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

nose, because there is too much at risk for

one!” Luca says, his voice cheerful. “Just one little

sitting around the fire, the tiny fish guted and sizzling on one of the hot stones

for all of us,” Perry murmurs, holding up a bloody finger.

gathering two round sticks about the same size

to gut the fish with one of the hooks – I took the machete, after all – and I nod to him, saying I’ll patch him up

Alan mutters, flipping open the first–aid kit.

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

the stream and fill it with water before

you going to do with that?” Luca

with rocks,” I

baffled. But I don’t answer, asking Luca to hold the pocket steady and using another pair of sticks to lift

start to realize what’s happening almost instantly. “There’s no way that’s actually going to work,” Perry murmurs,

reply, glancing up at the sky, which is starting to grow

and replacing them with burning hot rocks, until the water in the pocket first steams, then simmers, and finally comes

mine with a very genuine smile on his face. “That was amazing, Shrimp.”

Chapter 24

asks, leaning forward to peer at it. “It’s all…dirty.”

study the slightly–cloudy water. “Like what they

an empty canteen to us. “It’s all you’ve got for the

each other

Lieutenant. “As much as we’d love to sit around swapping fireside stories…I think it’s best for us

out of his pack and tossing it our way.

“Bank

and heads for the van, getting in and driving off before the rest of us can say a word.

his eyebrows

growls,