Ch. 91..95: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 91-95
Chapter 91
This gets his attention, and he snaps his face to mine, snarling and baring his teeth. But I just cross my arms, glaring up at him. “Would you listen to me? I know things, all right? And she’s not here.”
Jackson goes still, just staring at me.
“I’m not tricking you, Jacks!” I shout, frantic myself now, wanting to get a move on, wanting to get his mind back on the correct problem before he wastes more time than he already has. “Do you think I’d lie to you? Seriously, after everything we’ve been through in the past few months I know I’m still keeping things from you, Jacks, but do you honestly think I’d turn you away from your mate if she really needed your help!?”
Jackson’s face softens slightly as he stares at me, his teeth still bared.
And I nod once when I see his eyes clear, see him believe me.
Because, despite everything, over the past few months we have become friends. I have earned some of his trust, and he knows I won’t betray him.
Jackson stares at me for a few moments longer and I hold his gaze, willing him to take side.
And then he just turns, covering his face with his hand as he tilts his head up to the sky, groaning as he shakes his head. “God, Clark, what the fuck is going on?” he murmurs against his palms.
my
And I sigh, shaking my head, wanting desperately to tell him, to make this easier on him.
“Can we just go, Jacks?” I say on a sigh, exhausted by all of this by the Examination, by the sight of my mate so upset, by the fact that another cadet just tried very hard to murder me.
And god, we’re not even an hour into this bullshit.
Slowly Jackson turns, sighing himself, meeting my eyes. “I don’t understand this, Ari,” he whispers, and the fact that he’s using my name now not Clark
–
warms me.
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“I know,” I say in reply, taking a step towards him. “I’m sorry.”
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He just shakes his head, closing the distance between us and wrapping a broad hand around my arm. “Is she okay?”
I exhale sharply, looking up at him. “She’s fine.”
He stares at me, confused, but I look to the right, along the ridge.
“Come on,” I say, taking a step forward and pulling him with me. “Jacks, we have to go. We can’t stay here – we have to get to the end.”
He tightens his hand, not letting me get away. “Do you promise?” he breathes, and I turn back to him, my heart aching at his sincerity. “Do she’s safe?”
you n
“She is now,” I say, steady.
Jackson takes a deep breath, nodding once, and then drops his hand from my arm. I nod back, steady, and then I start again, adjusting the crossbow slung over my back, and I don’t look back to see if he’s following. Because I know that he is.
My mate- of course he’s at my side. Of course he is. And with him here, I actually have a shot at surviving this.
Jackson and I walk for a long time in silence, and I give him the space to pull himself together. I don’t miss, out of the corner of my eye, that he sends worried looks over his shoulder and I swear at one point that I hear a very wolfish whine of worry come from his throat.
But I just breathe out and concentrate on moving forward and paying attention to our surroundings, because one of us needs to be attentive to the world around us. A thousand things could happen now, the most dangerous of which would be getting attacked by another larger group of cadets.
As we walk, though, I calm, and I feel Jackson next to me do the same. Passively, I wonder if that’s just normal empathy letting me know that he’s calming down and starting to concentrate on the situation at hand, or if it’s the connection between us, growing deeper.
After about twenty of minutes of walking, Jackson pushes a canteen against my chest,
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making my jump a little. “Drink,” he murmurs, and I glance to the side to see him pulling his own map out of his pocket, looking over it. “Let me see your map,” he murmurs. “I want to make sure that they’re the same.”
I oblige, taking a quick sip from the canteen as Jackson holds one map in each hand looking them over. He gives a swift nod, handing one back to me.
“Thanks, by the way,” I say, taking my attention from the path for a moment as I hand his canteen back to him. “For…rescuing me. Again.”
Jackson doesn’t say anything, just shoots me a little look and nods like it was the obvious thing to do. But guilt wells in me, because I know that even though his mate and I are one in the same, that he wasn’t actually trying to save the me he knows, Ari Clark trying to save some anonymous girl.
And a little jealousy suddenly wells in me….
But I scowl and brush away.
–
he was
Because honestly, am I wasting time in this Examination being jealous of myself!? My wolf huffs at me, giving my soul a nip, telling me to pay attention. So I do, pushing myself forward along the ridge as fast as I can, which is slower than I’d like it to be. The terrain has changed now, moving from smooth forest to rocky terrain that slows my steps, even as night falls.
