Ch. 731..735: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 731-735

Chapter 0731

I'm honestly not aware of much as we fly to...wherever the hell we're going. I mostly just concentrate on my mom's warm presence at my side, and the soft murmuring things she says to me, even if I don't know what they mean. Still, something about them dulls the gnawing ache in my heart.

An ache which seems to get bigger and bigger as the moments pass, like a cliff, or a quarry, with unsteady edges - my whole world threatening to just tilt in and smash to pieces at the bottom.

But my mom holds me together. I feel her healing magic sweep through me as she strokes my hair, feel her healing all the little cuts and bruises from the battlefield, the tiny scrapes and bumps. I only lift my head to stop her once, when the magic brushes against the cuts on my palms.

The ones Gibson left with that slash of his knife in the moments before he opened Tony's throat.

"No, please," I croak, shaking my head. "I need them - they're all I have left -"

"Oh sugar," mom whispers, stroking my cheek. "We all have to heal sometime."

I nod, knowing she's right. "Can you - can you not heal it smooth? Can you leave scars?"

"Yes, baby," she whispers. "We'll leave you the scars so your hands can always bear witness to what Tony gave for you. Okay? I promise."

I nod, tears slipping down my cheeks.

"Now let me work, baby," she whispers. I tuck my face back against her shoulder and sob as I feel her magic sweep over my palms, ending the physical pain but leaving so much behind.

Last of all she heals the mark on my neck, and as much as I know she tries to smooth it as best she can, I can feel it take shape into the other scar that I will bear forever.

The mark. Luca's mark, which claimed me as his minutes before he rejected me.

I sob to feel it heal, not because it hurts but because...it's a door closed. I'll never not bear it. Every time I look in the mirror and see it I'll remember that moment, that terrible mistake.

"Now now, baby," mom murmurs, stroking her hand long over my back. "We'll take it from here. You just let us help."

Cora and Daphne murmur their support too, and I do feel safe.

But still the ache - it's bone deep. Perhaps deeper, to beyond whatever is beneath that.

Things move fast once the

helicopter starts to descend. I

recognize the spa immediately - it's

small, very elite and - most

important to mom - very discreet. I don't know what the hell she must have paid to have the whole place cleared out for just the four of us - but, well. Money we have and I'm sure mom wants to be alone.

I'm bundled off the elevator and into a very strong man's arms the moment we land. I look up at him curiously, kind of confused, but he just smiles gently at me and carries me away to our room. There I'm bundled away into a bed in a dark room. Cora and Daphne cuddle in around me, quite quiet, while mom oversees the delivery of cart after cart of food.

Then mom comes into bed with me, and puts on movies that I don't watch, and we all sit very calmly for a long, long time. Mom gives me sip of the birth control potion,

murmuring something about el

in

case," and then feeds me a few bites of ice cream. I barely taste it, though, and before long my eyes are drooping.

When I realize what's happening, I whip my head up to glare at her. "You drugged me," I murmur, my lips barely moving as the sleeping medicine she must have worked into the ice cream takes hold.

"Yes, baby," mom murmurs, stroking a hand over my hair. "You can thank me in the morning."

I'm asleep before I can even think about whether or not I'm mad to be sent off to sleep.

When I wake up, the room is sunny, and Daphne is propped up next to me in a very lush robe, her hair lovely and shining as it falls around her shoulders. She flicks through the TV channels and sips from something in a mug that smells spicy and chocolatey and lovely.

"Gimme that," I murmur, reaching for her cup.

Daphne jumps and then bursts into a smile. "Sit up first, or you'll spill it all over yourself."

I grumble but haul myself into a sitting position, leaning back against what is probably sixteen lush pillows. When I'm settled, Daphne hands me the cocoa and I take a long sip, relishing the warm feel of it down my throat, the sugar and spicey taste on my tongue.

"You slept for a long time," Daphne murmurs, reaching out and stroking a hand over my hair. "We were worried about you. Your mom and aunt made me stay in here to make sure you're still breathing."

“Oh please,” I croak, my throat still a little dry, looking up into her eyes. “They're just checking out the wine menu in peace.”

Daphne laughs and the smallest smile finds my mouth before it falls away. I take another sip and then hold out the mug to my friend.

 

Chapter 0732

"Oh, you keep it," she says, holding up a hand. "It's good to see you drink something."

