Ch. 691..695: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 691-695

Chapter 0691

 

"They're positioning all of our year of Academy Cadets here," Rafe says, tapping the map again with his finger. We all lean forward, studying it - even Jackson, who I know was in on the meeting with Rafe and saw this all before. "With our little group in the center of it."

"Wolf pack," I murmur, nodding.

“What?” Tony asks, looking over his shoulder at me.

I blush slightly. "Something Neumann called it," I respond, refocusing on Rafe as he continues explaining, either not having heard me or ignoring me.

“I don't hate it,” Tony replies, giving a shrug and turning back to the map.

"The whole point of calling us up is sheer numbers," Rafe explains, drawing his finger now across the entire line of Moon Valley troops. "Roger wants a big assault on this cliff-side entrenchment, says we've got to get the Atalaxians out of there and on flat ground, either in front or below it."

"He's not wrong," Jackson adds, giving a steady nod.

Rafe nods too, continuing on. "So it's a big assault. The problem is, every time they've considered or tried it before the Atalaxians see it coming and route the forces from behind. So we've basically got to surround them in a semicircle so they have no way to get around us. Then we tighten in, like a fist."

He uses his own hand to demonstrate. I gulp.

"Academy Cadets are in the least important strategic position," Jackson says, leaning around me to tap at our location on the map again. "We're unlikely to be the focus of the attack - and the hope is that the Atalaxians don't notice all the fresh faces and terror in our eyes, so they won't know we're vulnerable there. We'll just be troops like all the others."

"Oh," I say, sitting back a little, feeling better.

"Yes, the hope is that we'll just be bodies," Rafe says, quite serious, looking around at all of us, his eyes pausing on Daphne as she keeps her eyes on the ironing, her mouth firmly set against whatever it is that's pounding in her heart. “That we won't see any big battle and we'll be back at school in a few days."

"Okay," I say with a sigh, sitting back against the cushions. "That...that sounds like it could be worse."

The group all nods with me, even as the dumbwaiter bell rings, signaling the arrival of dinner.

But even as I say it...something in me makes my wolf turn with anxiety. Because it can't be that easy, right?

As the hour grows late and the boys start to pack up their bags, heading back to their room for the night, è Jesse keeps an eye on his girl. How could he not, after all? Daphne she's gorgeous, and lovely, and

concerned, and his. Content belongs

"I'm going to get some fresh air," Jesse says with a sigh, pushing up from his arm chair and deliberately not looking at her.

"Fresh air, Jess?" Rafe says, looking

up at his cousin like he kind of doubts it."once heard you say you wish you had a personal air conditioner and filter that you Could carry around in front of you, blasting you in the face at all times.

"Yeah, well, I get allergies," Jesse murmurs, heading for the door. "Besides, the night before he goes to war a man wants to...smell a tree. I don't know. Don't think about it too hard."

He slips outside the door but doesn't go far.

Doesn't need to, not really - Daphne is out the door not two minutes later.

And when Jesse drops his shadows from where he stands in the corner by the stairs, leaning against the wall, her face bursts into a smile that only lasts a second before her eyes fill with tears.

"Daphne, don't," Jesse begs, holding out his arms to her. Daphne rushes to him, pressing herself against his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin. Jesse cradles her close, letting one hand get lost in her hair, his fingers tangling in the long red strands, the other stroking comfortingly up and down her back. He pulls his shadows up so that they have a little secrecy in case anyone else comes out of the room.

"How can I not!?" Daphne groans, sniffing hard against her tears as she attempts to obey. "Jess, you're going to stupid battle tomorrow -" "Where I will win great glory and victory in your honor!"

She lifts her head to glare at him. "Don't use that 'honor and victory, baby, it's all for you' speech on me, Sinclair. I want you here, safe." "You sure?" he asks, twisting his lips with doubt. "I could bring you war spoils. I could bring you gold, and diamonds. An Atalaxian general's head." Daphne's expression is one of great disgust, which makes Jesse burst out laughing as he holds her tighter, loving her a great deal in this moment.

