Ch. 991..995: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 991-995
Chapter 0991
Marigold laughs a little but just nods.
"Are we doing this?" Jesse says, glancing up at the clock that looms large over the entire station. "We don't have a ton of time."
Jackson looks at me and arches a brow. I laugh and nod, grinning at our little party. "Let's go!"
The next morning I wake up blissfully happy to be back in my nook. My mouth opens in a little yawn and I nuzzle closer to my mate's naked chest, all warm and cozy. I sigh, content, and reach out a hand that I brush over Marigold's soft head. She's curled up at Jackson's side, likewise nuzzled close, breathing deeply as she continues to sleep.
I bite my lip against a little squeal as I look at her as, half asleep, Jackson lifts a hand to my back, softly stroking up and down against my nightshirt.
I turn my head, pressing a kiss to his chest before I sit up a little, peering through the open curtain at Jesse and Rafe's beds, a form curled up in each, though Midnight's tiny body is barely visible amongst all of Rafe's bedding.
Last night was exhausting but completely worth it as the five of us stowed away in a box car like we did before and traveled the long distance to the Academy. Marigold slept most of the time but opened her little eyes to look up in awe at the castle up on the cliff, staring at it with true wonder. Midnight had been all determined enthusiasm too, asking me endless questions about chemistry that I answered as best I could.
But the moment when we settled down in the nook, ready for some much-needed sleep, was definitely the best part. It's a tight fit, after all, with three of us in my tiny little bed now. But despite my guilt at the fact that Jackson's feet still hang off the end of the bed as they always do, I have to admit that there's no place I'd rather be than here with my little family, all cuddled close.
I take a moment to check in my new bonds with the babies and laugh a little when I find Jackson's wolf already there alongside my wolf, both of them sniffing at the bonds and giving them a happy little lick to say good morning. The bonds don't respond - of course they don't, the babies are surely too small - but still, they look...bigger this morning? More vibrant?
I grin, incredibly excited to see them grow. God, I never thought much about what
it would be like to be pregnant, but I have to admit...I'm kind of loving it.
At least, until the morning sickness starts. Then I'm sure I'll despise it all.
A yawn breaks from Jesse's bed and I grin when I see my cousin sit up, his eyes still shut, rubbing at his brown hair. A little noise next to me makes me look down and I smile to see that Marigold's pretty blue eyes are open, looking up at me.
"Good morning, Goldie," I whisper, running my fingers through her hair. "How did you sleep?"
"Good," she whispers, shutting her eyes again and blearily rubbing her face against Jackson's side. "Breakfast?"
I laugh, thinking that she's certainly her father's daughter, and Jackson gives a little hum of agreement that I can feel resonating through his chest.
"Jesse's in charge of breakfast," I whisper to Goldie, giving her a little nudge. "Go bother him and he'll get you some."
My little girl grins and rolls over in the bed, swinging her legs off the edge and hopping down, rushing for Jesse.
"No!" Jesse moans, throwing his blankets up over his head and
cuddling back into his pillows & net
didn't agree to childcare! I refuse feeding responsibilities!"
"Breakfast!" Marigold calls out, laughing as she jumps on his bed and starts rifling
through the blankets, looking for him. "Breakfast, Jesse!"
He snarls, mock threatening, making
her laugh harder. My little heart
soars as I watch them play and Ч
Jackson wraps his arms around me,
holding me tight, joy likewise thrumming through him.
"Come on, Goldie," Midnight says with a yawn, sitting up in bed, her wild back curts all rumpled and standing up at odd angles. I grin, thinking she looks quite pretty as she holds out a hand towards my daughter. "Childcare is my responsibility. I will show you the magical food door in the wall - we will put a note in it and when the bell rings, there will be food!"
Marigold squeaks with excitement and jumps down from Jesse's bed, running for
her.
"This is amazing," Jackson murmurs, laughing a little himself.
"I know," I say on a happy sigh, turning my face to him. "Do you think -"
But before I can get any further, an angry knock comes at the door.
Chapter 0992
"Ut-oh," Jesse says, turning to grin at me. "Looks like the secrets out."
"You could look less cheerful about it," I say, glaring at him even as I climb out of bed and move towards the door as Jackson pulls on his shirt. "It's not your education at stake, after all."
