Ch. 416..420: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 416-420

Chapter 0416

When mom tries to come over with more presents, I give her a little frown and shake my head, mouthing "give us a minute." When she sees my reason why I think it takes mom every bit of strength she's got to not come rushing to Jackson's side and fuss over him.

But, knowing that would be too much, she moves away to fuss over someone else.

After about a minute, Jackson raises his head and nods solidly. "Okay," he says, his voice steely like a soldier about to go on a mission. "Where do I start?"

"Right there at the corner," I say, pointing to where the paper is loose. "Just...rip away, McClintock. Really show it what you're made of."

Jacks nods seriously and then does as I say, ripping into his gifts. After a joyful couple of hours of mom going around delivering more and more gifts to every single member of her family, and then Cora doing the same, and then Grandpa, Jackson and I sit cozy by the fire absolutely surrounded by our loot.

It's mostly clothes, of course - mom can't resist - but Jackson also got a gym bag from Rafe, a very fancy set of water bottles from Jesse, a stack of romance novels from Juniper, a set of colored pencils from Mark (though the reason behind that one's a mystery to me). My gift is coming to him later, but the real coup is a stuffed tiger gifted from Seraphina.

"I think that one is regifted," I murmur, noting that my cousin gave it to him crumpled up in already-ripped paper.

"I treasure it all the more," Jackson murmurs, seating the soft stuffed toy by his side with its little face towards the room, like a real pet. And I wonder suddenly if...well, if Jackson's ever had a toy before. And my heart breaks, thinking that Seraphina was the only one who realized that he might want

one.

"Stop that," Jackson says when he hears my little squeak of adoring pity, turning towards me with a laugh. He smacks at my hands, clutched to my chest in agony.

"I cannnn't," I groan, pitching myself hard against his side. "You just break my heart sometimes, Jacks! I want to give you everything - let's go to the toy store, you can have whatever you want! You can have all of them!"

"I don't want all of them," he says, giving me a squeeze and then, adorably, reaching out and patting his little tiger on the head. "I have this one, and it's perfect."

I groan again at the unbearable sweetness of my gigantic, terrifying puppy mate, burying my face into his shoulder. He laughs harder and just hugs me closer, pressing a kiss to my hair and then my cheek. "Thank you," he murmurs. "Today is amazing."

I sniff a little, lifting my head with a sigh and relaxing against him. "What are you going to name it?" I ask, glancing down at the fierce little stuffed animal, complete with felt fangs.

"I have to name it?" Jackson asks, hesitating like it's a horrible burden he's not sure he wants.

I grin at him. "Of course. It has a face. It needs a name." I shrug like it's obvious.

He narrows his eyes for a moment, studying it. "Fine. Then I name it... Tiger."

I laugh, my head falling back on my neck. "You're terrible at this, McClintock," I say, delighted anyway, despite my words.

"No, I'm not," he murmurs, taking full advantage of my bared neck and pressing a quick kiss there. "Tiger is perfect. Descriptive, concise."

"Very Jackson logic," I sigh, raising my head and cupping his cheek in my palm. "But you're right. Tiger is perfect."

"If you two are done being horrible," Juniper says, and we both turn to see her standing over us, her arms crossed, her habitual glare in her eyes.

I grin, curling closer to my mate, who doesn't move an inch, just looks curiously up at Junie like he doesn't understand what on earth she's talking about.

"Then it is time to go play the awful traditional sports game," my sister sighs, gesturing towards the door where my family - still in their pajamas - is filtering out, heading for the roof.

"Oh, fun!" I shout, getting up to my feet.

"What's this?" Jackson asks, anxiety in his voice at every new turn of midwinter events. "What are we playing?"

"You're playing football," I say, grinning at him as I stoke the fire with a couple of extra logs so it won't go out while we're upstairs. "The girls are just drinking white wine."

Chapter 0417

"As is our right, as royal ladies," Juniper says, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. "Not yours," I say, laughing and flicking her nose when I stand up straight. "Underage!"

"Ariel!" Juniper groans, following me as I tug Jackson eagerly towards the door. "Come on! I thought we were finally cool! Just sneak me one glass!" "I'll think about it," I say casually over my shoulder, grinning at her. "If...you'll agree to be my servant. All. Day."

Juniper groans, but then considers her choices, and nods with a sigh.

The three of us hurry after our family, picking up the tail of the group as we all start up the stairs.

The day moves too quickly after that, ushered along by a great deal of laugher and joy. Jackson, even though he doesn't know the rules of football, is of course instantly good at it and a credit to his team, made up of him, Mark, Chase, and Roger. The game goes on for what feels like a very long time, especially considering the tiny space provided by the little patch of green on our roof and how many Alphas they're trying to squeeze into it, all bashing into each other.

