Ch. 536..540: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 536-540

Chapter 0536

"I do," Jackson replies, nodding once. "Not important right now. Just... let's get these shadows tucked away, all right? I want you to imagine like...a fishing rod, with all the shadows attached to the line. And now slowly, mentally, just...start to reel that fish in, okay?"

A moment passes as Jesse stares at Jackson, a little disbelief in his panicked eyes, but then he exhales a long breath and concentrates. My arms tighten around Rafe's arm, my fingers digging into his skin a little, when I see the shadows begin to change shape, transforming - my eyes widen to see - into a shadow river, complete with currents, still swirling around Jesse -

But including, of all things...tiny little shadow fish inside.

"There you go, man," Jackson says, sounding completely at ease now, even laughing a little when he sees the fish moving in their shadow streams, swirling around his wrist and his hand, still pressed to Jesse's chest.

Jesse stares around at the shadow scene in awe but - clearly encouraged by the result - he begins to take Jackson's advice, breathing easier and I suppose...beginning to reel it all in.

The shadows slowly start to lessen, to seep, to disappear backwards into Jesse as he calls them mentally back. They fade in density and in color, all slipping away like smoke from the air until they're just a haze around his skin.

And then Jesse takes one last sharp inhale and the final shadows slip back into his mouth, swallowed down...I don't know where. His soul?

And just like that...they're gone.

"Holy...holy shit, Jess," Rafe says, his voice trembling.

Jackson laughs a little, taking his hand from Jesse's chest and sitting back on the bed calmly. "Nicely done," he says, leaning back on his hands. "Honestly, you reined that outburst in pretty fast - took me ages to learn that."

Jesse still pants a little, tense on his bed, his shoulders shaking as he stares first at Jackson and then over at Rafe and me. "Am I...did I dream that? Please tell me I dreamed that."

Rafe and I just stare at him.

"No dreams, man," Jackson murmurs, shaking his head. "You're a badass shadow mage. It's cool."

Jesse continues to shake as he looks back at Jackson like he's totally crazy.

And I can't help it – a ridiculous, hysterical giggle breaks from me.

Jesse and Rafe snap their heads to me as I smack a hand over my mouth.

But there's no stopping the panicked laughter that continues to spill from me as I stare at my gentle, silly cousin - whose gift is literally...the opposite of anything I'd have ever expected from him.

"What...what's so funny?" Jesse asks me, his voice tremulous even as his mouth starts to curl up, as if he's desperate for a laugh, for a smile.

"Jesse," I whisper, dropping my hand and pressing it to my chest, my other hand still clinging to my brother's arm. "Why...why is your magic so scary!?"

Something about my stupid

question works, because Jesse's

mouth begins to twitch, a smile

taking over it and then fading, andet

then coming back as a little laugh stumbles from his mouth. "Look who's talking, little miss

I-can-light-things-on-fire-with-the-forc

And even though it's not really even that funny - I burst out laughing at this, laughing so hard I double over, my hands on my knees. Slowly, I feel Rafe next to me begin to loosen, and then he starts to laugh.

And even as I catch my breath, trying to reel my ridiculous, embarrassing, inappropriate laughter in like a shadow fish on a line, I hear Jackson and Jesse join in too.

We're a mess like that, all of us, for a minute or two - and Rafe tugs me onto Jesse's bed beside him, seating me down on it while he reaches behind Jesse's headboard for the bottle of contraband whiskey hidden there.

When I finally stop laughing hard enough that can open my eyes, wiping the tears from them, I look around to see Jesse hesitantly smiling, and Jackson grinning

around at all of us, and Rafeel

sighing

and shaking his head as he uncorks the whiskey bottle. Content belongs

“Come on,” he sighs. "If we're all up in the middle of the night after having the shit scared out of us, we can all probably use a drink to settle our nerves."

He raises the bottle into the air in a toast. "To the newfound Duke of Shadows," Rafe says with a clever twist of his lips. We all give a little cry of joy as Jesse's face breaks into a wary grin, liking the title much more than he's comfortable with his newfound magical skill.

Then Rafe tilts his head back, taking a long swig of the liquor before passing it to Jesse, who does the same.

