The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 273

My mouth pops open in mock indignation as my sister fights her urge to smirk. “I have always been badass and cool, Juniper!” I protest, laughing.

“Ariel, believe me,” Juniper sighs, rolling her eyes but letting her smile run free. “You have been the opposite of badass and cool. You were like, a pink bubblegum fairy glitter princess –“

“And I still am,” I return, laughing. “Except now I can shoot a tin can off of a tree stump from half a mile away.”

“Ugh,” she groans. “Nevermind. Still not cool. Plus, now you’ve brought your mates home,” she murmurs, looking at Luca and then around to where Jackson is standing with our mom, clearly intuiting that he’s the other one. “Like this family needed more Alpha men around, all gigantic and eating everything in sight –“

“Not my Alphas,” I counter, grinning at her, my arm still around her shoulders. “I got them trained up real good.”

“So that’s the other one?” she says, raising her chin towards Jackson, her voice dubious.

“Yup,” I say, unable to keep the pride from my voice. That’s my man over there, standing awkwardly at my mom’s side with her arm around his waist as she happily laughs with Aunt Cora and Uncle Roger, introducing them to Daphne and Ben.

Juniper is quiet for a moment, her eyes flicking between Jackson and my mom. As we stand observing them, Jackson’s eyes move over to us like he can hear us thinking about him.

“Are you sure he’s your second mate?” Juniper asks, her voice low with doubt as her eyes focus on mom’s arm around Jackson’s waist. “Because right now, it kind of looks like he’s mom’s.”

I go absolutely still with shock, staring at my sister, before I burst into laughter.

“June!” I gasp through my laughter, and then I look back at where mom is leaning into Jackson’s side – being so nice to him, wanting him to feel comfortable in this big room full of people – but…yeah. Maybe looking a little too close to my mate to the eye of one who doesn’t understand how empathetic mom is as well as how incredibly awkward Jacks feels. I can’t help but laugh harder now that I’ve seen it.

“I mean, she’s all over him!” Juniper says, laughing with me, throwing out a hand towards them. Jackson frowns a little, not knowing what’s going on and clearly wanting to know.