Chapter 152

“Ariel, darling,” mom says, reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Tell me, sweetheart, how are you feeling about this?”

I look up at my mom, trying to sort through my feelings, trying to figure it out. Because on one hand…I mean, he is my mate – it’s just the truth, and it was going to come out sometime. And why should Luca have to deny who his mate is, or hide it, when the press asked him? If it were any other mating bond, just between two people, I’m not sure it would be as big of a deal.

But…I mean, that’s not our situation at all, is it?

Passively, I look down at the article, reading enough to gather that it is a laudatory piece. The press is, apparently, thrilled that I’m mated to Luca Grant – it marks us officially as the cutest new couple in the celebrity world and suggests that everyone’s rooting for our future. Especially today, with Luca in the spotlight and so much at stake, everyone is thrilled to have the Princess at his side while he fights for our national pride against the enemy.

But…even if it’s good…it’s not what I wanted. Not right now anyway.

“I…would have liked to be asked,” I say quietly, raising my eyes to look up into my mom’s eyes and then around the table at my sympathetic family. “It’s not a small thing to tell the world that someone’s your mate, especially when you’re already someone in the public eye. I should have been asked. I should have had…some control over it, at least been part of the interview.”

Rafe and Jesse stand coldly, still pissed and not even willing to be as fair as I’m trying to be in this moment. But Ben nods warmly towards me, and Daphne presses her mouth into a commiserating line, her expression letting me know that she understands and feels for me.

I look to the other side of the table, where Markie looks worried and Juniper stares at me evenly, like this is nothing I can’t handle. Uncle Roger gathers Cora to his side and looks at me with sympathy, like he understands how important a mating bond is, and how intrinsic honesty is between those who share it.

And as I look around at my family and friends, all so eager to support me in my own way, I feel so incredibly bolstered. Like I can certainly handle this, as Junie’s expression suggests – like it’s really not the end of the world, even if it felt that way a minute ago.

I’m even almost smiling as I turn back to my mom.

“I agree completely, baby,” mom murmurs, again wrapping me in a hug as I turn my attention back to her and dad.

“It’s a betrayal,” dad says, meeting my eyes over my mom’s shoulder and giving me a steady nod. “We’re not going to stand for it, Ariel. You deserve better than this. You’re absolutely right – you should have had a say in whether or not this article came out today. It’s unacceptable that you did not.”

Dad’s words are sharp and precise, but beneath them I take in his real meaning: that Luca’s in big trouble with the most powerful Alpha in the nation right now, and that he’d better watch out. Champion or not, my dad is going to have some words for him, if not more.

I press my eyes shut, taking a deep breath and letting my mom hug me tighter. Because I hate that Luca’s in hot water with my family now – he’s my mate, and obviously I want everyone to get along.

But, well…if he did this?

Doesn’t he deserve it?

As I tuck my head down against my mom’s neck, soaking in her comfort as she strokes my back and I try to figure out how I feel, I hear the breakfast room door creak open. The room again goes quiet, and I lift my head, kind of dreading this.

But my jaw drops.

Because…I mean, I knew who it was going to be – or at least had a really good idea – and I know that a hard conversation is coming.

But I had no idea Jackson was going to look like that.

He’s standing there holding the breakfast room door open with one broad hand, frowning around at all of us, looking like a god damn model. Somehow, he got his hands on a really nice pair of jeans, and a blue button-down shirt that looks like it was made for him, rolled up to his elbows. His look is all very simple, which suits him, but it’s very clearly expensive and tailored. And it suits his body completely, making him look…honestly, almost a little unreal, unnaturally perfect.

But the real coup is his hair. Jackson has always had a longish, shaggy mess of hair that really worked for his brutal, controlled-ferocity sort of vibe. But some genius has transformed that into a style, cropping Jackson’s hair closer on the sides and trimming the ends so that they’re more even. Now his hair falls into his face in a soft curtain of silky brown, and he just looks…

God, he looks like I want to jump him right now.

But if Jackson notices the effect his new appearance has on me, he doesn’t let me see it, instead quickly surveying the room and realizing that something is wrong.

When his eyes fall on me, and he sees the trace of devastation left on my face, and puts together that something happened to me?

His response is immediate.

“What is it,” he growls, slamming the door shut and striding into the room so that he stands across the table from me, leaning far across the wood to lock his eyes with me, smacking his hand down against the surface. “Who did this to you? Are you all right? What happened?”

Jackson absolutely ignores everyone else in the room and a swell of joy and pride rises in me, pride for my big scary Alpha mate who is ready to tear the world apart because something made me sad.

“I’m okay,” I say, putting a hand out on the table like he’s doing, not reaching for him but wanting to be closer. “I promise, Jacks, I’m okay.”

Incrementally Jackson relaxes, standing taller and starting to look around the room. I do the same, a little entertained by the shock on almost everyone’s faces. But some people aren’t shocked, or don’t show it. My eyes move first to Rafe, Jesse, and my dad, who look stern and pleased, like this is precisely the reaction they were expecting from him.

