Ch. 526..530: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 526-530

Chapter 0526

Ben looks around with interest at Daphne's room as I plop onto the bed, swinging my legs and grinning, pleased to be alone with the two friends with whom I spend the least amount of time. Ben nods appreciatively. "Nice place you've got here, Daph," he says, putting his hands on his hips as he spies Daphne's small collection of red wine on her bureau. "Especially this contraband."

Daphne looks up from her search in a trunk for a moment, confused, but then laughs when she sees the direction of Ben's gaze. "Not contraband for me, I am not studying to be an elite warrior," she says happily, going back to her search and reaching deep into the trunk with the excitement when she spies what she wants. "Do you want a glass? Fine by me."

"Absolutely,” Ben says instantly, reaching for a bottle.

"Benny!" I burst out, scandalized.

"Oh, you're having one too, princess," Ben says with a happy sigh, grabbing Daphne's two wine glasses and a coffee mug, bringing them with him as he sits on the bed next to me. "We're taking a fifteen-minute Alpha break. Having some girl talk instead."

"Fun!" Daphne says, climbing onto the bed with us and putting the little bag of caramel chocolates in the center as Ben pours the wine.

I sigh dramatically as he hands me the mug. "Fine," I moan. "If you force me, then I must."

"You poor dear," Daphne murmurs, taking a full glass from Ben and smirking as she gives me a wink.

"To the loss of your stainless reputation, Ariel," Ben says, raising his own glass in toast as he sets the bottle aside.

I laugh, raising my mug and clinking it against Ben and Daphne's glasses with good cheer, reassuring myself that one glass of wine isn't a lot and that I wasn't going to get much more homework done tonight anyway.

"So," Ben says, his eyes lighting on Daphne with a little bit of glee as he leans back against her headboard. "How's your relationship with the crown prince going, Daphne?"

Daphne laughs low, slowly shaking her head at Ben. "No way, Ternicki,” she says, grinning. “I'm not telling you anything about my love life until you spill about what was going on between you and that Atalaxian boy at the war meeting in the palace."

My mouth drops and I spin my head her way. "You saw that!?"

"Thank you,” Daphne says, turning her grin on me. "For your tacit admission that something did happen between him and that guy."

I flush a little, jooking guiltily towards

Ben, who rolls his eyes at me. “Some paragon of secrecy you are, espionage," he mutters, kicking my foot with his own. He looks back at Daphne. "But as that is currently an issue of national security belongs to

She grins, not buying it.

Content

"- I must return to my original question about yourself and Rafe Sinclair."

Daphne bites her lip, looking down into her wine, and my face falls a bit because...well, what was that about? Ben notices it too, glancing at me.

"What's up, Daph?" he asks. When she doesn't answer, he leans forward a bit. "We won't...tell anyone. Zone of secrecy and all that.”

Daphne sighs and looks up at both of us. I turn my head a little as I look at her, Completely surprised because - god, because it looks like Daphne is upset.

But - does that mean that something's wrong?

"Come on, Daph," Ben says. "All

g aside...you look like you

could use a friend. And that's what we're here for." He points between himself and me.

"Yeah,” Daphne says on a sigh, taking a long sip of her wine. "I guess...I guess I could."

 

Chapter 0527

“What's going on, Daph?" I ask, frowning, genuinely concerned for her. After all, I want my friend to be happy, especially when we discuss her relationship with Rafe.

"To begin," Daphne says, straightening her shoulders and looking right at me. "Can we pretend, for a little bit, that we're not talking about your brother? That could get...weird."

"No problem," I say, nodding eagerly, understanding as I hold my mug of wine tight in my lap.

“Um,” she says, running a hand through her long auburn curls in what I think is an anxious habit. “Things just have been...progressing, lately. In a way that I'm not sure I'm comfortable with."

"What like, emotionally?" Ben asks, totally casual, taking another sip of his wine. "Or like... physically?"

"Mostly emotionally," Daphne answers on a sigh, "but...yeah. Also physically."

I go a little stiff, not sure if I'm ready to hear the details of this. Daphne glances at me and then laughs, shaking her head, raising her glass to her lips and taking another long sip. I take her point, doing the same, as Ben chuckles at us.

"Look," Daphne says on a long sigh, smiling at Ben and me. "It's not like he's pressuring me to do anything I want to do - we just haven't had sex, and things are progressing towards it. And I can tell that he's getting deeper and deeper into his feelings and I'm just...not sure I want to go there." She gives a little shrug, looking down at the floor, I'm not sure knowing precisely how she feels.

