The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"Hey," I growl, pointing my finger between Rafe and Jesse, starting to get pissed. "I am here for Jackson - I have been very kind throughout all of this huge, insane surprise tonight -"

"That boy has been there for you, Ariel," Rafe interrupts, still very, very serious. "And you dragged him through some pretty devastating mud over the past couple of months -"

I squeak in protest, turning to stare at my brother with my mouth open. "I so did not!"

"Two other mates?" Rafe says, arching an eyebrow at me.

"Both of whose marks you got before Jackson's?" Jesse adds, forcing me to spin to glare at him in turn.

"None of which was my fault!?" I counter, glaring hard.

"We're not blaming you," Rafe says, and I turn back to him. "I'm just saying - if you're not completely there for Jackson - without hesitation, without question - I'm going to judge you for it. Hard. That guy has been at your side through a great deal of stress. He deserves the best in turn from his mate."

My mouth suddenly turns down in a worried frown. "Do you...are you saying this because you seriously think I'm not going to do that? That I need to be told how much Jackson loves me and how good he is to me? That I'd just be good to him in turn because of forced reciprocation!?"

"No, Ari," Jesse says, scootching closer and putting a warm hand on my shoulder. I turn to him now, that desperate frown still curving my lips. "We're just saying - if you were considering taking your time to work through your own emotions on this - don't. He's going to need your full and unconditional support right from the start."

"Well, he's got that," I whisper, staring at Jesse.

"Good," he says, nodding deeply to me.

My brother and my cousin both sigh and simultaneously sit back in their chairs.

But I am not yet so relaxed. "Where is this all coming from!?" I whisper.

Rafe shrugs, looking down into his glass. "You have...a bit of a jealous streak, Ari," he says with a shrug. "You're going to have to share him now, a little. And I don't think you're going to like it."

I scowl a bit, slumping back into the cushions, hating that my brother and my cousin know me so well. "You sensed that already, did you?"

"You'll be fine," Rafe says, smiling at me softly. "Your heart always wins out in the end. For what it's worth, I think you're going to be a great step-mom."

I go a bit still at the words. "Step-mom," I whisper, staring at him. "Is that...is that what I am now?"

Jesse laughs - cackles really - and raises his glass to me. "To Princess Ariel - step-mom galore. It looks good on you, cousin!"

I laugh shakily and raise my glass too, shaking my head and then drinking the rest of the contents down. Rafe gets up to get the fest of the bottle, correctly sensing Dmight want a refill.

"She's really cute, isn't she?" I whisper, looking over at Jesse and wrinkling my

nose.

"Oh, come on, with those genetics?" Jesse gives a casual shrug and smirks at me, holding my gaze steadily. "How could she not be?"

"It could have gone very bad," Rafe says, coming over and splashing more wine into my glass. "She could be like a big, hulking four-year-old girl, all muscles and pigtails e"

MS

Jesse and I both burst out laughing and I smack at Rafe as he laughs and goes and sits down, grinning at me.

"You leave my step-kid alone," I growl at my brother, whose smile deepens. "You'd better be nice to her too."

"Oh, no risk there," Jesse says with a happy sigh. "It's much less pressure to be a step-cousin once removed."

I huff a laugh and sip at my wine as I shake my head at my cousin.noveldrama