The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 60
Time at the Academy presents neat little patterns for us, and Rafe, Jesse, and I
fall gratefully into them. Because life? It is busy. Every morning Jesse gets me up
early, making me go for a run with him even before we go to breakfast. I'd enjoy
these moments with my favorite cousin more if I wasn't so damn tired every day.
“Can we get a coffee maker in the suite,” I pant, my breath puffing in little clouds
in the damp and foggy air. “I can’t go for these runs without the aid of caffeine.”
“Come on, Scrimpy!” Jesse laughs, putting on a burst of speed and swatting me
on the shoulder as he pulls ahead, obliging me to keep up. “Let your zest for life
wake you in the morning! Not caffeine!”
“Life would be much more zesty with a little espresso,” I growl, sighing and
speeding up to keep pace. “With a side of biscotti!”
After our run, we hastily get dressed and go to breakfast with our group. Luca, to
my chagrin and agony, continues to ice me out. He sits with me at every meal,
and at dinner he jokes with me and the rest of our group like nothing's changed.
But not once does he try to pull me aside, to make a moment to talk about what
happened between us in the birch forest.
What he maybe, probably now knows the incredible secret he’s carrying, that I'm
trusting
him with.
Breakfast, of course, wouldn't be the best time to talk about anything, gathered
as we are around our little round table, but still I'm dying to talk about what
happened, to learn what he figured out about my secret, and he just...won’t let
me.
“Luca,” I growl the next morning when Rafe and Jesse get up to go speak to
some other warrior candidates about a group project they're working on and Ben
obligingly tucks his nose into a book. “What are —”
“No here, Shrimp,” Luca replies, his voice low. “This is a way bigger conversation
that we're not having in the Hall.”
“Well then why won't you meet me in the...” I hesitate, glancing Ben's way,
because I almost
said dream. Ben just turns his page, looking for all the world like he’s completely
lost in his textbook. “Forest,” I conclude, the word pressed between my teeth.
Luca narrows his eyes at me. “Oh, you want to meet in the forest?” he says, his
lips turning up with the irony of it. “The one you can just make disappear
whenever you're done talking? Come on, Shrimp. You haven't played fair for
weeks, and you're still not. I need... more than that.”
My mouth falls at his stubbornness and I realize, quite suddenly, that Luca —
whatever he has figured out — is not at all freaked out.
He's mad at me.
And my heart sinks as he sips his coffee, turning his eyes back to his textbook —
we all pretty much read at breakfast today, trying to cram everything in while we
can — because... Luca is right. I have not been fair, and while I'm not sure that I'd
have made any different
choices...
I've really made my mate take the brunt of it, haven't 1?
“I'm sorry,” I whisper, looking down at my plate, feeling forlorn.
“We're good,” Luca says, his voice still soft so only he and I can hear. I snap my
head up, looking at him with wide eyes. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, glancing
over at me. “Just... not here. Not at dinner, either. We need a space where it's
just us, and a long time to chat.”
“So when...”
“I don't know, Ari,” he says, a little exasperated, lifting his eyes to meet mine.
“Considering how your cousins never let you out of their sight, that’s going to be
a little difficult, isn't it?”
I blush at the way that he emphasizes the word cousins, wondering if that
means...
But before I can consider anything, Rafe and Jesse return to the table. “Ready?”
Rafe asks, looking towards Luca as he lifts his coffee to his lips and swigs it
down in one go.
“Yup!” Luca says, cheerfulness immediately returning to his expression as he
gets to his feet.
“You'll get Ari to Chemistry?” Rafe asks Ben as Luca and Jesse collect their
things.
Ben shoots a thumbs-up over his shoulder, still concentrating on his book, as the
Warrior- track boys start to head towards their early class. As he leaves, Luca
brushes his arm against mine casual enough that it could be accidental.
But lingering enough that, when I look up at him, and see him looking down at
me, his eyes warm?
God damn it, but it makes me want to jump right back into his arms, my legs
wrapped around his waist.
I sigh, returning to my own textbook, forcing my mind onto Chemistry, because I
know that Neumann is going to quiz us hard today to see who has been able to
keep up with the insane amount of homework he has assigned.
