Ch. 626..630: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 626-630

Chapter 0626

 

Luca grabs my arm and hauls me back to his side the moment I gasp, my eyes going wide and shiny, and attempt to dash into Newtown's main - and only - square.

"Ari," he growls, shaking his head.

"But it's so cool," I whisper, fascinated, looking around at the little store and the three bars and the restaurant and all of the rooms above. Who lives here? What sort of stuff goes on in those rooms? And where do the -

“What are you talking about?" Luca says, laughing a little and drawing my attention suddenly back to him. “This place is a dump."

“It is not a dump - why are you being so mean!?"

"Ari," Luca says, a broad smile breaking out over his face as he gestures at the little town, "every single building here is made of plywood. It's a dump - it would all fall over in ten seconds, if it wasn't held up by Cadet lust and debauchery and the need to let of some Alpha steam."

“That's so cool,” I whisper, turning my head back to the square, fascinated. “I've never been anywhere like this."

"Most people would count themselves lucky to be able to say that," Luca says, dry.

But I just flap a hand and give him a scowl. Because Newtown might be...a little ramshackle, but it's fascinating - there are whole lives happening here that I know nothing about! And which I'm desperate to explore.

"Okay," Luca says, taking my other arm and turning me fully to him now so that I can't get distracted by the town. "Come on, Ari, you've got to be cooler than this. You're not the naïve princess fascinated by the seedy underbelly of Academy life anymore, right? Who are you?"

I sigh, realizing that he's right. "I'm Daphne."

"And what is the number-one rule?"

I sigh again. "To not be obvious or recognized."

"And the number-two rule?"

"That if you say we go, we go, no questions."

"Good," Luca says, nodding once. But then he raises an eyebrow at me. "And? What are we not going to have?"

I stomp a foot, pouting at him. "But it's no fair!"

"Ari," he says, narrowing his eyes, voice low with warning. "This is homework - an assignment."

"But homework is fun!" I protest, my whole heart in every word.

Luca works very, very hard against his smile and beats it. "What. Are we not. Going. To. Have?"

"Any fun," I answer, sighing, looking down at my feet, deeply depressed. Lying, too, because I'm having a great deal of fun even now. Still, know that Luca is right - that

net

have a tendency to get carried away

and that I really do need to be

careful.

"That's right," Luca says, straightening up and letting go of my arms. "And what are the two personalities we're trying out tonight?"

I hold up a finger as I list each that Faiza assigned for my first trip. "Daphne and then dumb as a rock."

"Good," Luca says, giving me a firm nod.

"And then, if we have time, wanton floozie."

"Ari!"

ne

"Come onnnn," I moan, grinning, leaning my body close to him even as Luca puts a hand in the center of my chest, holding me physically back as he scowls at me. "It would be the perfect place to try it! Ben says," I look around, eager, dropping my voice, “Ben says there are Ladies of the Evening here."

"Are you talking about prostitutes?" Luca says, leaning close to me, baffled. I nod eagerly and he bursts out laughing. “Why are you calling them Ladies of the Evening? Are you some kind of like, scandalized pre-industrial waif?"

"Yes," I say, nodding firmly. "That's the fourth identity we'll try tonight - I'll be good at that one. See!? Fun!"

Luca can't help but laugh as he shakes his head at me. "Look, I already have the feeling that your brother and your cousin are going to kick my ass for going along with. this. So if we could please just take it easy on night one?” My mate looks at me with pleading eyes and I sigh, straightening my shoulders and nodding.

“Okay, okay,” I say, looking again over at the bars. "Which one are we going to?"

"That one," Luca says, nodding towards a building called the Black Hawk.

"Why?"

“Because," Luca says, his voice dry. "There are the fewest Ladies of the Evening there. I'm not taking any chances of anyone...mistaking you."

"Me?" I gasp, pressing a hand to my heart. "People would mistake me?"

 

Chapter 0627

"You're a pretty girl, Ari," Luca says, leaning down and raising an eyebrow at me. "In a place like this? You could make some bank."

I gasp, delighted. “That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

He bursts out laughing and shakes his head at me, raising his chin at the Black Hawk. "Come on, Daphne," he says, putting deliberate emphasis on my assignment. "Let's get this done. And please," the seriousness in his voice makes me turn to him again, paying attention, "please remember that this is dangerous, okay? Take it seriously?"

"You got it, kid," I say, giving him a wink. Then I exhale and straighten my shoulders, throwing my curling red hair over my shoulder the way I've seen Daphne do a thousand times. "So, do you want to get a drink? Or what?"

Luca's face bursts into a grin as he sees me take on her personality - or at least, as close as I can get. "Sure, seamstress," he says, shaking his head at me a little. "You lead the way."