After about two hours, Jackson sighs, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Stop,” he says, and I turn to see him shaking his head as he looks up at the sky. “We need a plan.”
I
stop, turning to him as he again pulls out his map, taking advantage of the last gasps of light to review it. I come to his side, standing on my tiptoes so that I can see it as well.
“The bridge is a trap,” I murmur, frustrated.
“It wouldn’t be,” he replies, his voice chagrined, “if we were faster.”
fumy up the
I scowl, because I know that’s my fault. If it weren’t for me, Jackson would be halfway up mountain by now.
“Taalean paue eneaking his thoughts aloud as he
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studies the map. “How fast we can move, how we deal with our apparent enemies, whether or not we can change plans on a dime. Eventually, it will test our ability to handle rough terrain,” he says, pointing
towards the land closest to the Final Destination, which I noted early is mostly cliff’s that we’ll have to scale.
I study the map alongside him. “Cadets are going to gather at the bridge,” I sigh, shaking my head. “Make it hell for anyone to cross.”
“Yup,” he agrees, nodding. “It’s not a bad plan- anyone who is strong and fast enough will have already crossed anyway and made it to the mountain by tonight. But for anyone who is a little slower or doesn’t have the ability to shift, it will be worth it to take the time and knock out faster candidates as they try to cross. I mean, I can take them, but…” he glances down at me, not needing to finish the sentence.
I ignore the fact that I cannot, looking up into his face and frowning. “Would it even be worth it, though? I mean, even if you could take them and do some damage, you risk getting hurt.”
“They can’t hurt me,” Jackson mutters, his eyes roving over the map for a plan.
“Jacks,” I sigh, suddenly pissed and a little sick at the idea of him barreling through a gauntlet of cadets at the bridge. “You’re not invulnerable, you’re just big. Stop being so cavalier.”
Jackson takes a second to study me with a frown, I think surprised that someone is worried. about him. But then he just shrugs. “It doesn’t change anything,” he says. “We still have to get you across.”
I bite my lip, staring up at my mate’s perfect face, suddenly horribly guilty at all he’s giving up by dragging my tiny little self along in his wake. “Jacks,” I say softly. “Just…go on without me. Leave me behind.”
Slowly, Jackson turns to stare at me like I’ve said the craziest thing he’s ever heard.
Chapter 92
“I’m not leaving you behind, Ari,” Jackson spits out, glaring at me like I’ve said something. horrible and ridiculous, like we should both throw ourselves off the cliff.
“I’m just slowing you down!” I say, throwing out my hands for emphasis. “Seriously, if you hadn’t back– tracked for me, you’d be like, finished now
“I didn’t backtrack for you,” he mutters, still staring at me, “I backtracked for
“Your mate, whatever,” I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Either way, it’s not fair. I’ll find my own way
the mountain, it will be fine.”
up
“It will not be fine,” he says, reaching out to grab my arm. “Do you think I want to do this without you!?”
“What?” I ask, suddenly baffled.
“Not…not this, Ari,” Jackson says, waving the map around at the darkening forest. “Not the Examination. I mean, the Academy. Do you think I’m not aware that you’re the only person who has been nice to me? That you’re you’re the only human connection I have at all?”
–
“But,” I frown at him, “Rafe and Jesse –”
“Are only friends with me because you make them be
“That’s not true, Jackson,” I whisper, turning to face him, desperate for him to believe me. “They like you for who you are sure, I was the start of it, but they really do –”
–
“Ari,” Jackson sighs, his shoulders slumping, “this isn’t the time for a pep talk. Just – I’m not leaving you behind, okay? I found you in the woods, for some reason – because you’re always weirdly around when I smell her scent – but…I’m not leaving you behind now, all right? There’re ways to do this, even if I have to drag you up the mountain myself.” He mutters the final words, looking back at the map, and a slow, terribly pleased smile creeps over my face.
Because my mate- he likes me. He’s my friend.
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And as stupid as that is to realize because, duh, of course your mate is supposed to like you as a person…god, it means everything in the world to me right now.
“Okay,” I whisper, giving in and stepping close. “So, what should we do?”
