Ch. 476..480: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 476-480

Chapter 0476

The run is as grueling as I knew it would be, with Rafe, Jesse, and Jackson each taking turns to backtrack and run at my heels, forcing me to pick up speed or get trampled down by their gigantic feet.

By the end of it, I'm bending over with my hands on my knees, my head hanging, trying to catch my breath while the three of them chat casually about their plans for the day.

“Come on, little man," Rafe says, clapping me on the back and making me stumble a few steps forward. "You smell terrible. Let's get you showered before breakfast." He just grins when I straighten up and glare at him.

I scowl, following along with them, but glance anxiously up at Jackson when he drapes a casual arm around my shoulder. "Do I really smell?"

"It's a nice musk," he says, giving me a sad smile that breaks into a laughing grin as I tilt my head back and groan with embarrassment. Together, the four of us hurry back to the rooms to clean up before breakfast.

Breakfast passes quickly as we fall easily back into the rhythms of the school. Ben and I sit on either side of Luca, giving him some tips about how to pay attention in lessons when things get particularly boring - something he's apparently never tried before - but before I know it, we're slugging down the rest of our coffee as we stand, Ben and I still planning to head for the library for our free study period.

"Remember," Rafe says, stepping close to Ben and pointing a finger in his face. "You're on bodyguard duty now and when you walk him to class. If Ari even -"

"Oh, enough,” Ben says, rolling his eyes at Rafe and ducking under the finger as he heads for the door. "We've survived this long, I'm sure we can make it out of the library alive." I laugh and hurry to keep up with Ben, waving over my shoulder at my brother, my cousin, and my mates, who all wave back.

"Finally," Ben murmurs, tossing me a grin as we start for the elevators that will take up to the library on the top floor. "An Alpha-free moment."

"Oh, you're an Alpha too, Benny," I say with a happy sigh. "Plus, they're not so bad." We step into the elevator and begin to move swiftly upwards. "Because you're inured to the presence of two of them, and making out with the others," Ben says, dry, shooting me a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't be so jealous, Benny," I counter, flicking him lightly on the shoulder with my finger as the elevator doors pop open again. He laughs, shrugging as he admits it, and the two of us make our way into the library together.

My breath is stolen, again, by the sight of the place - the towering stacks of books that reach high towards the glass ceiling, the round velvet and leather chairs gathered together in little study groups. "This place is amazing," I murmur, shaking my head as I look around jealously at all the books I haven't yet read, following Ben to a set of green velvet chairs in the corner. "We should come here more often. We don't make enough use of the resources here."

"If you did study here you wouldn't get much work done,” Ben says, flopping into a chair settled neatly next to the fireplace as I take the one across from it. "Not with people coming over all the time to fan over Luca, to try to buddy up with Rafe and Jesse as royals."

"Well, that's we have Jackson to scare them away," I say cheerfully, folding my legs beneath me and opening one of my books in my lap. Ben laughs, grinning at me. "Don't think he doesn't have his own fans too."

"As he constantly reminds me," I murmur, rolling my eyes and thinking of all the girls sliding into Jackson's nonexistent social media inbox.

"What does that mean?" Ben asks, leaning forward towards me with his chin in his palm, eager for the details. I just wrinkle my nose at him and shake my head, letting him know that it's not important, the two of us get started, sorting through our assignments and deciding individually where to get started.

Unfortunately, we don't get far before a shadow falls across my book.

I frown, wondering if it's a particularly dark passing cloud, but then my mouth pops open when I look up and see.....

Well, see my mortal enemy - quite literally - standing there, glaring at me, his arms crossed, his guard standing stoic behind him. I just gape at Alan Wright looming above me, fear rushing through me, instantly flashing back to the memory of the last time he stood over me like this - when he shot a quarrel right into my stomach - when he -

"Do you fucking mind?" Ben snaps, intervening when he sees me gaping, fear locking my limbs as well as my tongue. "We're trying to study. You're blocking our light."

"Just wanted to see it for myself," Wright snaps, turning his glare on Ben now. "Because I didn't believe the Royals would let their two little pets off their leashes to roam free. Do the Duke and the Prince know that you're out alone? Without your guard dogs, where almost anything could happen?"

Chapter 0477

Ben laughs, low and derisive. "Are you serious, Wright? You're the one making leash jokes when you've got a literal guard keeping an eye on you all the time? Do you...are you unaware of what irony is?"

Wright scowls and opens his mouth to retort, but Ben interrupts.

"Also," he says to the guard, his voice harsh, leaning to look around Wright at the soldier. "Are you going to do anything about this? Ari Clark is the student that Wright tried to fucking kill. Shouldn't you...I don't know, drag this jackass away by his hair?"

