The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 25

Luca and I chat the entire walk home.

us down

And though the walk takes us about five hours the terrains rougher than a flat road, which slows

the time passes in what feels like a blink. The three ahead of us are relatively quiet, trudging along the miles and tripping on stones in the darkness, but Luca and I get lost in latighter.

God – he’s funny, and he laughs at my jokes too, all of which just twists my heart a little because as each mile passes my crush on him grows bigger and bigger, inch by inch.

He tells me all about his childhood, raised in a big family like mine. How he was so angry as a kid after his dad left, but how his mom’s brother took him into the gym and taught him to redirect that anger into solid blows at a punching bag, teaching him the art of boxing and keeping him out of trouble. And honestly, it should be a sad story, but the way he tells it – god, my cheeks ache for laughing so hard and smiling so much.

“Honestly, Shrimp.” Luca says, smirking down at me as our final mile begins, “if any animals were thinking about taking us out, they’d certainly shy away knowing we’ve got a hyena in our group, shrieking into the night.”

“Shut up,” I laugh, swatting him in the stomach with the back of my hand. “It’s your fault –”

“It is not my fault that you keep making that shrill noise –”

I burst into laughter again as he teases me, unable to help it, shaking my head at him. “Stop making me laugh, then,” I say, grinning up at him.

Luca doesn’t say anything for a moment, staring at me, connecting with me in that quiet way we’ve been doing all day. “Stop making me want to make you laugh,” he murmurs, just the corner of his mouth turning up. “Honestly it’s….weirdly rewarding, seeing you crack up like that.”

I blush a little, biting my lip, and I look ahead, wrapping my arms around myself to ward off the goosebumps that are forming on my arms. I don’t bother to wonder if they’re a result of the growing cold or the butterflies he’s sent looping around my stomach.

“You cold?” Luca murmurs, drawing close.

“Um,” I say, not knowing what to say. Because if I say yes, I feel like he’s going to…

“Here,” he sighs, slipping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. I sharply draw in my breath but… I don’t move away. Instead, I slowly exhale, leaning into him just a little bit.

Just for body heat, I tell myself, not letting myself consider that we’re both carrying backpacks filled with extra jackets and blankets.

WHATEVER, my wolf says on a gleeful exhale, laying on her back and letting her tongue hang out of her mouth in ecstasy.

Chapter 25

I scowl at her and turn my attention back to the task at hand: getting back to the barracks safely and ignoring the tingling sensation that passes all along the side that’s pressed close to Luca, and across my shoulders where his arm lightly rests.

We’re quiet for the rest of the walk, but when I glance up at Luca I see that there’s a smile on his face, his eyes trained on the road ahead, both of us just ignoring the fact that he’s walking with his arm draped around me. And I grin, and keep walking because…

Honestly, it should be more awkward, but it’s not. Everything in me just screams right.

away. We’ve dropped back far enough where our other three

group is the only one that made it back this early. “Wow,” I murmur. “I mean, I thought we were slow, but…”

did,” Luca says

murmur, glancing towards the bathroom where the other three have disappeared.

with him anytime soon,” Luca says, his voice dry. “Not when

consideringly as Luca grabs his bathing things and then waits for me as I grab mine. We head into the bathroom together, but I blush horribly when Luca heads for the showers, stripping

calls

my

and how I’m tired, and Luca just shrugs. I turn

as fast as humanly possible then, congratulating myself for accomplishing the monumental act of personal restraint it takes to not glance backwards when I hear the shower turn on.

to respect my mate’s privacy, especially when he thinks I’m

climb into that shower alongside my mate, I haul myself into my bed and flip back onto my pillow, pulling my cap down

later when I hear Luca’s voice disturbingly close to

and jump a little, spinning towards him, realizing that

Chapter 24

his arms looped over the side of my own, the way Jesse usually stands when he wants a spnet word Lanca grins

on my hand and gazing at him “Why do you disturb my slumber, pretty boy?” I try to inject some teasing into my own voice then, but honestly I think it fails. Because I mean with his dimples flaring like that–he

wrapped sandwiches I’m getting very sick of and placing it

smiling and taking the

you always do.” he says softly. “Rafe always has to bring

pulls at my mouth. “Have you been watching me, Grant?”

my heart feels like it completely stops as he reaches out a hand, his fingers drawing

his eyes shift to his hand, and he clenches it into a fist, drawing his lips into a tight line. “Good work today,” he says, nodding and shifting his eyes away from me. “Um. Yeah. Good job.”

I say softly, though I know

wondering how the

pillow again, totally beat. I curl up in my blankets, at least content in the knowledge that I don’t have to get

—

wishing we’d had chance to talk more – even

1

tonight are unusually vivid, and I feel more conscious in them than I usually do. I blink, looking around at the hazy birch forest, which is somehow bright even though it’s edged with fog. I turn my head, considering the pretty white trees with their leaves turning golden for autumn, pleased and surprised. And then I run my hands down over my favorite white nightgown from home – relishing the soft feel of it beneath my palms. Smiling, I next run my fingers through the long length of my hair,

little cap –

voice calls, and I go

the who the hell

Chapter 25

away. I groan a little, because of course I can’t stop thinking about

the hell am I?” Luca mutters, his voice carrying through the trees.

eyes go wide because….

Because…

my mom and Aunt Cora have told