Ch. 596..600: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 596-600

Chapter 0596

"Um," I say, looking up at him and tucking a strand of my hair back behind my ears. "I think so? I think I killed them...all..."

“He did,” Heggardy says, bitter, and Jackson snaps his head to him. “That was the end of my team. How the fuck did he do that?"

"Do what?" Jackson asks.

"How did he hide like that - we searched this entire plateau for him," Heggardy says, spreading out a hand to encompass the entire place. "We even got his binoculars and his map - but he was...nowhere. Did you like, hang off the side of the cliff or something, kid?"

I pause for a second, not knowing what to say, or even how explain where I really went.

But this means...

God, I didn't imagine it, did I?

Somehow...somehow I really did go somewhere else.

"Um," I say, a little awkward, edging closer to Jacks. "I'm just...small. I...can hide."

"I guess so," Heggardy says, heaving a sigh and heading for the path. "Come on, this was the end of my team - the Games are over, I guess. Unless Wright has anyone left."

"Really?" I ask, looking up at Jackson, confused and shocked as Heggardy and the other Cadet move down the narrow path.

"Yeah,” Jackson says, looking down at me with a little smile on his lips and an incredible rush of pride surging down the bond. “Luca was the only one left on Wright's team but he just surrendered." Jackson cocks his head at me with a frown. "How do you not know that?" he reaches up and taps at his earpiece.

I reach up for my own, taking it off and peering at it, seeing that the little green light is off. “Guess it...broke."

"Hey," Jackson says, curling a finger under my chin and tipping my face up towards him. “The Ari I know would be crowing his victory, flipping out. And you're all quiet."

My body sags and my lip trembles as I look up at my make, shaking my head, not knowing what to say and completely unable to contain my fear anymore.

Because - what happened to me? Where did I go?

"Ariel," Jackson whispers, grabbing me to him, wrapping me tight in his arms and looking around frantically for something wrong. "What happened?"

"I can't tell you here Jacks," I

whisper, wrapping my arms around

his waist, my whole body shaking now as loose my control, as I let

the fear I've been holding bacet

sweep through me, let Jacks protect me "But I was so, so scared."

"Of those guys?" he asks, petting a hand over my head. "Ari, it was a game and it wasn't Wright's team - you can relax - you were never in danger." But I just cling to him for a long time, not saying anything.

Because how do you explain to your mate that you somehow fell into a different world - a world of darkness, with three moons?

And that now that I'm back, now that I'm safe in his arms, I can take a minute to realize that the darkness that has been curling inside me for days... felt at home there.

What the fuck just happened to me?

I have no words for it. I just tuck my head against Jackson, holding him tight, focusing on my breathing.

“Come on, Clark,” he whispers to me after a long few minutes - actually, maybe longer than that. I don't know - I kind of... lost track of time. "Let's get you home, get some food into you."

"Not hungry," I murmur into his shirt, not wanting to move or face reality. Just wanting to stay here in his arms.

"Well, you're going to let me feed you," he murmurs, turning me with him towards the little trail that leads down the cliffside. "Because you're really freaking me out right now, and I don't know what else to do. Come on. Your mom called ahead and made sure the kitchens stocked up on strawberry ice cream."

"Really?" I whisper, looking up at him for the first time, a tremulous little smile crossing my lips.

"Yeah," he says, smiling down at me and softly stroking my cheek. "Let's go get you a bowl."

"Okay," I whisper. And slowly and carefully, Jackson leads me down the little path to the basecamp and the waiting helicopter. We climb inside, the final two, and soon after the chopper lifts us into the air and takes us home.

Back at the room, Jackson takes immediate charge.

Rafe obviously knew something was

et

up with me the whole ride home since my spirits were down and I spent the entire trip leaning hard against Jackson, not saying much when should be celebrating my victory. And when we get back to the room and not much has changed, Jesse likewise notices the second I come through the door.

"What - what's wrong with her?" he asks, dropping the streamers he was ready to throw in the air to celebrate our collective victory. "What happened?"

"She's fine," Jackson snaps, keeping an arm around me and leading me across the room.