“Can you shift?” he asks, glancing over at me, hesitating. Not everyone can shift
people, even though they’re full wolves, just never develop the ability. “This will all be a lot easier if you can run as a wolf”
I bite my lip, because while I can shift….I mean, the jig will instantly be up if I do. Jackson will take one whiff of my honey and clove scent in my wolf form and know immediately who I am.
Which will, of course, destroy his world and throw his attention off again when we both need to concentrate on getting to the top of the mountain.
So, slowly, I decide to lie, hoping desperately that it’s the right choice. “No,” I whisper, and my wolf howls within me to be denied the chance to run as well as the fact that we’re blatantly lying to our mate. “I…I can’t shift.”
Jackson scowls, looking down at the map. “Well, let’s get to the bridge then,” he says, folding it neatly and sliding it into his back pocket. “See what the situation is there. Then….we can make our next move.”
Nodding. I fall in slightly behind him, letting him take the lead.
We walk for another hour then, with me placing my feet where Jackson placed his, trusting his steady steps and his apparently innate knowledge of the wilderness to know the best way through the dark. He silently, almost passively watches out for me, pointing to tricky spots or turning to offer a hand when the terrain is particularly steep. I stop noticing the pulse that rushes through the air every time we touch, because it’s become natural to me now, just part of being near him.
Both of us become intent, though, when we see fire ahead. I focus my eyesight, seeing the edge of the ravine and the start to the bridge next to it. Clearly, a group of cadets truly has set up something of a toll at the crossing, and they’re not being shy about announcing it.
“Bold,” Jackson murmurs, peering through the trees. Then he looks around, interested. “Let’s get to higher ground,” he says, nodding upwards to a cliff above us. “I want to see
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what we’re up against there.”
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Then, to my shock, Jackson ferrets out a teeny tiny little path up the cliff, balancing on it with incredible grace that makes me wonder if he’s part goat shifter, instead of all wolf. I do my best to follow, clinging to the rock and taking his patient hand when I need to. Twenty minutes later we’re about thirty feet in the air on a flat jut of rock about ten feet wide. I hesitate, wondering if it’s safe, but Jackson crouches casually on the edge, apparently having no such concerns.
I scowl and move close to him, wishing I moved in the wilderness with his clear ease and confidence.
Too much time hanging out in a palace, I guess.
“What are you seeing?” I whisper, wanting to know what the situation below looks at from his eyes.
“Big group,” he murmurs, gesturing towards the three fires burning below and the cadets. gathered around them. “Already done some damage.” He points to the side now and I grimace to see that there are about ten cadets passed out to the side, my stomach turning to see a few of their legs twisted and broken, taken out of the running in their attempt to cross.
I press my eyes shut, swallowing hard, hoping desperately that none of them are Ben, or Jesse, or Luca, or Rafe. But…no, it can’t be. Their stories at the Academy can’t end like that, and neither can mine.
“So?” I ask, forcing myself to open my eyes and pay attention. “What do you think, do we risk it? Rush it?”
“No, too many of them,” Jackson murmurs, shaking his head. “They’ll hold out overnight, hoping to take out more. Then, in the morning, they’ll shift and run. Maybe cut the bridge. behind them. We need to get across another way.”
“Is there another way?” I ask, fear curling in me now.
“Down the ravine and back up,” Jackson murmurs, nodding and pointing left along the trail, beyond the bridge. “It’s….harder, it will take time.”
“Well let’s go,” I say, standing up straight. But Jackson’s hand intercepts me, pulling me back
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down.
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“Impossible in the dark,” he murmurs, and I can see him shake his head. “Handholds, footholds…you could easily fall to your death.”
I don’t miss that he says that I could fall to my death. He doesn’t mention himself.
“So, what?” I ask, ignoring it. “First light?”
“First light,” he says, nodding. “We move along the ridge, get to a high point, get into position. Then, as soon as we can see…we move. Hope to hell nobody has projectiles, like you.” He nods to my crossbow.
“The only people who do will be marksmen,” I sigh. “And…the other two are close enough with me. They won’t take us out.”
“Trusting,” Jackson says, his voice sarcastic, like he clearly thinks that they might. But I ignore him as we both stand and move to the left along the cliff face. Again, I step where he steps, trusting the fact that if the stone can hold him it can certainly hold me. About fifteen minutes pass as we move along and I’m drenched in sweat, even in the cool night air, with the stress of having to balance so high and so precariously.
