The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 101

“Good!” he almost shouts, forgetting himself a little as he jumps off the couch and storms for the door. “So will I!”

The door slams as Luca leaves and I gape after him for a moment before slowly turning back to Ben and Rafe, who stare at me.

“Seriously,” Rafe says, glancing over towards the door. “What the hell is going on with you two?”

“He’s just tired,” I mutter, sighing and pushing myself up off the couch as well. I grab my Chemistry textbook off the coffee table and take it with me towards my nook. “And so am I. I’m going to bed. Sleep tight, guys.”

They murmur their goodnights as I swing my velvet curtain shut and flop onto my bed in despair, burying my face into my pillow.

“Whoa,” I hear Jesse’s voice say out in the room as the bathroom door creeks open. “Where did everyone go?”

Predictably, it takes me forever to fall asleep, not least because Jesse, Ben, and Rafe stay up for a while, talking softly. I get changed into the pajamas that Daphne thoughtfully packed into my uniform box and re-braid my hair once it’s dry, but it’s the Chemistry book, in the end, which really does the trick.

It’s not that it’s not interesting - it’s just that I’ve had such a long day, and the workout Jesse put me through, combined with the minute details of the periodic table…

My eyes are flickering shut before I know it.

And almost immediately after that…

I raise my eyelids again to blink in the soft light of the birch forest, looking around at the pretty yellow leaves flickering in the wind.

I sigh, wrapping my arms around myself, steeling myself for the hard conversation that’s going to come next. Because I know I owe him an explanation, but god, it would have just been so much easier if –

“Shrimp!” Luca’s voice rings out through the grove, and my eyes go wide to hear the anger still lacing it. “I know you’re here, I can feel it!”

I curse to myself and then gasp as he appears between the trees, striding towards me. I press my eyes shut, willing my clothes to change, my hair to tuck itself up under the cap –

I give little shriek when I feel hands wrap around my upper arms, giving me a shake. But when I open my eyes and look down, I’m relieved to see Luca’s fingers wrapped around the sleeves of my black uniform, not the white nightdress I always wear when I first appear here.

“Talk!” Luca demands, glaring down at me. “Now!”

“Would you stop being so rough with me!?” I snap, shaking myself free of his grip and taking a step back from him. “You’re bigger than me, Luca! It’s bullshit to use that to try to intimidate me –“

“Are you seriously going to try to talk to me about what is fair right now, Ari?” he spits out, stepping closer to loom over me. “After all of the shit you pulled with this – this dream!?”

“Hey!” I shout, whipping my finger up into his face, “I, too, was pulled into this dream without knowing what it was, and I also did not know at first that it was real! So –“

“But you definitely knew before I did!” Luca snaps, grabbing my arm and hauling me closer. “And you should have told me! Immediately!”

“I did!” I insist, staring up at him.

“Not until after you let me confess all sorts of weird shit!” he shouts, flinging his arms out to the side in exasperation. “God, seriously, Shrimp, do you think I would have said half of that shit to you if I had known that you were actually hearing it!?”

“Which is why,” I say through clenched teeth, crossing my arms. “I told you it was real, and then decided to never meet you here again!”

“What, like that’s your choice alone!?” he gasps, staring at me. “Do you – do you have control over this place?”

I spread my hands wide and, some instinct prodding me, will flowers to grow. Delicate little snowbells push themselves out of the earth, unfurling themselves from green leaves to hang their little white heads all around us.

Luca gasps, his eyes going as wide as saucers as he looks around.

“Can you do that?” I ask, my voice going softer now.

Luca looks up at my face and stares at me for a long moment before he, too, spreads his hands wide.

Nothing happens.

“What…are you trying to do?” I ask quietly.

“I’m trying to make…daffodils…” he murmurs, looking around. But none appear. I sigh, shaking my head as he looks up at me again. “So this is…your dream,” he says, picking up on things now.

I nod. “I think so.”

“And you pulled me into it,” he continues, studying my face as he takes a step closer.

I shrug, a little embarrassed, but admitting it because…well, I certainly can’t blame him for it. Dream states come from the female wolf, we invite our mates into it, but we’re in charge.

“So,” he continues softly, and a pulse of shock runs through me as I feel Luca’s hands on my cheeks, turning my face up to him. “Do you…not want me to do this?”

And before I can stop him, he lowers his lips to mine.