And then to my mom, who I see is bursting with pride for Jackson as well, not at all startled by a huge man storming around and slamming his hand on tables, demanding answers. That’s just a normal Tuesday morning for her, after all.

And then to Cora who is…perhaps a little too appreciative of Jackson’s glow-up to be shocked by anything else.

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Jackson asks, his voice tense as he clearly works to balance his desire to intercede and make it all better with his need to be polite.

I sigh and untangle myself from my mom, standing and rolling one of the magazines up so Jackson can’t see the cover – not just yet.

“Come on, Jacks,” I say, moving around the table towards him and gesturing towards the door. “Let’s go somewhere quiet - I’ll explain.”

“Wait no, don’t go!” Jesse gasps. “I want to see this!”

Juniper bursts into laughter at Jesse, who she always finds much funnier than any of her actual siblings.

“This is not for your entertainment, Jess,” Rafe snaps under his breath, turning to glare at our cousin.

Jesse slumps down into his chair, frowning up at Rafe. “Everything is for my entertainment.”

I ignore them as I reach Jackson, looping my hand around his elbow and looking up into his gorgeous face for a long moment, willing him to relax, to see that I’m all right and that this is manageable. Feeling these emotions down our bond, Jackson sighs and his shoulders loosen.

I take a moment to glance to my parents. My dad looks at me sternly but nods, just a tiny movement, to let me know that he trusts me to handle this with my mate. And my mom just beams at the two of us, her hands clasped delightedly beneath her chin. I can’t help smiling at her – mom, she’s just so pure.

“Come on,” I say softly to Jackson, tugging on his arm. “Let’s go somewhere and have a chat.”

He nods to me, and we duck out of the room.

I take Jackson down a few doors to dad’s study. Not his office, where he does all of his big work – but a peaceful room where he goes to relax and think, or to have little intimate chats with his closest advisors, or mom, or Rafe, or me. Or Markie and June now, I suppose, now that they’re all grown up too.

I can’t help but smile when Jackson walks into the room like he owns it, like he’s been there a thousand times. It’s not that he’s being conceited - Jackson just doesn’t care to look around and admire the furnishings or dad’s books. He only cares about me – this room could be filled with rubbish, for all he would notice. Jackson moves instantly to the window seat, sitting and opening his arms, a clear invitation for me to come close.

I press the door shut and go to him, exhaling in relief when he pulls me to his chest and then up into his lap, helping me to curl comfortably against him in the circle of his arms. When I’m nestled in tight, his voice rumbles out, deep and reassuring. “Tell me.”

And so I do. I hold up the magazine so that he can see it, telling him all of the details of what it contains – about someone spilling about how Luca and I are mated, and the press running with it, and printing all sorts of images that confirm it. Jackson listens closely, letting me talk, only glaring a little bit at the picture of me kissing Luca. I have to fight my smile when I see him do that, and I quickly turn the page to get away from it.

When it’s all finished, Jackson nods quietly, thinking it through. “So, do you think Luca did it? Told the press?”

“I don’t know,” I murmur, leaning into Jackson’s warmth. “It isn’t…something I think is beyond him.”

“What do you mean?” Jackson asks, confused and a little horrified. And as I look up at him, I realize it’s because he’d never do something like this – it wouldn’t even enter his head. So he doesn’t get the motive – not at all.

“Luca…likes being a celebrity, Jacks,” I say quietly, staring up into his face. “And that’s not a bad thing – Jesse likes it too, and Rafe and I don’t mind it. But Luca actively cultivates it – he’s talked to the press about his romantic relationships before. And considering how positive this article is…Luca telling the press this big news the day of his big fight? It…I can see how it would be tempting. The ratings for the fight will probably go sky high.”

“But he knew it would upset you,” Jackson says, frowning.

I stare up at him, and put a hand out flat on his chest, wanting to be close when I clarify things for him. “Jacks, Luca knew it would upset you.”

“What?” he breathes, screwing up his face in confusion.

“Think about it,” I say, sitting up a little straighter, wanting to ensure that he understands. “If Luca did this, then he knows that I’m going to be mad at it – but he knows that I’ll eventually forgive him. This isn’t the sort of thing I’d leave him over – not in the long run, not with how…important he is to me.”

Jackson’s face goes a little dark when he hears me say that, but he doesn’t say anything, listening closely.

“But Jacks,” I continue, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, “in doing this, Luca also basically made it impossible for you to claim me publicly as your mate.”

Jackson’s expression doesn’t change – he still just frowns in confusion.

“Whoever did this made it so that the two of us – me and you, Jacks? We can’t be seen in public together romantically – you can’t hold my hand, or kiss me, or pick me up, or give any indication that we’re romantically involved. At all. Not where anyone with a camera could catch us.”

“What!?” Jackson breathes, his eyes going wide as the gravity of the whole situation sets in.