Finally, though, we come to another wide, flat area, this time with a slight overhang in the cliff face that creates a little shelter. I peer into it, a little worried it might already contain some wildlife, but Jackson moves towards it without a care.
“In,” he says, tossing his canteen beneath the overhang and taking off his backpack, dropping that too. I do as I’m told, sitting down and crossing my legs, unlooping the crossbow from my shoulder and placing it at my side along with the arrows as I look up at him. “There’s some fruit in there, and bread,” he says, gesturing towards the bag. “You should eat.”
“Well, you should too,” I mutter, pulling it towards me as I realize how hungry I really am.
“Nah, I don’t need it,” Jackson says, putting his hands on his hips and looking back the way that we came. “Eat as much as you want. I’ll be back by morning.”
And then my mouth drops open as Jackson begins to stride away.
Chapter 93
“What!” I shriek, scrambling to my knees and knocking the fruit and bread out of my lap.
“Shh!” Jackson hisses, turning back towards me and holding out a hand, looking at me like I’m crazy. “Don’t be an idiot, Ari! If we’re waiting for dawn to move into the ravine, others. are too! And they will come for us! Just….be quiet, all right!?”
“Jackson!” I whisper, full of rage, ignoring his words and getting to my feet, striding towards him, “you are not leaving me here!”
He huffs a little laugh, clearly implying that I couldn’t stop him if I tried. “Yeah, Ari, I am.”
“You are not!” I put my hands on his chest and shove, angry.
“I’ll be back!” he says, not budging an inch. “I promise, all right? I’m not abandoning you – I’ll be back at dawn, I’ll help you. I just…”
And I go still as I see his head turn again, back the way we came, back to where…
Well, back to where he imagines she is.
His mate, alone.
His mate, frightened in the wilderness, needing his help.
And then even though I assured him that she’s safe, that there’s nothing wrong, he can’t leave it.
“Jackson,” I beg, wrapping my fists in his shirt and staring up at him. “Please, please don’t do this.”
“I have to, Ari,” he says through his teeth, frustrated with me. “She’s my
mate.”
“She’s fine!” I insist again, tightening my fists, trying to will him to believe me.
“I know that you believe that,” Jackson snaps, shaking his head. “But Ari, I smelled her, I could taste her fear on the air – I swear it, something happened to her.”
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“And she got through it!” I insist. “Didn’t it go away!? Didn’t the fear like…dissipate!?”
“Yeah,” he concedes, “but what if that’s because she got hurt? What if she’s unconscious?” He scowls, stepping away from me roughly, suddenly angry. “I never should have let you drag me away from there. I should have stayed
“You should not have stayed!” I snap, getting pissed in my own right now, because Jackson he’s being foolish. “She’s fine! She doesn’t need you to go searching for her she needs you to stay here, so you can be ready to cross at first light!”
“How the fuck do you know that, Ari!?” Jackson growls, stepping towards me, looming over me. And I realize, quite suddenly, that this is a fight a real fight. And if I’m not careful, I could make this Alpha snap, that it could get violent
But I dismiss the thought, instantly. Because my mate – he won’t hurt me. His body, his biology won’t let him hurt me.
Except…well, except if he doesn’t know who I am.
I push it all away, stepping into his space now, unable to help it. “I know that she’s safe the way I’ve always known, Jacks,” I reply, my voice low with my own anger in response to his. “Have I ever betrayed you? Have you ever not been able to trust me? Have
“I probably shouldn’t have been trusting you this entire time!” Jackson suddenly exclaims, throwing up his hands in the air. “I don’t know why I do! I mean, is this your magical gift, Clark!? Making me act like a god damn idiot!? Making me constantly, consistently turn away from my mate and just believe you that one day you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on!?”
“You trust me because you know I’m trustworthy!” I snap, putting my hands on my hips. “What was all of that about friendship earlier!? About not abandoning me because I’m the only one who’s been nice to you?”
“And what is that about, Clark?” Jackson says, his voice a little more dangerous now as he steps closer to me, moving so close that his chest bounces against mine, making me fall back a step. I regain my footing fast, scowling at him, suddenly livid that he’d bully me like
use his larger form to intimidate him.
that
“What are you talking about?” I growl.
