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.

did baby get so tall? Has it always been like this, or did he grow in the couple of months I’ve been gone? He’s Rafe’s height now,

))

giving Mark my very best sisterly advice,

heads whip to the left, where five kids charge for Jesse the second he steps

no!” Jesse sounds, deliberately 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

watching Jesse fake fight his siblings for

1/3

second of pretending to fight them off Jesse starts to grab each of his siblings by turn, giving them each

Luca says, his eyes wide as he takes in the chaos before him.

scene, as I am. “It’s been murder on me and my chair

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 stand close to us, not wanting to miss a thing. Juniper steps close too, her scowl deepening for no reason.

I 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

groans, swatting at me with her hands and trying to back away, though I keep up with her, laughing and still playing with her hair. “Stop