Chapter 0537

 

When the bottle comes around to me I'm ready for it, taking my own long drink, but the boys have already moved on.

"Wait so," Jesse asks, eyes on Jackson, "how did you know how to do that?"

Jackson sighs and gives a brief summary of his magic for Jesse's sake, and then elaborates for all of us. "When my magic first manifested as a kid, I just used to lay in bed with energy pounding through me - I couldn't sleep for weeks." He sighs, hanging his head and putting his forehead in his hand. "I got really skinny and was ravenous all the time - and no one had figured out what was up with my magic yet, so they didn't figure out that I needed a lot of food if I was going to burn energy like that. So, I just had to... work it out for myself. I would just lay in bed and focus on it and try to like...calm it down, talk nice to it like my friend Cristof did to me when I got upset."

He gulps a little then, hanging his head for a second, and I feel a wave of longing come across our bond. My heart breaks, my lips parting slightly when I realize that Jackson...misses his friend.

But my mate moves on quickly, raising his head again, not even looking at me or addressing the sudden, fleeting emotion.

"So," Jackson says with a shrug, looking at Jesse's gaze. "I know because I've been there. It's your magic though - just...keep in mind that it responds to you, and that you're in charge."

"I'm glad you were here, man," Jesse says, leaning back against the headboard and shaking his head. "These two," he says, pointing his thumb between Rafe and I, "were completely useless."

I squeak in protest, sitting up straight, even though he's right. Rafe just laughs, reaching for the whiskey bottle in my hands and raising it towards Jackson this time. "Seriously, man, thank the Goddess for you and your stupid obsession with my sister."

I squeak again before I scowl and try to snatch the whiskey away from him in revenge, but Jackson just smiles and nods to the two of them, clearly he glad he was here as well.

"So, is it going to happen again?" Jesse asks after a moment, looking anxiously down at his arms.

"Probably," Jackson sighs, taking the whiskey bottle from Rafe when he passes it and taking a swig. "But you'll get better and better at handling it." “Well, what if it happens in like...the middle of class..." Jesse murmurs, looking down at his limbs suspiciously like they might burst into shadow at any second.

"You'll deal," Jackson says with a shrug, easy and confident and unimaginative in the most useful way. I laugh a little, scootching closer to him and resting my head on his shoulder.

"Can you call it up now?" Rafe asks, curious.

n

"Um, I think I'd rather not try," Jesse replies, still on edge. I take the bottle from Jackson's hands and hand it over to Jesse, who sends me a grateful flash of a smile. "I think want to... talk to my mom. If that's not the most pathetic thing you've ever heard."

"Your mom's a powerful sorceress," Rafe says with a happy shrug. "Much like my own. I think it makes a lot of sense - we can call them tomorrow."

"Yeah," Jesse says on a relieved

sigh. "I think that's...for the best." He

looks around at all of us. "Can you guys come for that call? It will be helpful to have you...help me explain."

"Of course we can," I say happily. "Why don't we skip breakfast, do that instead?"

Jackson's stomach grumbles a little already and I grin, looking up at him.

"Fine," I laugh. "We'll make a special request for breakfast to be sent up here, just this once."

"I'm sure they'll accommodate that," Rafe says, very assured that his princely demands will be obeyed. Our dads are everyone's bosses, anyway. "Cool," Jesse says on a deep exhale, looking down at his hands. "Okay. I feel...better."

We're all quiet for a long moment.

"Hey Jess?" I say quietly, leaning forward towards him, thinking that he might be a little more willing now to talk about it. "What do they...feel like? The shadows?"

He takes a moment and we all sit very still.

"It feels...very dark," Jesse murmurs.

"And I know that seems obvious

et

but... I don't know how else to describe it. But it feels...like an animal that's an extension of me. Not like my wolf – not sentient like that. But still an animal that it's my job to leash and control...like.a snake, or a panther, something that only comes out at night and is hungry and a little vicious." He shakes his head, frowning, trying to figure it out. "But it's also...soft and pliable. Like I can turn it into anything. And...warm?"

Chapter 0538

He looks up at us and shrugs, his expression wary, like he thinks he might sound crazy.

