Ch. 371..375: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 371-375

Chapter 0371

"I was embarrassed," he says, looking away from me again. "Because...when I came to the city and started watching TV, people of course talked about sex casually - that husbands and wives did it, and mates, and boyfriends and girlfriends. But...they talked about it like it was this big thing - especially losing your virginity, how intense and emotional and special it was. And I was so interested because I was like...well what the hell is that? What's sex? What could it be? And then I saw some movies that showed people actually having sex...

His words fade off, and suddenly it all snaps together. "Oh," I say, sitting up a little straighter. "And you realized that you'd...you'd done it before."

"Yeah," he says, looking down at his hands. "And I felt... I don't know, kind of robbed? Not by Tasha - but by the Community, by my education. I should have known that it was...important. That it was big. That it's not something that most people casually do by the river, but it's something that a lot of people understand as an act that...brings people together. People who love each other."

We're both quiet now, and my hand slips down from his hair, down his neck to rest on his shoulder. I study him carefully, his handsome profile, his powerful frame. Physically, he can withstand so much. And yet it's this - these small, stolen things that truly break him down.

"Did you love her?" I ask quietly, curious. And as I ask it I realize that I won't begrudge him if the answer is yes. That instead I might even be happy - I will have wanted him to have that love in a world that took so much away from him.

"No," he answers, looking at me seriously. "I liked her a lot, Ariel, I was really fond of her. But what we had, how I felt about her?" He shakes his head softly. "It is... nothing compared to..." he gestures to me now, to the bond between us. And I nod, accepting it, understanding.

We stare at each other for a long time in the dark of Jackson's room, both of us feeling the complexities of this thing, feeling a sorrow for everything that was taken from him, and joy for what we've found now. Update first at NôvelDráma. Org.

Because no matter what came before, we have each other in this moment. And I again feel that fierce protective instinct well up in me, like if anyone comes for my baby Jacks - lays a single finger on his emotions, I'm just going to rip them to shreds.

*Come here, baby," I murmur, dropping the sheet from my hands and opening my arms to him. Jackson obeys, letting himself lean over lightly until he topples into my arms. I laugh a little, working hard to stay upright as the full, not insubstantial weight of his upper half comes to rest against me. But I prevail, and stay upright, and hug him close, tucking my chin against his head.

Jackson sighs, long and steady, and in it I feel a thousand things. Feel the relief in having me to talk to, in unburdening himself. And worry, that I won't fully understand, or that he didn't tell it right. And sadness, in having to remember it at all, this part of his life that he's so eager to leave behind.

"Don't leave it all behind, Jacks," I whisper. "It's still your history. It's still yours."

"I'm not sure it is, Ari," he murmurs. "It was so...calculated. So controlled. I think it's theirs."

I don't counter, not knowing how much good it will do. But, I do quietly - in a secret part of me that I hope Jackson can't hear or feel - determine to talk to mom about getting him a therapist. Because my sweet Jacks - he's been through the ringer, hasn't he? And as much as I want to be here to listen and hold him through all of it, I know that I don't know enough to help him through some of the more complex emotions.

But there are, I know, some things I can do to make it better.

"I know you don't want me to apologize anymore," I say quietly, my arms firm around him as I kiss the side of his head again. "But...I'm sorry if I pressured you too much to go too fast. I didn't think about what it might be like from your side. And that's not fair."

 

Chapter 0372

*Yeah, I absolutely do not want you to apologize for that, Ari," Jackson says, turning a little so that we're face-to- face again, so that I can see his frown. He sits up straighter, wrapping an arm around me. "I don't want you to think I don't want to have sex with you. Because..." he raises his eyebrows now and looks at me seriously," Believe me when I say that...I want to."

I grin a little at the way his voice got all low and gravelly when he said that, but I don't tease him about it. Instead, I just nod and put a hand on his cheek - because I do believe him. I can feel it, down our bond, that it is not just me. That he wants me just as bad. He just...needs more time.

He turns his head a little, kissing my hand before looking back into my eyes. "We just have time, right? I kind of want to..." he grins now, I think feeling like it might be a little tacky, "to date you. And let it grow. And...you know. Get there when we get there."

I burst into a grin, leaning close. "You want to date me, Jackson McClintock?" I say in my best high school girl voice, because it's just too adorable to not tease him about. Just a teeny, tiny bit.

"Yup," he says, grinning right back at me, holding me tighter. "I want to date the hell out of you, Ariel Sinclair. And then, when we get to the sex," he shrugs, like it's no big deal, "it will... mean something. Won't just be something we do because our bodies wanted to, or whatever. Is that...okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay," I whisper, leaning close and pressing my forehead against his. "Um...can we still make out and stuff?"