Slowly, the guard turns to look at Ben. "I'm here to intercede if he makes a move against another cadet. Not to stop a bitchy little girl fight." Something about this comment snaps me back to myself - maybe because I'm not used to that casual kind of misogyny in my life, and I'm certainly not going to stand for it at my school. "Great, then consider it over," I say, falling into a cool and collected persona that I'm not sure I knew I could embody. I look away from Wright, back at my books. “So, please take your charge out of here so that those of use whose military careers aren't completely fucked already can get back to work."

Wright's face flushes a livid red. "If you think that -"

"I said," I snap, raising my voice loud as I whip my face up to glare at him. "That I'm trying to study, you pathetic ass."

"I should have finished the job," Wright growls, leaning forward as he holds my gaze with his vicious stare. "And if you think that I won't someday -"

"Alan!" another voice barks, and my eyebrows raise when I see Perry Gibson dart forward, grabbing Wright by the arm. "What the fuck are you even thinking? Get away from them -"

“I'm not done here,” Wright growls, attempting to shake Perry off.

But Perry digs his fingers in, surprising me by tugging Wright so hard that he almost loses his balance. "Yes," Perry growls. "You fucking are. Let's go."

Without another word, Perry hauls Wright away with him. The guard gives us an impassive glance but then follows his charge at a leisurely pace. "You good?" Ben asks, leaning forward to look at me over his book.

I look back at him, realizing that adrenaline is racing through me, making my hands shake a bit. But as I glance down at my hands I realize that it's not all fear - though that's there, too - but also anger, rage. God, that asshole - who the fuck does he think he is?

Quite suddenly, I hope that he does try to come for me again, just so that I have a chance to rip him to shreds myself.

Suddenly, I'm filled with the new determination to really throw myself into my lessons with Blaze so that I have the capacity to do that when the time

comes.

"Yeah," I say, breathing out a slow breath as I raise my head and meet Ben's eyes. "I'm all right. Just words, after all. Empty threats."

"Good," he says, solid, nodding to me.

We're quiet for a moment as we both gather ourselves after that unpleasant surprise. But then, Ben continues.

"God, he's such a coward," Ben murmurs, looking again in the direction that Wright and Perry walked, though we can't see them anymore. "No way he'd come over to say a damn thing to you when Rafe or Jackson was around. But the moment he finds you relatively alone, he's all tough."

I scowl a little as I realize the truth in his words. "What a worthless, bitter little man," I murmur, shaking my head.

"And Gibson,” Ben says, turning back to me with raised eyebrows. "I mean, did you know that he made it through?"

“I didn't,” I say, leaning forward with wide eyes. "I mean, honestly, Ben, I'm kind of shocked. He...did not seem tough. Way less tough than the guys I was in the sniping unit with, and neither of them made it through."

"Perry's ambassador," Ben murmurs, glancing again after them. "But I didn't think he did particularly well in the course. Or the Examination. I wonder what strings he pulled to be here..."

We both stare for a second, considering it.

But then Ben heaves a heavy sigh and snaps his book shut. "I'm not going to get anything done while I'm all worked up like this. Do you want to get some air?"

"Air?" I ask, frowning at him. "Ben, we're...on the top floor. What, do you want to go open one of these windows just so Wright can shove me out of it?"

Ben laughs but then gives me a clever little grin. "Come on, Clark," he says, standing up and holding out a hand to me. "I've got something I think you'll want to see."

Chapter 0478

I follow Ben as he strides confidently towards the large circular desk at the center of the room. The librarian - a younger man than I thought would have the job - glances up at us but then does a double take when he sees Ben. He groans a little, leaning against the reference desk.

"What is it this time?"

"I'd like the key to special collections, please,” Ben says, giving a rather devastating and playful smile as he holds out his hand. I watch in wonder, not used to this extra-charming side of him.

"Ben," the librarian sighs, shaking his head. "I know you're not doing research-

"I am too!" Ben says, laughing and dropping his hand to the desk as he grins at the librarian. I look back and forth between them, curious. "There are manuscripts up there regarding the fifteenth century negotiations which established Atalaxia as an independent nation -"

"A formation you don't even need to study until next term -" the librarian growls, calling his bluff.

“In this time of war," Ben says, likewise leaning forward, a pleased and clever smirk on his lips. “All knowledge of Atalaxia is useful.”

The librarian groans again but rolls his eyes and reaches beneath the desk, lifting up large brass key and dropping it into Ben's waiting hand. "One period. And if you leave coffee cups up there again, Ternicki, I swear to god I'm revoking your rights –“

"Thanks!" Ben says, snatching the key away and waving over his shoulder as he strides off.

