The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 72

Unfortunately, that night when I go into the dream state, Luca isn’t there.

Anxiety whirs in me as I turn around in the birch forest, looking for him, but it’s…definitely just me by myself. I frown, trying to feel him…is he just…not asleep?

And there’s..certainly something there. It’s almost like I can…feel him sleeping down the bond. There’s a deep rest there, and a stillness, but…

I don’t know. It’s almost like he’s not dreaming, not at all.

I sigh, working very hard not to take it personally, and then I will the dream to end. I wake up for a moment in my little nook, frowning, wondering ridiculously if I should just…go downstairs and knock on his door, make sure that he’s okay.

But no – Rafe was really upset when he came back to the room. And not just pissed that I didn’t follow the plan to the letter, but genuinely worried for me. His shoulders had been trembling when I had come out of the shower and he had wrapped me in a big hug, scolding me but holding me close nonetheless.

He’d heard about Wright attacking me in the hall, of course, and of Luca punching him out and pulling me into his room where I’d be safe. Jesse exaggerated how quickly he got there, suggesting it had only been minutes later. Rafe, thank god, hadn’t been suspicious.

Because I don’t really need to answer my big brother’s questions, right now, about why I’m making out with Luca Grant while my mate, Jackson McClintock, lives only a few doors down.

I sigh now, looking towards Rafe’s big bed where I can hear him snoring softly, wishing he didn’t take my safety so personally. He just loves me, I know, and I love him right back but it’s not his life’s duty to keep me safe like this.

–

Regardless, as tempting as the idea to go down to knock on my mate’s door is, I’m not risking Rafe waking up to find me alone. So instead I turn over and close my eyes, letting myself drift off into a nice, restful sleep. I have the other dream again the one that I had before, of running along the moonlit cliffside in my wolf form, another wolf at my heels. It fills me with a great deal of peace and joy, running in the night.

–

I’m happy when I wake up, stretching my arms over my head as my brother and my cousin call their morning greetings to me. But there’s anxiety alongside it because where had Luca been? Why hadn’t he come?

He’s not still mad at me, is he? I thought we left that all behind…

–

by the insanely rigorous workout that Jesse and Rafe put me through. Saturdays, apparently, have brunch instead of breakfast in order to allow cadets to rest and catch up on some reading. But Jesse and Rafe, because they

do you….hate me….” I gasp as I

the floor next to the bar and flipping through a textbook, taking notes. “It is love that

abusive relationships,” I say, dropping from the bar

just getting you strong for the Examination. What if they ask you to climb

it,” I mutter, making Jesse

too but claps his hands together.

as lightly as any of mom’s purses. I scowl at him, jealous of the passive ease with which he does hard things, but my scowl is instantly wiped from my face when we walk into the Hall and

have an answer

them, their faces green. Ben rests his head against his folded arm and gives up halfway through giving us a wave of greeting. Luca just sits with his

takes my face in

sorry,” he murmurs. “We‘

hisses, hitting Luca hard on the forearm and knocking his hands away. Luca jumps a little and steps

–

out to Luca, whose emotions I can feel down the bond such guilt, and worry, and the idea that he let me

him, smiling, passing feelings of calm and content down the bond. Because I get it – it was a mistake. He and Ben got caught up drinking it’s

–

and then at Luca as we all take our seats, me by Luca’s side as usual. “You

crap.”

am far from crap. I aspire

drinking?” Jesse asks, helping himself to the full carafe of coffee on the table and pouring me and

as if the very word pains him. “At least, they said it was vodka. One of the older cadets probably made it

–

grabbing a blueberry muffin from the basket on

those for me?” Luca asks, longing at the muffin longingly. “They look so good, and I’m so hungry, but even the idea

and chewing with relish. “It’s

please, little miss sanctimonious,” he murmurs, low enough to get

Chapter 72