Ch. 1001..1005: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 1001-1005

Chapter 1001

I exhale slowly, my fingers twisting in my wolf's fur as I look over at Jesse,

standing next to me, his wolf at his side.

"This is weird, cousin," he says with a little grimace. "Welcome...to my soul."

"It's nice here," I say, nodding, looking around at the mostly-blank space that looks precisely like my own. "I like what you've done with the place."

He smirks and nods his head to the left, silently asking me to follow. I do, and it's not a long walk before we reach the dark space where his soul ends. Across the darkness, though, I can easily see a too-familiar sight.

"Oh, heavens,” I say, putting my hands on my knees and peering forward, my eyes fastened on the little dark wolf, sunk deep into the oil, just her eyes and nose and points of her ears truly visible above it. My wolf howls at the sight of her, desperately worried. "Jesse," I say quietly, glancing up at him, "this is...very bad. Much worse than Gabriel."

"Well, I think she's been corrupted since she was a kid," Jesse says on a sigh, crossing his arms and looking very worriedly over at his mate's wolf. "It makes sense that it would be worse. But this is...even worse than it was before. Darkness is pulling her further in, perhaps? Maybe even as revenge."

"Jess, I think...I think Midnight has to take action," I say quietly, grief and worry twisting in me as I straighten. "I don't think she's going to survive like this. At least, not for long."

He sighs, dipping his face into his hand, obviously agonized by that insight. "Okay. Yes, we'll...we'll try to persuade her that it's important."

"Where is she?" I ask, looking around for her.

"Well, she can't come here," he snaps, his temper a bit short in his worry. "We don't have a bond." His wolf pants with worry, shifting from foot to foot, his eyes fastened on the little she-wolf in her oily bog. Midnight's wolf snarls and then chokes on the oil that floods her mouth. Jesse's wolf yips, starting forward, dancing at the edge of his soul, clearly wanting to go to her.

"All right, Jess," I say quietly, reaching out and slipping my arm around his. "Why don't you just...call for her?"

He does as instructed, cupping his hands to his mouth and shouting "Oye! Mids! Get your ass down here!"

I press my lips together, trying to hold back my smile.

She appears a moment later on her wolf's side of the soul, her hands on her hips, glaring at her mate. "What!?"

"We're trying to do something to help you here, Midnight,” Jesse says, exasperated, gesturing at her wolf. "The least you can do is show up."

She glares at him and then down at her wolf. "Yeah, but I don't like coming here. It's gross."

He just stares at her, aghast, a frustrated huff of air puffing from his lips.

"Darkness said it was important to stay clean," Midnight says, crossing her arms primly across her chest and shaking back her hair.

"Which you would think would extend to your soul," Jesse snarls.

I interrupt, pitching my voice louder. "Mids," I callout, giving her a cheerful smile. "I was going to light my Goddess fire - just here on this

side and experiment to see if you could feel it. Would that be okay?"

"Um," she says, her toes turning inward as anxiety starts to rush through her. "I.....I guess. But don't bring it over here, okay?"

"You're in charge, Mids," I say, nodding seriously and un-looping my arm from Jesse's, starting to call up the magic. “Whenever you say stop, we stop."

She glances down at her wolf, which continues to snarl at us, its livid red eyes fixed on Jesse's wolf. But then Midnight gulps and nods and I exhale, letting the blue flames form in my palms.

I let the fire grow and grow, sending it out into the air when it gets too big to hold. Jesse takes a step back as it grows as big as a person, then as big as a wolf, then larger. I glance at him. "You good?"

"Yeah,” he says, a bit mesmerized, his eyes fasted to the huge blue ball of fire. "Just...impressed. And it's very warm, isn't it?"

I grin at him and then exhale slowly, returning my@yes to the flame and pushing it just slightly - out into the darkness between Jesse's sout and Midnight's. I watch through the flames as Midnight's eyes go wide, as she cringes away from it, clearly afraid of what will happen if it comes too close.

But her wolf goes still.

And then the wolf blinks, the manic light fading from her eyes.

And then she moans, reaching her snout out as far as she can, her ears pinning back to her head. The little wolf reaches, pushing hard through the muck, trying to get closer.