"She's not fine," Rafe barks out behind us. "Something happened, Jess, and neither of those two assholes will tell me what -"

Chapter 0597

"Ice cream," Jackson growls, turning to glare at my brother and my cousin as soon as we get to the bathroom door. "Strawberry. Now. She's taking a shower, and then she's going to take whatever time she needs, and then she'll tell you if she wants to."

Rafe growls his discontent, but spins away towards the dumbwaiter to put in the order as Jesse just gapes at us.

But I don't say anything, letting Jackson take control and lead me into the bathroom where he immediately turns on the shower, hot and steamy just how I like it. Then, quite gently, he takes off my cap and tosses it aside, deftly unbraiding my hair so that it falls around my shoulders.

I keep my eyes on him, my face turned up to his, as he turns his attention next to my muddy clothes, quickly tugging the shirt up over my head and then kneeling down at my feet to untie and tug off my boots. He sets this all aside and then undoes my belt, unbuttoning my pants and slipping them down my legs, holding them steady at the floor so that I can step out of them.

A little smile starts on my lips as I look down at my perfect mate, being so incredibly sweet to me right now. Because none of this is sexual - he's just doing everything he knows to clean me up and make me feel better.

He stands, tugging off his own shirt and tossing it to the ground before flicking his eyes over my bra and boy-short underwear. "You want those on?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at me. "I don't want you to feel like -"

But I just shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest and tugging my bra off, tossing it aside onto the pile of dirty clothes.

Jackson gives me a small smile, holding my eyes with his, and then wraps a gentle arm around my waist, tugging me close for a second. He presses a simple kiss to my mouth, warm and pleased, and then gives me a little push towards the streaming water. “In," he orders.

I turn towards the shower, pushing my panties down and walking out of them as I enter the steamy flow of water, exhaling a long breath as I let it pound down around me.

Jackson joins me a moment later, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me closely against his chest. And we stay like that for longer than we probably should.

Something about it, though - about the pounding nothingness of the sound all around me, about the warm solidness of his body next to mine...brings me back to myself. Reminds me that I'm home, and I'm safe, and that even if I don't understand what happened...I did come back. And that no matter what it is...Jackson will help me figure it out.

I exhale a long breath and straighten up, lifting my chin. Jacks takes this for the signal that it is - that I'm ready to move on, and he reaches for the shampoo, handing it to me as he grabs the soap. We shower quickly then, sharing the materials, helping each other - though still, none of it is sexual, even if it is

incredibly intimate. Content belongs

I smirk, as I turn, and see that he's still wearing his own underwear, which is soaked through now. I raise my eyes to him, quirking a brow.

He laughs, giving me a little shove. "I didn't want you to think I was...taking advantage of you or something. That I was enjoying myself or something while you were so upset."

"You're very sweet," I say, leaning against him and smiling up into his face.

"Yeah, well," he sighs, pressing a kiss to my wet forehead. "You'd better get out of this water and dressed before I stop being so sweet and start taking advantage. There's only so much I can resist."

I laugh, stepping away from him and

quickly conditioning my hair before stepping out of the shower and starting to towel off. I grin as Jackson turns the water to a starkly cold setting and stands beneath it for a moment. When a knock comes at the door, I hurry over to it, peeking through and grinning when I see that l it's Jesse there with a big bowl of ice cream balanced over two uniforms in one hand, his other hand slapped across his eyes.

"I want to know no details," he murmurs, holding them out to me. "I am merely the delivery boy."

"Thank you!" I say, my voice more chipper than thought it would be, taking the supplies from him and swiftly kicking the door shut. When I turn back into the room, Jackson has a towel wrapped around his waist and is using another to dry his

hair, looking at me curiously.

I pout a little, sad that he got all covered up the moment I started feeling better. He smirks at me, nodding to the closed toilet. "Sit," he commands. "Eat. Talk."

I do as I'm told, perching on the closed toilet and lifting a big spoonful of ice cream to my mouth, savoring the sweetness of it on my tongue. And then I swallow and begin to tell my mate everything.