I nod and look around for a minute, continuing to sip from the cup. "Where is Mittens?" I whisper, intuiting that he's a secret.

"He's been hiding," Daphne says, unable to keep the little smile from her lips as she pulls back the blankets a little bit to reveal the little cat curled in her lap. "He's very good at it, unsurprisingly."

I reach out a finger and stroke it over his tiny head a few times, enjoying the soft shadowy feel of the tiny cat. Daphne and I silent for a long, peaceful few moments.

"Are you okay, Ari?" Daphne whispers, breaking it. But I don't begrudge her that I know she's worried. "I mean, I know you're not - I just - these past few days."

"I know," I whisper, opening my eyes a little and looking down at my cup. "A few days ago I had...all of them. And now Tony is gone. And Luca is..." my lip trembles and my throat seizes up. Daphne squeaks sadly and moves closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and tilting me a little so that I lean against her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," she whispers.

"It's okay," I sigh. "I mean, it's kind of the only thing on my mind anyway."

"Oh good!" mom says, beaming as she bustles into the room in her own fancy robe. "You're up! Now we can get started with step 2!"

"What's that?" I ask, frowning at her. "What was step 1?"

"Step 1 was making sure you survive," mom says, plopping down on the bed and leaning close to give me a kiss. "Step 2 is feeding you! And also distracting you from your woe."

I groan a little, wanting to hold onto my woe a little bit. I don't know why - maybe it's just...the only thing that feels real. "What's step 3? Can we skip right to that?"

"Step 3," mom says cheerfully, "is -"

"Bloody revenge."

We all spin to see Cora leaning in the doorway, grinning at us a little deviously. I laugh - I can't help it. "You have many options, baby," Cora says, coming close and stroking a hand over my hair. "We can skin him alive, or we can cut his toes off and make him eat them, or we can -"

"Oh my god," I say, looking at my aunt with wide eyes. "You've...thought about this."

"Yeah, well," she sighs. "You've been asleep a long time, kid. What else were we going to do?"

I look around in shock at my three lovely defenders and can't help smiling again when mom and Daphne just shrug, like Cora's precisely right.

"Oh, revenge later," I say with a sigh. "Now...can we have wine? And maybe...more ice cream? Without the sleep meds this time?"

"The perfect medicine," mom murmurs, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I knew I raised you right."

A few hours later, my skin is buffed, my hair has gone through four treatments that have left it shiny and lustrous, and my nails are a pretty blushing pink. I'm also about four

glasses of wine deep and houret

exclusively eaten bowl after bowl of ice cream today, so my mind is sufficiently unable to mope as much as it would if I stayed back at the castle. Deep down, I'm very grateful for my mom knowing precisely what to do.

I mean nothing is fixed, and nothing has changed. But my soul has been wrapped in a comfortable quilt of pampering girly things, and honestly, I'm the best I could be right now. I mean, it's not good but...I am comfortable.

Mom. She really does know.

"This is a shame," I say with a sigh, looking at my fingernails as I sit with my three companions on the wide plush couch in our sunny suite. "I'm going to have to take this off before I go back to school."

"Screw it," Cora says, taking a big bite of a pretzel slathered in mustard. "Boys can wear nail polish too." She returns the half-finished pretzel to the wide coffee table, which is predictably covered in food. "Not little shrimpy ones who are trying to convince people that they're not a girl."

"I wonder how much of your secret is intact though," Daphne says, frowning at me a little, her voice gentle. "After Rafe carried you...pretty naked through the halls.

"I had a blanket," I growl, snatching a wrapped piece of candy off the table and throwing it at her.

Daphne grins. "And no hat. What mystery, a girl in Rafe Sinclair's arms with a pretty rose-gold braid arching over her head -"

"Oh, shut up, they saw that in the Examination too and they're all too stupid to figure it out. Or, at least too scared to say anything."

Mom beams at me, I think pleased

to see that I'm feeling well enough to

be cheeky, "You okay, baby?" she asks, soft The first time, really, that

she's invited me to talk about it Which must mean she thinks I'm

strong enough to talk about it now.

 

Chapter 0733

Mom's confidence boosts me, even though it is hard to even think about what happened.

"I'm not sure I'm okay," I say, dropping my head to look down at my glass of wine. "I'm not sure I'll ever be...who I was. Or I'll never not...want things to be different." My hand drifts higher now, my palm cupping the bandage that covers my mark. It's fully healed, I'm just...not ready to look at it yet.

