The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 432

To one one’s surprise, Neumann again glances at his watch. “I already told Cadet Sinclair that I’d be disappointed if she didn’t return. I’ve put quite a bit of preparation into her continued enrollment this semester.” He glances at Alvez and the Captain on either side of him. “If either of you have objections to the Princess’s continued enrollment please be aware that you will incur my wrath as well as the…shrimp’s.” He smirks here, turning his eyes to me, clearly tickled by the diminutive he hasn’t yet heard.

I scowl, hating that he knows my stupid nickname. And here I was, hoping to have his respect!

“I am pleased to continue,” Alvez says evenly, folding his hands behind his back and smiling around the room at all of us. “Cadet Sinclair – Ariel, I mean, for clarity – is the only one of my students to have begun manifesting their powers. At least…” he takes a moment here to smirk at Jacks – a fact no one misses. “As far as I know.”

Jackson doesn’t react at all, staring back at Alvez with perfect equanimity. I fight a smile, pleased that Jackson’s secret still remains safe with me.

“Anton Davis, of course, has manifested his – but he came in that way,” Alvez continues with a casual sigh. “So, as you can imagine, I am eager to continue working with the one pupil whose course seems to be…working for her.” He gives me another sly smile and I glance at my parents, still shocked that they don’t seem to be noticing this.

Rafe too just blinks and nods.

But down the bond with Jackson, I feel his wolf raise his hackles. I send a little burst of panic his way, inquiring why no one else is noticing the way Alvez is looking at me. He sends back a feeling like a hand smoothing down my hair – cool and calm. I exhale slowly, leaning into that calm hand, trusting him.

But there’s no time to consider it – not really – as the Captain begins to speak.

“I’m grateful for that,” the Captain says as I blink, absurdly surprised by the fact that he has a first name and isn’t just The Captain. “But I have to say that I agree with the decision. Girls at the school – it’s too much chaos. I’m not saying it would be anything the girls themselves did – but the boys will get distracted. Falling in love, having fights over who is dating who.” He shakes his head with a grimace. “It would be chaos – which we can’t have, not at a serious institution that is working hard to turn out fine warriors.”

I blush horribly when I realize that what he says is true – that all of that did happen when I showed up, and I’m just one girl. But…I mean, none of us are any further behind in our studies for it, are we?

“Your point about the chaos of enrolling young women is well taken,” Neumann says, speaking quickly and on a bit of a sigh as if he really doesn’t have time to indulge in this. “It unfortunately fights against hundreds of years of gendered ideology to assume that a group of idiotic young men won’t go to pieces just because a girl is around. But luckily there is an easy solution to this.”

The Captain turns to him, as the rest of us do, with eyebrows raised.