Ch. 176..180: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 176-180

Chapter 176

“You’re coming home, son,” Cora says, crossing her arms and glaring at her eldest child. ” Because if I let you stay here, you’ll drink yourself silly with your cousins and then be

useless to me in the morning.”

“Mom!” Jesse begs, sending an anxious glance towards Daphne, who pretends not to notice the whole conversation.

“Jesse,” Roger says, his hands on his hips, his voice low and dangerous. “Get in line. Your mom wants you home, so you’re coming home. If it were up to me I’d leave you here, because you always rile the small ones into rebellion, telling them all sorts of nonsense about free will –”

“They deserve to know the truth!” Jesse protests.

“But your mother wants you home. So?” Roger points emphatically to the front of the line.

Daphne, to her credit, does her very best to suppress her smile and pretend that she’s incredibly interested in the trim that adorns the bottom of dad’s armchair. Ben has no such grace and watches eagerly, laughing. But Jesse, realizing that he’s lost this battle, just groans and pushes himself to his feet, slumping to the front of the line.

“Good boy,” Roger murmurs, patting Jesse on the head. Jesse just scowls and smacks his dad’s hand away.

Then Roger whistles again and each of my six cousins straightens their shoulders, standing at attention, and then – at their father’s signal – begin to march out of the room. 1

“Bye!” Cora calls over her shoulder towards us, completely ignoring the military precision with which her kids are swept out into the hall. “Love you, see you tomorrow or the next day or whenever!”

“Bye!” we all call, and it’s only when I look over at Luca and Jackson’s shocked faces that I realize how weird it is. I burst out laughing myself, because I mean I’m just so used to the way that Cora and Roger handle their wild pack of kids that I don’t even notice it anymore.

—

“You guys are such a weird family,” Ben sighs, pulling himself up into Roger and Cora’s abandoned chair. “I love it.” Daphne grins, nodding along with him.

“Who needs a refill?” Rafe asks, smiling happily and getting to his feet. “Daphne?” He raises an eyebrow at her empty glass of wine.

“Nope, nope!” Mom says, getting to her feet herself. “You’re all off to bed!”

“What!?” Rafe gasps. “Mom, it’s our first night home, we’re not going to bed –”

“Oh yes you are!” she says, giving him a super sweet grin.

“Why!?” Rafe protests, throwing out his hand.

“Because I am sleepy,” mom says, pressing a demure hand to her chest and making dad laugh. “And if I don’t stay up to supervise you, Cora is right – you’ll drink yourselves silly and be all useless tomorrow. And we have things to do!” She reaches up a hand, ruffling Rafe’s hair. “Haircuts, first of all.”

“Mommm,” Rafe groans, slumping his shoulders and looking around with embarrassment. “You can’t just make everyone go to bed because you’re tired.”

“Nah, I should go anyway,” Luca says with a sigh, getting to his feet. I sit up straight in surprise.

“What?” I say, staring at him. “You’re not staying here with us?”

“Nah,” he says, giving me a pretty smile and a shrug. “I have my own family here in the city, after all. And I have to get to the gym tomorrow, let my uncle yell at me and beat me into shape before the fight. And her Highness is right,” he says, nodding in deference to my mom, who smiles at him, “if I stay here, I’ll have way too much fun. I have to concentrate.”

Guilt sinks in me as I watch Luca thank my mother for her hospitality and shake my father’s hand, realizing that unlike Jackson and Ben and Daphne, Luca does have family here – and I’ve kept him from them on his first night back from the academy. God, how selfish am I?

“Luca,” I say, getting to my feet as he turns away from my parents. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think –”

“No worries, Ariel,” he replies, shaking his head at me with a smile as I move to his side. He wraps an arm around my waist as he nods to the door. “Walk me out?”

I nod, eager, wanting to finish my apology even if he says it’s all right. We walk together out into the hall and I pull the door to our cozy living room shut behind us, standing with him in the darkness of the corridor. There are guards, of course, at either end – but otherwise we’re alone.