"That's...scary, man," Rafe says, his voice breathy. "But also really cool."

Slowly, Jesse breaks out into a smile. "Yeah, I...I think it kind of is."

"Fire goddess, shadow lord," Jackson murmurs, looking around at us like he's kind of tickled by it. "Whatever you come up with next is going to be amazing, Rafe, if you're going to match up with these two."

Jesse laughs and I grin at my brother, but my smile falters a little as Rafe pretends to laugh before he drops his head, his face falling a little bit.

And my heart sinks again when I realize that my poor brother - who just got dumped - likewise feels left out of this too. Because he's the only one here whose magic hasn't manifested.

Which...probably makes him feel more alone than ever.

"Rafe," I say quietly, reaching for him.

But my brother straightens his shoulders, pretending he doesn't hear me.

My hand falls before I touch him, sensing that he doesn't want that right now.

"Well, we have to get up early," Rafe says, forcing a smile, "especially if we're going to send word to mom and Cora that we want to chat. Do you think you can sleep, Jess?"

"Probably not," Jesse laughs, only a touch hysterically, shaking his head. "But...I mean, I can try."

"Well, what if it happens again?" I ask anxiously, biting my lip.

"I'll just scream louder, cousin," Jesse says, reaching out and giving me a pat on the knee, using his sense of humor and bravado to cover the anxiety that I can still see running through him. After all, he's gone through a big change today - and swirling clouds of darkness are not precisely a warm and cuddly gift.

I mean, not that bursting things into flames is. At least not technically. But...well, I like it.

And I'm not sure that Jesse likes his as much - at least not yet.

"Well, I'm staying here," I say, crawling quickly across the bed and cuddling up on the pillow on the far side of the bed that Jesse always leaves open. I grin at Jesse as he turns to stare at me. "In case you need me."

"Ariel, go to bed -"

"No way!" I say, laughing and giving him a soft smack on the back. "If you get lost in a cloud of shadows I'm getting lost in them too. Cousins stick together."

Jesse groans but he doesn't protest any more, falling back on his own pillows.

Jackson sighs, but then starts to lay down, stretching himself length-wise across the foot of the bed.

"Wait, what do you think you're doing!?" Jesse gasps, sitting up again and staring at Jackson.

"Is this...are we still not clear on this?" Jackson asks, looking up at Jesse like he's exhausted at having to explain again, his feet hanging far off the bed as he stretches out to his full height. He points a finger at me. "I sleep where she sleeps."

"You both cannot sleep in my bed! You don't fit!"

"Yes we do, Jesse, it's just a puppy pile like we did when we were kids," I say with a happy sigh, curling up comfortably as Jackson settles his head down by my feet. Jackson reaches up and puts a warm and comforting hand on my calf, think wanting to maintain body contact with me even as he realizes that it's going to be inappropriate for us to cuddle all night like we usually do.

"Well, if they're staying, so am I," Rafe sighs, giving Jesse a shove. "Budge over."

"What?!" Jesse protests, bumping

into me as Rafe pulls his legs up onto the bed and then curls up an Jesse's either side. "Guys, this is ridiculous the bed is going to collapse!"

"Use your newfound shadow power to prop it up or something," I say with a happy sigh, closing my eyes.

"What will that do!? They're insubstantial –“

"Well, then we'll all collapse together," Rafe murmurs. "Like a family."

"But -"

“Goodnight, Jesse!” Rafe calls, laughing a little under his breath. “We love you!"

"Yeah, love ya," Jackson murmurs, his voice already sleepy.

We all fall quiet as Jesse heaves a huge sigh, giving in. And then, in the tiny sliver of bed left to him, Jesse turns his back to me and curls himself up.

And even if he pretends to be exasperated by us...deep down, I know that Jesse's very grateful to have us all close by in case he needs us.

Chapter 0539

The next morning I find myself, by some bizarre miracle...at the foot of the bed, blinking awake with my face pressed against Jackson's chest. God, how did I even get here? I yawn and reach up a hand to rub my eyes. Did I like...crawl down here in my sleep?