"He really likes you, Daphne," Ben says gently. "So... if you're afraid he's just using you or something, I don't think that's the case."

"No, I believe that," she says. "Even if...well, if I can't quite believe that Rafe Sinclair likes me."

"Oh, that's nonsense," I sigh, smacking her on the knee. "You're amazing!"

"Yeah, but he was like, my preteen crush, Ari," Daphne says on a laugh, turning her pretty blue eyes up to me. "It's the sort of thing where you see someone in a magazine, and think they're so cute, and fall asleep dreaming about what it would be like to meet them. It's not supposed to become your life but...for me it did." She gives a little shrug like she can't believe it.

I nod to her, understanding.

"So, what's going on?" Ben asks, doing an amazing job of just being chatty and interested even though I feel quite tense and eager to know her answer. "It sounds like you're holding back."

"I am," she says, nodding and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, looking down into her wine glass. "And part of it is...the mate thing. Like, I know he has a mate coming at some point," she says, looking up at me now, perhaps for confirmation.

I give a little shrug, not denying it, knowing she deserves the truth.

She nods and looks back down at her wine. "So, even if I did let myself go further with him - emotionally - I...know it would be dangerous. Because it has to end some day, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but that day could

be... decades from now," I says

quietly, tilting my head. "This is why mom is angry at dad for telling Rafe he has a mate - she didn't meet hers untit she was in her thirties, and she says her entire life would have been different if she was waiting every day for her mate to come strolling around the corner. She doesn't want Rafe to hold back on love and experiences just because a mate is coming along. I mean, Cora and Roger knew I was going to have two mates, and yet they still were going to let me marry that jackass I left at the altar."

Daphne and Ben suddenly grin at me, I think having forgotten all about that.

"Yeah, but it's different for Daphne," Ben says, tilting a glass towards her. "She's not the one who has the mate coming down the line - Rafe is. So, she'd hypothetically be the one left in the dust...right?" he asks, peering at her with interest. "Unless...your baptism indicated..."

"Didn't have a baptism," Daphne says, a little hasty, shaking her head. "Mom and dad...they couldn't afford the donation to the temple when I was born. Mom said diapers were more important." She grins a little, but I can tell she's more embarrassed than she lets on about it.

Chapter 0528

 

My heart sinks a bit for my friend, because I never want her to be embarrassed about something like that. How much money she grew up with - it's never mattered to me to any of us.

“Yeah, I get that," I say quietly, turning back to Ben's point and looking between them. “The fear that...you'd get left behind a bit whenever Rafe meets...her. Whoever she is. I can see how that puts a dampener on things.”

We're all quiet for a moment, especially as Ben and I notice that Daphne's still looking down at her wine glass and not at us. As the seconds tick by, I straighten again, realizing...

But Ben puts it into words first.

"That's not the whole story though, is it Daphne?"

She sighs, her voice getting a little creaky with tears. "No," she croaks out, shaking her head. "No, that's not all of it."

"Daph!" I exclaim, instantly scootching closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "What's wrong!? What is it!?"

"I just feel so guilty," she says, raising her head to look at me, her eyes rimmed with tears, giving a sad little sniff. "I just...I don't know."

I quickly reach beyond Daphne to put my wine on a little table and then wrap my arms fully around her, giving her the big hug I think she needs. She laughs a little, hugging me back and putting her head on my shoulder.

"You don't have to feel guilty, Daphne," I murmur, hugging her tight and rocking her back and forth a little bit. "Whatever your feeling - guilt shouldn't be part of it."

"But I do!" she cries out, laughing a little and - I think - feeling a bit absurd as she straightens up and wipes at her eyes. "I just...I feel so guilty. Here's this wonderful guy, who is so good looking, and so lovely to me, and who likes me! Like, really likes me!" she laughs, shaking her head. "And I just...I just don't feel the same way. I thought I did, when it first started? But...I think...I was just caught up in the excitement of it?"

She sighs, looking down at her hands, and I reach out for her, slipping my palm against hers and tightening my fingers.

“I just...don't feel the way I should about Rafe," she whispers, I think confessing it for the first time, both aloud and maybe even to herself. “I really, really want to. But I just...don't.”

Ben and I sit quietly for a moment, just supporting her. I glance over at him and see that his face reflects my own, a mix of love and pity for our friend, who we don't want to see going through this kind of agony.

-

"It's natural, Daph," Ben says quietly. "That's what.. dating is for. To figure out how you feel about people. And honestly, it's only supposed to work once - like really work, when you find the one person who's your match. So, we shouldn't be as shocked as we are when it turns out the person we're dating. isn't the one guy in the world we're supposed to be with."