Luca’s face breaks into a devilish smile.

Chapter 177

“Luca, I’m so sorry for not even thinking about your family and making you come to see mine,” I murmur, taking little handfuls of his shirt in my fists as I lean my weight against him, looking up into his face. Luca smiles at me, his arms loose around me.

“Don’t be sorry,” he murmurs, “I wanted to meet your whole family. It was important for me too.”

“Good,” I say, nodding. And then I hesitate. “And are you…ready? For the fight?”

“I will be,” he says, nodding. “Though it’s important for me to see my uncle – he trained me, after all. He’ll get me back in the right headspace over the next day or so – don’t worry. But will you come tomorrow? Come see my gym, and then come to my gran’s house? Meet everyone? I’m dying to introduce you.”

“Oh!” I say, surprised but then thrilled at the idea. “Yes!” I say instantly, beaming at him, but then I remember that I’m a princess again and I glance back at the door, wondering what my parents have planned for me.

“It’s okay,” Luca says, lifting a hand to my cheek and turning my gaze back to him. “I already cleared it with your dad he says you can have the afternoon off from Princess- ing.”

—

–

“Oh,” I say, a little surprised at this. But then, I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that Luca’s very thoughtful, isn’t he? And proactive. “Okay, then yes, I’ll come. Of course I will. I can’t wait.” 2

“And you’ll come to the fight too, right?” he says, giving me a little frown.

“Of course!” I say, laughing up at him, because why would he ever think that I wouldn’t?

“Good,” he murmurs, dipping his head and pressing a warm kiss to my mouth. “I’ll need my best girl there for moral support.”

“Nowhere else I’d be,” I murmur back, my lips still brushing against his, letting my hands sink into his hair, pleased at the idea that my presence would help him.

Luca smiles at me again, and then kisses me deeply, pulling me tight against him like he can’t let me go. We stay like that for a long while – long enough that I lose myself in him, that I forget where I am, and that there’s a room full of people behind me probably waiting for me to come back inside so they can go to bed.

But eventually, his arms loosen. “You make it very hard to say goodbye, Gorgeous,” Luca

sighs, shaking his head at me.

I just laugh, standing on my toes to press one final kiss to his mouth, and then I push him away. “Get out of here, then!” I say, playful. “You’re the one sticking around.”

Luca just laughs, pulling me close for one last peck before letting me go and stepping away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” I call as Luca walks backwards down the hall, unable or unwilling to take his eyes off me.

“I can’t wait,” he replies, dimples flashing. And then he turns, and jogs off towards the front of the palace, and I sigh as I push open the door behind me and head back into the living room.

My eyes of course fix immediately on Jackson, who doesn’t look sleepy at all.

“In in,” mom says, opening my bedroom door and flapping her hand towards me and Daphne, herding us into my bedroom. “Daphne, we’ll have another room made up for you tomorrow, we just didn’t know how many were coming tonight – and I thought you might want to be in with Ariel anyway, on your first night in a strange place.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Sinclair, this is perfect,” Daphne says, turning once she’s walked into the room to smile gratefully at my mother. “It will be nice to have some girl time, one–on–one.”

mates

“Oh, don’t be too grateful, Daphne,” I say, turning to glare playfully at my mom as I follow my friend into the room. “Half the reason she’s putting you in here is so that my don’t sneak into my room in the middle of the night.”

“My little girl is so clever,” my mom says, wrapping an arm around me and giving me a big kiss on the cheek as Daphne and I laugh. “You two go straight to bed! And call me Ella, Daphne, please!” Mom smiles and waves as she pulls the door shut behind her. “I love you! See you for breakfast!”

“Your mom is so nice,” Daphne says, flumping down onto the twin bed that’s made up for her next to my own big fluffy Princess bed. “I thought the queen would be…I don’t know, stuffier? More rigid and judgmental?”

