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 –

to

precisely I want him

I want him to pull me tight against him as he presses his mouth hard to mine – which I decidedly do –

sigh, as he rests his weight deliciously against me, pinning me back against the tree in a way that feels….god, it

darkly and my eyes fly open, already glaring. “Not that kind of question,” I growl, and he

game even as he strokes his thumb along the skin of my

answer immediately, “with whipped cream.”

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

very clearly want to?

going to

sprinkles on top?” Luca asks, teasing – because, I mean, it is a very girly desert. “Of

more than seems 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

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

hard shudder passes through Luca’s

damn it, Ari,” he growls,

I turn my head, and press my eyes shut, and will the dream

with a groan, turning and burying my face into a pillow to stifle the sound of it.

myself vehemently for having a sense of ethics

it, god damn it

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. As soon as he realizes that that

to run screaming from

soft white duvet, considering it. Because Luca – he still thinks I’m a boy,

I’m just unfairly confusing him

revealed today how tenuous my secret already is. And as much as I’m fine with Ben knowing… Luca? My mate? It’s a different story – an unpredictable level of exposure that I’m

this school, because failing to

Chapter 12

of the thing I never knew I always

not at all ready to give that up with

even for the chance

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

kind of Alpha alarm clock that I was not born with

little cousin!” Jesse shouts, throwing a pillow into the open curtain of my nook. I jump and shrick when it hits me right

get an extra hour of sleep,” I growl, pulling the blankets over

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

duvet

sitting up finally when I realize they’re not

as he strides around the room in his underwear, getting ready

for my boots. Rafe tosses one in my direction as he takes Jesse’s place in the 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 – because while dream states do happen while you’re dreaming, I’m not sure that I’d say they