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Is that why you’re nice to me?” he asks, and I can hear the wound in his voice now. “Because you realize that that that’s the only way you’re getting through this? You found the loneliest guy in the Academy and gave him the scraps of your attention, and for that I do what carry you through the Examination? Is that he pauses now, his voice catching. “is that seriously what’s happening? Have you have you been leading me on, telling me that you’ll tell me about my mate someday to….because you know that it would wrap me around your finger?”
I stare up into his face in the darkness, completely shocked, appalled at the idea.
And my heart absolutely breaks for him, that he could consider this a possibility. Again, my mind turns to what his world must have been like who raised him, that he could imagine
me so manipulative?
–
“Jackson,” I breathe, shaking my head, “I would never do that to you. You’re you’re my friend –
His MATE! My wolf howls, grieving within me, realizing alongside me that we’re wounding him further.
Because whatever world he did grow up in, we’re doing the same outh goes dry as I
We are lying to him, every day, because it easier for us. Tears spring to my eyes and my mouth goes dry as I stare up at him, not knowing what to do.
Jackson – I have been betraying him. And he’s been so tough, so sturdy, that he he just took it, uncomplaining.
“I’m going after her,” Jackson growls down into my face, ignoring my emotions. “I have to see, Clark. I have to make sure that there’s no trace of her in the forest – I need to know that she’s okay.”
“Jackson,” I murmur, stepping forward once again, wrapping my hands in his shirt,
desperate. “Jackson, she’s not out there. I swear on everything that she’s not please, please. just stay here.”
“Ari,” he whispers, have livid and half desperate, “how can you ask me not to? How can you try to keep me away from her!?”
“I’m not!” I gasp, the tears starting to roll down my cheeks. “I swear, Jackson, she’s safe!
–
She’s not in any danger! You can’t leave you can’t spend the rest of the night prowling around the forest looking for her! It’s pointless!”
“How do you know that!?” he shouts, losing his temper now and shoving me away from him, his voice ringing out against the rocks as he forgets our situation completely, as he loses himself to his desperate anger, his need to know.
“Because!” I shout in response, stumbling backwards before finding my balance, my hands. fisted at my sides. “Because she’s right here, Jacks!”
“What!?” he breathes, staring at me and then looking frantically around our little plateau like she’s going to suddenly appear or something. “What are you talking about, Ari –”
“It’s me!” I shout, the words stumbling from my mouth.
My wolf howls in relief, her noise long and slow and agonized, like letting out a long–held breath that has been aching in her lungs.
“What?” Jackson says, staring at me like I’m crazy, like I’m an idiot.
“It’s me, Jacks!” I repeat, stepping forward and glaring at him, tossing out a hand between us like it’s obvious. “When you’re smelling your mate? You’re smelling me. You smelled my fear- that’s why you came running to me!”
“What?” he repeats, his face screwing up in concern and confusion, his head tilting as he tries to put it all together. “Are you two like….tied? Does her magic…does she feel your fear? Are you like….twins?”
Oh my god, my wolf says, standing rigid in my soul. He really…he really just doesn’t get it.
Chapter 94
I stare at Jackson like he’s an idiot now. Because…honestly I really kind of did think that he’d figured it out, at a least a little bit. Or that once I told him, all the pieces would snap into place.
But the way he’s looking at me..Jackson does not know.
He bought, hook line and sinker, the lie that I’m Ari Clark, royal cousin who has some strange and elusive tie to his mate.
“Jacks,” I growl, shaking my head. “No, it’s…it’s me. Your mate is me.” And with that, I whip off my cap, revealing the hair braided in a coil on top of my head, letting my true scent free.
He continues staring at me, uncomprehending. But I see him stumble back a step, his eyes. going wide the moment my scent hits him.
“How…” he murmurs, his voice trembling. “How can you….you’re a Cadet…you’re male…”
hat
“Oh my god,” I groan, dipping my face into my hand for a second before dropping my and grabbing the hem of my shirt, tugging it up halfway as fast as I can so that he can see the shape of my body beneath, my wider hips, my trim waist. “Jacks, no, I’m a girl.”
I stand there, my shirt fisted against my breasts, staring at him, breathless.