"I think that makes a lot of sense, baby," Cora says, nodding to me. "I think...this is probably one of the great tragedies of life, akin to losing a parent. You're going to be feeling a lot of grief for a long time."

"But you will get through it," Daphne says, smiling softly at me and putting a hand on my knee.

I look over at her with a tremulous smile, knowing she knows what she's talking about. And as I look around at the three women who are being so supportive, my eyes fill with tears because I know that each of their lives has been struck with tragedy.

And yet, here they are. Strong and happy, whole enough to come and help me when I need them.

My eyes fill with tears as I look around at each of them in turn - just so, so grateful.

"Oh god, she's crying again," Cora says, sitting up straight and reaching for one of the many bottles of wine that ring the table.

"Quick, her glass!" Mom gasps, over-dramatic, pointing to it in my hand with a shaking finger. "Fill it! Go!"

I burst out laughing, even as tears start their way down my cheeks and Cora refills my glass. "It's fine to cry!" I protest. "That's what we're here for, isn't it!?"

"Of course, baby," mom says, leaning forward towards me. "But you can laugh too. It's...all part of it. We just love you and want to be here with you through all of these hard first couple of hours and days. Until my little bird gets her strength back and can fly again."

I look at her, my lips a little tremulous. "You really think that's going to happen? That I'll...get back on my feet?"

"Oh, trouble," mom says, her face breaking into a little smirk. "I'm sure of it."

"To men!" Cora says, impulsive and a little tipsy, raising her own glass. "May they all meet the violent ends they deserve for torturing our poor innocent hearts! And, in their death, leave us enough money in their wills that we can go on more spa trips."

"Woo!" mom says, laughing and clinking her glass against Cora's.

I laugh but then scowl around at the three of them. "Oh, please," I say, smiling just a little. "It's not like you three don't have perfect relationships."

My mom presses a hand to her heart, pretending to be aghast at such a declaration. "If you think that your father has not put me through the emotional ringer, baby-"

"Twenty years ago!" I accuse, laughing and throwing a piece of popcorn at her in turn.

"And don't get me started on Roger," Cora murmurs, smirking. "Bane of my existence."

"Love of your life," I snarl, sending popcorn her way too. She laughs and grins at me, tacitly admitting it.

He does torture her, but she loves every minute.

"Well Daphne saves us, then," mom says, gesturing toward my suspiciously quiet friend. "She and Rafe broke up, right? So it can't be all paradise in her little sewing room, can it?"

"Oh, Rafe and Daphne broke up," I say, a wicked smile spreading over my face. "But I suppose this means Daphne has not yet told you the provenance of a certain tiny kitten?"

en

IMS

Chapter 0734

As if he knows we're talking about him - and, considering his attention-loving source of existence, that's probably true - Mittens climbs up over the back of the couch, meowing and parading back and forth with his tail high.

Mom and Cora's mouths drop open as they stare first at the shadow cat, and then at Daphne, who bundles him off of the back of the sofa and into her arms.

"I told you to stay hidden, you little menace," she whispers, blushing and looking down at the cat who gnaws playfully at her thumb.

"Well well," Cora says, leaning back against her couch cushion and grinning at the love of her son's life. "I guess Dominic owes me fifty bucks after all."

I gasp, leaning forward and staring at my mom and aunt. "You bet on our love lives!?"

"No, baby!" mom protests far too innocently, frowning at me like she's ashamed I'd even suggest it. "We'd never do that!"

"This is so unfair, Cora has an advantage, she's all of our godparents," I say, pointing at her.

"That's why I get terrible odds," she says with a sigh, nodding. "Roger hates it."

"You're both unbelievable," I sigh, sitting back on the couch and glancing at Daphne, pleased to see that the blush has faded from her cheeks just a bit. But Cora notices it too and pounces, not letting her off that easy.

"So," she says, leaning forward and peering into Daphne's face. "Is my boy a good boyfriend? He'd better be polite to you - you have my permission to smack him if he's not -"

"He's - he's very polite!" Daphne sputters out, laughing and blushing again.

"But not like...too polite, right?" Cora says, narrowing her eyes a bit. "I didn't raise my boy to be too scared to grab his girl and -"

"You come here," mom says, laughing a little and scootching closer to me, pulling me tight against side while Cora

continues to torture Daphne. I laugh a little too, watching Daphne melt into the couch with embarrassment under Cora's good-natured teasing.

