Chapter 48
1
My eyes go wide as I gasp, spinning to see Alvez walking down the hall,
completely nonchalant. But that was no ghost, sneaking an intimate touch when
my brother’s back was turned.
“What is it?” Rafe asks, turning towards me.
“Sorry, I uh—just saw a spider,” 1 murmur. “Really big one.”
“Gross,” Jesse says, a shiver running through him. I grin at him, because Jesse
hates spiders.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Rafe says, nodding towards the elevator at the end
of the hall. “Ari and I have to have a chat after all.”
“Really?” Jesse gasps as we step into the elevator. “What about!? Do I get to
come. too?”
“No,” Rafe says, slinging an arm around my shoulders and glaring over at our
cousin. “Siblings only for this one.”
Jesse hangs his head back as the elevator lifts us swiftly into the air. “That’s so
unfair,” he groans. “Come on, I’m basically a sibling — our dads our brothers, our
moms are sisters! Genetically, I’m pretty much the same
“Don’t be weird,” Rafe says, glancing over at Jesse with his brows knit as the
elevator door opens and we start down the hall.
Jesse continues to complain all the way into the room but Rafe ignores him and I
laugh, because Jesse can be such a baby when he doesn’t get his way. But
eventually Jesse flops, defeated and depressed to be deprived of the gossip,
onto his bed as Rafe pushes me towards the bathroom.
“Rafe, you can pee alone,” I mutter, tossing my chemistry book onto my bed as I
1. go.
“This is about secrecy not bodily functions,” he murmurs, shutting the door
behind him and leaning back on it. “Which I’d think would be something you
appreciated, considering this is a conversation about your mate. So?” He raises
an eyebrow at me. “Spill.”
1 sigh, closing the lid to the toilet and sitting down on it, taking off my cap and
15
Chapter 48
taking a moment to massage my sore scalp under its tight braid. Rafe listens
quietly and carefully as I tell him everything about Jackson about his apology in
the bathroom that allowed me to see a different side of him, my impulsive
invitation to breakfast, and then about his waiting to go into his obstacle course.
with me, and the hint and the help he gave.
By the end, Rafe looks more contemplative than angry, which is probably a good
thing. “So,” he says, looking studiously down at the floor with his brows drawn,
“do you think he’s like…figured it out? That he’s helping you because he knows
you’re his mate?”
“No,” I say, thoughtful as I lean back against the toilet tank. “I mean, anything is
possible, and I think he’s being nice to me because he does sense a connection.
between us. But I think that if he knew I was his mate, he wouldn’t just…let it
pass.”
Rafe’s quiet for a minute before he sinks to the floor a bit. “It’s all just so weird,
Ari,” he murmurs, shaking his head. “I don’t know how to navigate any of this.”
“You’re telling me,” I say, but I smile at my brother because it feels nice to be able
to talk to him about it.
“It’s just, you have a right to get to know your mate,” he murmurs, “that’s
important. But there’s so much at risk. And he did seriously try to hurt you, which
makes me very wary to let him into our little circle of trust…”
“I think you have to try, Rafe,” I say quietly. “I don’t think he’s going to try to hurt
me again. Honestly, if anything, it feels like his instincts are swinging in the other
direction, and he might be following them.”
“So like, even if he doesn’t know he’s your mate, he’s got some impulse to
protect you?” Rafe asks, looking up at me. “I mean, that makes sense…the way
dad protects mom feels just like a part of who he is.”
Alittle anxiety stirs in me at the comparison to dad and mom — because they feel
just so right together.
And Jackson? I…just met him.
And Luca?
They’re both important, my wolf says, prancing gleefully at the thought of them.
And very good looking.
12.02
Chapter 48
Tu Mar
Easy for you to say, I murmur, swatting her playfully in the rump. She spins in a
circle and then trots off, spirits high.
“All right,” Rafe sighs, hanging his head a little with a big sigh. “I’ll try to be nicer.
Though it will not be easy.”
I smile, starting to thank him, but a knock comes out the door.
“Go pee somewhere else, Jesse,” Rafe says, his voice exhausted.
“Thanks so much for the advice, Rafe,” Jesse replies, dry, “but actually our
uniforms are here.”
“Oh!” I say, standing up and eagerly pulling on my cap. Rafe gets to his feet too,
but his eyes move immediately to the shower.
“Will you get mine?” he asks, heading for it. “I want to take a minute to myself.”
