The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy
Chapter 0443

A little knock comes at the open door and I turn, gasping with delight when I see Ben leaning against the door jamb, smiling fondly at all of us. "Well, you Sinclairs are a sight for sore eyes." "Benny!" I shout, laughing and launching myself off the couch and towards him. Ben laughs as he catches me in his arms, giving me a warm hug.

"Hey, Clark," he says, smiling fondly down at me as I hug him back and then tug him into the room.

"Did the train get in already?" Rafe asks, sounding surprised.

"First one," Ben says, nodding. "The one that came from the city this morning - I was able to get on that, though I didn't see Daphne anywhere. There will be another later tonight for people coming longer distances." "Was Luca on your train?" I ask, eager, as we sit down on the couch together.

"I sure was," Luca says from the doorway, and I gasp again, leaping to my feet and running this time over to him. Luca laughs as he catches me, spinning in a circle, holding me tight and murmuring his hellos into my hair.

Things are quite cheerful after that as our little group falls into our old routines, chatting happily and joking around. As Ben falls into a serious conversation with Rafe and Jesse about the roles of ambassadors in the upcoming conflict with Atalaxia, Luca tugs on my sleeve and nods over towards the nook, asking me for a minute.

I send an anxious glance towards the door and Luca immediately knows why.

"Just five minutes, Ariel," he murmurs, leaning close to me on the couch and drawing a hand down the length of my arm. "To make sure we're good before term starts?"

I bite my lip though, looking back at him. "I promised Jacks," I whisper, and I don't miss that Luca fights quite hard against a scowl at the mention of his name. "That I wouldn't do any displays of affection with you when he's around. And the same goes for him too - when we're all in a group like this, I think it's best to keep things pretty... platonic."

"Well, he's not here," Luca says, apparently accepting the terms and giving me a little shrug. "And I just want to talk for a minute - just the two of us."

I hesitate again but then nod. "Okay," I whisper, taking his hand and pulling him over to the nook. We settle on the bed and I have to admit that I'm pleased when Luca makes no move to close the little velvet curtain. "What's up?" I ask, reaching out to take his hands as we sit across from each other. "I thought we left things...pretty okay."

"We did," Luca says, nodding seriously to me, and I can't help smiling a little as I stare into his pretty brown eyes, again take in his handsome face. "I just...wanted to ask how your holiday went."

I grin and give him the short story version which leaves out a lot of the best parts, which involve my deepening connection to Jacks. "What about you?" I ask, genuinely wanting to know.

"It was good," he says, dropping his eyes and giving a little shrug. "I missed you but... it was good."

"Luca," I murmur, reaching out and cupping his cheek in my hand, making him look up at me. "What's wrong? You're so...subdued."

"I'm still mortified, Ari," he murmurs, holding my gaze. "At...how I acted the morning after the fight. I'm so fucking ashamed of myself."

I groan, pitching myself forward so that I lean against him, hating that he feels that way. "I thought we were beyond that, Luca," I murmur, my arm slipping around his back.

"You might be," he murmurs, raising a hand to stroke over my head, down my neck, down my back. "I just...the self-loathing is a bit real. I am coming to realize that I have grown to be a very arrogant man with very little reason for arrogance."

My lips twist with regret as I study my mate, hating that he feels this way about himself. Luca just heaves a sigh, tracing his fingers across the soft green blanket that my brother gave me.