 

Chapter 0598

The telling takes a while, but luckily the bowl of ice cream is big. I finish summarizing what happened to Jackson - what it felt like to fall out of this world, how I landed flat on my back in the other, what it looked like - that desolate space with the three looming moons - and the woman I saw by the trees. How the darkness in me rejoiced to be there.

When there's a single bite of ice cream left, I sigh and hold out the bowl to Jackson, who takes it and scoops the last sweet spoonful into his mouth, clearly thinking over everything I said. I wait patiently, folded up in my towel, sitting primly on the closed toilet.

"And you think you...really went there?" he asks, looking at me seriously as he lets the bowl and the spoon hang at his side in his hand. "Not that you just went like...in your mind?"

"I think I was really there," I say, nodding to him. "Not only did it knock the wind out of me when I... landed, or whatever. But they searched the whole plateau for me - they had my binoculars and the map, and those were right next to me before I fell through. They would have found me had I physically been there."

"But you kept the gun?" he asks, his face scrunching as he puts the facts together.

I nod. "I was holding that tight. But the earpiece went with me, and it broke."

Jackson exhales, looking to the side, puzzling it out even as he holds a hand out towards me, wanting me close. I take it and he pulls me to my feet and closer to him, pressing me warm against his bare chest. I rest my cheek against him with a sigh, loving him quite desperately in this little moment. "What do you think it is?" I whisper.

"Do you want to know what I think now?" he asks. "Or...after the party, when we have more time to talk?"

"Now, please," I murmur, letting my eyes drift shut. "And then more talking, after the party."

"I think it's your gift, Ari," Jackson says, quite plainly. I look up at him, surprised. "The one the God of Darkness gave to you. Isn't that what he said that day, in the room?"

My eyes go wide then as I remember it. "Come and find me when you are of need," I whisper, shaking my head, wondering how I didn't put this all together.

"And you wanted to go somewhere else, right?" Jackson whispers. "Needed to get out of there - asked for a path. And the gift...worked. He pulled you into his world."

"His world?" I ask, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"The World of Darkness, territory of the God of Darkness?" Jackson waits for me to catch up with him. "Where there's...three moons and it's always night?"

My mouth falls open just a little bit. "What are you talking about?"

Jackson's face bursts into a grin. "Ari, your grandmother is the Goddess - how do you know so little about religion?"

"I know stuff!" I growl, giving his chest a smack. "About like...Goddess stuff!"

He laughs, tugging me tight again, still shaking his head at me.

"Well how do you know so much?" I growl.

e

"Because we've been studying Atalaxia," he says, smiling softly at me, "and they're pretty serious about worshipping him. And..." he hesitates for a second and then shrugs. "The Community was...not a super religious place, but what I learned about religion was definitely about the God of Darkness - not the Goddess."

"Plus one of his kids did give you a gift," I say, twisting my mouth as I look up at my mate. "What are you, some sort of dark acolyte?"

"Not as much as you, with your little pilgrimage to the Dark Territory," he says, giving me a smirk. But even though that comment would have sent me into a panic half an hour ago, I grin now, laughing up at him.

Jackson - he always makes it better. Makes me feel so safe.

"The good news, if I'm right about all of this," he murmurs, petting my cheek with the back of his hand, "is that it's your gift. You control it, I think. Can...go there and come back at will."

I shudder a little. "I never want to go there again.”

“Don't have to,” he says, smiling down at me. “Because you're in control."

I let out a long woosh of breath,

letting my head fall for a second, thinking it through and checking in on that whirt of darkness at the

center of me now. And as I remember what happened -

าวนา

to go somewhere else, wishishing

return - I realize that

to

Jackson's...right. At least about this part. That I'm not going to get sucked back there at random - that

I'd have to call for it.

“Thanks,” I whisper, resting my forehead against him. “That does help.”

et

"Good," he says, his arms loose around me, standing strong for my sake. We stay that way for awhile, just relaxing. "So, do you want to go to the party?" he asks, turning towards the door where we start to hear more voices.

 

Chapter 0599

"Do you?" I ask, grinning up at him, sort of surprised to see Jackson wanting to go to a social occasion.

"Oh, I'm happy to stay in here," he says, giving me a broad grin. "Alone with you. We can turn the water back on, or get in the tub..."

