The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 22

“So we can just come and go at will?” I ask.

He looks down at me and shrugs. “Some cadets like to go for an early morning run. Which is what we’re doing.” He gives me a wink and a little squeeze around the shoulders before dropping his arm and starting to stretch. “Ready?”

My jaw drops open before I scowl at him. “You said walk!”

“I lied,” he says, grinning at me and starting off on the track at a gentle jog. “Come on! You need to keep up!”

I groan, desperately wishing I at least had some coffee before this, and then I hurry to catch up with my cousin, who I know is only doing this for my benefit anyway. I really do need to get faster.

Jesse and I jog in silence for a long while as he puts me through my paces, making me stay by his side until I’m panting for air while he, infuriatingly, barely breaks a sweat. When we get to the top of a hill he signals to me to take a break and I put my hands on my knees, catching my breath.

“Why are you so much fitter than me,” I gasp, glaring at him. “I do…ballet. I do sports!”

He grins at me and laughs a little. “You have hobbies, Ari. Dad and Uncle Dom have been prepping Rafe and I for this since we were kids.” He takes a deep breath, looking out over the gorgeous, hazy countryside with a smile. I follow his gaze as my breathing comes easier, likewise admiring the way that the hills roll and the early-morning clouds settle low over them.

“That’s such crap, you know.” I say, crossing my arms and shaking my head, aware that my angry thoughts are in contrast to such a beautiful landscape. “I hate that you and Rafe got to become bastions of athletic prowess and I got to train to be a perfect wife and Queen.” I cross my arms, bitter as I stare out at the beautiful view. “A whole lot of good it did me, in the end.”

“No one forced you into that engagement, Ari,” Jesse says gently, letting me have my bitterness while still pointing out the truth. “That was all you. Mom was pissed as hell when Aunt Ella let you move forward with it.”

“Really?” I ask, my eyes wide.

He nods and smiles at me. “Yeah, she said that she had seen your future at your moonlight baptism and that guy was not your mate – so why the hell would we let you go into a marriage that we knew would fail? But Aunt Ella said you had to be free to make your own choices.”

I turn my head to stare at him, baffled by this. “So, you knew the whole time too? And wait – they had this conversation in front of you!?”

He laughs a little and runs his hand through his hair. “I may have been eavesdropping. Just a little bit.”

“Jesse!” I shout, reaching out to smack him but laughing as I do. Jesse – he’s always been good at being sneaky.

“But seriously, Ari,” Jesse says after he dodges my hand, still smiling at me. “You trained your whole life to be a Queen, and it didn’t work out in that way, but the fact that your mate is here? Training for the Academy at the same time you are?” he shrugs and grins at me, a little baffled. “Honestly, I think it sounds a little bit like fate – like you’re meant to be here.”

“I know,” I whisper, nodding with him. “It feels like…grandma has a hand in it.”

He laughs, shaking his head a little at our inside joke of calling an all-powerful moon goddess “grandma.”

“But Ariel,” Jesse says, and I turn to him, a little surprised to hear him use my full name in such serious tones. I raise my eyebrows, inviting him to say what he wants to say.