Midnight cries out and Jesse stumbles forward. "Are you okay!?" he calls, worried.

Midnight's wolf gives a little howl, surging forward as best she can, reaching reaching so hard towards the blue light and the

warmth it provides. A pitiful little net

moan Breaks from my own mouth as push the fire further, wanting to give it to her, wanting her to have as much as she wants and needs.

 

Chapter 1002Midnight bursts into tears, looking down at her wolf, her entire body starting to tremble. "I - I didn't know," she whispers, starting to shake her head.

"Mids," Jesse calls, his voice breaking, kneeling down at the edge of his soul and reaching for her. "Midnight, please, are you okay?"

She just continues to cry, her face tucked into her hands, her shoulders shaking.

I push my fire a little further as the wolf gets to the edge of her gigantic pit, her snout stretched out as far as it can go, and my heart sings when I see just the barest edge of oil burn away from her snout, revealing -

My eyes go wide when I see that the fur beneath is a creamy white. I groan again, pushing the fire further, and Midnight's wolf gives a pitiful little howl, shutting her eyes, letting the warmth rush over her. More oil peels back, revealing more plush white fur along the length of her snout, the tips of her ears...

"Stop!" Midnight cries out. My eyes flash to her as she drops her hands from her face and begins to shake her head, vehement. "Please, stop – I can't - I can't – I'll lose everything."

I pull my fire back, as I promised, but keep it burning.

Midnight's wolf whips her face to Midnight, a sorrowful, plaintive little howl slipping from her lips. Midnight looks down at her wolf and shakes her head again, apology everywhere alongside her fear.

"Midnight," Jesse says, the single word a plea, begging for her to continue.

But she just continues to shake her head, looking down at her wolf. "I can't," she whispers.

Jesse looks up at me, desperate for me to continue, not knowing what to do.

"Jess,” I say, pulling the fire back so that it becomes a ball in my hands. "I - I don't even know how much I could do from this distance - I can only get so close..."

He groans, knotting his fingers in his hair and pressing his eyes shut.

"I - I'm going back," Midnight says, her voice creaking. I turn my head to her just

in time to see her vanish. Her wolf gives a terrible little howl, sinking back into the depths, scrabbling to find her footing and keep her fresh, clean fur out of the muck in a way that just breaks my heart in half.

"Come on," Jesse grumbles, standing and reaching for me. "I - I don't want to leave her alone."

With a last plaintive look back at the wolf, I take his hand and we return to the real world.

Midnight cries her eyes out, terror sweeping through her. Jesse moves closer on the bed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close through her pain and her grief, her worry and confusion. Ariel moves close as well, taking Midnight's hand, squeezing it and whispering warm and comforting things.

As the minutes pass Midnight calms, her mind coming back to her. Eventually she finds the strength to give one last big sniff and then looks up at her mate and her friend.

"Are you okay, baby?" Ariel whispers, leaning close and stroking a hand over her hair. Midnight can't help but lean into the caress. "I'm so sorry. Did it hurt?"

Midnight doesn't say anything because the truth is that she's just being a big coward. It didn't hurt at all - it felt wonderful. Warm - warm. Her...her wolf didn't even know that she could be warm...

But the idea of losing all of her powers, all her magic...

"It's okay, kid," Jesse murmurs, pressing a kiss to her hair. "You're allowed to be scared. It's okay."

She sniffs again, leaning against him, trying to put her mind and her thoughts and her heart together. Her wolf howls in her soul, begging for the warmth to come back, but Midnight slams the door on her noise - as she so often does.

But then guilt rushes through her, because she knows it's wrong. Her wolf. Her poor wolf. Slowly, she opens the door again and lets her wolf's howls echo through her soul, finally listening to what she wants and needs.

It is...just unbearably sad.

"Can I go to bed?" Midnight whispers, closing her eyes and tucking her cheek close to Jesse's chest. "Please? I am so tired. Can I go to bed?"

"Of course," Jesse murmurs. He sends an anxious glance Ariel's way, but she just shrugs, implying that she doesn't know what else to do It's still in the end, all Midnight's choice. It has to be. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you to bed. "

He wraps his arm tight around Midnight's back, and then slips another beneath her knees, and lifts her easily from the bed. After all,

she's still in so many ways net

-

- a malnourished girl who has only recently begun to learn to accept love, and care, and kindness. She sniffs softly in his arms, Clearly overwhelmed.

