The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 342

Chapter 0342

"He's fucking huge," Jesse whispers, and when I glance at my cousin I see that his brows are knit together as he addresses Rafe over my head.

"Is that bad?" I burst out.

"Of course it's bad, Ari," Rafe growls, though I can tell his anger isn't for me. He flicks his gaze at me before snapping it up to meet Jesse. "This must be some kind of mistake -"

"It's no fucking mistake," Jesse growls out, tossing a hand towards the man as he strides down the corridor towards the ring." Obviously, they've sent a ringer."

Almost as if everyone's realizing it just as Jesse does, the crowd starts to echo with boo's, enough of them to carry out over the pounding music as the Atalaxian champion reaches the ring. The announcer, standing again at the center of the ring, looks around the room anxiously.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Moon Valley, please welcome your contender - Anton Spiriatos of Atalaxia!" He smiles widely, raising a hand up to try to elicit a cheer, but the boo's just get louder.

"What's a ringer?" I gasp, glancing between my brother, and my cousin, and Luca down in the corner of his ring. Luca leans casually back against the ropes in his corner, perfectly at ease, studying his opponent. I work very, very hard to keep all of my anxiety to myself, not wanting to pass it down our bond.

But god, it's hard. All I want to do is reach out to him - to ask how he feels to see if he's as freaked out as I am.

"A ringer," Rafe growls, soft, in my direction, "is a guaranteed win, a cheat."

"What?" I gasp, spinning my head to stare up at him. "But - but Luca's so good! We were all just saying that he can't possibly lose! You had such faith in him a moment ago!"

"Faith that's well placed," Jesse bites out, again gesturing towards the ring, "when Luca's fighting in his weight class! But this guy - god, Ari, you can see it, I know you can. He outweighs Luca by at least thirty pounds!"