Ch. 896..900: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 896-900

Chapter 0896

I look over at Mark to find him likewise studying Rafe in the same way I am, confused. Jesse clears his throat and I look over to see him nodding eagerly to me, darting his eyes over at Rafe, letting me know that he, too, clearly sees that something is up.

"Well!” Mom says, smacking her leg and getting hastily up, dislodging Cora, who gives a tiny yelp as she spills to the side. "I need a refill. Who else!?"

Rafe immediately stands, as do others, and Jesse takes the opportunity to scootch over to me.

"Hey," Jesse whispers, looking up at me from the floor with a grin, "want to go visit Midnight and talk about how weird Rafe is being?"

"Yes!" I gasp, jumping to my feet. I turn to Jackson with a grin. "You in!?"

"No, I want to have a word with Hank," Jackson says, standing and pressing a kiss to my hair. "You go...if..." he frowns, turning to Jesse as he stands up. "You'll keep her safe, right?"

Jesse pauses, going a bit still, and then breaks out into a laugh. "Jacks, she has full goddess-controlled fire magic now. She'll be keeping me safe."

"Yeah," I say, grinning up on my mate and flicking blue flame to life in my palm, letting it play over my fingers. "No worries, baby. I'll be all right."

Jackson grumbles, truly not liking to leave my side, but he bends low to press a quick kiss to my lips. He also very subtly, surreptitiously swats my ass before striding away, making me yelp and then laugh. Jesse grabs my hand, grinning at me, and tugs me quickly from the room.

"Nooo," I cry, glancing back towards the party, "we forgot wine! I need more wine! They didn't give me any wine in Atalaxia, and Jackson didn't think to pack any for his weird solo trip -"

"There's wine on the roof!" Jesse protests, laughing and hauling me along. As we run suddenly a group of little puppies come spilling out of the party room, chasing us and yelping their eagerness to come along.

"We're going to the roof!?"

"You said you wanted to see Mids, didn't you?" he replies, grinning at me. My eyes widen as I realize the connection here and I hasten my steps pounding after Jesse down the hall and then up the staircase to our little roof garden.

I gasp as soon as Jesse pushes the door open, my eyes flashing wide to take in the sight of...

God, of an enormous yurt taking up the vast majority of the space.

I burst out laughing as I realize, immediately, precisely what it is.

I

"Jesse!" I gasp, grabbing him into a big rough hug even as the pups all come dashing up the stairs and into the garden, yelping and barking their joy. "I can't believe you did this for her! You are - you are so nice!"

He laughs, blushing a little, hugging me back and then running a bashful hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, it's her house. She didn't want to leave without it."

"Oh my god Jesse," I grumble, tears springing to my eyes again and I wrap him again in a hug. "You're so secretly sweet. I love you so much."

"Yeah, well,” he sighs, patting my back. "Don't give me too much credit."

I hug him for a moment more while the pups set up a racket, barking at the flap that functions as a door to the front of the yurt. And even as smile and laugh at the sight of them, my heart suddenly seizes asd remember that.....

That I have a friend. Who I have spent far too little time thinking about in the past few days. A friend to whom Jesse was likewise just as secretly sweet, if, perhaps, in not so performative a way.

I push away from Jesse with a little gasp, looking at him, a little afraid to ask.

My cousin sees my face and immediately senses the direction of my thoughts. "Don't, Ari," he begs, his expression falling slack. "Not - not here, okay?" He nods his head towards Midnight's yurt.

I immediately understand his complicated situation and force myself to tuck the question away, my emotions with it.

Chapter 0897

But there wouldn't be time to ask anyway as a fairly feral cry sounds within the yurt. My head snaps towards it, shocked, as all five pups start barking with increased fervor, Chase even beginning to spin in eager circles at the sound.

"What is happening?" I whisper.

"Oh, just watch," Jesse murmurs, wicked and delighted.

I do as he says, my eyes trained on the yurt as Midnight suddenly appears, whipping the tent's flap back, her face furious. "You pups!" she shouts, holding out a toy gun with what looks like a thousand soft foam darts attached. "I told you to stay away from my yurt! You're worse than the whores!"

The pups yelp in delight as they dash for her, playing, pretending to leap at her and then dashing away as she sprays them with foam bullets, shouting at them to get away from her house, and to never come back again, that they'll rue the day they ever crossed her door and disturbed her solitutde.

I burst into hysterical laughter, leaning against Jesse for support as the pups come again and again, clearly delighting in the game - although it becomes immediately aware, at least to me, that to Midnight? It is not a game.

"Jesse!" Midnight shouts, frowning desperately at him and waving the gun in the air. "You said this would make them go away!"