Chapter 0692

 

"Just bring yourself home," she murmurs, resting her forehead on his chest. He lifts his chin, resting it on her head, holding her close and silently memorizing the way she feels against him.

"Don't doubt it for a second, Daph," he murmurs, earnest in a way that he's usually not. "You'd be too pretty a widow for me to go and die now. You'd look great in black – and then someone would snap you up and you'd forget all about me – “

"A widow," she scoffs, sufficiently distracted from her worries and snapping her head up to glare at him. "What are you talking about? We're not -"

"Oh, didn't you notice?" he asks, sliding his hand from her back and slipping it against her left palm, lifting her fingers high. "I married you, last night. I mean, you were asleep, but I've been very busy and I was in a rush -"

Daphne glances down at her hand and then bursts out laughing when she sees the little shadowy ring sitting there, in human fashion, on the ring finger of her left hand. "Oh you idiot," she growls, shoving him even as she leans herself more fully against him. "If you're going to marry me then I'm at least going to be conscious when you do it."

Jesse grins at her, dropping her hand and stroking his knuckles down her cheek. "Is that a yes?"

“Jesse don't joke,” Daphne murmurs, dropping her eyes slightly so that her dark lashes drift over her cheeks.

"I'm not joking," he sighs. "Not really. But I take your meaning, Daph, and I promise you that this whole battle tomorrow is just going to be a little exercise. That I'll come back safe and sound and we'll talk about doing that for real. You know. When you're awake."

"Are you serious?" she asks, raising her shocked eyes to his. "You want to...with me?"

"I'm dead serious," he says quietly, stroking her face again. "But I understand if you're not there yet. Still - you should know that I am." Daphne studies him for a long moment, her love for this strange and beautiful boy shining in her eyes, and then she stands on her toes and kisses him. Jesse wraps her up, warm and neat, and kisses her until they both forget all about it - forget that the war and tomorrow even exist.

Or, at least they come close. The door to the room opens and they both go quite still, hiding in the corner with Jesse's shadow cover as Tony walks past and jogs down the stairs towards his own room, his face quite serious and lost in thought.

"These are very useful," Daphne murmurs, reaching up and stroking a hand over the shadows that arch over them - a move that makes Jesse shiver. She notices and turns to him with a grin. "You can feel that?"

"They're part of me," he says with a shrug.

"So then this..." she looks down at the little shadow ring on her finger.

"Little piece of my soul for you to keep," he says with a sigh. "A placeholder while I'm gone. I'll get you a real one later."

She grins up at him but then hesitates. "People are going to notice if I start wearing a ring, Jess."

He sighs, and neither of them mention which particular person they don't want to notice - at least, not yet. Not while things are so fresh, and so new, and so good.

"Something else, then?" Jesse asks,

taking her hand again and turning it over in his palm, making the shadow around her finger dissipate in the air and then reform into a tiny kitten, just farge enough to sit in heppalm.

"Mittens!?" she gasps, laughing and looking between Jesse and the tiny cat. "I can keep Mittens while you're gone?"

"He's a good substitute, isn't he?"

Jesse asks, reaching out and stroking the cat's head for himself, "Though don't get freaked out if he disappears. I have no idea how long he can stick around when I'm gone. Orbow far away I can go from him."

“Okay,” Daphne says, still laughing a little and holding the kitten close to her chest.

Jesse slips a hand soft around the

bet

back of her neck and gently tugs her closer for another kiss, which she willingly gives, melting against him a little bit until the little kitten mews in protest at being squished. They both look down at him and laugh, surprised.

“I'll be keeping an eye on the horizon," Daphne murmurs, looking up into his face. “Looking for you coming back."

"I'll be there soon," Jesse promises. One last kiss seals the deal.

Chapter 0693

When my eyes open in the morning, still far too early, I stifle a groan because I'm not sure I got a lick of sleep. I just dozed in and out of consciousness, anxiously waking every fifteen minutes or half an hour, scared I'm going to miss something.

I sigh, heartily disappointed, because I never even sunk deep enough into sleep to go into the dream state with Jackson, as planned.

