jesse fake fight his siblings for a second, pleased to even
see Caleb, who is thirteen now and pretends he’s too cool for fun and games, shrieking and getting in on the fun. After a second of pretending to fight them off Jesse starts to grab each of his siblings by turn, giving them each what they need to feel loved and seen a big kiss, a hug, a ruffle of the hair, a brotherly punch on the arm.
“Whoa,” Luca says, his eyes wide as he takes in the chaos before him.
“Yes, they’ve missed their human jungle gym,” Grandpa Henry says, wheeling up next to me and smiling over at Jesse’s continuing scene, as I am. “It’s been murder on me and my chair – they’re always wanting rides up and down the hallways. Playing horsie and piggy–back–chauffer is usually Jesse’s job.”
I grin at my grandpa, whose eyes sparkle as he shifts his gaze up to me, and I bend down quickly to give him a kiss on the cheek, murmuring how good it is to see him. Grandpa laughs and tells me that he feels just the same as Mark comes to stand close to us, not wanting to miss a thing. Juniper steps close too, her scowl deepening for no reason.
Something about my sister’s scowl kindles something in me, and I can’t help · I grin, and leap for her. “Junie Junie!” I sing, dancing around Grandpa Henry’s chair and reaching for her, taking two handfuls of her long now–black hair in my hands and holding it up like pigtails as I bounce around her, singing the song she hates so much. “Our little goonie! She loves the moonie! It makes her swoooonie!”
“Oh my goddddd,” June groans, swatting at me with her hands and trying to back away, though I keep up with her, laughing and still playing with her hair. “Stop it, Ariel!”
“I can’t!” I return, laughing my ass off and dropping her hair before snatching her into a big hug. She struggles against me, but Junie’s even smaller than my mom and me, and I’ve spent a whole semester training at Alpha Academy, so she’s got no chance. “I just missed my little sissy so much!” I plant a series of big kisses on her head.
“You are literally so embarrassing,” juniper groans as I continue to kiss her gratuitously, her face flushing as she slumps in embarrassment, flicking her eyes towards where Luca is watching with delight, “You seriously want your mate to see this side of you!? The abuse you rain on your sister!?”
“Aw, no! It’s cute!” Luca says, grinning at us. “Sisterly love!”
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Chapter 172
“You,” June says, narrowing her eyes and pulling one arm free to point at Luca, “you just made an enemy, sir. Where’s the other one? Maybe I’ll like him better.”
I laugh at my little sister and loosen my arms a bit, a little tickled that she already knows about my mate situation so I don’t have to awkwardly explain why I brought two boyfriends home. Mom must have told her, and whoever else she thought needed to know, to avoid some weird scene.
I step back a little from my sister, still holding her so she doesn’t run away, and beam as I look her over. “I like your new hair!” I say, meaning it and nodding eagerly as I take in the hair that she’s dyed pitch black, covering up the rose–gold that matches mine and our mom’s. “You look so cool. You’re
all spooky now.”
“I’m not spooky,” she protests, scowling and raising an anxious hand to
her head.
“You l ‘-like Rafe,” I say, grinning, meaning it. Juniper – lucky girl – got our dad’s beautiful green eyes, and with her hair all dark now? Her familial connection to Rafe, dad, and Mark is more prominent now than it’s ever
been.
“Ariel,” Juniper says, appalled, her mouth dropping open. “That’s the cruelest thing you’ve ever said to me
–
((
“No one is paying attention to meeee,” Mark moans, dropping his head back on his neck dramatically and making me laugh. I immediately drop June and move to his side, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“You are nineteen, Mark,” Grandpa Henry says on a sigh. “You cannot whine like a pup anymore.”
“No, he’s not,” I murmur, “he’s just a little baby, he can cry all he wants.”
“Don’t encourage him, Ariel,” grandpa sighs, shaking his head at both of us, even if he can’t help smiling. “Or he’ll never grow up.”
I hug my brother close as Juniper and Luca step near, making a little family circle even as the rest of the people in the room – family and close family friends, dozens of them, honestly – surge forward and greet Rafe, and Jesse, and all of our guests. I steal a little glance to the side and am relieved to see that mom still has Jackson pinned to her hip as she beams at Ben, getting to know him. Jackson stands stoically next to her, in good hands.
Then, I remember my manners.
((
“Everyone,” I say, straightening a little and smiling around at my family. This is Luca Grant,” I say, gesturing towards my mate with a warm smile. ” Luca, this is my sister Juniper, my brother Mark, and my grandpa, Henry Sinclair.”