I grin at Daphne, moving over to my dresser and pulling out a set of pajamas to change into. “Mom doesn’t have a stuffy or judgmental bone in her body,” I say with a smile. “She’s the best. Do you need some pajamas? I have like…a million sets. Mom’s a shopping addict – she just buys everything she thinks is cute and it appears in my wardrobe like magic. Dad told her to stop but… she just laughed at him.”

 

Chapter 178

“Nah,” Daphne says with a big yawn, reaching for her suitcase and lifting it up onto the bed to flick it open. “I brought my own.”

We get ready for bed pretty quickly, with Daphne’s face cracking with

yawn after yawn. We chat a little bit, winding down from our day as we brush our teeth, get changed, and climb into bed. I’m even a little jealous when I flick off the light, because Daphne’s eyes are already fluttering shut. I’m pleased because I think that this means that she enjoyed herself, but also…damn, I wish I was sleepier.

My mind is still buzzing with everything that happened today. Not only did my mates bizarrely come to an agreement to tolerate each other this morning, but then I had an identity swap and became a girl again, and left the Academy behind, and got to see my huge insane family that I love so much. I sigh, content but eager for tomorrow. It will be so exciting to meet Luca’s family and see where he came from, but I also want to spend some time with Jackson, make sure that he’s fitting in here okay.

Having two mates – it’s a great deal of work, isn’t it?

As I lean back against my pillows and close my eyes, I sigh, ready to settle in for the night. But even as I begin to do that, I feel a little nudge in my soul.

My eyes fly open because…well, what the hell was that?

My wolf, eager, jumps to her feet. It was Jacks! She says, her tongue lolling a little as she spins in a circle, looking for the source of the little bump. I go still, trying to figure it out, when it comes again. My wolf gives an eager yip, excited.

He…hello? I say in my mind, passing the words down the bond. Jackson and I haven’t figured out the mechanics of speaking mind–to–mind to each other the way that Luca and I have, but we’ve had much less time to practice, haven’t we?

There’s a pause, and then another nudge comes, accompanied – of all things – by the mental image of the outside of my own bedroom door.

I send a request for patience down the line, wordless and emotional, as I grin, getting excited. I look over at Daphne, but she’s curled up neatly in her little bed, breathing peacefully, so I decide to risk it. I do my best to be sneaky and silent as I scootch to the end of my bed, and swing my legs out, and then patter over to my bedroom door.

When I pull it delicately open, my face bursts into a grin when I see my mate standing there, leaning against my doorframe and looking impossibly sexy for someone who is just…

leaning against some wood.

“What are you doing here!?” I hiss, stepping out of my room and pulling the door shut softly shut behind me, a move that conveniently brings me so close to him that I can feel his body heat even though we’re not touching. My eyes flutter half shut as I’m overwhelmed by his rich, heavy scent.

“Are you tired?” Jacks murmurs, looking down at me and running a hand over my hair, tucking it back behind my ears. “Were you sleeping?”

Grinning, I shake my head no.

“Well,” he says, giving a little shrug. “I’m not sleepy yet either. So…let’s hang out.

–

I laugh a little, silently, and then press one finger to my lips as I grab his hand and pull him along with me down the short hall to the living room of our family suite, where we had the mom will clean it up in the party tonight. The room is dark and still messy from all the fun morning, I know and luckily silent. I stop at the doorway, peering around for a second, casting my wolf hearing out to the door on the far side of the room that leads to the Royal Suite where mom and dad sleep.

–

But luckily, there’s nothing. I grin up at Jacks and then pull him across the room to the hall door, where we slip out. But once I close it behind us, I know that speed is more important than stealth.

“Run!” I whisper, spinning and starting down the hall at a sprint.

Chapter 179

I move fast down the hall, Jackson at my heels, and I hope desperately that we’re lucky enough to evade the guards who prowl these halls at night. I mean, we haven’t had a problem with being attacked in our own Palace…ever? So the guards are few and far between. But still, we’ve got to move fast because if they see us, they’re definitely going to tell my mom that I’m out of bed.