"Nooo, don't forbid me my glee," Jesse says, laughing a little as he, too, makes himself more presentable and stands up. I grin at him, knowing that he's just teasing – that he'll back me up no matter what.
I reach for the door handle as a second angry knock comes, but I don't let it rattle me, instead glancing over at Midnight and Marigold. Pleased to see that they're undisturbed and continuing their breakfast order, I take a deep breath and pull open the door.
The Captain glares down at me, livid.
"Oh hey, Captain!” I say, giving him my best Princess smile and tucking my hands innocently behind my back. "It's so nice to see you again - how've you been!?"
"Sinclair," he growls, taking an angry step forward to loom over me. He opens his mouth to begin what I'm sure is a long and fervid lecture about not letting girls into the castle.
But then he suddenly goes very still, staring at me, his eyes going wide as his mouth falls open.
And I just grin, knowing that he probably just caught a whiff of my scent.
I hear and feel Jackson coming to stand behind me, steady and strong, my Alpha ready to protect me and our two little baby girls against anything the Captain might say or do.
"Captain," Jackson says, his voice rumbling low with warning. "Good morning. Would you like to come in?"
"Hi!" Jesse calls, a little too cheerful.
I suppress a grin and step back from the door, waving a hand to invite the Captain further in.
He doesn't move, just continues to stare at me. "You're...you're..."
"Knocked up!" Jesse supplies, gleeful.
"Jess!" I sigh, turning to glare at him a bit.
"I mean, it's true," my cousin says with a shrug, grinning at me.
"Yeah well, he brought his mate," I say, pointing over at Midnight, who puts the breakfast order into the dumbwaiter and shows Marigold how to shut the door and push the button that will deliver her magical commands. “And she's possessed by Darkness. So. I'm not the only one breaking the rules."
"To be fair," Jackson murmurs, slipping a hand around my waist and pulling me back against his chest. "I don't actually think the Cadet handbook has any clauses that forbid Cadets from getting pregnant. So, you might be in the clear there."
My eyebrows raise as I turn my eyes back on the Captain, indicating that my mate might have a point.
Something about this breaks the Captain out of his shock and he snarls, stepping into the room and leaving the door standing open in his rage. "This is - this is ridiculous - I will not have this kind of anarchy at my school!"
"It's not anarchy," Jesse murmurs, walking to the center of the room and seating himself down in his armchair. "I think you'll find that we're very organized."
"Organized," Marigold whispers, tottling over to Jesse, who scoops her up and seats her comfortably in his lap, pressing a kiss to her hair. Midnight follows, giving a happy little wave to the Captain, sitting in Rafe's chair.
The Captain just stares at both of them in shock before his eyes quickly dash to Marigold, and then up to Jesse's face and back. But then his head whips to Jackson, putting together the undeniable fact that the little girl is Jackson's daughter, not Jesse's.
“Cadets are not allowed to have children,” the Captain growls, leaning towards Jackson to glare at him. "And if they do, they are not to take residence at the Academy -"
"Well, I've got three now," Jackson says with a shrug, evenly meeting the Captain's gaze, his arm tightening around me. "And I don't think Ariel is letting any of them go anywhere."
The Captain just stares at him, again stunned, trying to put together the math that makes that statement make sense -
"Twins," I whisper, grinning and pointing at my belly.
The Captain shifts his eyes to me. "We've made exceptions for you before, Sinclair, but this goes too far - the Academy is far too dangerous a place for a pregnant woman -"
"I'm not pregnant!" Midnight calls, sounding far too proud of the fact. "So I can stay!"
The Captain whips his head to stare at her for a second before returning
his eyes to me. "You are hereby disenrolled, Sinclair,” the Captain growls, still livid with me for thinking I could just show back up and everything will be fine. "We can discuss your continued enrollment after you've..." he stumbles for the
words, his eyes moving down to my
belly. "Produced the children..."
I sigh, tilting my head to the side, not letting his anger and his commands ruffle
me. After all, we've had time to prepare for this.
"I'm afraid that timeline isn't going to work for me, Captain," I say, heaving a little shrug. "I'll be continuing my enrollment now. We'll each have to find ways to adjust."
