The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 24

Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my wolf has a lot of ideas about how I can take advantage of a night in the woods with Luca. And every single one of them is incredibly impractical and ridiculous.

Just let down our hair and then he will know and then he will grab us and press up against a tree and kiss us and kiss us –

I grit my teeth as I make the final cut, finally freeing the long, single piece of birch bark that I’ve been peeling off the tree for hours. Seriously, it’s slow, painstaking work.

“What are you even thinking about?” Luca asks from behind me, and I gasp and jump, dropping the piece of bark to the forest floor.

“Luca!” I growl, glaring at him and bending over to scoop the bark back into my hands. “You scared me! What are you talking about?”

“I saw you.” he says, leaning back against another tree and grinning at me. “You were all growly, muttering things to your wolf, shivers running down your spine. What is going on with you?”

Youuuuu! My wolf supplies internally, howling the answer. We were thinking about you!

“Why are you being so creepy?” I ask instead of answering, working very hard to hide my terrible. blush and failing. “Spying on me like that?”

“Well, I was just coming to get you,” he says, standing up when I come near. “I didn’t realize you were going to put on a show.”

“It wasn’t for you,” I say, my voice low as I step close enough to give him a little shove with my fingertips against his chest.

Yes it was! My wolf counters, her toes tapping eagerly, but I ignore her.

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it,” Luca murmurs, leaning close and smirking down at me. I freeze for a second, turning my head and staring up at him.

Because I mean I don’t have a lot of experience with guys –

–

But I would swear to god that he’s…he’s flirting with me…

Luca stares down at me, holding my gaze, his smile growing incrementally as he blinks his long lashes slowly over his pretty brown eyes in a way that makes my breath catch. But I clear my throat, blushing again as I force myself to turn away, starting to stalk back to where the Lieutenant is waiting.

“Did we get any fish?” I ask over my shoulder, not taking the risk of looking at him. Because, honestly, if he looks at me like that again…

Sun, TU Mar

Chapter 24

risk of throwing myself into his

Do it, my

smack her on the nose, because there is too much at

cheerful. “Just one little guy, but it counts, right? Food is food.”

fish guted and sizzling on

all of us,” Perry murmurs, holding up a bloody

same size and coming to sit

with one of the hooks – I took the machete, after

open the first–aid

Luca stops him so I don’t have to, stepping in making sure that the finger is properly cleaned before being covered. In the meantime, I split the sticks about halfway down their centers and fold the long strip of birch bark in half, and then at the edges, wedging the ends inside the split sticks to make a sealed little pocket. It looks for all things like a pillowcase made of bark – sealed on three sides with one

take it down to the stream and fill it with water before bringing it back.

to do with that?” Luca asks,

it with rocks,” I murmur.

But I don’t answer, asking Luca to hold the pocket steady and using another pair of sticks to lift the round rocks that have been heating

no way that’s

at the sky, which is starting to grow dark. All of this took

until the water in the pocket first steams, then simmers,

to mine with a very genuine smile on his face. “That

Chapter 24

drinkable?” Alan asks, leaning forward to peer at it. “It’s

I study the slightly–cloudy water. “Like what they use in water filters.

the side of the tree and tossing an empty canteen to us. “It’s all you’ve got for the hike home. Are you sticking with your plan to hike through the

five of us look around at each

the Lieutenant. “As much as we’d love to sit around swapping fireside

dry, pulling a map and a compass out of his pack and tossing it our way. your

“Bank

the van, getting in and driving off

says, his eyebrows high.

Alan growls, standing