But still, I don't mind. I just sigh and drink the glass of wine that my mom constantly refills. I secretly always pour half of my cup into Juniper's glass as well - and spend the time chatting with my family and just...watching my mate play.

God, but he's just so...good at it. Good at all of it - dodging, throwing, strategy, knowing precisely how hard he's able to tackle Caleb without hurting him. Something about physical activity just comes easy to my mate. Much easier than to me and I think most people.

I smile softly as my eyes follow him, my glass resting against my shoulder as I lean back against the countertop of the little outdoor kitchen. I get lost in it, if I'm being honest, not even paying attention to the conversation of the ladies amidst whom I stand.

"Ohhhhh," Cora coos, her voice loud and teasing enough to pull me out of it. I snap my head towards her, curious, and then blush when I see that they're all looking at me - that I got caught, a bit, in my reverie. "Someone's got it bad!"

"Oh, shut up," I reply, laughing and tossing out a hand to smack my aunt on my shoulder.

"No, I'm jealous," Cora sighs, moving closer to me and leaning against me as my mom stands on her other side, beaming. "I miss that newly in-love feeling. So much fun." Juniper turns towards us too, an unsurprising frown on her face as Rosie, Sera, and Bella play with one of Bella's new toys at our feet.

"So?" Mom asks, grinning over at me, eager. "Is that what it is? Are you in love, Ari?"

I blush terribly then, ducking my head and laughing in my embarrassment. Because, I mean, I instantly know that the answer is yes. But I haven't even said that to Jacks yet - not out loud - and shouldn't I?

And, honestly, I'm not sure that I feel comfortable confessing my feelings to one of my mates with my family without discussing the other - because I've fallen hard for Luca too.

But can someone even be in love - really in love - with two people at once? Even if they're you're mates?

God, but it's confusing.

Luckily, my little sister comes to my rescue.

"Well, I hope not," Junie says, frowning and turning towards the boys. "Love ruins everything."

"What!?" Mom and Cora shout together, appalled - and even I turn towards Junie with surprise.

"It does!" June says, laughing a little and shaking her head. "You fall in love, and then you get pregnant, and then you pop out a bunch of kids, and then your life is just that, and everything else..." she flicks her fingers in the air all at once, like an explosion. "Poof! Hopes and dreams! Gone!"

"Oh, Junie," mom sighs, smiling over at my little sister indulgently. "It's...not really like that."

"Well, it wasn't for you," June says, turning to mom with her eyebrows lifted. "Your hopes and dreams were to have kids and a family and the whole domestic bliss thing. That's what you wanted!"

"Well, what's yours, sugar?" Cora asks, reaching behind me to stroke a warm hand over Juniper's long black hair. "What is it that you want?"

Chapter 0418

"I don't know yet," Juniper murmurs, her eyes going distant as she stares off into space. "But...something big. I want to do all of it. I want...I want to do everything, feel everything. See...the whole world."

Cora lets her hand drift away from Juniper and both she and my mom look at my little sister with a great deal of soft love in their eyes. But they let Junie have her space, turning away with each other to open another bottle of wine.

When they're gone, I step closer to Junie, slipping an arm around her waist and pouring more of my wine in her cup. "Don't write off mates so fast, June," I murmur. She turns to me with a frown, combative. But as usual, it just makes me grin. "You know, the goddess wouldn't give you a mate that wasn't suited to your hopes and your dreams, your fate. If you want a big life, your mate will too."

Junie just leans her weight on me and sighs, shaking her head as she takes a sip of the wine and turning back to the boys. "These Alphas," she murmurs. "They just seem to...steamroll their mates into whatever life it is they want. Like, mom was never going to be a Queen until she met dad. And Cora's not a doctor anymore - not really. She's just a mom."

"Cora and mom do a lot of work healing people in the community, and they're both very happy with the work they do," I murmur, needing to point that out and trying to strike a balance between the truth and letting my sister make her point. "But...I mean, Jackson doesn't steamroll me. Not yet."

"He's known he's your mate for like, a week," Juniper points out, dry, glancing at me. "Give him a minute."

I burst out laughing, tightening my arm around her. "Well, if he does, then I'll have my little Junepiper come and beat him up."

Juniper smirks at the old nickname - what Mark used to call her when he stumbled over his words a lot as a kid. But she still sighs, and shakes her head, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. "And what about the other one?" she asks.

"Luca?" I ask, a little surprised.