I turn with confidence, heading to the door, trying to take on Daphne's poised stride as best I can. As I walk, I try to think of all the things that make my friend who she is confident, cheerful, optimistic, fun, hard-working - and do my best to embody them, to forget all the things that make me me and become, instead, her.

I have no idea whether or not it works, but still I set myself to the task as we walk into the bar. The place is as shabby as I was promised it would be - with wooden walls and a sawdust floor, each of the tables slapped together out of what looks like spare wooden parts. The chairs, too, are simply stools.

But despite all of that, the place is packed - and at least a quarter of the patrons are wearing black Cadet uniforms. My eyes go wide as I recognize a few faces. God, it's not even a weekend - how often do they come here?

Luca clears his throat, frowning down at me and I school my face into less shocked lines.

"You get us a table," I say, falling back into my Daphne persona as I wave a casual hand towards my mate and for the bar. "I'll get us some drinks." Behind me I hear Luca sigh, but he doesn't counter me. "You got it. I'll be...just over here."

I raise my chin a bit, walking smoothly over to the bar, slipping the little bit of money that Daphne had laying around out of my pocket so that the bartender can see it. A little thrill runs through me - honestly, this is one of the first times I've been at a bar ordering a drink by myself. In my Princess life, if I do go out at all, I'm usually tucked away in a VIP area with waiters, or if not then a bodyguard will go order for me.

Even the thrill of doing this by myself runs through me with a delicious shudder.

The bartender - tall, a little grizzled, sees me and comes over when he finishes with his patron.

"What will it be?" he asks, bored.

I panic inwardly because I suddenly realize that I did not get this far in my thoughts. What - what would Daphne say?

"Two...beers. Please." I say, looking confidently up into his face even though inwardly I quail.

He just smirks at me. "Sure. What kind?"

"Um!" My voice hums high in a way that is much more Ariel than Daphne

and I take a deep breath,tap?"

down the bar. "Whatever's omtap?"

UMS

His smirk deepens as his eyes sweep over me. "We've got two on tap tonight."

My inner Daphne takes over as I lean

e forward with a sigh and grin at him. "Whatever is your favorite, then i say, giving him a cheerful nod. "You pick for me."

The bartender nods once and steps away to get the drinks and I straighten up, letting out a long breath, wondering how the hell this is going.

To my surprise, I get an answer to my silent question immediately.

"Daphne," a curious voice says to my

left as a hand softly brushes my

aley, it's good to see you

.ne

what are you doing here..."

But Tony's voice fades as I turn to him in surprise.

As his face drops in shock, mine bursts into a smile.

 

Chapter 0628

"Oh hey, Tony,” I say, beaming at him and resisting the urge to laugh my ass off at his slack jaw, his unblinking stare. "Nice to see you! Did you just come out for a drink or," I look around, but don't see anyone with him, "are you out on a date?"

"Whaaaat weird-ass alternate dimension did I fall into?" Tony whispers, running a hand through his hair just as his face bursts into a grin.

"The best kind,” I say, grinning at him in return, wrinkling my nose. I jump a little as the bartender places the two beers in front of me and names his price.

"You can put them on my tab," Tony says, raising his chin towards the bartender, who nods and walks away.

"Aw, thanks, Tony," I say, genuinely touched. "That was nice."

"Seriously, Ari," he says, stepping closer to me and looking around, anxious. "What the hell are you doing here? This isn't the sort of place where -" "Daphne, let's " Luca strides over, his voice tight and anxious, but his whole demeanor shifts when he realizes that it's Tony I'm standing next to and not some stranger. "Oh," he says, scowling a little and looking Tony up and down. "It's you."

"In the flesh," Tony says cheerfully, giving Luca a wide, slightly wicked grin. "Nice to see you, man." Luca doesn't return the sentiment.

"He thought I was Daphne," I whisper eagerly to my mate, pleased as hell. "Mission accomplished!"

"Is that's what's going on here?" Tony asks, leaning in towards us both a bit as I hand Luca one of the beers and take a sip of the other, grimacing as I taste it. Beer...is not my favorite. "You're like..." but then he stops and shakes his head. "No, I don't get it. Do I want to know?"

"It's homework," Luca says, putting a hand on my shoulder and attempting to turn me away. "Maybe the less you know the better."

"Cooler homework than I get!" Tony calls, laughing a bit and giving me a wave as I follow Luca away. I give Tony a pout over my shoulder and mouth "sorry," nodding to Luca, but my friend just gives me a wink and waves me off, letting me know that he's not bothered by our abrupt departure.

"I feel like our cover's already blown," Luca murmurs, anxious, looking around. "Maybe we should go."

