Chapter 13
1 sigh and drop my head back on my pillow as I finish my sandwich, curling up
tight and pressing my eyes shut, going over every moment of my conversation
with Luca in my
head.
Thinking about his handsome face, the way his eyes fell to my mouth, the ran
down his spine —
The fact that I did that to him…
Thisiis…
I sigh, feeling suddenly overwhelmed.
Because this is getting into some dangerous grounds, isn’t it?
way
the shiver
Some wonderful grounds, my wolf corrects, curling into a little crescent and
tucking her nose warmly beneath the edge of her tail. Sneak back over — let’s
see if we can make him go all shivery again!
No, I growl inwardly, shaking my head. Because as much as I’m completely
distracted and fascinated by my new connections, I have to resist the urge to
explore them right now. There’s far too much at stake —
If I let Luca or Jackson in too much, I could get caught and then I risk losing my
shot at trying myself in the Academy and I’ll risk having to go home and fulfill my
promise to marry Prince Edward. As much as I’m intrigued…
I have to keep my distance. Which means doing my best to avoid my mates
during the two weeks of candidacy.
I can do that, right? Mates are forever — I will have time to explore my
connections with them later, and right now I need to turn my mind to other things.
I can do this, I tell myself with a steady nod, my eyes still pressed shut.
No you can’t, my wolf sighs sleepily, closing her eyes.
But I just ignore her, determined, and steady my breathing, willing myself to fall
asleep.
When a hand shakes my arm the next morning, I gasp awake out of a much—
needed deep.
in
Chapter 13
dreamless sleep.
“Morning, Shrimp,” Jesse says quietly, grinning down at me from his perch on the
side of my bed. “Time to get up!”
“What?” I mutter, confused because it’s so quiet. Usually the mornings here are a
mess of noise, all the candidates getting ready at once. I sit up and look around,
realizing that everyone’s still in bed. So…
“Come on,” he whispers, hopping silently down from the side of the bed. “We’re
going for a walk and a chat.”
“Oh god,” I sigh, but I pull my blankets off and hop down softly, taking note of the
single finger pressed to Jesse’s lips as he glances towards the still-sleeping
Rafe. I grimace, realizing that if we’re going without my brother…
There’s only one thing we’re going to be talking about.
1 groan, pulling on my boots and quickly lacing them before Jesse and I sneak
quietly to the bathroom for our morning ablutions and then out the door of the
barracks. As we pass my bunk I smile at my brother’s sleeping form, grateful
again that he’s a good sleeper.
But then again, in our big crazy family there wasn’t much choice but to be able to
sleep through a great deal of noise.
Jesse pushes open the door to the barracks and slips a friendly arm around my
shoulders as we walk out into the dawn light, the fresh morning air bracing as the
door shuts behind us. But as we start to walk, I glance back at it.
“Why aren’t there any guards?” I ask, confused. “Like, why are we able to just
walk in and out of this place?”
“Because,” Jesse says, looking around happily at the pretty morning as we start
out on a dirt track that leads towards the hills. “Candidates are all here voluntarily
and they’re all determined to hold themselves to the rules. Because the school is
going to cut the bottom 20% anyway, there’s no reason to stop candidates who
want to take themselves out of the running.”
“So we can just come and go at will?” I ask.
He looks down at me and shrugs. “Some cadets like to go for an early morning
run. Which is what we’re doing.” He gives me a wink and a little squeeze around
the shoulders before dropping his arm and starting to stretch. “Ready?”
My jaw drops open before I scowl at him. “You said walk!”
“I lied,” he says, grinning at me and starting off on the track at a gentle jog.
“Come on! You need to keep up!”
I groan, desperately wishing I at least had some coffee before this, and then I
hurry to catch up with my cousin, who I know is only doing this for my benefit
anyway. I really do need to get faster.
Jesse and I jog in silence for a long while as he puts me through my paces,
making me stay by his side until ‘m panting for air while he, infuriatingly, barely
breaks a sweat. When we get to the top of a hill he signals to me to take a break
and I put my hands on my knees, catching my breath.
“Why are you so much fitter than me,” I gasp, glaring at him. “I do…ballet. I do
sports!”
He grins at me and laughs a little. “You have hobbies, Ari. Dad and Uncle Dom
have been prepping Rafe and I for this since we were kids.” He takes a deep
breath, looking out over the gorgeous, hazy countryside with a smile. I follow his
gaze as my breathing comes easier, likewise admiring the way that the hills roll
and the early-morning clouds settle low over them.
“That’s such crap, you know.” I say, crossing my arms and shaking my head,
aware that my angry thoughts are in contrast to such a beautiful landscape. “I
hate that you and Rafe got to become bastions of athletic prowess and I got to
train to be a perfect wife and Queen.” I cross my arms, bitter as I stare out at the
beautiful view. “A whole lot of good it did me, in the end.”
