The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 0786 "Princess," Elias says with a sad little sigh. "I'm sure there are a great many questions that you -" But a clatter interrupts Elias's words and he jumps a little as the little carafe of cream goes soaring to the ground.

"Oh, Ellie," Pippa says, giving him a half-hearted little glare along with a laugh. "You're impossible." She drops a kiss to his cheek even as she goes to her knees with a napkin, quickly wiping up the spilled

cream.

"Pip, please let me," Elias murmurs, starting out of his chair.

But she just waves a hand at him, murmuring that he should entertain their guest, and continues her work. "She's right," Elias says with a sigh, returning his eyes to me, his face serious. "I really am impossible. I'd be a complete disaster without Pippa to keep me in order."

I nod cheerfully even as I watch his face, kind of...baffled. Because these two - it actually is impossible, right? If he's mated to Ben then he's...he's gay, or at least queer or bisexual, yes? Which I know, here, is illegal at best and more accurately a death sentence. But his relationship with Pippa...it just seems so... real

"Pips, love, would you mind?" Elias says, turning to her as she stands up with the empty carafe and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Poor Ariel didn't even get a drop of cream before I destroyed everything. Would you go and get some more?"

to say a quick yes but then hesitates, looking at me. I intuit her thoughts - that she doesn't want to leave me alone with a man who is a stranger, either because of tradition or law or even merely because

I say, nodding to her and giving her a happy smile as I nod to her

grin. "Well, I suppose it's okay," she says, folding the tiny carafe into her

for the door. Elias waves goodbye to her, even for a short trip, and then turns to me with a

watch carefully, observing that there is a great deal of sadness in his expression that wasn't there before. "She really is the

voice a little tremulous.

sigh, looking down into his black cup of coffee before taking a sip. "You have the

as the pieces begin to click into place. Gabriel - Elias's brother. Which means he is the

shocked to my core as the family tree comes flying back to my memory. "Second in

his ambitions have anything to do with it," Elias murmurs, lifting his blue eyes to meet mine again and giving a sorry shake of his head. "Which means that you, Ariel Sinclair, will be his Queen along with his prize. And his

control you."