Chapter 267

The next morning I find myself, by some bizarre miracle…at the foot of the bed, blinking awake with my face pressed against Jackson’s chest.

God, how did I even get here? I yawn and reach up a hand to rub my eyes. Did I like…crawl down here in my sleep?

“We’re never doing this again,” Jackson murmurs, already awake, stroking a hand down over my hair. “I don’t care how much we love them or how many shadows there are. We’re sleeping in our own bed.”

I laugh a little, picking my head up to grin at my mate and then looking up at Jesse, who is asleep on his back as usual, snoring lightly, and Rafe, also on his back, his arm sprawled backwards across Jesse’s body.

“But it’s so cuuuute,” I sigh, putting my head back down. “Plus, I slept great.”

“Yeah, because you had your usual mattress,” Jackson murmurs, groaning as he sits up, taking me with him. “The rest of us…”

Rafe shushes us harshly and turns his head to the side, frowning. “Go back to sleep,” he groans, moody and exhausted.

“Time to get up,” Jacks sighs, holding me cozily in his lap, my head tucked under his chin. I yawn and Jackson tucks a hand sneakily beneath my pajama top, passing me a little bolt of energy, which shivers pleasantly through me. I grin suddenly, picking my head up to beam at him as the energy rushes through me, making me feel quite bright and fresh and eager to start the day.

“I love you,” I sigh, giving him a little kiss on the nose. “You’re the best.”

“No being cute,” Rafe bites out, yanking the pillow from beneath his head and throwing it at us. “Or so awake.”

“Jacks, give him a little jolt too.” I say, laughing at my brother as I swat the pillow away.

“That won’t work,” Jackson replies, frowning at me.

“What are you talking about?” Rafe asks, sighing when he realizes we’re not going back to sleep. Jesse snorts awake as well, blinking around at us, totally confused.

“Jackson passes me his energy, magically,” I say with a happy sigh, stretching my arms smugly above my head. “I will never be tired again. Plus, it cures minor hangovers.”

“What?” Rafe seethes, jealous and a little awed, pulling himself up and staring at me. “Are you…serious?”

I shrug and Jackson looks at Rafe with his usual stoicism, which is apparently convincing enough to make my brother groan, leaning back hard against Jesse’s headboard. “Life is so unfair.”

“Whass…happenin…” Jesse croaks, pulling himself up and rubbing at his eyes, yawning.

“Ariel was just informing me that her stupid mating bond means she gets limitless energy on command for free,” Rafe bites out, sighing hard.

Jesse stares at him and then over at us. “Booo,” he sighs, throwing his pillow at us in turn. I laugh, swatting that away too. “That’s so unfair. You get someone who loves you and you never need coffee? And all I get is stupid shadows?”

I laugh harder now, grinning at my brother and my cousin, not really feeling sorry for them – after all, they won the genetic lottery of being gigantic and powerful and fast. It’s about time I got the leg up in this situation.

Still…my wolf nudges me, urging me forward, some instinct telling her to pursue the question.

“Come on, Jacky,” I say, grinning up at him. He frowns at me, not liking that particular nickname. My grin widens. “Just…try to see if you can pass Rafe some energy too. See what happens.”

Jackson shrugs and reaches out, putting his hand on a bare spot on Rafe’s leg where his pajama pants have ridden up.

“Whoa!” Rafe says, yanking his leg away. “What the hell are you doing!?”

“It needs skin-to-skin contact,” Jackson says, rolling his eyes at Rafe. “What, do you think I’m making a move on you or something? Your sister is…literally in my lap right now.”

“Yes, an arrangement which is becoming far too casual in this room,” Rafe snaps leaning forward to glare at Jackson, though I can tell he’s having a bit more fun with it now that he’s waking up a bit.

“Here, try me,” Jesse says, yawning and sticking out his leg towards Jackson. Jackson complies, reaching out for Jesse, putting a hand on his shin. Then Jackson takes a deep breath and concentrates the same way I guess he does when he gives me energy.

We all wait, watching, but…

“No cigar, my man,” Jesse says with a sigh. “I guess we’re getting an espresso machine after all.”

“Okay, wait,” I say, my wolf nudging me again, urging me to keep trying. “Let’s do it this way…”

I scoot out of Jackson’s lap and onto the bed, reaching out a hand between Rafe and Jacks.

“What is this?” Jackson asks, his face scrunching in confusion.

