Chapter 459

For a moment my wolf likewise stands frozen with shock in my soul as we both just stare at the little girl in front of us.

But then my wolf breaks into a terrible howl, starting to dart back and forth in my soul, panicked.

I come back to myself, gasping in a long breath of air before I start to pant, my eyes flicking between the little girl and my mate – immediately seeing the resemblance there – the fucking uncanny resemblance between this little girl and her dad.

Her dad.

Her fucking dad, who looks just like her, from whom she inherited that steady gaze, those gorgeous blue eyes…

My hands curl in and out of fits as I try, quite desperately, to avoid a meltdown.

Because…what the fuck is happening?

Where…where did this kid come from!? And why is she in my house!?

“You…” I whisper, my eyes moving to Jackson now. “You…you have a…baby…”

“Not baby,” Marigold says and I snap my eyes back to her, awed to hear her speak because when she does she’s so…she’s just so fucking real. “Marigold.”

I huff out a little laugh, appalled and shocked and…fascinated.

Because…is that her name?

“You…have a Marigold,” I whisper, my eyes slowly moving back to Jackson, who just stares at me, devastated.

“Ariel,” he says, his voice croaking out of his throat as he gets to his feet, reaching for me. “Please, this just happened –“

“It so did not!” I say, laughing hysterically, gesturing towards her. “She’s like – eight!”

“Four!” Marigold corrects, frowning at me.

I again snap my eyes back to her, shocked.

“Allll right,” my mom says, slowly getting up out of her chair and reaching for the little girl. “Rafe, you grab some cookies for dessert, and the three of us,” she says, pointing between herself and Rafe and Mark, “are going to take Marigold upstairs to get her ready for bed!”

I squeak with shock because…is she sleeping over!?

What the fuck is happening right now!?

“You two talk,” mom says, settling the little girl on her hip and looking sternly between Jackson and me. “And be kind to each other, okay?”

I stare into my mother’s eyes for a moment before my gaze drifts down to the little girl. And then I turn, watching as the four of them move out of the kitchen. A soft whine breaks from Jackson’s throat and I spin towards him, realizing that –

That he doesn’t want the little girl to go.

Because it’s his fucking daughter – and he wants to be with her so he can protect her –

My entire body starts to tremble. “Jackson?” I whisper, shaking all over. “What…what’s happening?”

He turns his head to me and gasps, reaching for me at once. “Ariel,” he says, grabbing me by the arm, pulling me roughly to him and wrapping me up against his chest. “I’m so, so sorry –“

I continue to shake, gasping little huffy breaths, completely shocked at this bizarre turn of my reality. I mean, is this even happening? Is this even real?

“Who is that little girl?” I whisper.

Jackson sighs, and I feel his chin on top of my head as he tucks me in close. “She’s my kid, Ariel. I’m sorry – I didn’t know – Cristof surprised me, he brought here here like an hour ago – I haven’t even had time to process it myself –“

My mind turns fast as I begin to put the pieces together.

Cristof.

Cristof had the child.

Which means she came from the Community.

Which means…

My mind flashes back to a conversation that feels like forever ago, but that was probably just a few months. Of being curled up with Jackson, and him telling me about his life, and his history –

Telling me about a girl who was kind to him, whose…

Whose favorite color was yellow.

I stare up into my mate’s face, still utterly shocked. “Tasha,” I whisper.

Jackson swallows and clenches his jaw, looking at me with a great deal of sadness in his eyes, feeling every single one of my complex emotions through the bond as they flit through me. My wolf howls desperately and begins to dash away, running, needing something to do with her body so she doesn’t go insane. Jackson’s wolf takes off after her, desperate to be by her side, but she just keeps running – panicked and terrified.

“Tasha,” I say again, gulping. “That’s – that’s Tasha’s child –“

“My child,” Jackson says, taking my face in his palms. “Mine and Tasha’s, yes.”