My wolf huffs disappointedly. We could have gotten the mark, she mutters, angry.

It would have just been a dream mark anyway, I reply on a sigh, lifting up a finger and seeing my little mini mark glinting in what light is available in the nook with the curtain closed. My wolf steps forward, inspecting the little nipped cut on my finger, which seems to shine almost silver.

Yes, that's a good start, she murmurs, approving.

I smile a bit, pleased that she's pleased, but I let my hand drop to Jackson's chest so that my chin is resting on him and I can peer up into his perfect face. I study him in peace, glad for his stoic nature that allows him to sleep through almost anything as well as the boundless energy that I know will wake him up fresh.

Jacks. He really is something special, isn't he?

Yes, very good, my wolf says, prowling forward across the bond and inspecting Jackson's gigantic wolf as he, too, sleeps. She trots around him like a pirate queen quite pleased with the hard-won booty that she's captured, preening. And soon, she says, stopping at the wolf's face and lowering her snout to give him a good sniff, we will have a mark and then we will be complete.

Two marks, I remind her, sighing and turning my head to look at the curtain that falls over the nook's entrance.

But my wolf goes a little still before turning around and walking back across the bond, closing it as she goes.

What? I ask, frowning at her inwardly. What's wrong with that idea?

She shakes her fur like she's trying to get water out of her fur, uncomfortable. Luca's wolf...she murmurs, turning in an anxious circle. He's not ready for that too skittish and wild. And Jackson's...

My wolf looks longingly over the bond towards her mate, the one to whom she's grown very close.

"It will kill him," I whisper aloud, knowing that it's the truth.

My wolf gives a sad little howl of confirmation, agreeing with me. Jackson's mark first, she says, decided. It is what I want. And then...when Luca's wolf is ready, we will get his too.

I hesitate at this, knowing as well as my wolf does that the Goddess put me on a timeline and that neither of us want to risk losing Luca - losing either of them. Still, she nips me inside.

Jackson's first, she whispers, sure. It's the only way.

I nod, agreeing to our little internal plan and sighing as I realize that I need to have a very real

conversation with both of my mates. That it's only fair to tell them what's happening so that they can prepared. As I exhale, Jackson starts.

"Who are you talking to?" he asks, gruff and confused.

"Just my wolf," I say, frowning at him, suddenly anxious. "Can you...hear us?"

"I don't know," he murmurs, groggy and confused. "I don't think so. You said you were going to kill someone?"

I grin, glad when I realized that he simply misheard when I murmured my thoughts aloud. "Yes, I discovered that Jesse's been pilfering my snack collection. He's marked for death."

Jackson snarts at that, stroking a

hand down over my hair, ever supportive even if he doesn't quite think it's a capital offense. I smile, snuggling closer to him, loving the little sense of humor that's making itself known in its own way.

We're quiet for a few minutes, both of us drifting off a bit, before Jackson's deep voice wakes me again. "You ready for all of this, tiny?"

"No," I say instantly, knowing that it's the truth. "But I'm going to do it anyway. It's our duty, and what we've been trained for."

"Anything I can do to make it better?" he asks, peering down at me.

"Energy," I sigh, quite dramatic, making him laugh as he immediately begins to pass me energy though our bond. "Also, a mark, please," I say, tilting my head back and baring my neck to him.

This makes him laugh even harder, turning me over in the bed so that I'm pressed beneath him, just how I like. "Too little time and too many people in this room for that," he murmurs.

“Oh, come on,” I sigh, grinning and snuggling close. “Just one little nip –“

"Not the way I've planned it,

Princess," he growls, wrapping his

hand in my hair and baring my throat to him again, licking his tongue tong up along the length of it just once in a way that makes me shudder, makes my knees go quite weak.

But we both sigh when we hear Rafe's bed creak across the room, hear his blankets shift and then his feet hit the floor moments before footsteps begin to cross the room.

"Guess it's time to go," I whisper, looking up into Jacks's eyes with a great deal of fear in mine.

"Just stick with me, trouble," he murmurs, looking down into mine with a great deal of faith. "I'll keep you safe."

