The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy
Chapter 0472

"What...what does un-sorted mean?" I ask, looking first at Luca and then a little frantically around at the rest of the boys, all of whom are equally a bit dour.

"It just means that they're deciding where Luca fits," Jesse says, giving a shrug.

"He's sugar coating it," Luca corrects, and I turn my head back to him. "It means that they don't yet see me as... fit for upper service. That I am, essentially, a high-powered grunt for now." "Luca," I say, again raising my hand to his cheek as I frown at him. "Who -"

"Those are his words," Rafe interrupts, and I turn to look at him. "And he's being way too hard on himself. Every Cadet that graduates from the Academy is elite - some are sorted into specializations, some are not. Luca, as-yet, was not. And he might later, or he might not, but it's not a poor reflection on him."

"And now Rafe's being too nice," Luca murmurs, turning back to me and I think - putting up one hell of a front to hide his disappointment. "It's all my fault. I did...kind of shitty on the finals, Ari. I think they might have failed me if it wasn't such a big deal for me to be a Cadet while I was in that boxing match. I think they kind of...pushed me through."

"Luca," I murmur, frowning at him, feeling absolutely terrible that he feels that way. "I'm sure that's not true."

"Well, either way, it's all my fault," Luca says with a sigh. "You were all here working your asses off and I was just...fooling around and napping and cracking jokes. Riding my laurels."

"That's not true!" I protest. "You studied!"

"He could have studied harder," Ben says, and I turn sharply around to glare at him. He holds up his hands. "Look, the truth is somewhere between all of it, Ari - and you're not doing him any favors by fawning over him and telling him how great he was and it was not his fault. Luca didn't study - he could have tried harder. And if he does, he'll see results." Ben peers around me to look Luca in the eye now. "None of us think you're stupid, Luca. And while that's a good thing, it does mean you have to try."

"I know," Luca says, and I turn back to him with a sigh because...well. Because Ben is right.

"I believe in you," I say, snuggling closer to my mate and pressing a quick kiss to his mouth as the other boys turn towards each other and start to talk, giving us a moment of privacy. "You know that, right?"

"I know it," Luca says, giving me a small smile. "So. How about you show me those pens again? Maybe your color coding system can actually help me this time around."

I burst into a grin, incredibly excited.

The night passes faster than it usually does, probably because I came to dinner so late. And it feels, a bit, like I glance at the door every half hour, because that's where my wolf's attention turns, even as I sit close to Luca. She looses a tiny little howl at one point, calling to Jackson's wolf, telling him to come. But, of course, he doesn't, and my wolf and I are both a bit miserable about it.

I hide this as best I can, though, and barely an hour later I'm yawning every few minutes, thinking eagerly of my bed.

"Come on, Luc," Ben says, standing up from the couch and stretching his arms over his head. "Walk me downstairs so you can pick me up if I fall asleep on the steps."

"You got it, Benny. I'll throw you over my shoulder like the sack of potatoes you are," Luca murmurs, giving me a kiss on the cheek as he stands up. "See you at breakfast?" he asks, squeezing my hand and giving me a small, happy smile.

"Of course," I reply, beaming back at him. "But please return the property you have stolen before you go," I say, holding out an open palm.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Luca replies, far too innocent and pressing a hand to his chest.

"Green and pink," I say, holding my hand higher up, insistent. "Honestly, Luca, those colors don't even make any sense together - what one earth are you trying to make note of -"

But Luca just bursts out laughing and pulls the pens from his pocket, slipping them into my hand. "I wasn't going to keep them," he says, sly. "Just trying to see how much of your espionage training was paying off."