The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy
Chapter 0494

"I'm talking," Jackson says, looking evenly between my brother and my cousin, "about the fact that Alvez spends most of class giving Ariel seriously lewd looks -" "He so does not!" Rafe bursts out, appalled.

"He so does!" I counter, crawling forward on the bed to stare at my brother. "Like the entire time, Rafe!"

"Ari," Jesse says, folding his arms across his chest and shifting his gaze to me like I'm the one who might be crazy now. "I mean, I think we would have...noticed that."

"I know," Jackson says, nodding eagerly. "Which is why I think something's up."

"I like - I don't even get this," Rafe growls, running an aggravated hand through his hair. "I mean, Jacks, are you being overprotective because she's your mate? Are you looking too far into things that would otherwise -"

"Is he looking too far into the fact that Alvez grabbed me by the back of the head today?" I say, looking at my brother with wide, earnest eyes. "And like, pulled me in like he was going to kiss me?"

"What!?" Jesse and Rafe burst out simultaneously.

""He did!" I insist.

"Ariel!" Jesse barks out, staring at me, I think starting to get a little freaked out now. "I mean, we would have seen that -"

"It happened," Jackson says, pitching his voice louder to draw attention back to him. "I saw it and Tony saw it too - that's why I growled and Tony gasped. And you guys were looking but you just like...missed it. Something is up, guys."

Jesse and Rafe go quiet, staring at us, finally starting to see something. Because they definitely reacted to Tony and Jackson's reaction but...I guess they didn't see anything amiss.

"It happened before, too," I say, scooting closer to Jacks and pressing myself to his side, wanting his solid warmth next to me. "He gives me these creepy dirty looks all the time and no one sees it - he did it in that meeting with all of my professors, like looked me up and down like I was a piece of meat, and mom just sighed and was like 'oh isn't he so nice?"

"What the fuck," Jesse breathes, lifting his hands up and running them through his hair in a bewildered way, clearly starting to believe me.

"Is it...is it totally new?" Rafe asks, leaning towards me. "Like, did this just start?"

"Well, no," I say, my own hands reaching up to play anxiously with the ends of my own hair. "he's kind of been...creepy from the start."

"What!?" Rafe and Jesse burst out again.

"Well, I couldn't like, tell anyone!" I protest, casting a hand out in explanation. "You guys would have killed him, and then I would have gotten kicked out of school -"

A rough snarl breaks from Rafe as he whips the blankets off his body and basically leaps to his feet, his chest heaving and his eyes flashing. "Did he put his hands on you, Ariel?"

"Um," I say, my eyes going wide as I take in my brother's Alpha rage. "...no."

"Don't lie, Ariel," Jackson snaps, turning to glare at me.

"WHAT!?" Rafe storms forward towards me and Jesse scrambles out of bed, close on his tail.

"Jacks!" I growl, giving him a rough shove. "I was lying for a reason - now they're all worked up -"

"They need to know!" Jacks protests.

"Tell me, Ariel," Rafe growls, looming over me, livid. "Tell me right the fuck now if I need to go find Alvez and kill him." Jesse is his mirror image at his side, and my eyes go wide when I see my cousin's usually friendly face looking like he's ready to tear someone apart. "Would you two please calm down," I breathe, staring between them as I stretch my hands out towards them, palms flat. "I will explain everything, but nothing is happening tonight. Yes?"

"I'm not promising that," Rafe snaps.

"Well then I'm not telling you!" I counter.

"Then I'm just going to find him -" Rafe shouts, storming for the door.

But Jackson moves in a flash, faster than I knew he could, getting in front of Rafe and leaning back against the door, shaking his head at him. "Hear her out, Rafe," Jackson says, his voice low. "Don't you think that if I thought he needed to be killed for his actions that he'd be dead by now?"

"What the fuck do you know about this?" Rafe snarls, not liking the fact that Jackson's getting in his way.

"Let me tell you," Jackson growls back, gesturing back towards the room.