"Yeah," he says, smiling deeply at me and tugging on my hips so that I'm basically in his lap again. I squeal a bit, because it's my favorite place to be. "We can make out, Ariel. And...stuff."

As if to prove his point, Jackson kisses me slowly and deeply, in the way he knows I like best. And I lean back against his arm and let him take control, kissing him back languidly, enjoying the feeling of his mouth and his tongue pressing against my own, especially now that I know that this is as far as it's going to go right now.

And inwardly, I smile, because....I mean, because it's kind of amazing, isn't it? I thought that Jackson and I were close, incredibly close, so deeply bonded that it couldn't get more intense. And yet here we are, not having sex after I've been mostly naked in his bed for an extended period of time, and it's...

It's deeper. It's better. And I'm so terribly in love with him that...god, I just don't know how to manage it.

But as Jackson's arms tighten around me and he leans me backwards just a touch further, I smile. Because I know he's going to be there to help me.

I'm losing myself completely to Jackson, my mind going to that hazy space it always does when he kisses me for any extended period of time at all, when suddenly my wolf leaps to her feet inside of me.

Oh no, she murmurs, her legs going stock straight as she stands, staring, feeling the wave of him coming down the hall towards us.

Because he's close now, and we can feel him, feel the anger and the pain and the horror and the dismay radiating off him like a cloud.

Jackson's wolf, feeling my wolf's movement, likewise jumps to his feet, a growl rising in his throat. Jackson and I both start in the same instant, pulling apart just an inch and staring, shocked, into each other's eyes the moment before the pounding begins on the door.

*Shit," I whisper, my head spinning towards the noise.

*Ariel!" Luca shouts, continuing to pound as he does. "Ariel, get the hell out of there! Right now!" My eyes go wide, and Jackson's growl rises in his chest, his throat, as he holds me tight.

I glance over at him. "Jacks," I whisper. "He's going to wake the whole palace - guards are going to come running if we don't get the door right now."

Chapter 0373

Jackson stares at me for a second and then nods even as he growls, pressing a last kiss to my cheek before standing up and striding, of all places, towards his dresser.

Frantic to make the noise stop - honestly, the way Luca's shouting my name and slamming himself against the door, I think he's actually trying to knock it down - I roll off the bed too and scurry for the door.

*Ariel, I swear to god, if you don't open this door and get your ass out here -*

I'm almost there, my eyes on the handle, but Jackson grabs my arm as I go.

*Jacks!" I gasp, staring up at him, not knowing why he's stopped me.

"It's my room, Ariel," Jackson bites out, holding out the gigantic t-shirt and pair of pajama pants to me. I stare at them for a second before I realize what he means that I should, obviously, put them on before answering the door topless in my underwear.

I nod eagerly and take the clothes from my mate, pulling the shirt over my head and then stumbling as I try to get the pants on. The whole time, Luca continues to shout and to pound on the door. "Jackson!" I protest, glancing anxiously towards the sound. "Open it!"

"My room," Jackson snaps - obviously not mad at me, but at god damn Luca raising a racket at his door. "I'll answer it when I'm ready. I never had doors to close growing up, and now that I do, I'm damn well going to enforce my right to boundaries."

Something about that - about Jackson letting Luca wear himself out at the door because it's his and he and I can do as we please behind it - makes me burst into a grin. Hastily, I finish pulling the pants up over my hips and pull the drawstring tight. The pants are still ridiculously large - at least double the fabric that I'd usually use - but ...well. I'm covered now, aren't I?

Jackson nods once, brushing a hand over my hair, and then strides to the door, pulling it open in a single swing.

"What the fuck do you think you're fucking doing!?" Luca snarls, stepping immediately into Jackson's space and glaring up at him, completely livid. I take a step back, my eyes going wide, when I realize that his canines have elongated - that he's ready for a fight.

"You're the one in your girlfriend's parent's house," Jackson growls, stepping forward to glower down at Luca," embarrassing yourself by making a god damn racket." Update first at NôvelDráma. Org.

The growl that builds in Luca's chest is a dangerous one, and I see his hands ball into fists. My eyes go wide because after last night? I definitely know what those fists can do, even when a guy is much bigger than he is, like Jackson.

*Luca!" I shout out, desperate and livid at once.

His head whips to me and he immediately abandons his issue with Jackson, stepping towards me, angry. "Ariel, god damn it -"

But before he can get any more words out his own eye go wide and he stumbles back a step, his hand flying to his mouth, covering his nose. "Oh...oh my god," he murmurs, falling back a few more steps like he's been shoved." Oh my god!"

"What is it?" I gasp, looking around frantically. I take a step towards him but he puts a hand out towards me, palm flat, begging me to stop.

