The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 2 – A Boy Named Ari

“You two,” Rafe mutters, and I glance over to see him pressing the bridge of his nose between his fingers, just like dad does. “This is going to cause a damn firestorm that I am going to have to sort out.”

“But you’re the best at solving our problems!” Jesse points out, laughing. “Come on, cousin,” he says, giving Rafe a little punch in the arm. “It’s an adventure.”

Two hours later we’re in the boxcar of a train headed east, towards the war front where the Academy is located.

It was shockingly easy to smuggle me out of the palace once I got rid of the wedding gown. Jesse just gave me some of the clothes he had packed, and after I had rolled the hem of the pants about a dozen times and tied the waist with some ribbon torn off of my gown…honestly, the clothes don’t fit so bad.

“Okay,” Rafe murmurs, leaning back into the hay that fills the boxcar, grimacing as he types out messages on his phone. “Mom and Dad are on board.”

“They are?” I ask, wide-eyed with surprise.

“I mean,” Rafe says, flicking his eyes at me, “I didn’t give them any details about where we are or where we’re going, and mom is completely flipping out about you being gone from the palace without a guard for the first time in your life. But…she gets it. And they trust us.”

We were always inseparable. I didn’t even really figure out that I was a girl – or that being a girl meant something different than being a boy – until I was around eight years old and I had to go to ballet class when Rafe and Jesse went to martial arts. I was devastated when I figured out that being different genders meant we had different futures in store for us.

But, well. I figured out pretty quickly that being a Princess means I have my own responsibilities. Even though I loved running wild with Rafe and Jesse, I learned how to be pretty, quaint, and sweet because I knew it would help mom and dad. Plus, it kind of came natural to me.

Rafe and Jesse, they secretly taught me everything they learned in their fighting lessons because they didn’t want me to feel left out. But I’m mom’s tiny twin – petite with long rose-gold hair and a heart-shaped face. I’m not built for hand-to-hand combat the way Rafe and Jesse are, but things like ballet come naturally to me.And while I thought that I was eager to do my duties as a Princess, to marry a Prince to save our nation from war?

as happy as it is right now, running away from those duties and hopping a train with my two best friends.

phone into his backpack, finished talking to mom and dad. “What the hell are we going to do with Ariel when we

with

frowning at him.

glancing over at me. “I mean, you promised our moms that we’d keep her safe, right? If we have to keep

certainly take the warrior track, I fantasized about taking up some of the other things you can study – like espionage, or becoming a master poison maker. There’s even a rumor that you can study battle magic if you

shrouded in mystery. But whenever one of the Alpha graduates came to the palace to consult with dad or report

damn, did I

make other plans.“Well, I’m definitely not letting her out

hanging my head,

Rafe sighs, guilty. “It’s just not a safe place for girls

I can take care

over a hundred testosterone-fueled Alpha males in their early twenties, Ariel,” Rafe says, frowning, “with no female attention for months. You’ll

going to be there?” I ask, my eyes going wide as my head snaps up. Grant’s a minor celebrity – he’s the junior heavyweight boxing champion of our nation as well as a rather notorious ladies’ man. But he just retired from boxing to join the military

is…insanely good looking. He’s got

beside the point. But I had no idea he was

simplest thing just to just keep plans the same?” Jesse asks, interrupting my thoughts.