“His reputation precedes him,” my grandfather says, holding out a hand, which Luca shakes eagerly, murmuring his hello’s and letting his dimples shine. “Welcome to the family, son. I’m eager to see you box in two days‘ time. I hope you show the Atalaxian champion what Moon Valley is made
of.”
“I fully intend to, sir,” Luca says, perfectly earnest.
“I’m excited too,” Mark says, beaming at Luca, and as Luca stands straight and turns towards Mark I see that my little brother’s eyes are already filled with hero worship. “Dad finally talked mom into letting me go to the fight. I
can’t wait.”
“You’ll have to come sit ringside,” Luca says, grinning at Mark and shaking his hand too. “Get the really good view, see all the blood
“This is somehow both gross and boring,” Juniper sighs, stepping closer to me as grandpa wheels his chair away, probably off to greet his eldest grandsons. “I don’t know how you managed that, but you did.” She crosses her arms, glaring between Luca, Mark, and me like we’ve done her a true
disservice.
“I missed you, June Bug,” I sigh, slipping my arm around her shoulders and tugging her close. Juniper and I – we have a weird relationship, and we’re certainly not besties, but she does crack me up with her constant bad mood. And now that I have her back in person, I realize that I did miss her,
in my own way.
“I guess I missed you too,” she says on a sigh as Luca and Mark continue talking about boxing, Luca explaining his strategy for the next two days of training before the fight. “Why did you go and get all badass and cool the moment you left?”
I scoff at my little sister and her words, which are
in classic Juniper style
–
as much insult as they are compliment.
Chapter 173
My mouth pops open in mock indignation as my sister fights her urge to smirk. “I have always been badass and cool, Juniper!” I protest, laughing.
“Ariel, believe me,” Juniper sighs, rolling her eyes but letting her smile run free. “You have been the opposite of badass and cool. You were like, a pink bubblegum fairy glitter princess
“And I still am,” I return, laughing. “Except now I can shoot a tin can off of a tree stump from half a mile away.”
–
“Ugh,” she groans. “Nevermind. Still not cool. Plus, now you’ve brought your mates home,” she murmurs, looking at Luca and then around to where Jackson is standing with our mom, clearly intuiting that he’s the other one. “Like this family needed more Alpha men around, all gigantic and eating everything in sight –”
“Not my Alphas,” I counter, grinning at her, my arm still around her shoulders. “I got them trained up real good.”
“So that’s the other one?” she says, raising her chin towards Jackson, her voice dubious.
“Yup,” I say, unable to keep the pride from my voice. That’s my man over there, standing awkwardly at my mom’s side with her arm around his waist as she happily laughs with Aunt Cora and Uncle Roger, introducing them to Daphne and Ben.
Juniper is quiet for a moment, her eyes flicking between Jackson and my mom. As we stand observing them, Jackson’s eyes move over to us like he can hear us thinking about him.
“Are you sure he’s your second mate?” Juniper asks, her voice low with doubt as her eyes focus on mom’s arm around Jackson’s waist. “Because right now, it kind of looks like he’s mom’s.”
I go absolutely still with shock, staring at my sister, before I burst into laughter.
“June!” I gasp through my laughter, and then I look back at where mom is leaning into Jackson’s side – being so nice to him, wanting him to feel comfortable in this big room full of people – but… yeah. Maybe looking a little too close to my mate to the eye of one who doesn’t understand how empathetic mom is as well as how incredibly awkward Jacks feels. I can’t help but laugh harder now that I’ve seen it.
–
“I mean, she’s all over him!” Juniper says, laughing with me, throwing out a hand towards them. Jackson frowns a little, not knowing what’s going on and clearly wanting to know.
“You’re so gross,” I groan, shoving my little sister playfully away from me before grabbing her hand and tugging her towards Jackson and mom. “She’s just being nice to him.”
“A little too nice, if you ask me,” June murmurs, letting herself be dragged along, moodily pretending she isn’t having as much fun as she is. “Don’t let dad see this – he’ll get all jealous, and then we’ll have a body to clean up. Which will be interesting, but messy.” I grin, ignoring her words. Because as much as she likes to pretend she’s a black sheep, Juniper is very much a part of this family, and she likes joking and teasing as much as the rest of us.
“Ugh, my two little girls!” mom says, dropping her hand from Jackson’s waist so that she can reach for Juniper and me when we come near. “I love seeing you two get along! It’s so rare, to have you not tearing each other to pieces!”