And I really, really want nothing more right now than a few stolen hours with Jackson.

ADOR

My mate runs after me, shaming me a bit with his speed and his silence, and I can feel the joy pulsing through him as we go. He’s checking his steps, I know, to let me take the lead but then again, I’m the one who knows where to go. When I get to the end of the hall 1 fling open a door and wave him through, whispering “to the top! All the way

up!”

Jackson sends a gorgeous grin over his shoulder before he starts to run up the stairs, so sweet and handsome that it makes me stumble in my steps a bit. But I recover quickly, dashing up after my mate. When Jacks gets to the top of the fourth flight he pushes open the only door there, and steps out onto our rooftop garden.

“Whoa,” he says, going still so fast that I almost bang into him.

“Move!” I say, laughing, not bothering to be quiet anymore as I give him a playful shove out of the doorway and press the door shut behind us. Jackson obliges, stepping out into the garden and looking around.

“What is this place?” he whispers, a bit in awe, turning and taking in the four ancient, gnarled olive trees that stand in the four corners of our garden. Scattered fruit trees grow between them, as well as lots of pretty little potted roses and herbs, creating the effect of a very charming little orchard garden. Along the southern wall there’s an outdoor kitchen all set up and fully stocked, and next to that a little shed that contains everything we need to make a picnic.

“Mom was worried we weren’t getting enough sunshine when we were kids,” I say, moving to the shed and pulling out some blankets and pillows, handing them to my mate, who follows. “So, she built us this little garden. She said kids are like plants – they need sunshine to grow.”

Jackson murmurs something that sounds like assent as I move to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?” I ask, pulling open the little fridge and pulling out a bottle of white wine, pouring us each a glass. “There’s food, if you want it.” I nod towards the cabinets and the fridge, which I know will be packed with food.

“I’m not hungry,” Jackson says, watching me curiously and peering around. “You guys keep … food up here?”

“We keep food everywhere,” I say, grinning at him and nodding my head to the side, silently asking him to follow me to the center of the garden, where you can see the stars between the branches of the trees if you lay down on the ground. “Mom didn’t grow up with much, so she has kind of a scarcity mindset. She stocks snacks all around the Palace so that if anyone ever feels a single hunger pang, she can be on it. Plus, growing up, Rafe did eat pretty much constantly. So it was kind of necessary. And Markie’s doing the same.”

I trade Jackson the wine for the blankets and spread one out on the thick plushy grass before I scatter the pillows around. Then I sink down onto the blanket, patting the ground next to me, inviting Jackson to sit. He does, handing me one of the glasses. “Your mom didn’t grow up with much?” he asks, a little confused. And I guess that makes sense – mom wears her Queen status like she was born to it.

1

“Mom was an orphan,” I say, peering at Jacks, curious that he didn’t know this. I thought everyone in the country knew mom’s story. “She and Aunt Cora grew up together in the orphanage – it was only when they were all grown up that they found out that they were biological half–sisters. Daughters of the moon goddess.”

“Yesss,” Jackson says, narrowing his eyes at me a little in a playful way. “This bizarre little bit of trivia was mentioned earlier with a promise of an explanation later. Can I have that

now?”

I laugh, nodding and scootching close to Jackson so that I’m pressed to his side, and Jacks winds his arms around me as I give him the quick version of mom and dad’s history – how they thought mom was a human, how she was accidentally pregnant with dad’s baby due to some shenanigans at a sperm bank, how they fell in love and uncovered a world of secrets while she was pregnant with Rafe. Jacks listens carefully as I speak and I lean against him, curling into his side and looking up into his handsome face as I tell it. 1

“That’s really weird,” he says when I’m finished, stroking my cheek with his hand, and I laugh at the simplicity and the understatement of his chosen three words. “So, your magic comes like… immediately from the moon goddess? A gift from her?”