"No," Jesse calls over, laughing with me, his arms crossed as he beams at his funny little mate. "I said it would help. But you misinterepreted me, I meant it would help me have a great deal more fun."

Midnight scowls at him, narrowing her eyes, her shadows beginning to overtake her form. "You get these mongrels you call siblings away from my house!" she snaps, glaring at him hard. "No children allowed! No pups!"

Jesse whistles, long and sharp, and the pups all go still before seeming to sigh and turn towards him, obeying even though they're sad that the game is over.

"Mids is tired," Jesse says to them all with a shrug. "You can come bother her again tomorrow. Go downstairs and make Aunt Ella give you chocolate, okay?"

The pups all glance at each other, clearly considering their options, and then Caleb barks and leaps for the door, all the rest of the pups following after him and flowing down the stairs, leaving the rooftop shockingly quiet.

"How come they don't listen to me when I tell them to go away?" Midnight Sulks, pouting at Jesse, her toy gun still hanging from her hand.

"Because they just love you so much, Mids! esse says, grinning at her and striding for the little wine fridge we keep up here, pulling out a bottle. They don't want to leave your side, but they don't mind leaving mine, as I am both cruel and boring."

"True," Midnight says, cocking her head to the side as she considers this point. Then, perhaps for the first time tonight, she turns her eyes to me Hello, Blonde Rat. It is nice to see you."

I perky up a little, curious. "Blonde rat?"

She just shrugs like it's a fact, her eyes moving to my neck. "I like your new mark." "Thank you!" I say, cheerful and beaming.

"Is it from Jackson?" she asks, cocking her head. "Or the fancy one?"

"Both, actually," I say, holding out my wrist so she can see my bandaged arm.

“Lucky,” she says, scowling and shifting her eyes to glare at Jesse as he comes over with three glasses and a cork screw.

He ignores her. "You going to invite us in, Mids?"

She narrows her eyes at me. "Are you going to use all your blue fire to take away my darkness and my magic?"

"Oh!" I say, kind of shocked by this question - honestly, the thought never crossed my mind. "Um, no? Not if you don't want me to?"

"Then yes!" Midnight says, breaking into a smile, quite pleased, gesturing grandly towards the inside of her yurt. "If you promise not to take my magic then you are more than welcome, Ariel. Please come in."

 

Chapter 0898

I laugh and happily move forward with Jesse, ducking into the yurt and looking around with curiosity at the surprisingly large, semi-shabby space. Some things were very obviously brought over from the Land of Darkness - like her bed and some of her pots and pans. But some things are very obviously new, and very obviously Ella additions.

"Oh, I like your tiny fridge," I say with an admiring gasp, taking a seat on a pillow on the floor around what I assume is Midnight's eating area. I leaning close to admire the shiny black mini fridge in Midnight's makeshift kitchen, which is only an arm's length away.

"Thank you," Midnight says, patting the fridge, very pleased as she sits down across from me. Jesse sits down next to both of us so that we form a little semi- circle and begins to open and pour the wine as I continue to look around at Midnight's strange little home. The whole space speaks of so much deprivation and sadness but bizarrely also holds an adorable array of toys and supplies and books - even a little television in the corner with a DVD player attached and what looks like dozens of movies resting next to it on the floor.

"You've got a lot of good stuff here, Mids," I murmur, still looking around.

"Yes," Midnight says, confirming this with a steady nod. "Miss Ella has given me lots of Orange Soda and I like that very much once I stir it so all the bubbles come out. She says that I can have as I want any time I want and all I have to do is order up more." Midnight leans over to tap on a little walkie-talkie that's resting on the floor.

"Well, that is very convenient," I say, nodding appreciatively as I accept the glass of wine from Jesse and take a sip from it. He pours himself one too and then, to my delight, pulls a can of orange soda out of the fridge and empties it into the third wine glass, offering it to Midnight, who takes it very lightly and grabs a straw, beginning to stir out the carbonation.

"How are you liking it here, Mids?" I ask quietly, curious.

"I like it a lot. I like the bathroom," Midnight says, gesturing out of the tent towards the corner of the roof where, indeed, my mom had a full bathroom put in a few years ago. “It is sometimes strange and scary here, with all the planes and helicopters going on overhead, but," she shrugs. "I like it better here. There is more food and things to do and Jesse is here."

She nods casually to him and Jesse raises his glass towards her in salute, which breaks my heart just a little bit.

"Plus, Miss Ella says I can start going to school and learn a lot more - she says I'm smart," Midnight says, perking up quite a bit at that idea. "I would like to learn more. My brain...got very bored, all alone in the Darkness."