Daphne laughs a little, wiping again at her cheeks, I think coming back to herself. "Yeah, well, I never thought Rafe was the one - I'm not good enough for that -"

"You hold your tongue on that," I scold, squeezing her hand, a little angry that Daphne would think that way about herself. "You're

et

magnificent, Daph," I say, bending downa little so that I can catch her eye, making her look at me and see the honestly in my expression. "Rafe or any man - would be lucky to have you. I hate that you think about yourself that way." Content belongs

“Well, that's very nice to hear," Daphne murmurs, a bit chuffed. “Even if it is harder to believe."

I squeeze her hand again, believing

it, trying to put myself in her shoes and see it from her perspective - a poor seamstress, working hard every day to send money home to her mom, dating a prince? God, it sounds like something out of a fairytale.

“So, what are you going to do?" Ben asks, again gentle.

Daphne gives a big shrug. “I have no idea. I haven't decided."

"I mean, Daphne,” Ben says, leaning forward a bit, and as he pauses she looks up at him. He screws his mouth to the side, soft but chagrined. "It... kind of sounds like you've decided."

 

Chapter 0529

"Ben!" I object, turning to glare at him, kind of not believing that he's pushing Daphne to face her feelings for Rafe so bluntly.

"I mean, it's true," Ben says, turning to me.

"Daphne is allowed to make her own decisions on her own time!"

"Agreed,” Ben says, nodding and looking between us. "Until...well, until it gets unfair to Rafe. I mean, he's...he's pretty gone on you, Daphne. And trying really, really hard to be your boyfriend. If you don't want that..."

He pauses, and shrugs.

Daphne takes a deep breath and lets it out, heavy. "I have to tell him."

"Daphne," I say, my heart breaking a little for her, shaking my head. "Don't let Ben push you into things if you're not ready -"

"No, he's right," she says, straightening her shoulders. "I'm...I'm just being a coward. And cruel. Rafe has been so good to me and...I have to be fair." "Okay,” Ben says, nodding.

We're all quiet again for a long moment as my mouth pops open - as I realize that...what started out as a chocolate run has ended up in a plan to dump by brother.

"Bottoms up, chickens," Daphne says, quickly raising her glass to her mouth and emptying it before she gets determinedly to her feet.

"Wait," I say, going still, clinging to her hand. "Is this...is this happening right now!?"

"I think it has to, Ari," Daphne says, squeezing my hand and looking down at me. "While I'm determined and courageous enough to do it? I think it has to. Now that I know in my heart that I don't feel the same way about him...dragging it out would just be cruel."

I stare at her for a second before looking down at my mug of wine in shock.

And then I, too, raise it to my lips and drain it, thinking that I'm going to need a bit of courage as well.

"You really don't have to do this right now," Ben says, laying a hand on his heart and looking a little guilty. "I really didn't mean to push you, Daph –“

"No, I think...I think I've been looking for a push," she says with a sigh, tugging at her shirt so that it lays flat and neat. "Um, can we go?" she asks, looking up at us. "Before I talk myself out of it?"

"Okay," I say, standing and putting

my mug back on the little table, reaching out and taking her hand. Ben drains his own glass and the

three of us head out of her roommet

locking the door behind us and heading back upstairs in a much different mood than when we left. I hold Daphne's hand the whole time and she grips mine in return, I think grateful for it.

When we get back to the room, my family and my mates turn eagerly towards us, calling their greetings.

"Hey, where's the chocolate?" Jesse asks, frowning as he peers at all of our empty hands.

“We ate it all downstairs,” Ben says, casual, heading into the room as I stand with Daphne at the door, her hand still tight in mine. As Ben sits on the couch I look at Rafe to find his eyes already on us, a frown on his lips, sensing that the mood has...shifted.

"Um, Rafe?" Daphne says, her voice shaking a little bit. She gestures hesitantly towards the door. "Do you think we could...have a chat?"

Luca grimaces quickly before looking back at his book and Jackson, I notice, is just studying. Completely oblivious.

“Sure, of course, Daphne," Rafe says, standing slowly and crossing the room to us. He shifts his eyes to our joined hands. "Are you...coming Ariel?"

I just shake

my head, a little scared to say anything, and give Daphne's hand one final squeeze before starting across the room. My heart aches, suddenly, my allegiances torn - because as much as I want to feel supportive of Daphne - she's about tébreak my brother's heart! And I can't do anything about it.

Feeling the sudden surge of my emotions, Jackson whips his head up and towards me, frowning fiercely.