“Sure,” I say, grinning at him and heading for the door, eager to see what the
seamstress did to my uniform to make it fit better. Rafe starts to strip off his shirt
as I pull the door open, but I’m a little shocked to see Jesse standing right there,
waiting for me.
He grabs me by the wrist and tugs me out of the bathroom, snicking the door
shut behind me. “You have a guest, Mr. Clark,” he says, his voice half devious
and half angry. “Who is asking for you in particular.”
My eyes go wide as I follow Jesse’s gesturing hand towards there door, where I
burst into a grin to see the seamstress here in the flesh, a black box in her
hands.
“Oh, hi!” I shout, scurrying over, excited.”Hi!” she says, beaming at me, “I’m so
happy to see you! I made some modifications, but, um…” her eyes drift over to
Jesse as she bites her lip.
“Oh, don’t worry about him,” I say, flapping a hand in his direction as I take the
box from her hands and head for my nook. “Come over here! Thank you so much
for bringing these up yourself! What’s your name? I’m Ariel —
“Ariel!” Jesse gasps, horrified, and both the seamstress and I stop short in our
tracks, our eyes going to him.
“Oh, sorry,” I say, grimacing at my cousin a little as I resume my steps. “I forgot to
tell you, Jesse
she kind of…figured it out yesterday.”
Chapter 48
A slow smile spreads on the seamstress’s face as she looks between my cousin
and me. “Oh, a secret within a secret, is it? I love those.”
“Ari,” Jesse groans, covering his face with his hands and turning away from me,
his—- shoulders shaking a little bit. “You can’t do this shit to me and are you
serious!? Someone else figured it out!?”
“Who else knows?” the seamstress asks, stepping closer to me as I put the box
on my bed and start to unpack it.
“Just my brother, obviously, and our friend Ben,” I say with a shrug, smiling at her.
“Though he had less direct evidence than you
“Ariel!” Jesse snaps, storming over to us, “stop telling her shit! We have no idea
who
this woman is!”
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« » : =
Jesse!” I scold, glaring at him.
I ’ .
You’re being very rude to our guest,
and obviously she is trustworthy —
she would have told someone by
now if she was going to! And she
, .
wouldn’t have taken such time to
make modifications to my outfit!
’ »
Thank you for those, by the way,” I
say, turning my smile on her again.
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“You’re welcome,” she replies, sketching a little bow with a half smile on her face,
though she does glance anxiously back at my cousin.
Jesse sighs and narrows his eyes at the young woman, crossing his arms and
looking her up and down. “While my cousin has a point,” he says, frustrated, “I
would like some further assurances that you can be trusted, ma’am.”
“Oh?” she says, and I blink a little as the seamstress tucks her hands coyly
behind her back and raises her chin at Jesse, stepping closer. “And what kind of
assurances would you like, sir?”
1 go a bit still as I watch them.
“Well,” he murmurs, his voice deepening as he looks down at her. “Your personal
information, to start. As well as any leverage you’d like to hand over so that I can
exact revenge if you blow my cousin’s cover.”
“Leverage, highness?” she says, a little smirk forming on her lips. “Why, we’ve
just met. Don’t you think you need to earn something like that?”
Jesse laughs a little, his eyes focused on hers, and my jaw drops when I see
him. take a step closer, barely a hand’s breadth between them now. Because
they are
flirting.
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« . . on)
Earn it, claim it,” Jesse murmurs,
raising a bold hand and twisting a
stray curl of her auburn hair around
his finger before tucking it back
. i=
behind her ear. “Either way, we can
: )
start with your number, unless we’re
supposed to use messenger pigeons
to contact people in this dank castle
” .
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“Oh my god,” I burst out, staring between them. “Jesse!” I step forward and
smack him, hard, on the arm. “Would you stop!?”
“Ari!” he shouts, laughing and taking a step away. “Il am working here to protect
you
“Oh, you so are not,” I growl, stepping in front of the seamstress. “There is one
girl in this whole castle who knows about my secret, and I’d quite like her to be
my friend, so if you can please stop hitting on her
Jesse’s mouth drops open at my accusation and the seamstress, behind me,
bursts out laughing.
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“yy . cn >
It’s all right, Ari,” she says, putting a
hand on my arm and turning me
“pr
towards her. “I’m pretty much the
only young woman working in this
castle — I know how to handle myself
” :
around these boys.” I grin at her as
she rolls her eyes. The content is on
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