The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 171

“Ariel!” Mark shouts, bounding across the room like the big puppy that he is and grabbing me in a hug.

“Baby!” I shout, dropping Luca’s arm and laughing as I hug my brother back, my eyes pressing shut with the pleasure of it. Mark- he’s not even the baby of the family, he’s nearly two years older than Juniper, but he’ll always be my baby, and he lets me fuss and cluck over him like a mother hen.

“I’ve missed you,” my Markie murmurs, hugging me close and tucking his head down against my hair. “June’s been so mean to me and there’s no one to stop her

(C

I laugh, pushing back a little so I can look up into my little brother’s sweet face. Mark favors Rafe and my dad, of course, but he’s more of a mix than

Rafe and I are. While Rafe and I are our parents‘ twins, Mark has some of

mom’s softness in the curve of his cheeks, in the lighter highlights in his

hair.

shaking my head. God, when did baby get so tall? Has it always been like this, or did he grow in the couple of months I’ve

))

I can finish giving Mark my

room and all of our heads whip to the left, where five

dramatic as they leap all over him. “ Not the piranhas! They’ve got me! I’m being eaten alive! No, NO! They’re taking me down!” All of Jesse’s siblings grab onto him, shrieking and laughing, pulling him to the ground despite his mock protests, piling on top

grin, watching Jesse fake fight his siblings

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and games, shrieking and getting in on the fun. After a second of pretending to fight them off Jesse starts to grab each of his siblings by turn, giving them each what they need to feel loved and seen a big kiss, a

wide as he takes in the chaos before

smiling over at Jesse’s continuing scene, as I am. “It’s been murder on me and my chair

shifts his gaze up to me, and I bend down quickly to give him a kiss on the cheek, murmuring how good it is to see him. Grandpa laughs and tells me that he feels just the same as Mark comes to

sing, dancing around Grandpa Henry’s chair and reaching for her, taking two handfuls of her long now–black hair in my hands and holding it up like pigtails as I bounce around her, singing the song she hates so much. “Our little goonie! She loves the moonie! It makes her swoooonie!”

June groans, swatting at me with her hands and trying to back away, though I keep up with her, laughing