The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

His frown deepens as he puts the thought out of his mind, knowing that he's never going to get it right if he tries to venture a guess, so he turns his eyes back to his companions. Jesse and Mark stand close to each other, laughing about something, and Ben and Rafe sit quite close, whispering – probably about the great secret that Ben revealed at the beginning of the night, about liking men romantically, and being mated to Elias.

The others had been shocked by this but Jackson had been largely unphased. Honestly, when Ben had told them Jackson had kept waiting for the real secret to be revealed. It was only a few minutes in that he figured out that that's all it was. Ariel - she thought she had some great secret about Ben up her sleeve, but he'd kind of already known.

Ariel has known about Ben liking guys for a long time, after all, which means that on some level Jacks knew too - her thoughts and considerations of Ben trickling down the bond in little pieces. Plus, growing up in a barrack with a couple of dozen young men who were forbidden to talk to, touch, or even really think about girls...

Well, he'd never dabbled in the sexual assignations that some of the other boys had tried to be so discreet about. But it certainly wasn't uncommon. So Ben telling everyone that he likes men - it hadn't been nearly the shock to him as it had been to others.

But tonight, he's relieved to find that nobody is getting as drunk as Rafe and Jesse first implied back in the yurt. That it's not really a night of debauchery and instead a few good drinks to loosen everyone up. They seem to have done their job - Rafe and Jesse certainly do look more cheerful after their fairly dramatic experiences with their mates and girlfriends over the past twenty-four hours. And Jackson is happy about that - it's good to see them, his family, calmer, happier.

But...he has to admit it. He just wants to go home.

Jackson sighs, taking a long sip of his drink, wondering what Ariel is getting up to back at the palace. Whether or not she's alone in the room. If she's maybe wearing that slippy little night shirt he saw in her closet, and if the lace is sliding up her thigh. God damn it, her legs -

"Hey big boy," a light voice says next to him. Jackson blinks and looks down at the pretty, dark-haired girl giving him a sultry smile. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"You want to buy me a drink?" Jackson says, smirking a bit, looking down at the girl, a little confused. "Why? I already have one."

"In the hopes that I can get you a couple more," the girl says, stepping closer - close enough to wrap her hands around his forearm. “And in the time it takes you to drink them, convince you to take me to bed."

Jackson blinks in surprise, staring at the girl. Because...damn. Well, at least she's not playing coy - he hates that. It takes him so long to figure out if they're just being nice or trying to date him.

Even if...well. Apparently, they're usually trying to date him.noveldrama

"Sorry," Jackson says, smiling a little and shaking his head at the girl. "I'm mated."

He lifts a hand and presses it over his chest where Ariel's mark is.

"Happily so?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

Jackson laughs and nods, low and deep.

"To whom?" she says on a sigh, her apparent disappointment giving her the opportunity to lean closer. "I see the company you're with," she says, flicking her eyes over to the pair of princes and the duke. "Those royal girls are always so stuck up and uptight. Not like me," she wrinkles her nose at him. "I'll do whatever you want."

Panicking a little, Jacks looks over at his friends and is relieved to find Rafe coming over to his rescue.

"He's mated to my sister," Rafe says, smirking at the woman and then flicking his eyes pointedly down to where her arms are still wrapped around his forearm. "And trust me, no one describes her as uptight."

"Juniper?" the woman asks, standing up a bit in surprise. "Damn, she's young.

You royals get started early."

"No, my other sister." Rafe says, leaning on the bar next to Jackson. "Ariel."

The woman goes still and then rolls

her eyes, dropping her hands. Jackson exhales a small, relieved breath. "Look," she says, crossing

ет

her arms over her chest, offended. "You don't have to lie to get me to go away."

"I'm not lying," Rafe says, his face breaking out into his million-dollar smile.

The girl rolls her eyes. “Everyone knows Ariel Sinclair is mated to Luca Grant."

Rafe and Jackson both smirk, turning their eyes to each other, thinking that this girl...has no idea what she's talking about.