My head snaps to the left, because suddenly Jesse is flying down the hall, skidding to a stop outside Jackson's room and almost tripping over his damn feet in his hurry. "What the fuck!?" he hisses, looking frantically into the room and then to his right as Rafe comes barreling down the hall after him, his eyebrows so high they're basically in his hairline.

"What's wrong!? Is everyone okay!?" my brother gasps.

"We're fine!" I shout, stepping towards them, reaching for them, desperate to pull them into the room and get the noise out of the hall.

"You're okay!?" Jesse gasps, staring at me, tugging Rafe into the room after him and then turning to glare at Luca, who is pale and breathing hard, his hand still over the lower half of his face. "Luca! What the fuck! You cannot go screaming like that in the palace unless someone is literally dying - Uncle Dom is going to kill you -"

"Oh my God!" Rafe says, taking a step towards me, wide-eyed.

Jackson takes a step too, looking frantically between me and Rafe as I look shocked at my brother, both of us trying to figure out what's wrong.

"What?" I gasp, starting to get scared.

Honestly, why is everyone acting so insane!?

*Ariel..." Rafe breathes, stepping towards me and reaching for me. "Did he...did Jackson mark you!?"

Chapter 0374

"What?" I gasp, swatting his hands away.

But Rafe ignores me, reaching for my shirt, tugging back the neck on either side, looking for a bite, the signal that Jackson has claimed me as his mate, officially, incontrovertibly.

"Rafe!" I growl, shoving him away from me - god, sometimes, brothers are so damn annoying and have no sense of personal space. "No, he didn't! Why would you even think that!?"

"Um," Jesse says, staring at me wide-eyed and starting to laugh a little now. I narrow my eyes at him, adding cousins to the critique I just made of brothers. "Ariel... because you smell like you've been marked."

"What?" I gasp, my hands flying to my neck. I mean...no. But that's ridiculous. I would have known. My eyes fly to Luca, who is slumped against the bed, his head hanging, his shoulder shaking.

"He's right," Rafe murmurs, leaning closer, sniffing me. "You smell...all over of Jackson. But... mixed, the way a Luna's scent changes when she's been marked. What..."

But then Jesse laughs again, a huge guffaw this time. I gape at him, appalled, not knowing what's so funny. Especially as-

My eyes shift to Luca again, who is just staring at me, horrified. And as I watch, he actually gags, turning away from me and pressing his eyes shut.

*Jesse!" I shout, my gaze passing over Jackson - who stands stock still and a little freaked out - as I look back at my cousin. "What the hell is so funny!? Tell me! Now!" I stomp my foot, getting mad and very overwhelmed.

"Ariel," Jesse says, stepping closer to me and shooting a grin at Jackson over my shoulder. "Did he... did he scent mark you?"

"Um," I say, looking at Jesse and then at Jackson, who still stares around at us, freaked out. "Is that...bad?"

Jesse bursts out laughing, tilting his head back to the ceiling, and to my shock Rafe goes with him. Luca makes no improvement, turning his head away from me and shaking it like he's devastated. My eyes lock with Jackson's and I can tell we both don't get it.

I lose my temper, striding over to Jesse and giving him a hard shove. "Jesse!" I shout. "Stop it! What's so funny about this! You used to scent mark me all the time - every day! What's the big deal!?"

*Ariel," Jesse sputters, still laughing and taking my cheeks between his palms once he recovers his balance. "I marked you with my wrists over your major glands - your wrists, and your neck. And that was enough to fool everyone - to cover your scent, convince everyone that you were someone else. The way you're smelling right now?" He sniffs the air around me, delicately, and then bursts out laughing again. "Damn, he gave you the full business, didn't you?"

I gasp a little, looking over at Jackson, who just...shrugs.

"Why did you do that!? Rafe asks, turning to grin at Jackson. And my shoulders start to unwind for a second because...well, Rafe's smiling. So...I don't think it's anything...bad.... Update first at NôvelDráma. Org.

"I don't know," Jackson murmurs. "She...smelled like him," he says, gesturing over to Luca, who still won't look at me. "...fixed it."

Rafe and Jesse burst out laughing again.

"What!?" I protest, stomping my foot. "Why is it so bad!?"

"How did you know how to do it, if you didn't know what the result would be?" Jesse asks, grinning at Jacks, clearly delighted and scandalized.

"I don't know," Jackson says awkwardly, covering his face with his hand, embarrassed. "I just...did what my body told me to do. I don't know!"

"Why is it badddd," I groan, between my teeth, glaring between my brother and my cousin now.

"It's bad," Luca barks out, "because you smell fucking awful."

I gasp, staring at him, horrified by his words.