Realization hits Jackson like a bus.
His eyes go wide and he stumbles back a step, not breathing, his face going deathly pale in the light of the moon. I stare at Jackson, watching him struggle to make sense of the newly disparate pieces of the
world. His eyes move fast over me again and again before, always, returning to my face.
But he just stares back at me, slack–jawed, not saying a word.
And then, after a long, long moment of staring at each other, Jackson just….turns on his heel.
And stalks away.
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And I stare after him in…absolute shock.
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Jackson’s tall form disappears quickly into the darkness and I stare, my mouth hanging
into the black night for way, way too long.
open.
And then I groan a long, slow groan, standing up straight and burying my face in my hands, wondering what the hell I just did.
It’s okay, my wolf says, a little frantic, it can’t be bad we told him the truth…the truth can never be bad…
Yeah, I reply, deeply sarcastic, unless the truth completely upends your world in the middle of an insane trial. And your core reaction is to just run and leave your mate stranded on a cliff somewhere.
My wolf murmurs comforting things about how that can’t possibly be what’s happening, that he just needs a minute alone to process because he’s the solitary sort, but eventually she runs out of pleasant, hopeful sentiments as we both just stare into the darkness waiting for him to come back.
But..he doesn’t.
I curse, slowly and fluently, and turn towards the little overhang of rock where I’d been sitting with the water. I sink into that spot, sitting hard on my butt and ignoring the pain as I rest my elbows on my knees and then prop my miserable chin into my hands.
Because, I mean, what did I think was going to happen!? That he was just going to be like, “Oh, cool! How nice! What a relief, now I can stay!”
No, of course, my weird outdoorsy Alpha mate reacted to his panic by going completely back to his roots. He probably shifted into his wolf and is now prowling around the cliffside in the moonlight, not even thinking human thoughts anymore, just letting his animal instincts take over and forgetting all about me.
I scowl a little because…well, because as sorry as I feel about losing my temper and blurting it all out in a rush…
It did hurt my feelings, a little bit, that he just…walked away.
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I mean, did he…did he reject me?
Does he hate me? Did he realize that I’m a girl and think, immediately, “ew“?
Oh my god…does Jackson think I’m ugly?
I groan, putting my face back into my hands and shaking my head, hating that these are my thoughts right now. I mean, I hate not knowing, I hate that he’s not here to talk this through with me, to hear my apologies and my reassurances, but I also hate that I’m dealing with mate drama while I’ve got less than twenty–four hours now or thereabouts. top of a mountain so that I can keep my place at Alpha Academy.
I mean, could there have been a worse moment to admit the truth to my mate?
“God, I have such shit timing,” I mutter to myself.
to get to the
My wolf lays down in my soul, stretching out her long, sorry nose, burying it under my mental hand, wanting to show me love at the same moment that she begs for a little. attention. I turn towards her, giving her a little scratch, marveling again at the softness of
her fur.
It will be okay, she assures me, her eyes wide and limpid and sad. No matter what happens… it will be okay.
I hope so, I say, smoothing her fur back lovingly. She lets her eyes drift shut, holding on to the hope for both of us.
But she sits up at the same moment I do at the sound of footsteps pounding back towards
1. us.
My breath hitches because…
I mean, is it Jackson? Coming back?
Or…I mean, we weren’t precisely quiet, were we?
Despite our earlier decision to be stealthy and quiet, to hide up here all night and sneak
back out at dawn we just por into a shouting match that other nennle were bound to notice.
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So….could it be someone else? Could it be someone coming…coming to hurt me?
Anxious, I spin, looking for my crossbow. I reach for it, snatching it up into my left hand. my right working anxiously at the quarrel, wanting to get it loaded before whoever is approaching actually gets here.
But it’s too late – I’m not fast enough.
And when I look up, and see who it is, the crossbow falls from my hands anyway.
Because those shoulders, that height, that steady stride sleep, in my dreams.
–
I’d recognize it anywhere. In my
Anywhere.
My breath hitches as Jackson stalks across the little plateau towards me, his face stern.
“Jacks,” I murmur, taking a step back, but there’s no time for anything else..
Suddenly, he’s there, in front of me, and he doesn’t even pause his as he dips low, one arm going around my waist while the other hand wraps around the back of my thigh, lifting me suddenly and steadily up against him as he continues forward until my back is pressed against the wall of the cliff behind me.
