The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

I wait for a second, grimacing a bit, watching Jackson's face for a reaction. But he just stares at me, completely blank.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, shaking my head, reaching for him. "I'm sorry, Jacks - I didn't mean anything bad by it -"

"No, Ariel..." he replies, blinking out of his frozen state and clearing his throat. "I just I just don't understand -"

I frown at him, not getting what he doesn't get.

He narrows his eyes and leans closer to me. "How...how would you become her mother?"

"Well," I say, twisting my fingers together, feeling tense. "I would...adopt her. Legally, she would be mine as well as yours - I'd have all the rights as her mother and she as my daughter. And there's a ceremony that you can perform at the Temple before the Goddess's sacred pool - people do it all the time when they adopt kids. You ask the Goddess to bless the union so that the child is spiritually yours, as well as legally."

Jackson continues to just stare at me, though I can see his mind at work now, putting it all together.

I do my best to give him a moment to think, but eventually I can't bear the silence anymore, guilt and worry rushing through me. "And I'd never want to replace Tasha -" I say softly, all in a rush. "We wouldn't like - erase her memory, or pretend that she's not real, or keep anything a secret from Marigold - we can find ways to honor Tasha and find ways to help Marigold remember her first mom."

Jackson sighs, his head dropping like he hadn't even considered that point.

"But if...if Marigold has someone in her life who desperately wants to be her mother," I whisper, lifting a hand to cup Jackson's cheek, hope and love surging through my chest. "Then a mother is a wonderful thing to have. And I really... really want to be her mom, Jacks."

Jackson raises his eyes to mine and as soon as I see the wetness of his lower lashes tears spring to my eyes as well.

"Ariel," Jackson says, shaking his head, disbelieving that such a thing can be true. "It's it's so much to ask of you -"

"But you didn't ask," I reply, shaking my head, smiling at him even as tears streak down my cheek. "I asked. And if you say no I'll understand. But...I really hope you say yes. I want to do this - I want to be a family. I want...Marigold to be mine as well as yours, a full sister to all of her future siblings."

"All eighteen," he sighs, shaking his head, resting his forehead against mine.

I burst into laughter, pulling him close, loving him a great deal. I smile, letting my eyes fall shut, breathing in a deep breath full of his scent. "Is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes," he whispers, pulling me close and cradling me to him. "Unless...unless Marigold won't like it? Like you said I don't...want to wipe away Tasha from her life. Maybe...maybe we give her a minute to adjust."

"Yeah," I say, Smiling and pressing a kiss to my mate's mouth. "Yeah, we'll give her plenty of time. There's no rush, right? But..." I bite my lip a little, suddenly incredibly happy at this new thought. "I really like now that...I have a little girl."

He grins at me, likewise pleased. "You like it?"

"Yeah, she's really cute!" I say, laughing a bit and winding my arms around his neck. "She reminds me a lot of this guy I have a really big crush on -"

Jackson laughs, tucking his head down next to mine, pressing a kiss to my neck, to my mark. "I love you, Ariel."

"Yeah, I love you too," I say on a happy sigh, snuggling closer, if it's even possible. “I think...I think it's going to be really great, Jacks. Challenging but...] really like our new tiny family."

"Me too," he murmurs, raising his head and pressing a kiss to my mouth this time – a real one, true and deep. I kiss him back, giving myself into it, wrapping my hands into the fabric of his shirt and pulling him closer.

Things get heated...very fast.

"Ariel," Jackson pants, stopping himself with a force of will that I...absolutely do

not have. He glances towards the door, anxious.

"Oh whatever,” I mutter, wrapping a hand behind his neck to pull him close again. "It's locked. Who cares."

Jackson hesitates for a secondnoveldrama

more, glancing at the baby monitor, but then he groans, bringing his mouth again to mine and fully giving in. I moan as Jackson lays me out on the little couch, slipping his hands beneath my shirt and against my bare skin, moving them steadily down.