“Yeah, well, you’ve got about five more minutes of us being nice,” Junie sighs, letting mom fold her into a hug on one side. “So, enjoy it.”
“Welcome home, infant danger,” my uncle Roger says as Ben and Daphne step away,
heading to the little bar in the corner for drinks. Roger lets out a booming laugh at his own joke as he wraps me into a hug. I squeak a little, laughing and leaning into him.
“Hey, uncle Rog,” I say, beaming up into his face.
“You’re in trouble, young lady,” he says, his face falling into mock–serious lines. I cock my head, curious. “You cost me a great deal of money.”
I burst out laughing, remembering suddenly the bet that the Captain placed on me at the beginning of the semester to come out tops in marksmanship – a bet he placed against Uncle Roger’s bet on someone else.
“What?” Cora asks, stepping closer and glaring between us. “What’s he talking about?”
“That’s what he gets,” I say, stepping away from my uncle and giving my aunt a kiss before moving subtly to Jackson’s side, intuiting that he’ll be more comfortable if I’m there. “For betting on Cadets.”
“Roger!” Cora gasps, swatting Roger on the chest. “You bet against your niece!?”
“Well, I didn’t know it was my niece!” he says, grinning and throwing his hands out. “I put my money on the one with the widest wingspan – I wasn’t going to bet on the one they called the Shrimp!”
“How much did you lose?” Cora gasps, ignoring his excuses.
Chapter 174
“Baby,” Roger murmurs, stepping close and tucking a strand of Cora’s hair behind her ear. What even is money, in the end, when we have such love between us, such beautiful children
((
((
“No, Roger Sinclair,” Cora snaps, stepping back and pointing a finger up into his face. “You are not getting out of it by seducing me not this time –”
―
“Is it always like this?” Jackson murmurs, and I turn my head to grin up at him as Roger and Cora begin to bicker. He looks around the room, I think a little concerned about the number of people all talking at once, the pack of children screeching happily as they dash around the room, mostly following Jesse like the pied piper. My smile deepens, because even though Jackson is clearly one of the most powerful wolves in the nation at this moment, it’s so cute to see him freaked out by a welcome–home party.
“Yes,” June says on a deep and tragic sigh, drawing our attention to her. “It’s always like this. It’s horrible all the time.”
“Oh, my little drama queen,” my mom croons, stroking June’s face in a loving way that she knows is only going to bug Junie further, and which Juniper completely ignores.
But Jackson just nods slowly at June, like he completely understands. My sister holds his gaze for a moment, a little smile creeping onto her lips.
Juniper flicks her eyes to me. “I like this one,” she says, grinning a little, which makes me smile too. “He’s quiet. He gets me. You should keep this one, throw the loud one in the trash.”
She lifts her chin to where Luca is already surrounded by a group of our Alpha family and cousins, talking animatedly and showing off his boxing stance, clearly enjoying the attention.
Jackson just grins at Juniper as he wraps an arm around me and pulls me close to his side. I grin, deciding not to counter, pleased for Jackson and Juniper to each have found an ally in this family. They’ll need them, after all.
“Come come,” my mom chirps, happy and finally in her element now with her all of her children and her family gathered warm around her. She steps towards the bar in the corner, waving us to follow. “It’s a party, after all – let’s have some drinks and get things started.”
The little party goes on for hours, with a great deal of laughter, and drinking, and everyone saying hello. I let Rafe and Jesse take center stage, telling stories about the academy as
Jesse’s three youngest siblings run around the room with some of the children of our other guests, chasing and playing with each other, their little shouts filling the air around the sound of our laughter and our stories.
As Rafe and Jesse talk I sit on my favorite ottoman at my dad’s feet, where I always sat as a little girl, a glass of wine in my hands. Daphne has settled on a pillow at my side. Dad puts out a hand, passively stroking my hair as the chatter carries through the room, everyone asking for more and more details about the story.
Mom settles into the corner of the couch, beaming as she watches Rafe – her favorite – tell the story of Academy life. There are significant gaps, of course, because while I’m sure my whole family knows where I’ve been for the past few months, we’re not telling all our friends yet. So, Rafe and Jesse riff a little, leaving out what they need to.
Luca, already comfortable, sits with Rafe and Jesse, adding in his own details and making everyone laugh with his wry quips. I watch him, impressed with the way he handles himself, the way that he adds to the story but still lets Rafe and Jesse take center stage.