“I'll come see you in the morning," Ariel whispers.

Jesse nods to his cousin and gives her as much of a smile as he can before he moves to the door, wondering how the hell he's going to convince this precious little creature to free herself from the darkness that's killing her.

 

Chapter 1003

Ariel moves ahead of Jesse, quietly opening the bedroom door and then the front door, clearing the way. Jesse passively bids Jackson and Marigold goodnight as he goes, but his mind is distracted. He doesn't even see if Marigold is still awake.

Instead, he just keeps his eyes on the grass in front of him, aiming for Midnight's new little cabin, wondering what the hell he's supposed to do now - what he can say to convince his little mate to trust them, to free her wolf of the darkness.

"Oh!" says a surprised voice.

Jesse whips his head up and stops in his tracks, his eyes fastening on the red- headed young woman standing in the path before him, a basket over her arm.

Midnight opens her eyes, turning her gaze towards the girl, a growl sounding in her chest.

Jesse just...freezes. Completely without anything to say for one of the first times in his life.

“Um,” Daphne says, her worried eyes flicking between Jesse's face and the sad little demon in his arms. "I'm so sorry - I didn't mean to intrude - I was just... Cora asked me to leave some prototype designs in her new house so I...I'm...I'm so sorry..."

She blushes furiously, her shoulders going up around her ears as she looks down at her basket.

"Be gone, whore," Midnight snarls, her voice deep and vicious.

"Midnight!" Jesse gasps, coming back to himself, hoisting her higher in his arms and snapping his eyes down to see that she's gone full shadow ghoul again, with pits for eyes and that hollow of a mouth leaking clouds of shadow. "Apologize, right now! You're being so rude -"

Daphne gives a little squeak of terror and turns, rushing off for the castle.

"Hey!" Jesse barks out, glaring down at Midnight, his arms tightening around her. "You are not allowed to be mean to her -"

Midnight's shadows fade, her face turning back to normal, and she turns her grief- filled little face up to him. "But she's a whooore."

He glares down at her, livid. "She's lovely. And an employee of this Academy! You are not allowed to terrorize her just because you're -"

He cuts himself off abruptly, his wolf nipping him in his soul, angry in turn that he'd be so cruel to his tiny mate when she's having such a rough time already.

Midnight sighs, a few tears leaking from her eyes, and rests her head back against his chest. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "My instinct is to hate the whores."

"She's not a whore," Jesse sighs,

shaking his head as he continues on the path to the little cottage, his wolf howling and sniffing the air,

searching for more traces of

Daphne. But still, he knows that even she'll be

if she was frightened that even

allright. Right now, he needs to get Midnight to bed. "At least we know your shadows still work, even when you've had a little of your corruption cleared."

"Oh," Midnight says, going a bit stiff with surprise in his arms, her eyes going wide. "I...I guess we do."

Midnight barely sleeps, tossing and turning in the bed, her wolf's sad and desperate little howls echoing in her mind. She groans, pressing the heels of her paths in against her eyes, wrapping her shadows around her for comfort as she's always done. Stiff, she doesn't allow herself to slam the mental door on her wolf's pain, forcing herself to witness it.

Her wolf sinks deeper and deeper in the corruption, devastated and afraid, her

pretty white fur soaking up the darkness like a feather in ink.

Midnight bites her lip at this, horrified because...

Well, because she never even knew her wolf had white fur. Always, always that fur has been black.

But...had she been born that way?

Or has she always been a beautiful cream-colored wolf, only stained with years and years of corruption in darkness?

Finally, after hours of tossing, when her wolf finally loses her last grip and sinks back into the oil, Midnight sits straight up in bed and whips the blanket off.

Jesse, asleep curled up in an arm chair in the corner with a pillow tucked beneath his head, gasps awake at the sudden noise. "What?" he asks, frantic, looking around. "What's wrong?"

"Jesse,” Midnight says, her voice trembling and scared. "I - we need to go to Ariel. Right now."

