The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Why the hell...

A little knock comes at the door.

"Ariel, sweetheart?" It's Pippa. "Are you okay?"

"Yes!" I call, my voice tight. "Um, just a minute."

Panting, I turn back to the mirror and spit out the toothpaste, scowling when I realize that I'm still a prisoner, even if my magic somehow bizarrely works here. But, is that the only magic that works?

I take a deep breath, shifting my eyes to a towel rack against the wall and calling upon my gift of heat, willing them to burst into flames. I also pull on my mark, my connection to Luca, hoping desperately for any stir of wind, but...

I huff in disappointment, my shoulders drooping, because even if I can shift into the Dark world and the bizarre cages there, I can't pull on my fire magic.

What the hell is going on here?

Slowly, I turn back to my mirror, my mind racing as I try to decide what to do. My wolf paces in my soul, anxious and worried, plans flitting through her own mind - all of them aiming in one direction: to get us home, to get back to Jackson.

I look down at my chest, relieved at this, because honestly half of me was worried that she'd want me to pursue things with this new mate. After all, when I first came in contact with Jackson and Luca - even walked into the same room as them - she'd gone absolutely mad, encouraging me to find them, to get naked, to crawl into their beds.

No, my wolf says, shaking out her fur and baring her teeth. This one - he is our mate. But he is wrong - his wolf is off. Wrong, like that Prince we saw at Midwinter, at the meeting. The one standing next to Ben's mate. He was wrong - incorrect - unnatural -noveldrama

I exhale slowly, nodding, knowing that she's right. That Gabriel - we knew, instantly, that he was right when he claimed to be our mate. It is...undeniable, as true as it was when I saw Jacks and Luca at that spring the first night and knew that they were mine.

But my wolf is also right that the Prince is...wrong. Something is strange about him, and we have to find out what.

I lift my head, dread coiling within my belly, and look closely at myself in the mirror. At my pale face, my worried eyes. "What the hell am I going to do?"

My wolf howls, anxious and completely without answer.

My lips draw to a thin line as I consider my options. Obviously, my best and most powerful tool - the magic is not available to me. So? What else do I have?

I can't...I can't fight my way out. Not against Atalaxia, not with all these Alphas running around. My mate- Gabriel made that perfectly clear

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last night. That I'm just not a physical match for them. Quietly curse that my parents didn't get me fighting lessons as a girl and that I didn't have enough time with Blaze atthe academy. Even as my mind turns to more important things, some part of me makes a mental note to get all of my little girl cousins immediately enrolled in some form of fighting art the moment I get out of this, the moment I get home.

Because one thing is for sure. I am not giving up.

I am going home - home to my mate, and my family, as soon as I can.

But...how do I do that?

I twist my mouth to my side, again going through my arsenal of tools. Obviously, if had a rifle things would be different but...yes, an unlikely plan. Or, access to any poisons? I look around the bathroom but, come on, they're not going to stock anything beyond the mildly toxic in here. I mean, Newman taught me enough that I can mix something up if I can find the right supplies and I'll keep my eyes peeled for those but still...

-

It's not much of a direct path to getting out of here, is it?

I focus again on my reflection in the mirror, one single resource left to me

What, I ask myself quietly, would Faiza tell me to do?

The answer comes immediately to me, as if she lives in my mind.

Survive.

She would telkme to survive. To do whatever it takes to persist in this world, to keep myself intact, to look for every opportunity to escape and to make a plan to get myself out. To survive as long as necessary in order to find that escape path.

To...to make my enemies trust me enough to drop their guard. To convince them that I'm not a threat. Even if in my heart I want to rip every single one of their hearts from their bodies and set them all ablaze. Well. Maybe not Pippa's. But my horrible mate's - his for sure.

Slowly I inhale, knowing precisely what Faiza would tell me to do.

Play dead, Cream Puff, she'd say, giving me that patented wink, her feet propped up on her desk. Let

think you're as stupid and vapid as they want you to be. And then when the time comes?

"I'll cut their fucking throats." I toss the toothbrush into the sink and turn towards the door, not bothering to clean up.