“Don't worry too much about it,” Ben murmurs from his spot a seat away from
me, his voice so soft that he could be talking to himself.
“Huh?” I say, looking up at him.
He keeps his eyes down, but I see the way his lips turn up. “He’s obsessed with
you too, all right?” My jaw drops open a little bit. “Whatever little lover's quarrel
you're going through here it's going to get sorted out. Trust him — he’ll come
around when he decides to.”
Ben flicks his eyes to me now, and I turn my head to the side, still shocked but
also incredibly interested. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that Luca’s the definition of an Alpha — he’s used to getting his way. He's
a great guy, but he wants the upper hand.” Ben shrugs. “But think about who you
are, Ari. If you owe him an apology, give it, but don’t crawl after him begging him
to accept it. You,” he says, looking at me significantly, “bow to no one.”
I sit up very straight in my chair for a second, staring at my very perceptive friend
with an open mouth, before my face bursts into a smile. “When did you get so
wise, Ben?”
He shrugs, smirking down at his textbook as I change seats, moving closer and
bringing my book and coffee along. “Like I told you, four sisters. Luca’s no puppy
dog that’s going to follow you around begging for treats, but trust me — he likes
you. Big time. So...just let him
work it out. And get back to work,” he says, nodding to my homework. “You've got
bigger things to worry about.”
“I love you,” I murmur, bumping my shoulder against his.
“Right back at ya,” he sighs happily. And then we study, my mind successfully
turned to the more pressing matter right now: not failing out of school.
Mates can wait, I think to myself, concentrating. My wolf huffs in discontentment,
but she doesn’t stop me.
Unfortunately, my own life proves me wrong again, because obviously I see my
second mate that afternoon in magic class. He doesn’t greet me as I slip into the
seat next to him, settling my chemistry books on the text in front of me. Instead,
Jackson just glances my way before turning his attention back to the board,
where Alvez is drawing out some complicated diagrams.
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I laugh to myself, shaking my head at
)
Jackson's perpetual lack of
greetings, allowing myself to get
5 ) 5
distracted by Rafe's conversation
with Jesse about how combat went
f )
that morning. They've moved on from
hand-to-hand to working with
swords, apparently, which Jesse
thinks is incredibly cool but which
Rafe argues is impractical. The
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I'm half lost in their argument when Jackson's deep voice makes me jump.
“How'd that go?” he asks.
I turn to him, surprised, and just stare into his face. “What?”
He smirks and then nods down at my chemistry book, a little burned mark still on
the cover where I pried the melted marble away. Dr. Neumann had raised an
eyebrow at the condition of my text, but hadn't asked any questions.
“How did class go, Clark?” Jackson says, his words snapping a little more than
necessary. But I just smirk at my mate, wrinkling my nose, because I know him
enough now to know that he’s not being nasty — he just doesn't have a lot of
social graces.
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« » —
It went great, actually,” I say, sitting
up straight, excited that he asked.
Rafe had been distracted on our walk
)
here I haven't had a chance to brag
« :
yet. “We had a pop quiz and I am
fairly certain that I did not disgrace
myself. I really like the material too —
% 8 5 ,
I didn't realize how much biology I'd
have to learn alongside the
chemistry. I mean, not only do we
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have to think about how the poison itself is made, but we have to understand
what it does in the body as well. I never thought about...”
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Jackson lets me prattle on for awhile
while Alvez finishes up his writing on
the board, and while his
: ,
expressionless face doesn't really
5 . )
give me a lot to go on, I think he's at
3 ley s
least a little bit interested. He doesn't
interrupt, at least. Instead, he props
his chin on his palm and just listens,
looking at me, until Alvez clasps his
hands at the front of the room,
drawing our attention to him. The
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“So,” Alvez says, smiling his dark smile as he looks slowly around at us. “Any...
results? From your experimentations?”
Anxiety floods me
because I'm suddenly torn between wanting to explore my magic and keep my
promise to Jackson that I won't tell what I know about his.
But still, I'm dying to know both what his gift is, and why for some reason he’s not
telling
anyone.
Not even the professor who stares at him so, so eagerly from the front of the
room.