The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 748

Jackson and I each take a moment to clean up, brushing our teeth and splashing water on our faces, before we return to the nook – the place where we feel most secure. But I push the curtain back, letting the pre-dawn light stream in. Because that feels right, feels better.

“So,” Jackson murmurs, wrapping his long arms loosely around his knees as he leans back against the pillows. “Where do you want to start?”

I bite my lip, wondering at it, but also…distracted. Distracted by the sheer physical presence of my mate, sitting there across from me in our bed, all gorgeous and understanding and willing to hear every bit of what I have to say. Almost despite my resolve to be stoic and serious, my eyes move away from his face and down his form, taking in the beautiful way that his body has been crafted, honed, over years of punching stuff and running and whatever else it is these warrior-types do. My wolf shifts from paw to paw, giving me a nudge, telling me to go to him – to touch him –

But –

I hesitate, knowing where that got me last time. With Luca. Giving in to impulse and attraction is…not always the best choice.

When I raise my eyes again to Jackson’s face, I see that his jaw is tight, his teeth clenched as he senses the direction of my thoughts. To that day, with Luca. And all the things that lead to being marked, if not the marking and the rejection itself.

“Did you want it?” Jackson asks, his voice tight. I can almost feel the tension over every muscle in his body.

I exhale slowly and hold his gaze. “I wanted to sleep with him. But I didn’t want the mark. Not yet.”

And then I tell him everything. I soften, where I can, the information that he doesn’t necessarily need – about how attracted I was to Luca, and precisely how much it hurt when his wolf attacked and he rejected me. These things, I sense, he doesn’t need the details of. But beyond that I tell him everything, wanting things to be an open book between us, wanting him to have it all.

He raises his eyes to look at me. “Was being the important word here, Ariel. I wouldn’t share you with that jackass now for the world – he – he fucking deliberately put you in danger – he knows there are potentially others in this Castle who were trying to hurt you and he left you naked and alone with an open door –“

His words get angrier and angrier as they fall from his lips and I lean forward, putting a hand on his knee, stopping the tirade.

Nearly shaking with rage at the memory, Jacks takes a deep breath and nods to me, letting me know he’s got it back under control.

“But yes, before that?” he shrugs. “I was…finding a way. I don’t know. It felt right. Luca was…frustrating and difficult. I’d have rather shared you with someone like Tony, who was cooler and nicer and I think quite a wide margin smarter than Grant –“