I work very, very hard not to cry for this girl, instead swallowing and forcing a smile onto my face.

"That's fantastic, Mids." I say, forcing myself to be cheerful. Jesse smirks at me, knowing me well enough to tell precisely what's going on in my heart and my mind. "Any downsides yet?"

She narrows her eyes at me. "The pups."

I burst out laughing, grinning at her. "You don't like Jesse's siblings? But they're so cute!"

"Did you know there were five of them, Ariel?” Midnight asks, looking at me with wide eyes like it's an unbelievable number. "And each louder than the next!"

"They're a rambunctious group, for sure," Jesse says with a casual shrug, smiling with pride at the thought of the ducklings.

"I don't know why anyone would

want one of those," she says, staring

at the door, a little appalled as she leans back on one hand, shaking her head, he pretty curls bouncing. “Darkness told me that it was my job to have eighteen of Jesse's pups and to raise them all in his honor but... Miss Cora told me that I get to decide how many pups I have. And that I can have none, if I don't want any."

I look in a bit of shock between Midnight and Jesse.

"Yes," Jesse murmurs, a bit dry, taking a long sip of his drink. "Many of Midnight and my early conversations revolved around the many children she wished me to sire."

"Jesse,” I breathe, shaking my head at him, appalled.

He bursts out laughing, giving a shrug. "Hey, I was always on team no pups," he says, his shoulders shaking with it.

"I should have listened to you from the start," Midnight says, reaching behind her to take a packet of my favorite cookies off of the shelf behind her. "But... Darkness said it was my destiny and no one told me otherwise. But pups are very loud and very messy and I don't want any of them in my house ever."

Chapter 0899

"Wait till you meet an infant one,” I say, raising my eyebrows as Midnight offers me the packet of cookies and I take a few, popping one into my mouth. "They're really loud."

"Pippa has promised me that I can meet her pup when she is born," Midnight says, nodding to me eagerly. "I'm excited to see if she will be as loud as everyone says."

"Babies are also super cute," I say, laughing and shaking my head at her. "It's not all bad."

"Don't try to talk me into bearing Jesse's pups, Ariel," Midnight says, holding up a hand flat towards me. "The other Rat already gave me a book describing how they are made and I am not interested in any of that."

I smile at Midnight in a bit of wonder, shifting my eyes to Jesse, having no idea what she's talking about. But he just grins at me and leans forward. "So, what was up with Rafe?" he asks, eager and gossipy.

"Yes!" I gasp, dropping the cookies onto the floor as I whip my hand out to smack him on the knee. "What was up with him!? Why was he all silent and tense and weird!?"

"I don't know," Jesse says, equally baffled and eager to talk to me about it.

"What happened?" Midnight asks, curious, likewise leaning forward. I grin to see that even if she's new and bizarrely out of touch with the world, she's already caught the Sinclair flair for drama.

Jesse and I take a quick moment to fill Mids in on how weirdly quiet Rafe was tonight, and how much he was drinking, and how he would go all tense and turning towards Maryam whenever she would talk. And then how when she'd finish speaking he'd slump back into the pillows like he was at turns relieved or devastated or one of a thousand other emotions.

"I mean is he sick?" Jesse asks, peering at me. "Did he like...eat a bunch of psychedelic mushrooms in anticipation of the party?"

"Maybe food poisoning," I say slowly, agreeing.

"Sounds like he just met his mate," Midnight says, taking a casual sip of her orange soda.

We both go still and stare at her.

"What?" I ask, leaning forward towards her.

"All the things you're saying," Midnight says, reaching for one of the cookies dropped. "It just sounds like the way people feel when they meet their mate. Fascinated, acting all strange. mean, I followed Jesse around all googoo-eyed for days in the

vel

shadows, listening to his every word, watching him sleep, thinking he was the most fantastic thing ever."

"You did?" Jesse asks, his eyes flying wide.

"Rafe just sounds like his wolf is

adjusting," Midnight says, putting her soda down as she ignores Jesse

and keeps her eyes on me, stretching her arms above her head with a yawn. "And maybe he's

ashamed of her so he hasn't told his

whole family that she's his mate

yet."

"But Mids,” I say, leaning forward and shaking my head at her. "She can't be his

mate - Maryam is a human."

"I know," Midnight says, rolling her eyes at me. "I met her. She is very weak and ineffectual, as most humans are, so if she is Rafe's mate then I will feel sorry for him. But Darkness always used to grumble on about that - about how it was the Goddess's first born grandchild's destiny to unite the human and the wolf worlds, and what he could do to stop it -"

Jesse and I both freeze.