Jesse goes still for a moment but then reaches out his hand. "All right," he says, steady and serious. "Let's go."

A few minutes later, Jesse and

Midnight push open the door to Ariel and Jackson's new little house, the hinges creaking just a little. Jesse stands straight in surprise when he sees Jackson curled on the couch, Marigold sleeping peacefully tucked in next to him, a book open in his hands. "What the hell are you doing up?" Jesse asks, his brow wrinkling.

Jackson just looks at him with equal confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Jesse just stares at him for a second and then nods down at Midnight. "She wants to see Ari."

"Ari's asleep," Jackson says, frowning a little and folding the book shut. Jesse smirks when he sees the upside down title: From Bond to Baby: A Month-by- Month Guide to Wolf Pregnancy. "Can it wait till morning? She needs more sleep now." Jackson taps the cover.

 

Chapter 1004

"Um," Midnight says, her voice high and humming. "No, please. I mean. I don't want to hurt the pups but..." she bites her lip. "I think.....I think my wolf needs her now."

Jesse reaches an arm out, wrapping it around Midnight's shoulders and tugging her close. "It won't hurt the pups." He looks up at Jackson, eyes pleading.

Jackson nods, lifting his chin towards the bedroom door.

Jesse and Midnight nod their thanks to Jackson and then pass into the bedroom. Jesse leans close to Ariel as Midnight presses the door shut behind them, giving her a little nudge on the shoulder. "Ari," he whispers.

Ariel gasps and then shrieks, whipping up an arm and smacking him hard in the face. Jesse groans, clutching his jaw, turning away.

"Jesse!" Ariel hisses, sitting up amongst the pillows, pressing a hand to her fast- beating heart. "What the hell are you doing here!?"

Jesse just groans, pointing at Midnight.

Midnight comes close, her hands balled up into fists and pressed to her chest. “Please, Ariel,” she says, her eyes round and brilliant with tears. “I – I need you to clear my wolf. Please, she's so sad - she just wants to be warm."

Ariel groans in turn, smoothing a hand over Midnight's hair and nodding to her. "All right, kid,” she whispers, patting the bed. "Climb up here. We'll do it right now."

A few minutes later, safely in Jesse's soul, Ariel looks up at the man in question, who still clutches his jaw. "You know I know that doesn't hurt here, right?" she says, poking at his hand. "Our bodies are just metaphorical here."

Jesse grumbles but drops his hand, sending her a little glare before setting off towards the edge of his soul, where he knows Midnight is waiting. Ariel smiles a little, forgiving Jesse his bad temper, knowing he's just worried for his mate.

When they reach the edge of his soul, both Midnight and her wolf are waiting, her wolf sunk deep into the muck but her eyes just as bright and eager as the girl's.

"You've thought about this, Mids?" Ariel calls, hands on her hips. "Because, I mean...there's no going back, I think."

"I – I think that I'm sure," Midnight says, glancing down at her wolf, who gargles a little growl of consent. "You cleared a little of the oil before, and I was still able to use my shadows completely - scared the crap out of Daphne -"

"What!?" Ariel gasps, whipping her head to glare at Jesse.

"Please, can we discuss that another time?" Jesse asks, looking down at his cousin with a great deal of exhaustion in his eyes. “I'm not defending her but yes, her shadows seemed...on full display."

"Okay," Ariel says, shrugging and conjuring up her fire, letting it grow fast and brilliant. "Let's get this started."

When the fire is big enough Ariel presses it out towards the darkness between their souls. As before, Midnight's wolf gives an eager howl, pressing forward towards the light and the warmth, wanting it badly. And as before, the oil starts to fade from her fur, drying up and flaking off or evaporating, revealing the creamy fur beneath.

Midnight watches eagerly, happiness ringing through, warmth starting to make itself known in her soul for the first time since...well, ever, she supposes. She just...didn't know it was supposed to feel like this.

But eventually, the progress stops. The wolf continues to press forward, wanting the warmth, but the large pit of oil remains, and the oil stops drying just at the back of her little ears. The wolf gives a howl of regret, wanting more.

"What is it?" Midnight asks, suddenly afraid, looking between her wolf and Ariel, at the fire between them. "What's wrong?"

