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 –

I want to be kissed.

I want him to put his hands.

him as he presses his mouth hard to mine

pinning me back against the tree in a way that feels….god, it feels fucking amazing, his body pressed flush against mine. “I want you to ask me a question.”

already glaring. “Not that kind of question,” I growl,

his thumb along the skin of my cheek. “Real–Ari had my nan’s

answer immediately, “with whipped cream.”

in this dream state with him and be the only one knowing what’s going on. If we’re going

we both very clearly want to?

both going to know that it’s real.

mean, it is a very girly desert. “Of course sprinkles,” I murmur, sighing

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

as I do, just for a moment, I let myself imagine

shudder passes through Luca’s body.

it, Ari,” he growls, leaning

head, and press my eyes shut, and will

clench my teeth with a groan,

for myself, cursing myself vehemently for having a sense of ethics and the willpower to stop

it, god damn it

to kiss the figment of his imagination that looks

screaming from the

at least I think he will. I sigh, curling up in my pillows and wrapping myself up in my soft white duvet, considering it. Because

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

I’m fine with Ben knowing… Luca? My mate? It’s a different story – an unpredictable level of exposure that I’m just

school, because failing to do so means getting

Chapter 12

thing I never knew I always wanted: a chance at the Espionage

all ready to give that up with

the 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 very, very far

wake up early, some kind of Alpha alarm clock that I was not born with making

and at ‘em, little cousin!” Jesse shouts, throwing a pillow into the open curtain of

of sleep,” I growl, pulling

breakfast, they don’t,” Rafe says, laughing

duvet

sitting up finally when I realize they’re not going to leave me in

brushing as he strides around the room in his underwear, getting ready for the day. “Breakfast all together

bathroom. I sigh and grab it, yawning so wide my jaw cracks. As I pull my boot on I hope that there’s coffee with breakfast –