"I mean, I didn't think the prophecy would be fulfilled so literally as having Rafe be mated to a human but," Mids shrugs and takes a sip of her drink. "Who knows. Maybe the Goddess is dull and unimaginative."

She looks between the pair of us, still staring at her shocked and frozen.

"What?" Midnight asks with a frown. "What's wrong? What did I say?"

As one Jesse and I whip our heads to each other and then scamper to our feet. "Did you know about this?" I gasp out.

"No, I fucking didn't!" He snarls, storming for the tent door. "Rafe!" he shouts out into the night, even though there's no chance that Rafe is going to hear him.

"Okay, bye!" Midnight calls after us, completely unperturbed by our abrupt departure, perhaps not fully understanding how rude we're being. "Don't let the children up! And bring me cake when you can!"

I wave to Midnight over my shoulder as I begin to sprint after Jesse down the stairs.

 

Chapter 0900

Rafe takes a deep breath after he swallows another gulp of whiskey, looking around at his family and friends who are mingling around the room on Ella's little drink break. God, but he was grateful for that. Every time Maryam opens her mouth he's terrified and his wolf is thrilled - just trying to balance the two conflicting states takes absolutely every ounce of his energy. He can hardly pay attention to anything else.

He glances down at his glass, thinking that the whiskey certainly is helping, the fuzz in his mind likewise keeping his wolf fuzzy. But he can't stay drunk his entire damn life. His eyes stray - as they keep doing - to where Maryam is standing with her father, chatting casually with Cora.

"You good?" Jackson asks, stepping close, sipping at his own glass of whiskey, half a sandwich in his hand.

Rafe smirks, looking between Jackson and the food. "How much do you have to eat?" he asks, laughing a little. "To get back to where you were, weight-wise?"

"Way more than this," Jackson murmurs, taking another big bite of the sandwich and seeming to swallow it whole. Rafe laughs. “But seriously, are you good?" Jackson repeats, his brows knitting together just slightly as he looks Rafe up and down.

Rafe frowns. "I'm fine. What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Jesse and Ariel scampered out of here a little bit ago to talk about how weird you're being," Jackson murmurs, finishing his sandwich in one more big bite.

Rafe's mouth falls open and then he snaps his head to the side, his eyes flashing around the room to see...god, to see everyone looking at him a bit askance. His mom quickly draws her gaze away, looking up at the ceiling, pretending she wasn't just staring worriedly at him. She smacks Dominic on the arm and he, too, stops staring at his son a moment later.

"Oh my god," Rafe breathes, returning his attention to the big Alpha next to him. "Does...does everyone think I'm being weird!?"

"Yes," Jackson replies, completely casual, scanning the room for another tray of sandwiches. "But only because you're being weird so...it's not really their fault."

Rafe groans and grabs Jackson by the wrist, hauling him towards the closest door, which just happens to be the entrance to his parents' bedroom. "Where are we going!?" Jackson gasps. "Rafe, the food is in here -"

Rafe just snarts, pissed at himself for thinking he could handle this. He pulls Jackson inside and then slams the door behind him. "What did you notice!" he barks out, leaning Close to Jackson and baring his teeth. "Did did she notice!?"

God, he's been such a fool - if Maryam -

If Maryam was like everyone else and noticed that he was being weird... God, she already hates him, how much worse is it going to be if he's also acting like a complete jackass all night?

"Who!?" Jackson asks, freaked out, taking a step back and guarding his glass of whiskey like Rafe might knock it out of his hand.

"Mary -" Rafe nearly shouts but then he catches himself, standing up straight, realizing that Jackson...

Jackson doesn't know what's going on beyond the fact that Rafe was acting strange. Or at least he didn't know. Rafe groans as he realizes his mistake.

"Maryam?" Jackson asks, looking at Rafe with wide eyes. "This is about Maryam? That.....that human girl? Dr. Hank's daughter!?"

Rafe clenches his teeth, his mind whirling for some sort of excuse, but god - his

mind is just too fuzzy - he should have gone easier on the drinks -

"Are you like..." Jackson turns his head and laughs a little. "Are you into her, Rafe?"

Rafe doesn't say anything, looking away.

"Rafe," Jackson says, pity in his voice as he reaches out to put a hand on the prince's shoulder. "You should.. rethink that. She's really pretty but as a human she is very

delicate I'm a little worried you

—

would like...kill her, if you

"Would you shut up?" Rafe snarls, whipping his head back to glare at Jacks. "Of

course I wouldn't hurt her - I would never hurt her - she's -"

Jackson goes still, staring at Rafe, realizing that the Prince's language is a great deal like that he uses to talk about Ariel. And the way that Rafe is acting...god, when his wolf had first smelled Ariel in the academy? He had been just as erratic and frantic.