The Captain's face starts to redden with rage at my open defiance. "You cannot -"
Chapter 0993
"If I'm dismissed from the Academy now," I interrupt, holding up a hand and conjuring up my blue flames, which make him take a step back in surprise. "Then the military of Moon Valley loses the opportunity to train and make use of its most powerful weapon. Which, if you ask me, is far too much of a loss when the solution is simply to make a slight adjustment to the rule book."
He snarls at me, teeth flashing. "Obviously we value your powers, Ariel, which is why I suggest you return after your...confinement. It is far too dangerous for a pregnant woman to train at the academy!"
"Eh," I say, glancing at my fire and then vanishing it away. "If I leave now I don't think I'll ever come back. I'll be far too busy caring for my children, building a home for my family, learning my place. You know," I say, giving him my prettiest smile - one that likewise shows all my teeth. "Women's work."
Jackson growls softly behind me, giving me his full support.
"That is not what I mean," the Captain growls, unhappy to be put in this position.
Another voice drawls from the door. "Then what do you mean?"
I gasp with delight, my head spinning to see my favorite professor leaning
casually in the doorframe. Neumann gives me a little half smile in greeting before turning his eyes back to the Captain.
"What's the problem here?" Neumann asks, the little smirk still curling his lips. "Are you presuming that pregnancy has rendered the girl unable to read?"
“Don't speak to me like I'm a fool, Neumann,” the Captain growls, his anger growing and becoming more palpable in the room. "Obviously this has nothing to do with her intellectual capacities. It is the physical training which puts her in danger and makes us liable, not to mention the continued threat of insubordination -"
“Oh, Ariel's talents never leaned towards the physical anyway,” Neuman says on a sigh, waving a lazy hand to dismiss the Captain's concerns. "She's always been crap at that."
"Hey!" I snap, straightening up with a frown.
"Ariel, any Alpha in this room could knock you down with a flick of their finger and I refuse to be impressed simply because you can pull a trigger with moderate accuracy."
"My accuracy is more than moderate," I growl. To my surprise the Captain nods along with me, still glaring at Neumann.
"It doesn't matter," Neumann says with a sigh, waving that lazy hand at me in turn as he refocuses on the Captain. “The point is that the girl's education plan was always individual anyway. We'll simply keep her away from the knives. Yes?"
The Captain sighs, clearly outmatched here, and ducks his face into his palm even as he shakes it. "God damn Sinclairs," he mutters. "I...need to talk to Roger and Dominic about this."
I nod, accepting this, recognizing that even his willingness to talk to my dad is a victory. Neumann smirks at me and nods, silently agreeing that we've taken the cake on this one.
"Okay, me now!" Midnight says, jumping up from Rafe's chair and striding over to us, her hands firmly planted on her waist. "I'm going to enroll! Please make me a uniform!"
Neumann's face bursts into a delighted grin. "What on earth are you?" he asks, bending down a little to see her better.
The Captain groans, lifting his face from his hand. "No. Absolutely not. No little girls in the Academy - you have to go." He points at Marigold. "That one too."
Jesse gasps dramatically and cuddles Marigold closer. "How dare you, this is a Princess of our realm -"
"Oh, no she is not," the Captain scoffs, folding his arms over his chest.
I bare my teeth at him, growling, and he turns to me, blinking with surprise. "What!?"
"That is my daughter, Marigold," I say, raising my chin, quite proud. "You will take care to show her the respect she deserves."
"Come on, Goldie," Jesse murmurs, his big smile clearly betraying how much he's enjoying this. "We're too important to deign to debate your royal status." He stands, holding her close and wandering over to the window.
"I'm still primarily interested in this creature," Neumann murmurs, pointing at Midnight.
"No other girls," the Captain growls, turning to glare at Neumann and Midnight in turn.
"No, you have to let me in," Midnight says, tossing her hair back over her shoulders, přim and smug. "I'm very important. No one can do what I can do. You will let me enroll and I will
study Chemistree and be a spy."
"I said -"
"All right," Neumann says, blatantly ignoring the Captain. "Go on, kid. Show us
what you've got."
Midnight grins, wicked and gleeful,
and then her shadows erupt from her. I gasp, a bit shocked to see her completely fade from sight in a cloud of darkness, her edges blurring into darkness. She dashes away then to the dark corner of the room where she becomes indistinguishable from the wall.
