The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 42

“What, is your subconscious homophobic?” I ask, continuing to be frustrated and a little annoyed at him for not believing me even though I’m telling him the truth and spilling a serious secret for his own good.

Because honestly! I could make out with him here! And I would be the only one who knew that it was real!

I’m doing this for him, to be fair, and yet he persists in not believing me! It’s very rude.

“It might be,” Luca says with a shrug, still looking down at me. “I wouldn’t think that it was, but here you are, still not kissing me, even though I keep trying. Honestly, Ari, being shut down by the figment of my own imagination is very annoying –”

“I’m real!” I insist again, this time through my teeth.

“Prove it,” he says, shrugging.

“Ask me anything!”

“That won’t work,” he says, turning his head to the side. “Anything you say is something I already know or think I know. No way to verify that it’s true.

“Fine,” I say, crossing my arms and lifting my chin. “Ask me something tomorrow, in real life – something impossible, that you’d never predict. I’ll give you the same answer here as I do then.”

Luca turns his head a little, considering. “That could work,” he murmurs, but then he turns back to me with a sly smile. “But in the meantime, you and I could, you know, fool around a little…”

In the distance, my wolf howls with delight.

“Whoa,” Luca says, turning to look for her. “What was that?”

“It was my wolf,” I sigh.

“Really?” he asks, and then the turns back to me, smirking. “Your wolf does…not sound adverse to the idea.” He leans more fully against the tree now, bringing his body closer to mine and kind of pinning me back against the trunk in a way that…

12:49 Sun, 10 Mar

Chapter 42

That I do not mind at all.

“Luca,” I sigh, and honestly I have to close my eyes as I turn my face away from him, because if I spend even a moment longer looking up at the shadows his long lashes cast against his cheeks…I am definitely going to do something I regret.

“What?” he asks softly, cupping my cheek in his palm and turning my face back to his, his hand and his voice both impossibly gentle. “What do you want, Ari?”

And his question…I know instinctually that there are layers to it. That he’s asking me what I want, but also what I like –

want to be

precisely I want him

as he presses his

a way that feels….god, it feels fucking

open, already glaring. “Not that kind of question,”

he strokes his thumb along the skin of my cheek.

cream,” I answer immediately, “with whipped cream.”

It is not fair to be in

both very clearly want to?

to know that it’s real.

very girly desert. “Of course sprinkles,” I murmur,

practical.” I take a deep breath, savoring his scent and the press of his muscled torso against me for one last second. I hesitate, but then I lift my hands, and let my palms press against his sides, feeling the lines of his obliques

just for a moment, I let myself imagine what his bare skin would feel

passes

damn it, Ari,” he growls, leaning in

eyes shut, and

eyes fly open in my bed and I clench my teeth with a groan, turning and burying my face into a pillow to stifle the sound of

cursing myself vehemently for having a sense of ethics and the willpower to stop Luca from doing

god damn it I wanted to

the hell knows when I’ll have the chance – because Luca, he just wanted to kiss the figment of his imagination that looks like me so he can figure out how he’s feeling.

run screaming from the room.

he will. I sigh, curling up in my pillows and wrapping myself up in my soft white duvet, considering

and that I’m just unfairly confusing him because I’m his mate underneath

is. And as much as I’m fine with Ben knowing… Luca? My mate? It’s a different story – an

this school, because failing to do so means

Chapter 12

out. And I’ve just, just gotten hold of the thing I never knew I always wanted: a chance at the Espionage Track at Alpha

not at all ready to give that up with Luca Grant.

chance to make

turning over again in my blankets, and I close my eyes and force myself to try and go back to sleep – a state which feels

some kind of Alpha alarm clock that I

shouts, throwing a pillow into the open curtain of my nook. I jump and

sleep,” I growl, pulling the blankets over myself and nestling back

breakfast, they don’t,” Rafe says, laughing and yanking my away, making me

duvet

the dumbwaiter?” I ask, sitting up finally when I realize they’re not going

out of the bathroom, brushing as he strides around the room in his underwear, getting

jaw cracks. As I pull