“Well, where the fuck is she!?” I ask, stumbling back, looking around the kitchen like I’m going to find her hiding behind the huge industrial fridge or something. Which – honestly – considering I just walked into the kitchen to find my mate’s daughter having dinner with my mom and brothers, doesn’t sound so incredibly insane right now!

“Ariel!” Jackson snaps, more panicked than angry, grabbing my arm and holding me tight like he’s afraid I’m going to run like my wolf is. “Tasha is – she’s dead, all right?”

I whip my head back to him, my eyes wide, a moan climbing up my throat because –

Oh my god.

Oh my god –

That little girl, all alone in the world – her mother dead –

Tears fill my eyes. “Jackson,” I beg, shaking my head at him, stepping closer, reaching up for him. He understands, bending down and picking me up in his arms, holding me close. I wrap my arms around his neck and lean hard against him, wanting as much contact as possible, wanting to feel the steady reality of him. “Please, you have to tell me everything,” I beg. “Right now. Very fast. I – I need to know everything you know –“

Jackson murmurs that he will and then sinks back into his chair, taking me with him, and proceeds to tell me everything that happened tonight – everything he knows.

Over the next half hour, Jackson spills everything to me. My wolf stops running and turns to his, and they curl up together, both anxious and worried but…together, united. And I open the bond, and keep it open, wanting to hear and feel everything that he wants to share. The emotions just…spill down it, so much so that I feel like I’m drowning in them at times, like there’s no space for my own feelings. But I hold steady for him, knowing that even if this was an insane shock for me…

That my sweetheart mate is taking it so, so much harder.

He tells me of seeing Cristof out by the car, and of everything that passed between them. And then he continues, speculating on what some of the things Cristof said could have meant. That Tasha must have run while pregnant, that she probably tried to raise Marigold alone, but didn’t have the resources. He wonders, worried, what it must have been like for Marigold to sit for days alone wherever they lived while her mother…

I take a deep, shuddering breath, tucking my face against his chest, feeling horrible. Horrible for that little girl, and horribly ashamed of myself.

Because even if this is so much more intense for Jackson I…

I can’t help it.

I’m just so fucking jealous.

Jealous that he has a little girl and that she’s not mine, that someone else got to carry and raise his pup, that someone else’s daughter looks like my Jackson – has his eyes, has his steady gaze.

That – that was supposed to be my little girl – the one I didn’t even know I fucking wanted until she showed up in my kitchen and I found out that she belongs to someone else!

I tuck all the jealousy away as best I can – but I bite my lip, hating myself a great deal that I can’t just…be kind. And be here for Jackson, who just found out that he’s a fucking dad –

“Hey,” Jackson says, a bit sharp.

I look up into his face in surprise.

“What…what’s going on in there?” Jackson asks, his eyes searching my face like he’s trying to read my mind. “Why are you…mad at yourself?”

“Because I’m being a jerk,” I moan, letting myself slump against him.

He goes still and then laughs, the sound hesitant and a little hysterical, putting his hands on my arms and making me sit up. “What are you talking about? Ariel, you’re being so nice to me –“

“No, I’m not! I’m being so selfish!”

“Ariel!” he gives me a little shake. “I don’t – I don’t get this, tiny. Please, help me understand.”

“See, even the fact that you feel like you have to check in on me right now,” I say, sighing and looking into his gorgeous eyes. “Like you’re worried about me. You just found out you have a baby! I should be taking care of you!”

“It’s a shock for you too,” Jackson murmurs, stroking a hand long over my hair. “I mean, you didn’t…sign up for this. For being mated to someone who has a child with someone else. I would understand if…”

He hesitates, his words trailing off, grief overtaking his features as he scrubs a palm down the length of his face.

I go still. “Are you – do you…Jackson,” I snarl, grabbing his shirt in my fists. “Are you fucking dumping me because you have a kid!?”

His eyes flash open and he looks a me, shocked. Inwardly his wolf snarls, possessive, snatching my wolf close to his body and pressing his teeth to the mark in her neck. My wolf whines, terrified at the thought that we could lose him.

Over this – that we could lose him over this!