Juniper nods, looking at me fully now.

I sigh, and shrug. "I'm figuring it out, Junie," I say softly. "Day by day. But, I will say that I wouldn't give either of them up if it meant the opportunity of a different life. Besides..." I frown at my sister for a second, looking her up and down. "Do you even...have a mate?"

She sighs like it is a deep and real tragedy, tilting her head back to look at the darkening sky. "Yeah. I made Cora tell me like, a year ago. I have one she saw it in my baptism prophecy."

“Oh, really?” I ask, bursting into a smile, so incredibly excited for my little sister but also trying to hold my enthusiasm back if it's something she's worried about. "Are you sure?"

Junie frowns at me. "Yes, I'm sure," she replies. "Cora told me, she wouldn't lie."

"Yeah," I say, a little wicked now as I wrinkle my nose at her. "She told you that you have a mate but...did she tell you if it was just one?"

Juniper's face suddenly drops in horror and she looks, frantic, between me and our aunt. "CORA!" She shouts, her voice lit with panic as she scurries over to where Cora is standing with my mom, both of them looking shocked at Juniper's outburst. "I need some clarifications! NOW!"

The football game ends right about the time, about half an hour later, Cora finishes assuring Juniper for the eighteenth time that she only has one mate. Or, at least, as far as Cora could see. Juniper groaned and dashed off to Roger, the only other person to see her prophecy, intent on a second opinion the moment the game broke up.

"We won," Jackson says, coming over and slinging an arm around my shoulders, looking quite smug about it.

"Of course you did," I say with pride and utter assurance as I run a hand over his sweaty hair and hand him my glass of wine so he can take a sip. "How could they lose with you on the team?"

"It's unfair," Rafe complains, stalking over to us with a frown, Jesse scowling at his side. "We didn't pick Jackson because he didn't know how to play - we didn't think he would be good -"

Chapter 0419

"Never bet against me, Sinclair," Jackson says with a sigh, flashing my brother a beautiful grin.

"Yeah well, next year," Rafe grumbles, narrowing his eyes. I laugh, pleased to see my brother have to deal with losing - it's not something that happens often to him. "You're on my team. Jesse, you're out."

Jesse squawks with injured pride, taking a step back and pressing a hand to his chest. "This is war, cousin," he says, quite seriously, before flashing his eyes to Jackson. "Jacks you're on my team next year - we're best friends, after all -"

A great deal of laughter goes around, the debate continuing as we all troop back downstairs and cobble together what we can for dinner. This is always my favorite part of Midwinter, if I'm being honest - the fact that every year mom freaks out about not having enough food prepared even though, of course, the chefs leave us more than enough and we've never gone hungry.

And so she has the boys continually going down to the kitchen for tray after tray of food, and cheese, and cookies, and cakes, and ice cream - so much that by the end of the evening we're all completely stuffed with little tiny portions of snacks and food, and there's a huge stack of plates in the corner, and everyone's lazy and full and ready to digest.

But of course, Roger lets no one rest. Instead, he and Jesse rouse everyone to laughter as the hours pass, organizing games and pouring drinks and keeping the mood light and fun. By the end, we're all a little drunk - or more than a little - and that's when the music comes out. Mom moans and begs Juniper to play the piano, and Juniper pretends to resist until mom's practically on her knees, and then Junie sighs, and stands, and flumps down on the seat of the piano hidden away in the corner and begins to play an incredibly complex concerto.

Jackson's eyes go wide with shock the moment he hears her start to play. He watches Juniper's hands fly over the keys and I grin, turning my face to watch him instead of Juniper.

“How does she...do that..." he whispers, fascinated, his words a little slurred. Jesse and Roger have been targeting Jackson in particular tonight with their refills, determined to get him to come out of his shell a bit.

"Junie's been a concert-level pianist since she was a kid," I whisper to him, letting my full pride in my sister's ability be heard in my voice. "But don't tell anyone - she'd rather die than let anyone outside this room know. She thinks that talent isn't very cool."

Jackson just glances at me, agape, before turning his eyes back to June.

"No, no!" Cora says, giving Juniper an angry little tap on her shoulder. "Don't play that - you know what we want!"

Juniper stops mid-chord and turns a wicked grin up at our aunt. "You mean, you want...this?" And she bursts immediately into the rock-and-roll riff of an oldies song we all know and love, about a too-talented man playing piano in a bar for a group of people with big dreams. Markie lets out a big whoop and bursts into the chorus. We all join in a second later.