“We're never doing this again," Jackson murmurs, already awake, stroking a hand down over my hair. “I don't care how much we love them or how many shadows there are. We're sleeping in our own bed."

I laugh a little, picking my head up to grin at my mate and then looking up at Jesse, who is asleep on his back as usual, snoring lightly, and Rafe, also on his back, his arm sprawled backwards across Jesse's body.

"But it's so cuuuute," I sigh, putting my head back down. "Plus, I slept great."

"Yeah, because you had your usual mattress," Jackson murmurs, groaning as he sits up, taking me with him. "The rest of us..."

Rafe shushes us harshly and turns his head to the side, frowning. "Go back to sleep," he groans, moody and exhausted.

"Time to get up," Jacks sighs, holding me cozily in his lap, my head tucked under his chin. I yawn and Jackson tucks a hand sneakily beneath my pajama top, passing me a little bolt of energy, which shivers pleasantly through me. I grin suddenly, picking my head up to beam at him as the energy rushes through me, making me feel quite bright and fresh and eager to start the day.

"I love you," I sigh, giving him a little kiss on the nose. "You're the best.”

"No being cute," Rafe bites out, yanking the pillow from beneath his head and throwing it at us. "Or so awake."

"Jacks, give him a little jolt too." I say, laughing at my brother as I swat the pillow away.

“That won't work,” Jackson replies, frowning at me.

"What are you talking about?" Rafe asks, sighing when he realizes we're not going back to sleep. Jesse snorts awake as well, blinking around at us, totally confused.

"Jackson passes me his energy, magically," I say with a happy sigh, stretching my arms smugly above my head. "I will never be tired again. Plus, it cures minor hangovers."

“What?” Rafe seethes, jealous and a little awed, pulling himself up and staring at me. "Are you...serious?"

I shrug and Jackson looks at Rafe with his usual stoicism, which is apparently convincing enough to make my brother groan, leaning back hard against Jesse's headboard. "Life is so unfair."

"Whass...happenin..." Jesse croaks, pulling himself up and rubbing at his eyes, yawning.

"Ariel was just informing me that her stupid mating bond means she gets limitless energy on command for free," Rafe bites out, sighing hard.

Jesse stares at him and then over at

Sathim

us. "Booo," he sighs, throwing his pillow at us in turn. I laugh, swatting that away too. "That's so unfair. You get someone who loves you and you never need coffee? And all I get is

stupid shadows?" Content belongs

I laugh harder now, grinning at my brother and my cousin, not really feeling sorry for them - after all, they won the gic lottery of being gigantic and powerful and fast. It's about time I got the leg up in this situation.

Still...my wolf nudges me, urging me forward, some instinct telling her to pursue the question.

"Come on, Jacky," I say, grinning up at him. He frowns at me, not liking that particular nickname. My grin widens. "Just...try to see if you can pass Rafe some energy too. See what happens."

Jackson shrugs and reaches out, putting his hand on a bare spot on Rafe's leg where his pajama pants have ridden up.

"Whoa!" Rafe says, yanking his leg away. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"It needs skin-to-skin contact," Jackson says, rolling his eyes at Rafe. "What, do you think I'm making a move on you or something? Your sister is... literally in my lap right now."

"Yes, an arrangement which is becoming far too casual in this room," Rafe snaps leaning forward to glare at Jackson, though I can tell he's having a bit more fun with it now that he's waking up a bit.

"Here, try me," Jesse says, yawning

and sticking out his leg towards Jackson. Jackson complies, reaching out for Jesse, putting a

hand on his shin. Then Jacket

takes a deep breath and

concentrates the same way guess he does when he gives me energy.

We all wait, watching, but...

"No cigar, my man," Jesse says with a sigh. "I guess we're getting an espresso machine after all." “Okay, wait,” I say, my wolf nudging me again, urging me to keep trying. "Let's do it this way..."

I scoot out of Jackson's lap and onto the bed, reaching out a hand between Rafe and Jacks.

"What is this?" Jackson asks, his face scrunching in confusion.

"Oh, just do it," sigh, knowing that we have to get a move on today. I reach my hands out further to each of them, insistent, and

simultaneously both Rafe and

el.n

Jackson slap a hand aga

mine. I

squeeze both of theirs and then turn to grin at Jacks.