I grin up at him, shaking my head. "Don't tempt me, McClintock. Next time I get you naked in the shower and I'm not all traumatized from falling into an alternate realm ruled by darkness, I am going to take advantage of the situation."

"That's my girl," he growls, dipping his head to give me a fierce kiss that he breaks far too soon. "But come on - we should go out there," he says, giving me a smart smack on the ass that makes me yelp in surprise and then laugh. "The others are going to want to see that you're okay, and then they're going to want to celebrate you."

"Celebrate me?" I ask, standing a little straighter, liking this idea very much.

"Yeah, Ariel," Jackson says, smiling at me and looking...far too gorgeous as he does it, all damp and half-naked and kind. "I don't know the final tallies but.....I think you may have won today."

"But we all won," I say, turning my head to the side, not understanding.

"Our team won," he says, giving me a wink and reaching for his pile of clean clothes. "But there were individual tallies too. Don't you want to know how your performance stood up to everyone else?"

My competitive streak flares in me and I immediately dart for my clothes. "Hell yes I want to know!"

I get dressed faster than I ever have in my life, Jackson laughing warm beside me.

“Did I get it?” I gasp, stumbling out of the bathroom and still buttoning the top button of my shirt. “Did I win!?"

Jesse beams at me from his spot on the couch with Daphne at his side. Her own face breaks into a smile when she sees me, her hands anxiously clasped in her lap. "Results aren't in yet," Jesse says, the relief to see that I'm back to my usual self clear in the crinkle of his eyes. "They're -"

But Rafe storms over to us, blocking Jesse's sightline and taking me by the shoulders. "Are you fucking all right?"

"I'm fine!" I say, smiling up into his face. "I promise, I'm sorry -"

He groans, pulling me to him and wrapping me in a tight hug. "You had me so worried, Ariel," he murmurs, rocking me back and forth. "You were like, shell-shocked the whole ride home, I was scared you had a mental break –“

"I just needed a minute," I assure him, patting my brother on the back. "I'll explain it all later." I pull back a bit, sending a glance towards the door, not wanting to bring more attention to what happened than necessary.

Rafe sighs and nods to me before shifting his gaze to Jackson. "Seriously, she's good?"

Jackson opens his mouth to

confirm that I am but before he can I

give Rafe a hearty smack on the

chest. "I just told you I was," I growl. "You don't need to confirm it with a man to know it's right."

Then I pull away from him, wanting to go say hello to Daphne. Behind me, I hear Jackson murmur

g to Rafe about strawber

ice cream being the right medicine, but troll my eyes and ignore them, plopping down next to my friend and

giving her a big hug.

"Congratulations!" she says, hugging me back with a laugh. "I heard you played a big role in the victory today."

"Yes, I'm very murderous," I say with a happy sigh, letting her go and leaning across her to give Jesse a hug too. "Hello, I missed you! How was your day, did you kill anyone?"

"No one, isn't that a bummer?” he

says, shaking his head at me as frown and take my seat again. "By the time I got to Wright's camp it was a awasteland - everyone was gone."

"What?" I ask, completely baffled. "What on earth happened?"

Jesse gives a hearty shrug but then the door opens and three people stumble in, laughing, just as the dumbwaiter bell rings.

"Results are in!" Ben calls, waving a couple of sheets of paper over his head and laughing as he beams around the room at us, Luca and Tony coming in after.

"Let me see!" I gasp, jumping up and dashing for him. "Who came in tops!?"

"Let's just say it was a Games that favored the dark horses," Ben says, laughing and grinning as he hands me a sheet.

I grab it and gasp because the name at the top of the list -

It's not mine.

And it's certainly no one I expected.

"Tony!?" I breathe, whipping my head up to gape at him.

 

Chapter 0600

Tony smirks at me and sketches out a deep bow. "Your highness," he murmurs. "Your utter shock is both offensive and gratifying at once. I thank you for it."

I laugh and stumble towards him, throwing my arms around his neck and giving him a big hug. "That is amazing!" I gasp. "How did you do that!?" Tony wraps his arms tight around me for a moment and gives me a quick, laughing spin before putting me back on my feet.