"Mids," Ariel calls, hesitating. "I - I'm not sure I can get further or make it burn any hotter. I mean, I'm not in your soul with you - I was in Gabriel's soul when I cleared him."

Ariel bites her lip, anxious and a little panicked, wanting to help Midnight and not knowing what to do.

Midnight starts to cry, little tears slipping down her cheeks.

A beat passes in silence.

Jesse steps forward.

"Here, Ari,” Jesse says, his voice firm and steady. "Can you pass the fire to me?”

"What?" she asks. But seeing the determination in him, Ariel stops hesitating and does as he asks, first shrinking the flame down to about the side of a basketball and then

passing it into his hands, their unique bond allowing her to share.

Jesse gives her a little smile and then turns back to Midnight. “Okay, Mids,” he calls. "Get ready. I'm coming over."

Ariel sucks in a deep breath as a silvery bridge begins to appear in the darkness between Jesse's soul and Midnight's. As Jesse accepts the bond.

Midnight cries harder as the bond snaps into place, relief swelling through her.

Jesse exhales slowly as he steps onto the solid bond, beginning to cross.

Chapter 1005

I hold my breath as I watch my cousin cross the newly formed bond in his soul, watch him hold the Goddess fire to the side as he wraps his arm around his little mate, holding her close to his chest, pressing a kiss to her hair. She cries into his chest for a moment, her hands wrapped tight in the fabric of his shirt.

But then he murmurs something soft to her, and she nods, and he smiles at her. And then they get to work.

I watch, my fists tight beneath my chin as Jesse begins to work with the fire, careful not to touch the oil himself. His wolf races across the bond next, eager to help. To my surprise my wolf goes with him, snatching some of the fire out of Jesse's hand and holding it between her teeth, carefully working to spread it around Midnight's soul and get rid of all the oil splashed everywhere.

Tentatively I put a foot out on the bond, wondering if I, too, can use it as a bridge. Both Jesse and Midnight turn their heads when they feel me there. But then Midnight smiles and waves to me and I cross as well, laughing a little at the wonder of it of being welcomed into someone's soul.

But it's not so odd, really, when I think about it. Midnight - she's my cousin now, or close enough. I'm so pleased and honored that she trusts me here. I, too, take a moment to press a kiss to Midnight's hair.

And then I get to work.

It takes hours to burn away the oil of her soul. Jesse, I, and our wolves work in tandem to first clear a circle around Midnight's wolf so that we can stand close. And then I lean over the pit, careful not to touch the corruption, and slowly begin to stroke the flames over Midnight's wolf's sweet fur. The wolf gives pitiful little whines of joy as I dust away the dried oil from her whiskers and her ears, as Jesse vanishes enough of the oil that her haunches appear, and then her shoulders, and then her rump.

We're all very tired by the time enough oil is gone that we can begin to haul Midnight's emaciated little wolf out of the pit. Her spindly legs work hard to help, to push her free. But she's just so...weak. She's been in that pit for long enough that I'm not sure her muscles ever fully developed, let alone enough to run and jump and play.

I cry when we finally pull her free and the little wolf collapses, her tongue happily panting, on the clean soil of Midnight's soul. But when t

look around at my cousin and mate, see that I'm in good company there. We all wipe gur cheeks and continue working - me clearing what's left of the oil from Midnight's wolf, Jesse and our wolves drying up the rest of the pit.

Until, finally, it's all gone.

Midnight sobs, her arms around the neck of her little creamy wolf, whose tufted ears are black and grey at the tips. I smile when I see that she has little grey socks on each of her legs, leading down to black paws.

"She's so pretty, Mids,” I say, leaning against Jesse, tears streaming from my eyes again.

"Yeah," Midnight says, hiccupping in exhaustion and stress and sadness and joy. "Yeah, she's...she's really great. I'm so sorry." She buries her face in her wolf's fur, sobbing again.

"You didn't know, Mids," Jesse murmurs, crouching down to stroke her back. "It's okay. You didn't know."

I back away then, letting them have

a moment, stepping back into

Jesses soul and then opening my eyes in the real world. I take a moment to stroke a mental hand over my wolf's head and she ticks my palm, loving me a great deal - just as much as I love her,