"Don't fall in love with him," the librarian says as he turns to me, his voice dry. "His heart is elsewhere." My eyes go wide to be so advised, but the librarian turns away from me without another glance and I turn quickly to hurry after Ben, desperately curious about what the hell all of that was.

"Benny!" I whisper, grabbing at his sleeve as he starts up a spiraling brass staircase. "Where are we going!? That guy thinks we're going somewhere to make out! How do you know him?"

"We're going to Special Collections," Ben says, turning his head to smile down at me and ignoring my other questions. "Hurry up, we don't have a ton of time."

Together we wind our way up a staircase so sharply curved that it takes every bit of my attention to not slip and slide all the way back down to the bottom. At the top, Ben quickly slips the key into a red door that's set flat into the ceiling. He pushes up on it and continues to climb through, disappearing into the room above.

I eagerly follow, my jaw dropping open when I see the room that awaits us.

It's tiny - miniscule, really - but stunning. Each of the walls is glass, as is the pointed ceiling above us. As I climb into the room and Ben shuts and locks the door after me, I realize that we're in the greenhouse's glass cupola - an incredibly small space. Ranged all around it are carefully built book cases which have tinted glass on their fronts, instead of being open to the sunlight.

"What...what is this..." I breathe.

"It's where the Academy keeps its manuscripts," Ben says, flopping into a leather chair by a desk in the middle of the room and gesturing to its twin on the other side. "Florescent lights have more UV light than daylight, so they're kept up here where they're safe."

"Is that... true?" I ask, wrinkling my nose a bit at the amount of sunlight streaming into the room.

"Oh, who cares,” Ben says on a happy sigh. "It's cool up here."

"How did you find this?" I breathe, settling down into the chair and taking a moment to look through each of the windows that surrounds us - that looks out over the incredible countryside that surrounds the Academy. The view is...stunning.

"Ambassadors have more study time than anyone else," Ben says with a shrug. "I spend a lot of time here while the other boys are beating the crap out of each other and you're learning to shoot tin cans off of fence posts."

I grin at his glib description of our specializations and then turn my head to the side. “That librarian seems to know you well."

His smile spreads. "Yeah. We hook up sometimes."

"What!?" I laugh, delighted and aghast at once, because I honestly didn't consider that Ben had a social life outside of our friend group. And suddenly I'm a little disappointed in myself for believing that – because of course he does. Ben - he's very social and lovely. Of course others have caught onto that.

Chapter 0479

"Judge me not, Ariel, that librarian is cute. And not all of us are on a sex ban right now," he says, dry, laughing a little. "Don't hold the rest of us to your ridiculous standards. There's a lot of hooking up at this Academy - just not in your room."

I ignore his glib remark - because honestly, they're Luca and Jackson's standards, not mine - and look at him curiously. "So are the rest of the Cadets hooking up...with each other?"

"Some are,” Ben says, giving a little shrug. "The rest go down to Newtown to meet girls."

I just stare at him, a little agape. He stares back for a second before he bursts out laughing.

"You seriously haven't even heard of Newtown?" he asks, leaning forward to stare at me. "Ariel. You let those boys keep you too sheltered."

"Well, I didn't even know I was being sheltered!" I burst out, throwing my hands out to the side. "What the hell is Newtown!?"

"It's not really a town," Ben says, grinning, I think a little delighted that he gets to be the one to dispossess me of my naiveté. "More of like...a camp? I mean, the roads are made of dirt, the buildings were thrown up hastily ten or twenty years ago and were not made to last. But there are bars there - and girls. Some looking to meet Academy guys, some for hire, if you know what I mean. And then some Cadets' girlfriends and wives live there full time, though that's all kept very much on the down low. Cadets sneak out to go there at night, or go on weekends in second year, when we're allowed to leave the Castle."

My mouth falls open a bit because...well, because I've never even thought of sneaking out of the Castle.

"Have you gone?" I ask, turning sharp eyes on Ben.

"Nah," he says, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm kept entertained enough here."

"Can I go?"

He bursts out laughing again. "Why would you want to do that!?"

"Because," I say, eager, leaning forward towards him. "I want to see it! It's fascinating! I want to go to the bars and meet the women." "You sheltered girls," Ben says, teasing and shaking his head. "Always the most curious. It's not like, nice, Ariel. It can be dangerous." "Yeah well, I'm dangerous now too." I say, smug, leaning back in my chair and making Ben's grin deepen. "Or at least I'm going to be soon." "I have no doubts," he murmurs.