"Fantastic," Neumann murmurs, smiling widely, shaking his head.
“Oh god,” the Captain says, sighing heavily and looking up to the ceiling. “This is
becoming a finishing school for incredibly dangerous magical girls."
I burst into a grin, absolutely loving that idea.
Chapter 0994
"Come back here," Neumann calls, pointing at the ground in front of him. Midnight appears again in the corner, dismissing her shadows, and dashes back over, smiling her delight.
"Are you seriously encouraging this?" the Captain murmurs, shaking his head and heaving a big sigh.
Neuman doesn't reply, instead narrowing his eyes at Midnight. "Are you smart?"
"Plenty smart," she says, giving a sharp nod.
"Where were you educated?"
"My yurt."
Neumann pauses for a moment and then moves on. “Do you have advanced chemistry and mathematics?"
"Nope!" Midnight says, tucking her hands behind her back and giving her head a firm shake. "But Ariel says she will tutor me all summer and I'll be ready for the fall."
"All right," Neumann murmurs, his voice dropping low, his mouth drawing to a thin line. "Let's quiz you, then, to see if you have the mental capacity to enroll in this school. If there are eighteen bananas and six coconuts that you need to split between a pack of baboons and another of monkeys who are at war, how do you split them up to effect piece?"
"What on earth does that have to do with her capacity for espionage?" the Captain blurts out, exasperated.
"I want to see how the girl's mind works,” Neumann murmurs, keeping his eyes on Mids.
Midnight cocks her head to the side, her eyes squinting in thought. "I'm afraid that I need more information to solve this puzzle."
"Such as?" Neumann asks.
"Such as...what is a coconut?" Midnight says, fastening her eyes seriously on his face. "And I need to know whether or not in can be used as a weapon."
Neuman's face spreads into a wide smile. "It can."
"Then I take all the coconuts for myself, to enforce control," she says, her mouth spreading into a wicked smile. "And all the monkeys and the baboons recognize me as their King. And I give bananas to my favorites to ensure their loyalty."
Neumann laughs a little, clearly delighted with the girl, and then turns his head to the Captain. "I mean, if she can pass through the Candidate stage, I definitely want her."
The Captain rolls his eyes as Midnight eagerly bites her lip. "I'll pass!" she says, nodding, eager. "I'm sure I will! I'll kick all their butts!"
"I look forward to watching your progress," Neumann says, leaning forward to her with a friendly smile.
"All of this is out of order," the Captain growls, glaring around at all of us. "We cannot have children and unenrolled girls living in the Castle - it's an impossibility
"Well, I'm actually not sure that that's a huge problem," Jesse calls from the window. Curious, I turn to see him with a huge smile spreading across his face.
"What?" the Captain asks, his face falling at the evidence of a new undesired surprise.
"Come here," Jesse says with a laugh, waving us over.
Marigold, leaning towards the window, gives an excited little shout. Baffled, I glance up at Jackson, who just shrugs at me, and then together - followed by Midnight, Neumann, and the Captain - we head over to the window, all peering out together.
-
"Oh my god!" I gasp, my hands immediately flying to my mouth.
A moment later tears start to spring to my eyes and I spin away from the window, dashing for the door.
"Mom!" I call, running across the lawn at the base of the castle. "Mom, are you kidding me!?"
She turns, a huge smile spreading across her face, a laugh breaking from her as she sees me coming with my entourage of family and professors following behind.
"Hi baby!" she calls, waving to me.
But I barely have time to look at her, distracted instead by the four houses that are being removed from their spots on a train with the aid of several trucks and complicated machines.
"Oh my oh my god," I whisper,
-
fascinated and thrilled as I stumble to her side, watching the most adorable tittle cottage being lowered to the flat grass. "Did you are you bite my lip, desperately wanting one of the little houses to be for me but hesitating even to ask.
"Oh, of course it's for you, darling," Mom says on a laugh, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she wraps me up in a hug. I shriek with joy, hugging her back as I feel Jackson and the rest catching up with us.
"But why are there four!?" I whisper.
"Well, you didn't think I was going to
let you move to the Academy and not let me have daily access to my grand-daughters for the first year of their life, she says, pulling back to look at me like I'm insane. "Plus, my little Goldie-girl needs her grandma too!" she says, stepping close to Jacks to press a kiss first to
Marigold's cheek and then his.