"Oh, she does not," Jackson murmurs, dropping his hand to glare at Luca.

"Do I smell awful?" I ask, whipping my head to Jesse - because he'll tell me. He won't sugar coat it, either.

"No, Ari," he says, smiling a little more gently now as he puts a hand on my shoulder. "You just smel...like Jackson now. A little bit. Like Jackson and like you - honey, cloves, and pine needles. It's not bad."

"Oh," I say, my eyes going wide, and then I shoot Jacks a little smile because....I mean, that sounds kind of nice.

Luca mutters angrily, but he turns towards us now, apparently over his nausea.

"It doesn't smell bad," Rafe says, grinning wickedly at me now. "But...I mean, everyone's going to know what happened here."

"What.." I ask, my words faltering. "What do you...

And then my mouth falls open in horror as I register what my brother is saying.

Chapter 0375

"Ariel," Jesse says, tightening the hand on my shoulder as he grins at me. "This isn't going to wash off like my scent markings in the Academy did. Jackson's.... in your pores now. For a couple of days, every Luna you meet is going to be begging to see your new mark, and every Alpha is going to be giving you some distance, lest Jacks bites his head off."

Luca just stands, tense, against the bed, his mouth pressed shut and his throat working like he's fighting strong nausea. But I can't pay attention now, turning to Jesse, desperate for more information. But Rafe interrupts.

*And dad," Rafe says, his grin deepening, "is going to flip."

"What!?" I shriek, totally freaked out now, looking between them and then over at Jacks. "But I! We didn't! I don't have his mark! We just..."

I groan, and drop my face into my hands, mortified.

Because Rafe and Jesse are too polite to say it, but what they really mean is that I now smell like Jackson and I were up fucking all night, consummating our mating bond and making it official.

But we weren't!

"Why does scent marking even exist," I moan against my palms. "If it does the same thing as giving someone your mark?"

*To claim someone before you mark them," Rafe says, and I lift my head in time to see him giving a little shrug." Or to..." he laughs a little here, "claim a second or a third person, as part of your harem, when you've already given your mark to someone else. I mean, an antiquated use considering that polygamous relationships aren't really a thing anymore but," he shugs, "I can see how it would make sense."

I groan, tilting my head back, thinking that that hits a little too close to home in this case and Jesse and Rafe laugh. Gently, not cruel, but seeing the humor in it in a way that I can't just yet.

"I'm so glad this is all so fucking hilarious to everyone," Luca snaps, and when I turn my head to him I see his shoulders still trembling slightly as he glares around at each of us in turn. "Now could everyone please fucking leave, so I can have a conversation with my mate about why she left the me at the club early last night, claiming she was tired, only to climb into McClintock's bed and apparently stay up for hours?"

My mouth drops open in shock at the accusation in that. Update first at NôvelDráma. Org.

But even as it does, my mind turns to my sneaky wolf who pretended to be sleepy last night, who now turns in a guilty circle inside of me, her head hanging low. Instantly, I snap the bond shut to both Luca and Jackson, not wanting them to know her role in this.

But Jackson lifts his eyes to me, and I realize that...I may have been just a little too late on that one.

"Too fucking far, Grant," Rafe snaps, stepping forward towards Luca and coming immediately to my defense." You have no idea what happened last night."

*Clearly," Luca growls, gesturing towards me and keeping his eyes locked on mine. "I do."

Jesse stands awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "It doesn't look great, Ari," he murmurs.

And I sigh, and hang my head. "It was.... not my intent," I murmur, trying to walk a fine line here between making Luca feel better an honoring the time I spent with Jackson. Because... I mean, both are important.

*Do you understand how this makes me feel?" Luca says, his voice still snapping with his anger as he steps towards me. He stares at me with such hurt in his eyes, pain all over him, that my lip begins to tremble, my shoulders to slump. "On the biggest night of my life, Ariel - a night when we came together in such an important way? You leave early, to go to bed with him."

I look up into Luca's eyes, feeling absolutely terrible, and I opening the bond between us jsut a little so that he can

feel it too - feel the truth of it. Because I do understand, now that I see it that way. Yesterday, last night, were so important to Luca - so important for us.

And from his perspective, it kind of looks like I tricked him - like I pretended to be tired, and left early, just so could climb into Jackson's bed.

But that's... that's not at all what happened.

Luca groans, burying his face against his hands and turning away from me, like he can't bear to look at me.

*I came home," I say carefully, my eyes fixed on his back, my voice shaking a little as I try to explain. "And Ben walked me to my room. And before I went in, I decided to...come and check on Jacks. To see how his night went."

I flick my eyes to Jacks, because that is...an understatement. But he nods to me, letting me know that he understands that I'm walking a fine line.