The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 276

“You’re coming home, son,” Cora says, crossing her arms and glaring at her eldest child. “Because if I let you stay here, you’ll drink yourself silly with your cousins and then be useless to me in the morning.”

“Mom!” Jesse begs, sending an anxious glance towards Daphne, who pretends not to notice the whole conversation.

“Jesse,” Roger says, his hands on his hips, his voice low and dangerous. “Get in line. Your mom wants you home, so you’re coming home. If it were up to me I’d leave you here, because you always rile the small ones into rebellion, telling them all sorts of nonsense about free will -”

“They deserve to know the truth!” Jesse protests.

“But your mother wants you home. So?” Roger points emphatically to the front of the line.

Daphne, to her credit, does her very best to suppress her smile and pretend that she’s incredibly interested in the trim that adorns the bottom of dad’s armchair. Ben has no such grace and watches eagerly, laughing. But Jesse, realizing that he’s lost this battle, just groans and pushes himself to his feet, slumping to the front of the line.

“Good boy,” Roger murmurs, patting Jesse on the head. Jesse just scowls and smacks his dad’s hand away.

Then Roger whistles again and each of my six cousins straightens their shoulders, standing at attention, and then – at their father’s signal – begin to march out of the room.

“Bye!” Cora calls over her shoulder towards us, completely ignoring the military precision with which her kids are swept out into the hall. “Love you, see you tomorrow or the next day or whenever!”

“Bye!” we all call, and it’s only when I look over at Luca and Jackson’s shocked faces that I realize how weird it is. I burst out laughing myself, because I mean – I’m just so used to the way that Cora and Roger handle their wild pack of kids that I don’t even notice it anymore.

“You guys are such a weird family,” Ben sighs, pulling himself up into Roger and Cora’s abandoned chair. “I love it.” Daphne grins, nodding along with him.

“Who needs a refill?” Rafe asks, smiling happily and getting to his feet. “Daphne?” He raises an eyebrow at her empty glass of wine.

“Nope, nope!” Mom says, getting to her feet herself. “You’re all off to bed!”