Chapter 0271

“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 –“

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.

“Mark, you’re bigger than June,” I say, grinning up at him and 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 been gone?

He’s Rafe’s height now, or at least almost. “Just shove her over -”

But before I can finish giving Mark my very best sisterly advice, a screech sounds in the room and

all of our heads whip to the left, where five kids charge for Jesse the second he steps through the

door.

“No, 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 mock protests, piling on top of

him, shouting his name and how much they’ve missed him.

I grin, watching Jesse fake fight his siblings for a second, pleased to even see Caleb, who is

thirteen now and pretends he’s too cool for fun 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 hug, a ruffle of the hair, a brotherly punch

on the arm.

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

“Yes, they’ve missed their human jungle gym,” Grandpa Henry says, wheeling up next to me and

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

always wanting rides up and down the hallways. Playing horsie and piggy-back-chauffer is usually

Jesse’s job.”

I grin at my grandpa, whose eyes sparkle as he 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 stand close to us, not wanting to miss a thing. Juniper

steps close too, her scowl deepening for no reason.

Something about my sister’s scowl kindles something in me, and I can’t help it – I grin, and leap for

her. “Junie Junie!” 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 so much. “Our little goonie! She loves the moonie! It makes her

swoooonie!”

“Oh my goddddd,” June 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 it, Ariel!”

“I can’t!” I return, laughing my ass off and dropping her hair before snatching her into a big hug. She

struggles against me, but Junie’s even smaller than my mom and me, and I’ve spent a whole

semester training at Alpha Academy, so she’s got no chance. “I just missed my little sissy so much!”

I plant a series of big kisses on her head.

“You are literally so embarrassing,” Juniper groans as I continue to kiss her gratuitously, her face

flushing as she slumps in embarrassment, flicking her eyes towards where Luca is watching with

delight. “You seriously want your mate to see this side of you!? The abuse you rain on your sister!?”

“Aw, no! It’s cute!” Luca says, grinning at us. “Sisterly love!”