Chapter 0694

 

I lean in, kissing my mate and believing him utterly.

The day-long train across the south of Moon Valley was bad, but honestly, compared to this truck?

I groan as we hit yet another bump and I'm tossed against Luca's side, hissing as my back again hits a spot on the wall that I know is going to leave a pretty purple bruise.

"You all right?" he murmurs, subtly putting an arm around me for support.

"I think they planned these stupid transports for big guys," I say, glaring around at the fabric-covered truck that at least forty of us are shoved into. "Yeah, well," Tony murmurs from my other side, dipping his head so that only I can hear him. "I don't think they anticipated the military being infiltrated by tiny magical women."

I laugh, just a single huff, before we hit another hole and I'm jolted again. My laugh dies, immediately replaced with a scowl.

Jackson and Rafe are at the front of the truck where they can see out the windshield - because this is their little legion, apparently. They brought Jesse with them up there, wanting his opinion, but there's another truck behind commanded by Blythe with a slightly smaller group, and then Ben and the rest of the Ambassadors have been sent to a different area of command.

"What are you even going to do here, Tony?" I ask, peering up at him with a frown. "How are you going to use your badass assassin skills if you're on the front line?"

"Oh, I think I've been reallocated for the moment," Tony says, looking down at me quite seriously. "We've got no access to the Atalaxian royalty for the time being, so all of my formidable skills are laying fallow. Until I can be put to use, I think my singular role is as your cooler."

I grin up at him. "My cooler?"

"Yeah, hose you down when you get all hot —“

I burst out laughing, but Luca snarls, pulling me subtly closer.

"Oh, get over it, Grant," Tony says, rolling his eyes, "or people are going to assume that I'm not kidding." He glances down at where Luca's hand has wrapped around my waist. Luca hesitates but then sighs and drops it, realizing that Tony's right.

Luca, I say, turning to frown up at my mate. Why do you let him bug you? You know he's kidding.

Is he kidding, Ari? Luca says, looking down at me kind of urgently. He hits on you all the time -

Yeah, I say, interrupting, my frown deepening, but...it's Tony - he's just saying it to make me laugh. There's nothing happening there. He's just my friend.

If he had any choice in the matter, Luca murmurs, raising an eyebrow at me. He wouldn't be so thoroughly stuck in the friend zone.

But I just shake my head, scowling at Luca, not understanding him at all. I mean, he has direct access to my emotions - he'd know if I had any romantic feelings towards Tony at all. But then I shift my eyes to his chest, wondering if...

My wolf trots out, inspecting and...yup. His wall is up, the bond blocked.

"How can we talk?" I ask, tapping on his chest. "If you've got the wall up?"

"Ari," Luca growls, glancing around anxiously. "Let's not do this here."

I scowl, kind of getting pissed at him for continuing to not let me in. My wolf growls, hackles raised, and moves quickly across the bond until she gets to the wall, where she rises up on her hind legs and starts to scratch at it vehemently with her claws, like she's digging.

Luca gasps and spins to me, shocked.

"What are you two doing?" Tony murmurs, watching us with fascination.

I ignore Tony and flash my teeth at Luca, who scowls at me but takes down the wall.

My wolf turns as soon as he does, giving a little glare at his wolf on the other side, her meaning quite clear. Leave this down for your own good.

Before Luca can retort, though, we all notice a slight shift in the truck's gear and the slowing of our pace.

“Finally,” Tony sighs, and I look up to see him shaking his head. “We're here.”

"Thank god," I murmur, settling my shoulders and looking forward to a stretch. Luca sends a warm pulse over the bond, and I feel it with a vividness that makes me both smile and realize just how guarded he's been over the past few months. I turn to smile up at him, hoping he feels how much I love it when I get all of him unblocked,

uninterrupted.

He smiles down at me, feeling all of my joy. Subtly he traces a hand down my back, letting me know he gets it and he understands and is sorry. lean into that hand subtly, loving the experience of sharing emotions with him not just words.

Tony moves first off of the truck, turning to hold a hand out to help me down, which I readily accept.