“No one forced you into that engagement, Ari,” Jesse says gently, letting me have
my bitterness while still pointing out the truth. “That was all you. Mom was pissed
as hell when Aunt Ella let you move forward with it.”
“Really?” I ask, my eyes wide.
He nods and smiles at me. “Yeah, she said that she had seen your future at your
moonlight baptism and that guy was not your mate — so why the hell would we let
you go into a marriage that we knew would fail? But Aunt Ella said you had to be
free to make your own choices.”
I turn my head to stare at him, baffled by this. “So, you knew the whole time too?
And wait — they had this conversation in front of you!?”
He laughs a little and runs his hand through his hair. “I may have been
eavesdropping. Just
216
alittle bit.”
“Jesse!” I shout, reaching out to smack him but laughing as I do. Jesse — he’s
always been good at being sneaky.
“But seriously, Ari,” Jesse says after he dodges my hand, still smiling at me. “You
trained your whole life to be a Queen, and it didn’t work out in that way, but the
fact that your mate is here? Training for the Academy at the same time you are?”
he shrugs and grins at me, a little baffled. “Honestly, I think it sounds a little bit
like fate — like you’re meant to be here.”
“I know,” I whisper, nodding with him. “It feels like…grandma has a hand in it.”
He laughs, shaking his head a little at our inside joke of calling an all-powerful
moon goddess “grandma.”
“But Ariel,” Jesse says, and I turn to him, a little surprised to hear him use my full
name in such serious tones. I raise my eyebrows, inviting him to say what he
wants to say.
Jesse sighs and puts a warm hand on my shoulder. “I get that you’re a big girl
now, and that I have no right to tell you what to do, and that you’ve already got an
overprotective big brother to play this role. But…” he hesitates and I step closer,
wanting to hear what he has to say. “Just…maybe give this whole mate thing a
little breathing room, yeah?”
“Why?” I ask, a little confused.
“Well, your mate — he hasn’t figured out who you are yet, right?*.
Slowly, I nod.
“Maybe…” Jesse says, shrugging, “let it stay that way for a while — just until you
learn more about him. I mean, I’m sure he’s great, but…”
“Just say it, Jesse,” I say, frowning at him.
Visit Novelxo.org to read full content.
re 0) . . ?
Ariel,” he sighs, shaking his head at
“ . )
me. “In your life you’ve only really
spent time with men who really
respect women and admire their
) . :
mates. You’ve been a little bit
sheltered, which is not a bad thing,
. »
but…not all men are like that.” The
content is on Novelxo.org! Read
the latest chapter there!
“Yeah,” I say, nodding and raising my eyebrows at him. “I learned that when I
heard my fiancé’s secret conversation with his dad — and thank god I did.”
“I know,” Jesse huffs, looking off into the distance with a grimace as he, too,
remembers what I dodged. “But see how easy it was to miss that? It’s just…not
all guys are good to
Visit Novelxo.org to read full content.
women — SO many were ra ised to
believe that women were born to
serve them, or to be their second
mom, or that women are inherently
A B , 3
inferior. And a mate? He’s going to
feel… so possessive over you, Ariel,
from the start. I think, for you, I just
” .
want…” The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
“A little time,” I say, finishing his thought for him, as I so frequently do.
Visit Novelxo.org to read full content.
I » . .
Yeah,” he replies, turning to me with
< pF Fim
a little sad smile. “Time for you to
figure out who this guy is and how
you feel about him, before all this
mate stuff gets in the mix as well.
And for you to figure out if you
actually want to like…date him. Let
: ”
alone be mated to him.” The content
is on Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
I laugh at this, shaking my head. Because Jesse’s right — I’ve never even had a
boyfriend, let alone a mate. Let alone two mates. How on earth am I going to
juggle all of this?
“I think I want to just concentrate on getting into the Academy,” I say quietly,
stepping close to my cousin and resting my head on his shoulder.
“I honestly think that’s a good plan,” he murmurs, wrapping an arm around me
and giving me a little squeeze. “I think you’re here for a reason, Ari — and I don’t
think it’s just to meet your mate.”
“I feel that way too,” I say with a confused frown know. And I’m glad you have my
back.”
and honestly, it’s true. “But I’m glad you
“Always, little Shrimp,” he murmurs with a happy sigh. After a long pause he
speaks again. “Now. Are you going to tell me who this mate is?”
“Nope,” I say, a little smirk pulling at my own lips now. “I get to keep some
mysteries to myself, don’t 1?”
“Boo!” Jesse says, laughing and shoving away from me. “And now, just for that,
I’m going to kick your ass double-time on this run back to the barracks so that
we can make it for breakfast.”
“Nooo,” I moan, tipping my head back.
“Come on!” he whoops, starting down the hill at a full run. “Let’s raise that
ranking, Shrimp! Plus, I heard there’s pancakes in the breakfast line today.”
“Damn it,” I hiss, shaking my head, and my stomach growls because damn it… I
want those pancakes. And so I take a deep breath before I start to sprint after
him.