I gasp, delighted, my eyes flooded with tears. "Mom, that's too much!"
"It's just enough, baby," Mom says, turning back to me and cupping my cheek in
her palm as Jesse and Mids come to joins us.
Chapter 0995
"We won't be here all the time." A new voice surprises me and I turn, starting to cry in earnest when I see my dad come around one of the houses, Rafe at his side. "We have a country to run, after all." He grins at me, opening an arm.
“Dad,” I croak, shaking my head and tucking myself against his side when he comes close. "Are you - are you serious with all of this?"
"It was all Rafe's idea," dad says, grinning over at my brother, who gives me a wink.
"Me and Jesse came up with it," Rafe says with a laugh, tucking his hands into his pockets. I gasp again and whip my head to the side to stare at Jesse, who just laughs. “I just drew the short straw of having to convince mom and dad about it and arrange the spur-of-the-moment purchase of four ready-made homes while the rest of you got to have a fun train adventure."
"So," I whisper, looking back up at my dad. "This is...this is all happening? I can stay? I can enroll?"
"You clearly already decided, baby trouble,” dad says, stroking a hand over my hair. "And you were right. We never wanted to restrict you from your education, Ariel, we just...wanted to make sure you were safe while you did it. And the Captain is correct," he says, nodding to the man in question, who walks over with Neumann. “It isn't practical to have Midnight and Marigold or the infants living in the Castle with all of the Cadets. We should be grateful to Rafe for this clever compromise."
"So, me and Jacks," I say, my eyes catching on a little blue cottage that I desperately want to be for me. "And one for Midnight, and you, and..." Confused,
I look up at my father. "Wait, who's the fourth one for?"
"Cora got jealous," mom says, rolling her eyes. "She said she wanted one too."
I burst out laughing, shaking my head and hugging my dad again. "Thank you all. So, so much."
"We love you, baby," mom says, coming close and pressing a kiss to my hair. Dad wraps his arm around her instead of me, smushing me between them in a very loving sandwich. "Although your kids had better be cute, because this was expensive."
I laugh, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "Of course they're going to be cute," I sigh, happiness ringing through me like the peal of a bell.
We all spend the next few hours ironing out the details of what my continued education will look like, watching as the houses are carefully placed in a little line next to each other, engineers moving expertly around them to ensure that they're all perfectly level and safe. Jesse and Rafe voyage into the Castle and return with breakfast supplies and a surprisingly lovely and calm morning passes with most of us seated on blankets, watching our little village come together.
"They might not have septic and plumbing until tomorrow," mom says, grimacing over at me as I lean against Jackson's side with Marigold in my lap, all of us watching with interest. "Will you survive?"
"We'll make it Jackson says,
it
nodding to mom even as he keeps
his eyes on the work. "I just got
plumbing eight months ago. Marigold still probably thinks it's magic. We'll make do for as long as we need to."
I turn my head and privately stick my tongue out at mom, letting her silently know that...I'm going to need that septic tank and water system installed as fast as possible. Ske wrinkles her nose at me and nods, letting me know she's on it.
"Which one is mine?" Midnight asks, walking over with Jesse, her hands on her hips. She looks quite happily at the houses, well pleased with them.
“Oh, we're just setting you up in a tent outside,” Jesse says, slinging a casual arm around her shoulders.
She gasps, appalled, but then snarls when she looks up at his face and sees that he's kidding.
"We thought the little cabin would suit you, Midnight," mom says, nodding to the tiny rustic cabin that's situated next to the blue house that I've mentally claimed as my own.
"Good," Midnight says, nodding once. "I like that one best. Very defensible."
I grin at her even as the head engineer, standing at dad's side outside the blue house, turns to us with a wave and a nod.
"You ready?" mom says, turning to me, Jackson, and Marigold with a smile.
"Yes!" I say, getting eagerly to my feet. "Are you?" I ask, watching Jackson get up, a big smile on my face.
"Sure," Jackson says with a shrug,
looking over at the house as he
hoists Marigold up on his hip and runs a hand through his hair. "I mean, I've never been in a house before. Kind of crazy that the first one I'll go into will be...my house."
My mouth falls open as I stare at my mate, shocked.