The moment my foot hits the ground, though, my head snaps up, because a very, very familiar scent has just crossed my nose.

"Ari!" a deep voice calls, full of happiness and relief.

My face bursts in a grin as I turn towards the man who called my name.

 

Chapter 0695

It takes every single bit of willpower that I have to not shout "Dad!" and go running into his arms.

Instead, I act like a good little Cadet and snap myself into a salute, just as Luca and Tony and every other cadet in our truck are doing. Except I'm grinning like an idiot, and most of them look terrified.

My dad laughs, striding over to us and calling to the Cadets to be at ease, to go about fulfilling their orders. Hesitating, I think a little star-struck, the rest of my classmates do as they're told as dad draws near.

"Hello, Clark," dad says, beaming down at me, laughing a little at my false name. He tucks his hands behind his back, which to everyone else probably just looks like formality but which I know is him resisting the urge to grab me up in a hug. "It's nice to see my favorite nephew again."

"Hello, sir,” I say, beaming up at him, my eyes sparkling. "You remember Tony - Anton - and Luca, of course." I nod to both of them, remembering my manners. Tony says a polite and cheerful hello, holding out a hand and shaking dad's before my father turns to Luca, who looks much paler and more quiet than usual.

"It's good to see you again, sir,” Luca says, likewise shaking dad's hand.

Dad smirks a bit, knowing precisely where Luca's fear is coming from and looking like he thinks it's well justified. I just roll my eyes, sick of Alpha politics.

"I didn't know you were going to be here," I say eagerly, stepping forward and drawing my dad's attention back to me. "Are you directing the battle? Did you plan -"

"Dad!" Rafe says, coming forward and wrapping our father in the hug that I wanted to give him. Dad greets Rafe like a grizzly welcoming his cub back to the den, wrapping him in a big growling hug, and Jesse gets the same treatment next. I scowl with jealousy. Jackson is last, and I watch carefully, noting the warmth with which Jackson is received - warmth that Luca's greeting distinctly lacked.

I scowl, suspicions confirmed about who my parents' favorite is. Luca sighs at my side and I lean into him, just subtly, letting him know it's not true of me as well.

Greetings finished, dad turns and beckons for us all to come with him to the command tent. Trotting double-time to keep up with my father's long stride, I look wide-eyed around the camp, which is very high-tech but also looks like it can be broken down and moved elsewhere in an instant. Which is kind of the point, I guess.

Dad talks quickly to Rafe and

Jackson as we walk, though I don't miss that my father - consciously or unconsciously - keeps me directly on his left at all times, in pride of place. My wolf trots happily in my soul, preening, her ears perked and her tail held high, quite pleased to have our spot as dad's most treasured child reconfirmed.

When we reach a very large tent, dad gestures the rest of the boys forward. "We've been waiting for you, trouble," he says, his voice low and resonant and familiar in a way that makes my poor worried heart instantly warm. When all the boys enter, he slips an arm around my shoulders and leads me inside. "Your mother and the Captain have been telling me about what you can do. I can't wait to see it for myself."

I grin with delight, very pleased and excited, but before I can even open my mouth to tell him about it I'm swept up in a pair of strong arms. "Peanut!" my uncle shouts, and I burst out laughing both in surprise and at the use of an old, much-retired nickname. "It's so good to see you - we miss you!"

“Roger!” I gasp, pulling back a little even as he still holds me up in his arms, glancing anxiously around the tent. "Aren't we supposed to be...... incognito?"

"Nah, not here," he says, allowing me

to slip to the floor and giving me a wink. "The tent is a steel trap. A zone of secrecy No people or information gets in or out of these imprable canvas walls without my permission." He sighs happily, hands on his hips, and turns to survey my little group of boys. When his eyes land on Tony, he frowns. "Who the hell is that?"

I burst out laughing even as my dad finally pulls me into his own hug, nearly crushing me with his arms as well as his love and murmuring how glad he is to see me as Rafe too laughs and introduces Tony.

“Oh, the water breathing one!" Roger says with enthusiasm, stepping forward to shake his hand.