"Oh, you know," Tony says with a casual shrug, ignoring the fact that Luca reaches for me when I'm back on the ground, wrapping a hand around my upper arm and giving me a jealous little tug towards him. I grin up at my mate, wrinkling my nose, liking him jealous but knowing that it's totally unnecessary. "Just...clever footwork," Tony continues, "Right place at the right time. That sort of stuff."

"Oh, whatever," Rafe says, coming over to us while Jesse and Daphne head to the dumbwaiter. Ben passes out copies of the ranking list and we all bend our heads over it. "Seriously, Tony, you killed... 1/3 of the people on the field! How the fuck did you manage that?"

"And Ariel basically got another third," Tony says, grinning at me and evading the question as he taps at my name on the list in my hand, showing me that it's listed just below his with a very gratifying gold medal printed next to it. "Well done, princess."

"Thank you," I say, glancing up at him and preening. But then I cock my head to the side. "But why did I get the gold medal and not you? And why does yours say..." I lean closer, peering at the tiny print, "DQ-FF?"

“Because," Luca says, slipping an arm around my shoulders and turning me away towards the living room, smirking at Tony as he does. "What he's not telling you is that he wantonly murdered our nearly our entire team the second we set foot on the ground."

A delicious gasp bursts through the room and Tony's face bursts into a wild, self-pleased grin as we all walk over to the living room area, where Jesse and Daphne are laying out a series of delicious-smelling trays.

"Oh my god," Jesse says, standing straight and beaming at Tony, clearly delighted, "that's why there was no one in Wright's camp when I got there!"

"I didn't kill everyone," Tony says, standing in front of the coffee table and running a bashful hand through his hair. "A couple escaped, and I let Luca survive."

"You killed me!" Ben says, laughing.

"Yeah, you were an accident," Tony says, turning towards him with a little grimace. "I got a little trigger happy. Sorry man." Ben gives him a smile and a little shrug, showing him that there's no harm done.

"No seriously, though," Luca says, looking Tony up and down with a slight air of reverence. "You guys should have seen it - it was...impressive. I've never seen someone rapid fire like that - half the team was dead before anyone even knew what was going on."

"But why?" I ask, mildly breathless,

sinking down onto the couch next to Daphne as Luca settles himself on the arm next to me and Jesse and Rafe move to their armchairs. Ben and Jackson sit on the floor on the other side of the coffee table and Tony follows suit. I toss him a throw pillow, wanting our newest guest to be comfortable.

“Because," Tony says, catching the pillow and sending me a wink before tucking it beneath him, “a certain Princess said she'd owe me a favor if I killed Wright. I figured I'd just take out the entire team, see if I could get two."

"You did it for me!?" I squeak, delighted, pressing my hands to my chest as I beam at my friend, a huge smile spreading across my face.

"Oh, come on," Tony says, giving me a smirk and leaning back on his hands, "men have done a lot more for a smile like that."

I burst out laughing as Luca growls, letting Tony know to back off the charm a little bit. Next to Tony Jackson just smirks, not caring if Tony pretends to hit on me. There's nothing there romantically between us and we all know it. Luca, I'm sure, will catch up in time.

"Wait, then who took you out in the end?" Jesse asks, shaking his head in a bit of awe.

"Suicide, baby!" Tony says, pointing

Pet

at himself and laughing. "I wasn't sticking around waiting for one of you three hunt me down - I came back to the Castle and spent the afternoon relaxing." He looks down at his arms and begins to roll up one

of his sleeves. "Laid out in the sun, worked on my tan." Content belongs

I nod appreciatively, noting that he does look like he got some sun. Luca narrows his eyes at me, not liking at all that I'm looking. I just laugh and smack him on the knee.

"Seriously," Rafe says, leaning forward towards Tony with a grin. “Beyond just being nice to Ariel - why'd you do it?”

"Because Wright's a dick!" Tony

says, smirking and snatching a big

et

chocolate chip cookie from the table. He focuses his eyes on me. "We all know what he did to you at the Examination, Ari- and trust me when I say that the vast majority of Cadets think he shouldn't have been allowed back. He deserves every bad thing that comes his way, big loser bully."