But I lean against my mom and take a deep breath and a sip of my wine. "It's good to be here," I sigh. "Thank you so much, mama.

"Of course," she murmurs, pressing a kiss to my head.

"Um," I say quietly, fiddling with the

stem of my wine glass. "Do you think I could talk to dad for a little bit? On video chat? I mean, I know why he really couldn't come

know he's at the front -"

"He wanted to, baby," mom whispers, stroking my hair. "Only something that serious would have kept him away."

"It's okay," I say, nodding and looking at her. "But dad's...done this before, right? With Lydia?"

She nods slowly. "He wants to talk to you too. But I told him to wait until you were ready for it."

"Well," I whisper, "I think I'm ready for it." My heart sinks in my chest as I wonder if that's true. "I'd just like

to know...what to expect, you know? In the days to come?"

"Of course, sugar," mom says, beaming at me and getting to her feet. "I'll call him now, see if he can set a few minutes aside."

"Oh, are we calling boys?" Cora asks, cheerfully getting up and leaving Daphne alone. Daphne groans with relief, finishing her wine in one big slug and making me laugh.

"Yes, come on, you can talk to your boyfriend after I talk to mine,” mom sighs, waving Cora along with her into the kitchen, where she left her tablet Cora eagerly follows and grab the bottle of wine, refilling Daphne's glass.

"Thank you," she sighs, and I grin at her. "Is it always going to be like this?"

Chapter 0735

I laugh. "You picked the wrong Sinclair boy if you didn't want to be teased," I say, grinning at her as I settle back into the cushions. "Mom and dad would have been far more polite."

Daphne sighs dramatically and gives a big shrug like it can't be helped. "I shall simply have to endure, then." She scoops Mittens up into her hands and lifts him to her shoulder, where he starts to bat playfully at her curls.

"Daph?" I ask quietly, studying her face. "Is...is Jesse your mate?"

She turns to me, her face quite solemn. "I honestly don't know, Ari."

My mouth twists a little. "I mean, you'd know," I say, trying to be gentle.

But she shakes her head, looking off into the kitchen, I think wanting mine and Jesse's mothers to be separate from this conversation. "I know what you mean but...it's more complicated than that," she murmurs. "The connection with him - it wasn't instant, and my wolf just...can't decide. It's not like other mates - the bond, if there is one, has not snapped into place. But the way we feel about each other? And the way he smells?" She groans and rolls her eyes, tilting her head back against the couch.

"Oh, you're exaggerating," I sigh, grinning and tilting my head back too. "Jesse smells like corn chips and despair."

"Oh, no he doesn't," she sighs. "He smells like a chai latte, and old books, and a warm old sweater..." "So, like wet wool?" I say, my face again twisting with doubt.

Daphne laughs and swats at me. "Shut up. I love it."

I grin, nodding to her. "I'm just teasing. You know my cousin has my whole heart. But, you're getting mixed messages? Like, half bond half not?"

"Yeah," she says, her face falling

straight again. "And I wonder if it's because he's half human? Or..." she shrugs. really don't know. I think that's why I tried to deny it for so long but... he's really special to me, Ariel. Even if he's not my mate, I want to keep him."

I smile at her, terribly happy for my friend. "Good. I'm glad to have a new sister-cousin, then."

She beams at me, I think realizing

for the first time that she's part of

the family, even if she doesn't have his mark or a ring. Just his strange little half-substantial shadow cat, which is very Jesse and likely just as good.

"Thanks, Ari," she says, leaning forward and wrapping me up in a warm hug. "I'm glad you're my sister- cousin now too."

I hold my friend close, taking a deep breath of her own pretty cinnamon scent, feeling cozy and warm.

In the other

I hear the soft

sound of mom and my dad

talking, and my heart soars to think that I get to talk to him soon. And quite suddenly I start to realize that well, perhaps things are looking up.

But still, my heart sinks, because...

There's one big thing on my heart that I haven't touched yet. I hang my head a little, looking down into my wine glass and giving the pretty golden liquid a limp swirl.

"Tell me," Daphne murmurs. I look up to see her turning her head at me, sweet and thoughtful. "Please,

Ari, what are you thinking about? It might help to get it out."

And I sigh, frightened to touch this line of thinking that I haven't allowed myself to go to all day, even though it's been slowly revolving in the back of my mind.

"I'm thinking about Jacks."