"Give it a second," Luca murmurs,

reaching out and tapping Jacks on the arm. Jackson pauses, looking down at Luca's fingers as I move to the couch, sitting down next to Ben with a sigh. We all sit quietly as Daphne and Rafe move out of the room, going who knows where, and closing the door behind them.

After a long moment, Jesse breaks the long silence. "So...this isn't just about chocolate, is it?"

“All right!” Luca says, snapping his book shut and looking significantly at Jackson and Ben. “I think it's time for us non-Sinclairs to clear out."

“What's happening?" Jackson murmurs, looking around at all of us, baffled.

“Just...let's go, Jacks," Luca sighs, shaking his head. Ben gets up again, even though he just sat down, gathering this things as I curl into the pillows of the couch.

 

Chapter 0530

Jackson doesn't reply to Luca, sitting quietly on the floor, and Luca and Ben give him a strange look when they realize that he isn't leaving with them. But Ben just shrugs and nods to the door, silently suggesting that they not worry about it. Luca bends down, giving me a kiss on the cheek, and I return it with a surge of affection down our bond.

"See you at breakfast, gorgeous," Luca murmurs, brushing a hand over my cheek where he kissed me and heading for the door with a wave. "Fill me in then?"

"Oh, I think the situation will spell itself out," I say with a sigh, smiling at him as he goes. "But yes, of course. See you then!"

When Luca and Ben leave, Jackson just looks between Jesse and me. "Please, I don't understand," he says quietly.

Jesse doesn't reply, keeping his eyes focused on me, and I frown at him when I realize that...I don't think he's breathing.

“Are you okay, Jess?" I ask, turning my head to stare at him.

"Yup!" he says instantly, smacking his hand on his legs and standing up quickly, tossing his book onto his chair before turning immediately towards the bathroom and striding off for it. "Time to get ready for bed!"

I peer after him, confused, because...was that a blush on his cheeks? But...why?

"Ariel," Jacks says, sighing, pleading. And I turn to see him staring at me with utter confusion in his eyes, just...completely not getting it and hating that he's being left out of the loop.

I laugh a little, sadly, standing and going to him with my hands out. "Come on, puppy," I say, helping him to his feet. "Let's go to sleep - I'll tell you everything in the dreamstate."

"Don't see why you can't just tell me now," he grumbles even as he does as I say, "since everyone else already seems to know."

"Yeah, well,” I say, wrapping an arm around his waist and leading him over to the nook, “it'll take a while to explain and I suspect Rafe will want a little space when he's back. So, let's hurry up and get to sleep."

“If f you say so," he sighs, taking a moment to cup the back of my head and press a quick kiss to my lips before we each move, reaching for our pajamas and starting to get ready for bed.

I'm a little relieved, though, that we're not quite asleep twenty minutes later when Rafe comes back into the room.

Jackson and are tucked away in

the nook, curled up with each other, and Jesse is in his own bed as Rafe quietly opens the door, closing. softly behind him and then

vern

just standing there. Like he doesn't

know what to do next.

In his bed, Jesse sits up and looks over at Rafe, but he doesn't say anything.

I wait for another few moments, but then I sit up too. "Rafe?" I call, hardly above a whisper, though I know he hears me. "Are you...are you okay?" He takes a moment before he answers. "I'm..."

But his word is choked. So he takes a deep breath and clears his throat as a wave of sadness comes over to me to see my brother hanging his head like that.

Immediately I throw the covers off, swing my legs to climb out of bed, to run to him -

"Please, Ariel,” Rafe says, his voice rough as he puts out a hand towards me. “Thank you but...um. I think I just to be alone? As much as that is..... possible. When we live like this."

"Do you want us to go downstairs?" Jackson asks softly, likewise sitting up, terribly confused but clearly wanting to offer what he can.

"No," Rafe says immediately, and then he moves, quietly padding over to his bed. "Just...peace and quiet, please. I want to be...alone."

"We love you, man," Jesse says from his bed - the first words I've heard him say since he hurried off to the bathroom.

"I love you guys too,” Rafe says on a sigh, collapsing into his bed and just laying there; not bothering to get changed or to pull the blankets over himself. He doesn't even take off his

-

shoes – just...stares at the ceiling.

UMS

And I just stare at him for a long, long time until Jackson tightens his arm around me, pulling me close. "Come on," he whispers, achingly soft. "Let's go to sleep." And then he presses a kiss to my cheek and we cuddle up together, drifting off even as my heart is reaching for my brother, wanting to give him comfort even though I have absolutely no idea how.