The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"Oh please don't, Ariel, not in that dress -"

I groan a bit as the pounding continues.

"Everything you bring there just gets so filthy," she whispers, her anxiety increasing as she steps towards the door, "please, it's so beautiful, and it will be such work to get clean -"

I sigh and nod to her, letting her know that I'll stay. And with her in the room, Gabriel isn't likely to attack me. At least, I hope. When Pippa pulls open the door, I let out a sigh of relief to see that Elias is with him too, which means I'm safe.

Elias - he has been my protector this past week. The only one who can truly keep Gabriel in check. "Mate," Gabriel snarls, waving his hand at me the moment he comes into his room, the blue magical manacles immediately encircling my wrists. "Don't even think about going anywhere."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Of course, mate," I say in reply, putting on my Princess Cupcake persona. "I have no desire to leave your esteemed company anyway."

Gabriel just glares at me as Elias follows him into the room and shuts the door, because all four of us know it's a lie. I go to the Land of Darkness whenever I can rather than spend time with him. Unfortunately, Gabriel has learned my trick and gotten quite fast at slapping these magic-canceling cuffs on me the moment he walks into a room so that I can't use my Dark magic as well as my Goddess gifts. Fortunately for me, he has to be in the room to make his magic work. So the moment he's gone, I usually shift away to go hang out in my little encaged nest of blankets and pillows in the Land of Darkness until he comes and shouts at me to come back to Atalaxia.

"Oh Elias," Pippa murmurs, going immediately to her Alpha and wrapping her hands around his arm, looking up into his eyes. "It's all gone wrong

"What's gone wrong?" He asks, frowning down into her face as Gabriel storms over to me.

"Ariel must begin her confinement - there's no way we'll be able to do a wedding tomorrow -"

"What?" I burst out, entirely shocked as I put the pieces together. I need to be confined? Because I'm about to start my period? Rage sweeps through me at the rules of this ridiculous place.

But there's no time for that as my mate storms over to me.

"Not like it matters," he growls, snarling down into my face. "Considering that her people have interrupted everything anyway. What part did you have in this!?" He grabs my arm, yanking me closer to him.

I resist, hard, the urge to snarl back, canines enlongated, and pull my hand from his arm. Instead, I force myself to be meek, to stumble and cry out, pretending that he hurt me.

"Gabriel!" Elias barks out, storming over to us. "For heaven's sake, you ass, do I have to repeat our mother's lessons about keeping our hands to ourselves!?" He smacks hard at Gabriel's arm. Gabriel snarls but

drops his hand, freeing me.

I make a little display of giving a mewing little gasp and rubbing my arm where he gripped me, which makes Pippa squeak with concern and Gabriel narrow his eyes. He knows he didn't hurt me.

But that doesn't mean I can't rub it in.

"I didn't do anything," I murmur, looking down at my arm, sniffing a little for effect. "I was just trying to get ready for my wedding, like a good Atalaxian Luna -"

"Oh cut it, Ariel, Gabriel snarls,

taking a step towards me. "You only stopped wallowing in the dirt this

morning because I threatened tone

kick you if you didn't come back and let Pippa fit the gown for the mating ceremony."

"Yes," I say, whipping my head up to glare at him, "and maybe if you'd stop threatening to kick me so often then maybe I'd be comfortable coming to stay in this world!"

Gabriel opens his mouth to shout

something else at me, but Elias steps between us. “Enough,” he says, exhausted, shaking his head "None of it matters anymore. And Pippa, honestly, the timing for Ariel's confinement actually works out well, because the Ceremony is being postponed."

I turn to Gabriel in shock because...wait, what!?