“Oh, just do it,” I sigh, knowing that we have to get a move on today. I reach my hands out further to each of them, insistent, and simultaneously both Rafe and Jackson slap a hand against mine. I squeeze both of theirs and then turn to grin at Jacks.

“Okay, buddy,” I say with a grin. “Juice me up.”

“Don’t call me buddy,” he mutters, “or Jacky. Or anything that ends in -ie.”

“Yes, puppy,” I sigh, my grin deepening. But Jackson just rolls his eyes before he closes them and begins to concentrate again. Immediately I feel the energy fill me, a warm buzz of power that floods into me like an ocean wave. But as soon as it gets quite near the point where I start to feel full of it – like I can’t hold anymore - I concentrate on my hand in Rafe’s, on the bond I have with my brother which I know has always been strong.

And suddenly I feel it happen – feel the energy start to siphon off like a stream from a wide lake. I grin, turning to Rafe, watching, waiting…

And when he starts to feel it, his eyes go wide. I give a little push, letting it flood into him a little, and Rafe gasps, his hair nearly standing on end.

“Holy shit, holy shit!” Rafe stutters, dropping my hand and scrambling away from me. “Are you…are you serious!?”

“Whoa,” Jackson says, his eyes going wide, the energy still flowing into me but now with nowhere to go.

Laughing, a little desperate to put the energy somewhere before I get overfilled, I reach out for Jesse, giving him a bunch of power in a single rush.

Jesse gives a little shriek, jumping away from my touch and scrambling, like Rafe, away from me and towards the headboard.

I laugh, dropping Jackson’s hand and falling back into his arms, which he wraps obligingly around me. “See?” I say, desperately pleased and eager as I look towards my brother and my cousin, who just gape and stare back at us. “Now we’re all awake.”

“Hooooly crap,” Rafe breathes, looking between me and Jackson. “Ariel – Jacks – this is…this is huge. This is…” he shakes his head, dazed. “Why – why can we do that?”

“Dad always said the three of us have a bond, like a literal one,” Jesse says, gesturing towards me and Rafe. I turn to listen to him, but my eyes go wide at what I see. “I mean,” he continues, little puffs of shadow starting to spill from his mouth as he goes, “I guess Ariel and Jackson can share because they have a bond? Which means we…”

Jesse sees all of us gaping at him.

“What,” he asks, immediately starting to get freaked out. “What’s going on?”

“Um, cousin?” I say gently, leaning forward and gesturing towards my own mouth. “You’re…leaking. A little bit.”

Jesse looks down and jumps a little when he sees the little cloud of shadow forming in front of him. “Shit,” he mutters, and then he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and continuing to breathe deeply. As we all watch, the shadows slowly slip back into him. When he opens his eyes a few seconds later, they’re all gone.

Rafe frowns between us, still a little freaked. “Yeah. We need to tell mom.”

I look up at Jackson. “Do you think that was because…”

“Probably,” he says, looking down at me.

“Hey,” Jesse says, giving Jackson a kick. “No cryptic mate-speak when it involves my magic. What’s going on?”

Jackson sighs a little, looking at the clock before he looks back to Rafe and Jesse. “I can use my magic to boost Ariel’s,” he says. “Probably has the same effect on yours. Sorry, man, we should have…thought of that before we experimented.”

“No worries,” Jesse says, giving a little shrug. “No harm done. I think.” He looks down at himself again, like he’s double checking.

“All right, enough magic play for one morning. Let’s go for our run,” Jacks says, lifting me easily off the bed and setting me on my feet before getting to his own. “And then see if they will send the breakfast up here. Because I am starving now.”

“Triple breakfast for Jackson, I suppose,” I say, smiling up at my mate, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Quadruple,” he sighs, bending down and giving me a little kiss on the forehead, “if I have to supply energy for those two as well.”

“Only in times of desperation,” I whisper, grinning. “Every other day, I get to be selfish.”

“Let’s go!” Rafe whoops, jumping out of the bed and striding across the room, Jackson’s energy burst apparently doing its job for him as well. “Let’s do this run and then call our moms, tell them all the weird shit that just happened!”

Jesse whoops too, dashing for the bathroom.

None of us mention the little trail of shadows that chase him there, though Jackson looks at me with a bit of a grimace.

I just laugh, standing on my toes and tilting my head back, begging for another kiss.

Which my mate, ever gracious, willingly provides.