"No way!" I say, laughing a bit and shaking my head. "It was a success! Didn't you hear me - he actually thought I was Daphne!"

Luca sighs and looks down at me, shaking his head as we arrive at the table he claimed.

"Okay, go away now," I say, sitting down on one of the stools and waving a hand at him. "What?" Luca hisses, sitting down on the other stool and looking at me like I'm crazy.

"I want to try the other identity now!"

I say, a bit between my teeth, not wanting it to look to others like we're arguing. I'm supposed to be really dumb! Which means you can't be hovering over me - people have to actually come over here so can see if Pcan convince them!"

"I want to stay close," Luca growls, "where I can protect you. The people here, Ari -"

"Daphne," I correct, raising an eyebrow.

He just rolls his eyes. “They're not like...nice."

“Luca, you can just go glower in the corner," I say, flashing my eyes at him, a little angry. "It's eight feet away - I'll be fine!"

He sighs hard but then stands up, glaring at me a bit but doing as I say and walking away. I settle my shoulders primly for a second, pleased that he

agreed, but then I remember that I'm not supposed to be prim - Ari is a bit prim - but whoever I am now...probably isn't.

I exhale a long breath, trying to

transform again and remembering what Faiza and I practiced, a little, in the classroom. As I sit quietly with my hands wrapped around my beer | adopt a bit of a vacant stare, an eager expression, pretending to be interested in the objects around me like I'm fascinated by them and don't understand how they work.

I slip disturbingly easy into this personality smiling a little as I take a sip of my beer, looking around and forcing myself to notice everything - the clock above the door, the variety of men all standing around, the few women – some of them very beautiful – likewise spread out in the room.

My results are nearly instant.

 

Chapter 0629

"All by yourself tonight?" A man says, coming over to my table and plopping himself down on a stool. I watch him with interest, noting his jeans and his button-down shirt, his reddish-blonde beard that's slightly stained at the corners of his mouth.

I do my best to avoid a grimace and instead go even more vacant and bubbly.

"What?" I ask, blinking at him.

He smiles at me, pleased. "Are you here by yourself tonight, pretty lady?"

"Oh!" I say, beaming, and then I laugh like it's the funniest thing I've ever heard - something else Faiza recommended when talking to men. "Yeah, I'm here all on my own. Just thought I'd, you know," I shrug. "Check it out."

"New to town," the man says, giving me a satisfied smirk and lifting his chin towards my beer. "What are you drinking?"

"Oh, I don't know," I say, looking down at my beer and giving another tinkly laugh. "I just...told the bartender to get me whatever. I don't know a lot about beer. Um, do you?" I look at him with a great deal of hope in my eyes, worrying that I'm overdoing it.

But the way the man leans forward, desperately pleased to share his beer knowledge, lets me know that he's bought my act hook, line, and sinker.

Over the next few minutes I use all of the tricks Faiza taught me - asking lots of questions, answering his own questions about me vaguely and always with a laugh, always turning the conversation back to him like I don't have an interesting thought in my head and everything he says is fascinating.

It only takes us about half a beer for him to make his move. "Listen," the guy says, leaning forward towards me. "You want another drink? Then maybe we can...get out of here?"

"Oh, um," I say, biting my lip and giving a delicate shrug. "I would but..." I gesture over my shoulder towards Luca. "I'm actually here with my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend?" the man asks, raising an eyebrow as his face falls. He looks where I'm gesturing and, to my surprise, his lips turn up in a smirk. "If that's your boyfriend, missy...I'm not sure he's treating you too good."

I turn around, my shock only increasing when I see that Luca is indeed standing in the corner where he indicated he'd go. But he's there with three women, each of whom are kind of fawning all over him. And, to my shock, he's got his eyes looked on one of them and isn't even looking at me.

“Come on, baby," the man says, reaching out and wrapping a hand around my wrist. "I'll treat you real nice, unlike that playboy -"

"Sorry, babe," Tony says, slipping

onto the stool next to me and putting an arm around my

shoulders. "I got busy catching up with some friends." He leans in to

kiss me on the cheek and the

turns

his eyes to the man with his hand around my wrist, his expression going shockingly cold. "And who is your new...pal."

Tony flashes his teeth and glances down at the man's hand, his meaning perfectly clear.

"Fucking Academy brats," the man says, immediately removing his hand and standing up as he rolls his eyes. "Whatever." He walks away, disappearing into the crowd.

"Thanks, Tony," I say, turning to him with a little grimace before glancing again at Luca, who still hasn't noticed that something's changed. "My backup kind of failed me on that one."

"Any time," Tony says, dropping his arm from my shoulder and glancing over at Luca himself. "You...good now?"