I sigh happily, relaxed in my chair, looking around the room and out the windows. "Thank you for bringing me here," I say quietly. "I like it a lot."

"I like it too," he says, his expression softening. "I come here a lot by myself to study - it's the quietest place in the castle. And..." he shrugs. "I've been here with the librarian a couple of times."

"Oh yeah?" I ask, raising my eyebrow at him. "Are things...serious with you two?"

"Nah,” Ben says immediately, shaking his head. "I always made it clear that my feelings were elsewhere. And while I initially meant Rafe..." he sighs and looks away out the window. "Everything is different now."

I follow Ben's gaze and realize that he's looking south and east.

Towards Atalaxia.

Towards his mate.

My heart sinks for him, because I don't know how he stands it. Even if things were confusing with my mates when I first found them, at least they were always around where I could see them - sleeping in the same room as me, in fact, for the first few weeks.

But the idea of recognizing your mate from across the room? And realizing they're your enemy? And then watching them leave the palace, and the country, for good?

God, I don't know how he handles any of it.

“Ben?" I ask, my voice soft. He turns his head back to me. "Will you tell me what happened?"

He sighs, his usually cheerful expression falling as he looks down into his lap.

And then, Ben begins.

Chapter 0480

"It happened just how you described, Ari," he murmurs, shaking his head as he recalls it. "Of all things, it seriously felt like someone threw a damn brick at my wolf."

I smile a little, remembering telling him that metaphor at the club after Luca's boxing victory but hating that it feels so accurate for my friend.

"It happened the first time at the boxing match. I knew he was there...instantly, as soon as he walked in."

"Did you know who it was? Like, you could pick them out of the crows?" I ask, a little breathless with interest but not wanting to push him too far.

“I knew.....the area...in the crowd. That something in me had suddenly turned to the Atalaxians. But I couldn't pinpoint it at first." Ben raises his hands to his temples and rubs them in soft, worried circles as he remembers. "But I wasn't sure what precisely it was - my wolf insisted, of course, that my mate was there, but I mean - what the hell does he know."

I smile a little as my wolf bristles inwardly, appalled that Ben would ever doubt his wolf. I smooth a hand over her fur and she turns to give my fingers a fond lick.

“So,” I say, hesitant. “What happened?"

"I felt...sick," he says, raising his head and meeting my eyes. "Did you feel like that? Like...nauseous?"

"I didn't feel nauseous," I say, turning my head to the side. "But my center of balance was off. I couldn't walk right - and it was just before we had to go have that first hand-to-hand fight." I grin at the memory fondly, even though I wasn't so happy at the time. "I think Rafe was worried I had a stroke because I couldn't walk in a straight line."

“God, no wonder you lost so spectacularly,” Ben says, laughing a little. “But it sounds about the same, though – both of our bodies responded almost as if we were seasick, like gravity and perception changed."

"Yeah," I say, smiling at him, glad to have someone who understands it now. I wonder, passively, if Jackson and Luca felt the same and make a mental note to ask them. "So, when did you figure out who it was?"

"After I came back to the fight. I have to admit that I didn't...watch Luca a lot."

I laugh a little, and he laughs with me.

"I spent my time instead," Ben continues, "scanning the Atalaxians, trying to catch a scent. It was too hard, though. There was one that I...wanted it to be, maybe? More than knew it was? And he, too, looked a little sick and stood perfectly rigid and still, even though he kept his eyes on the fight."

"And were you right?" I ask, anxious, wanting Ben to have the boy he wanted it to be with a desperation that almost surprises me. Ben, he's such a good friend to me - I want him to have everything in the world that he wants.

"Yeah,” Ben says, raising his eyes to mine and fighting hard against a rather brilliant smile. “I knew for sure at the smaller meeting when Atalaxia declared that they were going to destroy us all. I mean, it was a shit day for everyone else, but my wolf wouldn't settle down in my heart. We could smell him, in that small room, and we knew for sure that it was..." he laughs a little now and covers his face with his hand, embarrassed. “The cute one."

I laugh, delighted, and Ben goes along with me.

"Wait, but did you guys...acknowledge each other? Did you figure out who he was? Did you ever get a chance to talk to him!?"

"I didn't get to talk to him," Ben says, dropping his hand from his face and leaning forward towards me now, not holding back now. "But...he looked at me, once, and I know he felt it, Ari - felt what I was feeling. We didn't say anything - or express anything - but we...we knew what we are to each other. It was...amazing. I mean, terrifying, but...amazing."

"Wow," I breathe, likewise leaning forward, wanting to know more. "But which one was it?"

"I feel like you'll remember him, Ari - you noticed him," Ben says, nodding to me. "I saw you two lock eyes as well."