Jackson stares around at everyone in a little bit of shock, but I wind my arm around his waist and pull him close, and he just laughs and gives into it, shaking his head and attempting to join in when he can. With the way his voice croaks as he tries to find the notes, I actually wonder if Jackson's ever tried singing before.

But no one says anything, or makes note of his slightly off-key mostly wordless contributions to the songs. Because he's family now, and he's here, and whatever he adds is the perfect addition to our little chorus.

And even though the future weighs hard on each of us, we take a moment to set our fears and our worries aside. And so we sing, and laugh, and drink - all of us, together, for the rest of the night, appreciating this perfect moment for precisely what it is.

Chapter 0420

 

Around midnight, the family starts to fade.

"Actually," Rafe murmurs at my side, looking around the room as mom and dad herd a sleepy Mark off to his bedroom, Juniper following close behind, and Roger and Cora bid their farewells to their oldest son, who is staying overnight here so that he can go to school with the rest of us in the morning. “This might.....be the perfect time..."

"What?" I ask, frowning up at my older brother, Jackson slumping slightly on my other side, I think already half asleep. I laugh a little as Jacks rests his weight against me, because if he thinks I'm going to be able to hold his weight then he is sincerely overestimating my strength.

"Hey, Jacks," Rafe says, giving Jackson a nudge on the shoulder as Jesse kisses his mom and gives his dad a big hug before the pair march out with their ducklings in tow. "Do you think I could... steal Ariel for a bit? Just for a few minutes?"

Jackson growls a little, low in his throat, his arm slipping around my waist as he lifts his head to glare at my brother.

I burst out laughing at this, giving him a smack on his chest. "Jackson!"

"My mate," Jackson murmurs, sleepy and half drunk. "You...can't borrow her. She's mine."

"My sister first," Rafe laughs, I think as tickled as I am to see the ever-controlled Jackson in this state. Rafe raises an eyebrow to me as Jesse comes to stand with us. "Do you think he can get to his rooms by himself, Ari?"

"Yes, he's very capable," I say, grinning up at Jackson, who nods at me with assurance.

"Ohhh, are we doing secret cousin stuff?" Jesse asks, grinning around at the three of us and figuring out what's happening lightning-fast, as he always does.

"Just for a minute," Rafe says as I stand on my tiptoes and whisper to Jackson that I'll meet him in his room shortly, and not to open the present that's waiting there. Jacks gives me a swift kiss on the cheek and murmurs his assurances that he won't, waving his goodnights over his shoulder as he heads out the door.

"What's going on?" I ask, turning to Rafe, just as eager as Jesse now. Because this - a secret meeting of the three of us on Midwinter? It's entirely unprecedented.

“Come on," Rafe says, grinning at both of us, I think a little abashed. "Lets...go to the roof."

"What?" Jesse gasps, delighted at the secrecy and the mystery. I squeak a little with joy, instantly agreeing, and then the three of us quickly head out of the now-quiet living room and up the stairs, back to the little roof garden, which is still kind of a mess from the day's activities.

Rafe shoots us a grin and heads for the little fridge in the tiny outdoor kitchen. "Don't get excited," he sighs. "I didn't plan anything big." He bends over, grabbing a bottle of champagne out of the back and beginning to unwrap the foil that covers the cork as he stands straight.

I watch in fascination as Jesse gets glasses, likewise baffled and pleased. "What's this all about, Rafe?" Jesse asks, placing three glasses on the counter before he leans against it.

Rafe doesn't answer, instead popping the cork with a satisfyingly loud sound and then beginning to pour three glasses. "Now don't freak out," Rafe says, smirking a little. "But I'm going to get...sentimental."

Immediately, I freak out.

"Rafe!" I gasp, clasping my hands beneath my chin, my eyes already welling with tears. "What - why are you getting sentimental!? What's happening!?"

"Oh my god, Ariel," Rafe laughs, grinning, tilting his head back like he can't believe it, or should have expected this, or both. Jesse laughs too and just wraps a warm arm around my shoulder as Rafe sighs, tilts his head back up and begins to hand us each a glass of champagne.

I give a little squeak of anxiety low in my throat, looking at my brother and my cousin with wide eyes as Rafe sighs and raises his glass. Jesse and I instantly raise ours, clinking them together, willing to play along even if we have no idea what's happening. That's always been our vibe, after all - the three of us, always in it together, no questions asked.

"Seriously, Rafe," Jesse says, a little smile on his lips as he sips his champagne. "You've always been the stoic one, out of the three of us. If you keep mixing up our roles we won't know what to do next."

"You just keep cracking jokes, Jess," Rafe says, smirking at our cousin and slipping his free hand into his pocket. "Keep us steady."