But even as Rafe and Jesse talk, and Luca ingratiates himself with everyone else in the room, my eyes move inevitably to Jackson. He perches slightly on the back of the couch behind mom, a glass of whiskey in his hands, and he smiles and laughs with the rest of us as the story goes on. But when my eyes fix on him he immediately looks to me and passes a pulse of happiness down our bond, letting me know that he gets it – that he’s warm, and happy, and he understands now why I love my family so much, why it’s so important to me.
And I beam at him, truly glad – because it’s his family now too. And I want him to know that, and to feel it, and to love it as much as I do.
He simply nods, telling me that he’s on his way to it – even if he needs a little time to adjust. And then he takes a sip of his drink, and turns his attention back to the story, which is as much his story as the rest of ours.
Chapter 175
my
As time passes our friends start to filter out until it’s finally just the core family here family, Jesse’s family, and the new addition of my mates and Ben and Daphne. Our parents dig into the more complicated questions now, asking us about the details of getting me into the Academy and keeping me alive there, and we all happily fill them in on the delicious details.
As we do, mom pulls Luca aside for a moment, fussing over him and patching up his black eye and his busted lip. When he comes back I can tell by his smile that Luca’s likewise under mom’s spell now, and that he no longer has any ridiculous ideas about mom having a favorite between my two mates.
Mom curls up at dad’s side on the couch, where he moved after his last refill, probably so that she would come and sit with him. They’re ridiculously attached to each other, even after all these years. And even if I know that I should be grossed out by how affectionate my parents are…well, honestly I just think it’s kind of sweet.
The youngest Sinclair kids, of course, ignore everything, but I watch with real pleasure as they continue to dash around the room even as the hour grows late. Jackson watches them with fascinated curiosity, clearly wondering where the hell they get the energy. But eventually they settle down too.
It’s only when the clock strikes midnight, and I’m sitting in dad’s armchair with two of Jesse’s siblings passed out in my lap – Bella sleeping blissfully, her head pillowed against my shoulder, and
little Chase actually in puppy form stretched out over my leg, his head hanging off my knee – when Cora gasps and starts.
“Oh my god,” she says, looking up at the clock. “Is it seriously that late?”
“No, you’re imagining it,” Roger murmurs into his glass of whiskey, clearly enjoying himself too much to want to go. “Have another drink, love, it’s barely five o’clock –”
“Noooo,” she says, instantly getting up from her spot curled in Roger’s lap and tugging him up with her. “We are getting these children home, because if we don’t they’ll never get up tomorrow”
“Just stay here!” my mom says, as she always does, sitting up from her place curled at Dad’s side. But Cora just rolls her eyes, because she never takes mom up on her offers to stay in the palace, preferring to be in her own home. “Or, at least leave the children!”
“No, stop trying to steal my kids, Ella,” Cora sighs, clapping her hands and rousing Bella
and Chase from their spots on my lap. Her other four – Jesse included moan, knowing what that sound means. Chase shifts back into his little boy body so that he, too, can join in
on the group moan.
“Your mom’s right!” Roger says, hauling himself to his feet and giving a sharp whistle.” Line up, minions! Time for role call!”
“What…” Jackson murmurs, glancing between me and Rafe, “what’s happening?”
“They have too many kids,” Rafe sighs, not bothering to whisper. “So, in order not to lose them, Roger makes them line up in size order and march in a line, like ducklings.”
“Plus, they hate it,” Roger says, grinning over at Jackson, Luca, and Rafe. “And I take great joy in embarrassing my children. Why else have them? We had five more because torturing Jesse was so much fun.”
Each of Cora and Roger’s youngest five kids moan and drag their feet, but line up they do, and I laugh to see them all standing there slump–shouldered, clearly tired but not wanting
1. go. It’s been an amazing night, after all.
to
“It used to be worse,” Jesse murmurs, catching Luca’s eye and communicating with his expression the true horror of his childhood. “They used to make us do a little goodnight song and dance, before I realized it was child abuse and started refusing to do it.”
Luca bursts into laughter and so do I, remembering how cute it used to be. God, I’d been so jealous and had begged them to let me in on it, but Roger insisted it was a sibling–only thing. I’d cried for weeks.
–
“Please,” Luca begs, grinning at Jesse. “Please do the song for me, just once – I’ll never tell a soul.”
Jesse’s about to counter, to refuse to the ends of him, but Uncle Roger interrupts.
“A–hem,” Roger says with deliberate emphasis, turning towards Jesse and gesturing towards the empty spot at the front of the line. “And where is my eldest, my pride, my heir and my joy?”
Jesse squeaks and sits up straight, pressing a hand to his chest. “Dad, I am a grown up now. You cannot expect me to line up with the ducklings, I –“