 

Chapter 180

“I think so,” I say, giving a little shrug. “That’s what she called it when mom and Cora talked to her, after all. A ‘gift.‘ She said all of her grandchildren would be likewise gifted. Do you know where yours comes from?”

Slowly he shakes his head. “No idea.”

“Well, maybe it’s also a gift,” I say, considering it as I stare up into his blue eyes, his dark head framed against the night sky. “After all, she clearly knows about you, if she picked you out as my mate.”

“That’s so weird,” he whispers, his eyes going a little distant, “to think that the Goddess… knows about me. I’ve always felt so…anonymous and inconsequential my whole life. I never in a million years would have thought the Goddess had an eye on me.”

“Of course she does,” I say, lifting a hand to idly stroke his chest. “You’re like…really good looking, Jacks. And she’s a woman after all.”

“Don’t be creepy,” he murmurs, his eyes focusing on me as he smirks. “That’s your grandmother.”

I burst out laughing, shaking my head at him. “I don’t like you thinking of yourself as inconsequential, Jacks,” I say with a sigh, nuzzling closer. “You’re everything.”

Jackson smiles at me, I think touched, and strokes my face with his thumb. “The city makes me feel more inconsequential, I think,” he says, lifting his head to peer around, though we can’t see the city around us from this part of the roof. “Though…being around these trees helps.” I nod, understanding. Mom was very careful in selecting the placement of our little roof garden

like our own little bit of nature. And I’m well it feels very secluded up here aware that Jacks feels more comfortable in natural spaces than surrounded by stone.

―

–

I tilt my head to the side, wondering if I’d subconsciously considered that when I decided to bring him up here tonight. There’s a whole Palace’s worth of rooms to hang out in, after all. And I picked the roof.

for “Do you hate it? The city?” I ask quietly, genuinely wanting to know. Because, I mean, better or for worse the city is my home, and if I’m going to be a part of this royal family at least part of my time will be spent here. If Jackson hates it…well, that will make things difficult, won’t it?

“I hated it at first,” he murmurs, thoughtful. “It’s better with you here.”

“Wait,” I say, sitting up a little and peering at him. “It was worse for like the fifteen minutes you waited for me to get off the train? What was so bad about that?”

“No, Ari,” he says, shaking his head and laughing a little. “It was worse for the three months when I lived here.”

“What!?” I squeak, starting back a little and then smacking him on the chest, making him laugh harder. “Jackson! You lived here!?”

“Well, yeah!” he says, still laughing, pleased that he surprised me and made me squeak He likes doing that, I know I can feel it down the bond. “Did you think I went straight from my weird cult up North to the Academy?”

–

“Well, yeah!” I say, fascinated now and dying to hear this story.

“Nah,” he says, smirking and shaking his head. “I would have been…a disaster, if I’d have done that, and the men who sent me to the Academy knew that. I would have been so shocked at the way people act and talk, so…out of the loop of the culture. They sent me to live in the city for three months first, so I could become acculturated, not stand out so

much.”

I hesitate, grimacing a little, putting my hands flat on my sweetheart’s chest. “I hate to break it to you, Jacks,” I say softly, “but you…still kind of stood out. As a complete and total weirdo.”

He laughs, grabbing me to him and pulling me tight against his chest, muttering all sorts of dark things about how dare I call him a weirdo and how he’s going to make me pay for that slander. But I just laugh, because his joking threats are nonsense to me, and I climb into his lap and let him wrap me up warm against him, so pleased and happy to be here in his arms.

“I know,” he says with a sigh against my hair, nodding and holding me tight. “I was a disaster at the Academy too, which is why you were my only friend, even after I tried to kill you a little bit. But if you think I was bad then, you should have seen me when I first arrived in the city.”

“Tell me,” I whisper, raising a hand to cup his cheek, loving the way the start of his stubble feels against my palm.

And, to my delight, Jackson begins to tell me more of his story.