The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 0722

"So!?" I say, leaning forward in turn and matching his tone, my hand still clamped to the wound on my neck.

"So- so we had sex!" Luca shouts, baffled and freaked out and afraid. "So you picked me! You picked me, Ariel! I gave you my mark because you picked me!"

I go perfectly still as I stare at Luca, my mouth slightly open.

Because that...that is not at all what happened.

I mean, we just had sex - we had a horrible few days, and had a bunch to drink, and we took refuge in each other -

And I love Luca desperately, but I did not choose him.

"Luca," I say, quite slow, "I did not pick you. I am not rejecting Jackson. We just had sex -"

"It's the same thing!" he roars, staring at me like I'm insane, or that he might be going insane, or that the world itself is broken and horrible and he's somehow just lost in it.

his hands getting lost in his hair

his side of it - I see what he means. He thought that breaking the stupid sex pact was not just us having sex, but me fulfilling the terms of it: choosing him, deciding to reject

the wording - god, I don't even remember - that I wouldn't have sex with one of them until I'd

then - so much has grown

back towards me suddenly and drawing my eyes up to him. "A man only gets one chance to mark his mate. I never precisely imagined that the moment I did it that you'd say 'no' and shove me away

my head and sniff hard then, because he's right. It shouldn't have been

foreverything that has been lost

in his voice now. "Why, because that's what he

lower lip trembling in my agony. "Why are you even talking about

us," Luca snarls, glaring at me like he hates me. His wolf snarls in my soul, prowling towards mine. "It's always about him - he's always there - between us - ruining

- Jackson would

maybe you should

always does everything right and he's so fucking perfect, maybe you should have had your first time with him! And then everything would have

Luca, dread coiling

in the room between us as Luca