Chapter 0540

“Okay, buddy," I say with a grin. "Juice me up."

"Don't call me buddy," he mutters, "or Jacky. Or anything that ends in -ie."

"Yes, puppy," I sigh, my grin deepening. But Jackson just rolls his eyes before he closes them and begins to concentrate again. Immediately I feel the energy fill me, a warm buzz of power that floods into me like an ocean wave. But as soon as it gets quite near the point where I start to feel full of it - like I can't hold anymore - I concentrate on my hand in Rafe's, on the bond I have with my brother which I know has always been strong.

And suddenly I feel it happen - feel the energy start to siphon off like a stream from a wide lake. I grin, turning to Rafe, watching, waiting... And when he starts to feel it, his eyes go wide. I give a little push, letting it flood into him a little, and Rafe gasps, his hair nearly standing on end. "Holy shit, holy shit!" Rafe stutters, dropping my hand and scrambling away from me. "Are you...are you serious!?"

"Whoa," Jackson says, his eyes going wide, the energy still flowing into me but now with nowhere to go.

Laughing, a little desperate to put the energy somewhere before I get overfilled, I reach out for Jesse, giving him a bunch of power in a single rush. Jesse gives a little shriek, jumping away from my touch and scrambling, like Rafe, away from me and towards the headboard.

I laugh, dropping Jackson's hand and falling back into his arms, which he wraps obligingly around me. "See?" I say, desperately pleased and eager as I look towards my brother and my cousin, who just gape and stare back at us. "Now we're all awake."

"Hooooly crap," Rafe breathes, looking between me and Jackson. "Ariel - Jacks - this is...this is huge. This is..." he shakes his head, dazed. "Why - why can we do that?"

"Dad always said the three of us have a bond, like a literal one," Jesse says, gesturing towards me and Rafe. I turn to listen to him, but my eyes go wide at what I see. "I mean,” he continues, little puffs of shadow starting to spill from his mouth as he goes, "I guess Ariel and Jackson can share because they have a bond? Which means we..."

Jesse sees all of us gaping at him.

"What," he asks, immediately starting to get freaked out. "What's going on?"

"Um, cousin?" I say gently, leaning forward and gesturing towards my own mouth. "You're...leaking. A little bit.”

Jesse looks down and jumps a little

when he sees the little cloud of shadow forming in front of him. "Shit," he mutters, and then he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and continuing to breathe deeply. As we all watch, the shadows slowly slip back into him. When he opens his eyes a few seconds later, they're all gone.

Rafe frowns between us, still a little freaked. "Yeah. We need to tell mom."

I look up at Jackson. "Do you think that was because..."

"Probably," he says, looking down at me.

"Hey," Jesse says, giving Jackson a kick. “No cryptic mate-speak when it involves my magic. What's going on?"

Jackson sighs a little, looking at the

clock before he looks back to Rafe and Jesse. I can use my magic to boost Ariel's," he says. "Probably has the same effect on yours. Sorry man we should have... thought of that before we experimented."

"No worries," Jesse says, giving a little shrug. "No harm done. I think." He looks down at himself again, like he's double checking.

"All right, enough magic play for one

et

morning. Let go for our run," Jacks says, lifting me easily off the bed and setting me on my feet before getting to his own. "And then see if they will send the breakfast up here. Because I am starving now

"Triple breakfast for Jackson, I suppose," I say, smiling up at my mate, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Quadruple,” he sighs, bending down and giving me a little kiss on the forehead, "if I have to supply energy for those two as well."

"Only in times of desperation," I whisper, grinning. “Every other day, I get to be selfish.”

“Let's go!” Rafe whoops, jumping out of the bed and striding across the room, Jackson's energy burst apparently doing its job for him as well. “Let's do this run and then call our moms, tell them all the weird shit that just happened!"

Jesse whoops too, dashing for the bathroom.

None of us mention the little trail of shadows that chase him there, though Jackson looks at me with a bit of a grimace.

I just laugh, standing on my toes and tilting my head back, begging for another kiss.

Which my mate, ever gracious, willingly provides.