And then, before I even realize what’s happening, Jackson is kissing me.
My physical reaction to Jackson is immediate, and visceral, and vivid. I cling to him, my legs wrapping instinctually around his waist as he moves his lips against mine, bidding my mouth open, dipping his tongue inside to lick me, to taste me.
I’m completely frantic both with shock and the immediacy of wanting him. My hands seem like they move everywhere at once as I gasp against him, my eyes pressed shut. My fingers are in his hair, and then down his neck and his back as his hand untucks my shirt, pulling it out of my pants like it was stupid that it was ever in there in the first place. And then hist palm is flat against the skin of my back and it makes me tilt my head back with a deep moan. God, Jackson’s skin against mine, suddenly it’s all all that I want.
Jackson takes immediate advantage of my bared throat, dragging his mouth down the length of it, taking a long, slow breath of my scent as he goes. He drags his canines across
Chapiti T
my skin when his mouth gets to my shoulder, pressing his teeth delicately against the tendons there in a way that makes me shudder, hard.
God, fuck, but I want him – immediately I want him. I pull my head back up and use my hands to lift his face, putting my thumbs beneath his heavy jaw and moving his mouth back to mine. Jackson immediately complies, kissing me fervidly, with utter abandon – taking my mouth with his, tasting me however he wants to. And every inch of me responds, pressing him closer, wrapping myself tighter around him.
Chapter 95
I’m panting, gasping really as Jackson presses me flat against the wall of rock, both of his hands under my shirt now, his palms a damn song against my skin as they press up over my ribs, as they move slow over my flesh like they’re trying to ensure that I’m here, that I’m
real.
And suddenly, quite suddenly, I realize that I do not at all want to be wearing this shirt anymore. That I don’t want to be wearing anything that all I want in the entire world
No, not want need-
–
–
–
Is to have my skin bare against Jackson’s flush, with nothing in between, not even air nothing but sweat-
Jackson groans, though, and turns his face away, ripping his mouth from mine.
“What?” I breathe, my voice trembling as my hands again go to his cheeks, trying to turn his face back to me, wanting his mouth back right where it was. God, his mouth, those lips. “Jackson, please
I’m begging, but I don’t fucking care. God, I want him.
I want him…bad.
But Jackson just presses his mouth into a thin line and holds his eyes shut. “I…I think we need to st
Ari,” he murmurs, his head moving once, sharply, from side to side.
“What?” I gasp, baffled. “Why?”
“Because,” he growls, and I go rigid when he turns his blue eyes to mine, when I see the powerful want behind his gaze. “Because if we don’t stop now, I am going to….throw you down in this dirt, Ari, and I am not going to be able to stop.”
My breath hitches in my chest and then stops completely as I consider that…
Well.
Emergency calls only
That that’s maybe not such a bad idea.
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But then, slowly, as Jackson stares at me, patiently waiting for me to catch up with him, I remember where we are. And what we’re trying to do. And the fact that there are people below us who will probably try to kill or maim us if they find out we’re here. And that tomorrow we have to climb a ravine and then a mountain.
So.
This is probably not the right time to let my mate throw me to the ground and ravish me.
As I stare at him, putting all the pieces together, I can’t help the furious scowl that forms on my lips.
Jackson’s face breaks into a slow grin as he raises a hand, tracing the shape of my lips with his thumb. “Perfect,” he murmurs, shaking his head as he stares at my mouth like he can’t
believe it.
He leans forward again, pressing a kiss to my lips, ridiculously soft considering the we both just tore into each other.
way
that
But my body responds again, beyond me or despite me or just…expressing precisely how I feel. And I lean into the kiss, moving my mouth slowly over his, holding him close to me and never, ever wanting to let him go.
Jackson, again the responsible party here I am doing absolutely nothing to help, I’m well aware again breaks our kiss with a groan, shaking his head.
–
“Fine,” I sigh, tilting my head back and giving him a half–hearted shove on the shoulder. “Let me down, then, you big gigantic brute.”
