Chapter 234

“What…what does un-sorted mean?” I ask, looking first at Luca and then a little frantically around at the rest of the boys, all of whom are equally a bit dour.

“It just means that they’re deciding where Luca fits,” Jesse says, giving a shrug.

“He’s sugar coating it,” Luca corrects, and I turn my head back to him. “It means that they don’t yet see me as…fit for upper service. That I am, essentially, a high-powered grunt for now.”

“Luca,” I say, again raising my hand to his cheek as I frown at him. “Who –“

“Those are his words,” Rafe interrupts, and I turn to look at him. “And he’s being way too hard on himself. Every Cadet that graduates from the Academy is elite – some are sorted into specializations, some are not. Luca, as-yet, was not. And he might later, or he might not, but it’s not a poor reflection on him.”

“And now Rafe’s being too nice,” Luca murmurs, turning back to me and – I think – putting up one hell of a front to hide his disappointment. “It’s all my fault. I did…kind of shitty on the finals, Ari. I think they might have failed me if it wasn’t such a big deal for me to be a Cadet while I was in that boxing match. I think they kind of…pushed me through.”

“Luca,” I murmur, frowning at him, feeling absolutely terrible that he feels that way. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Well, either way, it’s all my fault,” Luca says with a sigh. “You were all here working your asses off and I was just…fooling around and napping and cracking jokes. Riding my laurels.”

“That’s not true!” I protest. “You studied!”

“He could have studied harder,” Ben says, and I turn sharply around to glare at him. He holds up his hands. “Look, the truth is somewhere between all of it, Ari – and you’re not doing him any favors by fawning over him and telling him how great he was and it was not his fault. Luca didn’t study – he could have tried harder. And if he does, he’ll see results.” Ben peers around me to look Luca in the eye now. “None of us think you’re stupid, Luca. And while that’s a good thing, it does mean you have to try.”

“I know,” Luca says, and I turn back to him with a sigh because…well. Because Ben is right.

“I believe in you,” I say, snuggling closer to my mate and pressing a quick kiss to his mouth as the other boys turn towards each other and start to talk, giving us a moment of privacy. “You know that, right?”

“I know it,” Luca says, giving me a small smile. “So. How about you show me those pens again? Maybe your color coding system can actually help me this time around.”

I burst into a grin, incredibly excited.

The night passes faster than it usually does, probably because I came to dinner so late. And it feels, a bit, like I glance at the door every half hour, because that’s where my wolf’s attention turns, even as I sit close to Luca. She looses a tiny little howl at one point, calling to Jackson’s wolf, telling him to come. But, of course, he doesn’t, and my wolf and I are both a bit miserable about it.

I hide this as best I can, though, and barely an hour later I’m yawning every few minutes, thinking eagerly of my bed.

“Come on, Luc,” Ben says, standing up from the couch and stretching his arms over his head. “Walk me downstairs so you can pick me up if I fall asleep on the steps.”

“You got it, Benny. I’ll throw you over my shoulder like the sack of potatoes you are,” Luca murmurs, giving me a kiss on the cheek as he stands up. “See you at breakfast?” he asks, squeezing my hand and giving me a small, happy smile.

“Of course,” I reply, beaming back at him. “But please return the property you have stolen before you go,” I say, holding out an open palm.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luca replies, far too innocent and pressing a hand to his chest.

“Green and pink,” I say, holding my hand higher up, insistent. “Honestly, Luca, those colors don’t even make any sense together – what one earth are you trying to make note of –“

But Luca just bursts out laughing and pulls the pens from his pocket, slipping them into my hand. “I wasn’t going to keep them,” he says, sly. “Just trying to see how much of your espionage training was paying off.”

“Oh, I don’t need espionage training to notice when my prized possessions are missing,” I say, yawning and letting myself flop down on the couch pillows. “I grew up with Jesse. He stole everything. All of my toys.”

“Lies!” Jesse calls from across the room. “…I only took the little ponies. The ones with the fancy hair.”

Luca laughs too and leans down to press another kiss to my mouth – a nice, lingering one – and then he and Benny are gone, off to bed.

I haul myself up off the couch with a groan and flop over to the bathroom, getting myself ready for bed and giving my teeth a good scrub. I stare at the shower for a long moment, contemplating it, wondering if I have the energy or can just be smelly for a night when a familiar scent wafts in the door.

I laugh in delight, quickly rinsing my mouth, and then I’m dashing out the bathroom door and jumping immediately into Jackson’s arms.

“How did you know!?” I ask, laughing, holding him close and then pulling away to peer into his beautiful face. “How are you here three minutes after Luca left!?”

“Because someone’s little wolf was howling for mine all night,” Jackson growls happily, lifting his face to nudge my nose with his. “And when she finally stopped, I knew it was time to come up.” I start to laugh, but Jackson silences me by planting a firm kiss on my mouth.

A little moan slips from me as I kiss Jackson back, a little more deeply than I usually would in front of my brother and my cousin, not really able to help it.

“Enough of that,” Rafe growls, smacking me on the arm as he passes me for his turn in the bathroom.

I grin and pull my face away from Jackson but otherwise ignore Rafe. “I’m glad you came up so fast,” I whisper. “I missed you.”

“Did you think I was going to waste a second of my allotted time?” Jackson murmurs, carrying me over to the nook and falling backward onto my poor little bed, which groans mournfully under our combined weight.

I laugh and shake my head at him, laying over his chest and beaming down into his face. “I heard you got the command specialization,” I whisper, thrilled. “I’m so proud of you, Jacks.”

“Thank you,” he murmurs, and I can tell by the swell of pride that comes down our bond that he’s happy about it too. He traces the length of my spine and then his fingers make quick work of my uniform where it’s tucked into my pants, pulling it free and then slipping his hand beneath so his palm lays flat on my skin.

I groan a little at how good it feels to have Jackson’s skin again against mine, dipping my head so that my forehead rests against his chest.

God, how can I have gone all day without this? Jackson near me – it feels so essential, like…breath, or water. He pulls my cap from my head before he wraps his arms around me, pressing a kiss to my hair. “I know,” he murmurs. “I missed you too.”

“I have so much to tell you,” I sigh sleepily, already feeling myself drift off.

“Go to sleep,” he says quietly, calmly. “I’ll meet you there.”

I look up at him, fighting the way that my eyelids want to drift shut. “You just got here. You aren’t even ready for bed.”

“Neither are you,” he reminds me, laughing a little as he tugs on my uniform top for emphasis – a fabric which is certainly not pajama material.

I laugh but then sigh and roll myself away from Jackson’s body, giving him a little shove towards the room. “Oh, go be polite and say hello to Jesse – he’ll cry if you don’t. And brush your teeth and get ready for sleep,” I cuddle up in my blankets, telling myself I just need a minute to rest and then I’ll put my pajamas on. “I’ll stay awake until you get back.”

“Okay,” Jackson says, pressing a kiss to my cheek and doing as I bid, slipping off the bed and going into the room to do…whatever the hell he does.

Unfortunately, by the time he gets back, he has figured out that I’ve told a lie.

Because by the time Jackson slips back into bed with me, dressed for sleep in his in his pajama pants, and wraps me up in his arms? I’m fast, fast asleep.