The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"You're far too kind to me, Ariel," Jackson whispers, his throat tight.

"No, I'm not," I sigh, slumping against him as his wolf curls up around mine, giving her a long lick on her cheek and then resting his nose again over her neck. "I'm sorry I wasn't nice and yelled. I think I freaked her out."

"You were freaked out," Jackson murmurs. "It was a natural response."

I nod, thinking he's the one being too kind, but I look towards the door with a sigh. "Come on," I say, unfolding myself from his lap.

"Where are we going?" he asks, standing up, looking down at me curiously.

"Upstairs,” I say, taking his hand, giving it a squeeze, suddenly a bit terrified. "I want to meet your kid."

He groans, letting his head tilt back on his neck. "I can't believe that's a real sentence," he murmurs. "I can't believe I have a kid."

"Same," I say, giving him a tug towards me. Jackson wraps an arm around my waist and looks quite seriously down at my face. I smile, loving him a great deal, sure in us even if...well, even if the rest of the world just completely fell apart. "Come on," I whisper. "If we don't go now mom will take her shopping. And then we'll lose her in a sea of toys and kid clothes and you may never see her again."

Jackson huffs out a laugh but follows me out of the kitchen, rubbing his hand through his hair as we go, still looking a bit dazed.

Jackson and I are quiet and steady as we walk upstairs towards our family suite, where I somehow just know mom and Rafe and Mark and Marigold went. Jackson holds my hand firm in his own and I squeeze his back, both of us passing devotion down the bond even if its tinged with trepidation and a bit of fear.

Because both of our lives just completely blew up and we have no idea what's going to happen next, even if we know we're going to face it together.

I exhale slowly as we enter the Royal suite, the living room of which is empty, and head down the hall towards where a little light is peeking out of my room, alongside some voices.

Honestly...how did so much of my life change in an hour?

I'm still reeling even as I push open the door and smile to see my mom and Rafe sitting on the floor with Marigold between them, propped up on the little child-sized futonnoveldrama

mattress that Seraphina likes

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when she sleeps over here. Jesse smiles at me from his place stretched over my bed - doing absolutely nothing to help, I note - while Mark peeks out of my gigantic closet, a little girl's dress half-folded in his hand.

"Hey," mom says, beaming over at us, closing the half-read picture book that she's got in her hands.

Rafe sits up, setting Marigold's little cup of water aside.

Marigold fastens her eyes on us, brightening when she sees that it's Jackson, mostly ignoring me.

But Jackson squeezes my hand and I feel a great deal of intense emotion move through him at the sight of his little girl. And I can't help the tears that spring to my eyes tears that come from...so many emotions.

Happiness, to see the beautiful

connection already starting to form between them. And jealousy - as much as hate it, I have to admit that it's there. Jealousy that she's not mine, jealousy that...that I'm not his whole world anymore. And confusion at all this sudden change in our lives -

But mostly, suddenly, overwhelmingly...hope.

Hope that I - that we can do something to help this little girl have a good life. This little girl who is so...so fucking frail. She's not a small creature by any means

- she's Jackson's kid, after all - she has none of the tiny bird-boned loveliness of Rosie or Seraphina.

But god, she's just so thin-

Like Midnight – like she's never had a proper meal in her life –

My heart instantly reaches out to Marigold and I find myself moving, crossing the room, ignoring everyone else and going to sit at the bottom edge of her little makeshift bed, swallowing over the lump in my throat a I glance down at helittle bitty feet – covered in a blanket patterned in flowers and Stars -

I lean forward, pressing a hand to my heart, my chest, and smile at her.

"Hi,” I say, my voice shakier than I'd like it to be. "My name is Ariel. It's so, so nice

to meet you."