Jackson just laughs but keeps me in his arms as he pulls me away from the wall, folding hist legs beneath him and sinking gracefully to the ground with me still in his arms, tucking ust away beneath the little overhang of rock. It’s dark, but in the moonlight I can still make out his features, his expressions. Suddenly, ridiculously, I bless the goddess that it’s a clear night.
And then I grin, looking up at the moon, realizing that…well, that that’s her. And she did. this. And so of course my grandmother has given me a clear night so that I can look on my
mergency calls onlyHO O D 6
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mate’s face. My smile broadens and 1 send her a quick prayer of thanks because.
Well, because I really like my mate. She picked well.
“Are you okay?” Jackson asks, drawing my attention back to him.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“L. um – I’m sorry, for like, slamming you up against the rocks.” He grimaces at me a little. “I got carried away.
“Jacks,” I say, laughing and shaking my head, “I’m fine, I…” I hesitate for a second, biting my lip. “I liked it.”
My mate, bless him, blushes just a little but then clears his throat, I think wondering where to begin.
I raise my hands to his cheeks, cupping his face between my palms. “Jackson, are you all right? I – I’m so, so sorry.”
“I’m okay,” he says, nodding, his voice choked. “I’m sorry I stormed out of here I was… really freaked out.”
“Are you still freaked out?” I whisper.
“Oh. for sure,” he says, his eyes widening as he lifts them to mine. And I can’t help it, I burst into laughter. He takes a second and then he laughs too, but his arms wind around me, holding me tighter and I think…well, I think everything’s going to be okay. “Ari, this is absolutely insane I mean…I was….” he scowls, hanging his head for a second, “I was completely convinced you were a boy.”
–
He lifts his head and narrows his eyes at me for a second, sniffing the air, as if he still kind. of suspects that I am.
I burst out laughing, giving him another shove. “I’m a girl, I promise, see?” And then I raise my hands to my head, making quick work of my braid, letting my hair fall down around my shoulders.
Jackson groans again, taking a second to dip his head close to my hair, taking a deep breath
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of my scent before he slowly raises his eyes to meet mine again, though his are half–lidded now. “Boys can have long hair too,” he murmurs, sounding a little drunk.
“Do you require further proof, sir?” I ask, sitting up straight, half scandalized and half well. Tempted.
“No,” he murmurs, ducking his head against me again and pulling me back against his chest, making me smile ridiculously with joy. “No, just…stay here, please. Right here. Don’t ever leave.”
“Have to leave at some point,” I murmur, running my fingers through his dark hair, which is silkier than I thought it would be. “Kind of…a big day tomorrow.”
“I know,” he groans. He lifts his head again, blinking at me, lifting a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. “Stupid sun. Now would be a great time to blow it up or melt it, you know,” he says, making me laugh again. “Make sure tomorrow never comes and we can just…stay right here.”
“Really?” I whisper, still smiling at him. “You want to spend the rest of our lives sitting in the dirt under this rocky overhang?”
“Yes,” he replies, instant, leaning forward to brush his nose against my cheek, dragging it back towards my ear and then down my neck. “Right here, for the rest of time. That would be perfect.”
And I bite my lip at the sweetness of him, but even as I do I realize that he’s…he’s kind of right. Right here it is just us in our own little world. But tomorrow, if and when we do get back? There is…a whole lot of truth waiting.
And, for me…another mate.
Another mate who is not going to be pleased when I show up on the mountain top smelling all over of Jackson McClintock.
But still, as I wrap my arms tighter around Jackson’s neck, I realize that in this moment? I… just can’t bring myself to care.
My mate, I think sensing my joy and my
against my neck to look at me. Slowly, ale at once, lifts his head from its place tucked
takes over his lips.
Emergency calls only
“What is it?” I whisper, grinning at him, unable to help it.
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Jackson just shakes his head at me, marveling. “I just can’t believe you’re real,” he whispers, and my heart breaks and heals and breaks again, all in an instant. “I’ve been…thinking about you my whole life.”
“Me too, Jacks,” I whisper, pressing my hand warm to his cheek, my stomach filled with butterflies because, honestly, it’s not a lie. “I’ve been waiting for you too.”
He kisses me then slow, and rich, and deep.
And if that were my magical gift, to blow up the sun and prevent tomorrow coming, or stopping time right now and live in this moment forever?
Honestly, I’d probably do it.
Because this and Jacks…
It’s just…perfect.