The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy
Chapter 0407

As we sit, I notice with a little smile the two dark figures who come to stand behind us - even more inconspicuous than we are. And I'm grateful for them - grateful for my dad for always wanting to keep me safe - even as I know that nothing's going to happen. That even if

anyone did want to hurt us, Luca - my mate - would protect me.

But, well. Dad's will be dads.

"What do you think?" Luca asks, his voice more cheerful than it's been all night as he sits down next to me and I hand his drink back to him.

"I love it," I say, grinning at the orange light of the fire that's slowly starting to spread out. The heat, too, that I can start to feel on my face. I tug my scarf down and take a sip of my whiskeyed cider, knowing no one will notice. "How big will the fire get?"

"Pretty big," Luca murmurs, slipping an arm around me and taking a sip of his own drink. "Especially as the night passes, and people get...a little liquored up. And start burning all the old chairs they don't want anymore."

I burst out laughing, looking over and up at him. "Does that really happen?"

"Stick around, Princess," he murmurs, smirking and still staring into the flames, taking another sip of his drink. "You're in for one hell of a sight."

I laugh, and snuggle closer to him, and enjoy the warmth of his body alongside the fire. We're quiet for a long, long time as the fire builds and someone brings out some speakers, beginning to play old traditional songs that everyone knows and can sing along with. "Why did you bring me here, Luca?" I ask quietly. And I know, through the bond, that he knows that I'm aware that this isn't just any date - that he picked this location, and this level of secrecy, for a reason.

He takes a deep breath, I think wondering where to begin. "I thought I'd handle it differently, Ariel," he murmurs, contemplative. "I thought that...all I'd have to do to win you over would be to show you how boring Jackson is, and how fun and exciting I am."

I burst out laughing here, giving Luca a little smack on the chest. "Jackson is not boring," I protest.

"Yes he is," Luca murmurs, his eyes falling a little to the spot on my neck where Jackson scent marked me not long ago - his own little petty shot at Luca, which I now see has found its mark. "Jackson is dull as rocks, Ariel, if you're an idiot like me and think that the only way to be interesting is to be flashy, and loud, and to have VIP status at all the hottest clubs."

My heart sinks a little as I start to realize where Luca is going with this.

"But," Luca continues, "when I started to realize that Jackson doesn't have any of that - and that you sometimes like him better anyway -"

I open my mouth, desperate to protest, but Luca gives me a pleading look. I hesitate but close my lips.

"It made me realize," Luca continues, "that, of course, you're not actually a girl who cares about any of that bullshit. And it made me freak out because...I also realized that the only thing I've got is that bullshit."

My heart sinks because, I mean, is that how Luca really sees himself?