"Yeah, I think I can handle it from here," I say, pushing myself up from my chair and turning towards my mate and his three fans.

"Cool," Tony says, smirking at me. "See you in class tomorrow." He gives me a wave as he walks away and I take a moment to look after him, grateful again that our friendship is growing. Tony - he's really got my back, doesn't he?

Unlike some people.

I turn towards Luca again, striding off in his direction, suddenly not liking Newtown as much as I did before now that I see how muchĕ attention he's clearly garnered in so short@time. Jealousy rises in me as one of the girls – pretty, blonde – - - places a hand on his chest and leans forward towards him, smiling up into Luca's pretty brown eyes.

My eyes narrow when I see him flash his dimples at her, see her melt at the sight of them.

 

Chapter 0630

I tuck all of my jealousy away as I walk over to Luca's corner, instead doing my best to transform into another identity - not Ariel, who is angry at her mate and ready to set Luca aflame for letting another girl touch him. Someone else - someone cooler, more confident and assured. Closer to Daphne but...not quite her.

Because Daphne would probably want to kick Luca's ass too.

"Hey," I say, tucking my hands behind my back and standing casually outside of Luca's little group of fangirls. All four turn their eyes to me and Luca grimaces.

Honestly, I think he kind of...forgot where we were for a minute.

"Buy a girl a drink?" I ask, batting my eyes.

The two other girls move away slightly, feeling my predatory confidence, my claim on him. But the blonde flashes her teeth at me, leaning into Luca, bold enough to press her body close to his. Luca goes still, grimacing further, seeing how this looks - and honestly, deep down, I know that he never intended to let it go this far. That he was just flirting, messing around, killing time whie I worked - probably remembering his lifestyle before he came to the Academy and met me. I don't fault him for that.

But I find that my wolf and I very much do not like the sight of another girl pressed all up on him in this ramshackle little bar. I bare my teeth at her in response, a visceral reaction.

"Whoa, whoa," Luca says, seeing that this is not going well. He places his hands on the girl's shoulders, attempting to gently let her know she needs to back off, but she just leans further against him.

"Do you even know who this is?" the girl asks, sneering at me.

I blink innocently at her and then shift my eyes to Luca, anger welling in me. "Why, should I? Is he like, famous or something?"

Luca sighs a bit, meeting my gaze, apology already in his eyes. But I ignore it.

"He's Luca Grant," the girl says, laughing at me derisively. "And he's not going to mess with trash like you."

"Trash like me?" I ask, turning my eyes back to the girl and beaming. I don't know what makes me do it, makes me smile at her, showing all my teeth as my wolf climbs slowly to her feet, her hackles rising, eager for the fight. But the way the girl's eyes widen lets me know that she gets my message, even if I'm not spitting and snarling. "Are you...sure you want to go there?"

"Becca," Luca murmurs, starting to push her away.

"Becca," I coo, stepping closer, looking at this girl like she's adorable. "It was really nice meeting you, but I think it's time for you to go."

"Oh, fuck off," Becca says with a snarl, looking me up and down like I'm nothing. "I found him first."

"Oh no, Becca," I say, my voice too cool, too quiet, taking another step closer. "No, you didn't."

"All right, I'm going to...end this now," Luca says, pushing Becca away from him and giving her a sad little grimace. "It was really nice to meet you, but

"Oh whatever, Becca hisses, pissed,

glaring at him. "I'll just go to the tabloids and tell them you were here. I'll get as much money selling the story that the Champ is cheating on his mate the Princess as I would have from any business tonight."

My eyebrows go up at her gall.

“Go ahead,” Luca says, leaning close to her face and raising an eyebrow at her. “And as soon as you do, my manager will show up on your doorstep with a libel case. Because I never did anything like that."

Luca gives the girl his prettiest playboy smile, and then a wink, and then turns to me, giving all three girls a good sight of his back as he walks over and offers me his arm. “Done here, Daph?"

“Yup,” I say, smiling up into his face and slipping my hand demurely around Luca's elbow. And then, together, Luca and I walk very, very casually from the bar.

We walk in silence for a bit, but when we get far enough away that the lights of town start to fade and we lose ourselves in the hills between Newtown and the Castle, I drop my hand from Luca's arm and take a step away from him.

"Ari," Luca sighs, "it was nothing -"

"Was it?" I ask, looking up into his face, curious.

"They were working girls," he says, holding a hand out to me, pleading. "I was just...talking to them. They were fans -"

"Luca, I don't care if you were flirting

a little with some girls that approached you at the bar," I say, cutting him off when I realize that be still has no idea what happened. "But I was Counting on you tonight did you know that Tony stepped in? Pretended to be my boyfriend, got that guy to back off when he was holding onto my wrist?"