Chapter 360

Jackson empties his stomach onto the corridor floor, one hand flat against the wall as he presses his eyes shut, his whole body trembling. Because – it can’t be –

What he saw can’t be true –

But then why is he reacting like this? He gasps in a breath, turning back towards the figure in the Prince’s arms. He sees it again, though – his eyes moving instantly to the mark high on her neck, still dripping blood – and her strange shifting scent – it hits him like a damn truck.

Jackson gags again, turning away, working hard to keep from retching.

“Clear this hall!” Rafe roars at the handful of cadets standing in the hall and peeking around the edges of their doors, staring fascinated at the tiny figure in his arms. Ben, standing with him, likewise snarls at the crowd. “All of you - either get in your room or go find Jesse Sinclair! Fucking now!”

Jackson’s shoulders shake as he pushes himself up from the wall and he takes a deep breath. He turns towards Rafe but he can’t – he just can’t fucking look at her. Not like that – not marked. By him.

Ariel – she’s his mate. His girl. His fucking…everything.

Claimed by Luca Grant.

“Jackson,” Rafe snaps, stepping closer as the hallway clears of frightened cadets who either slip back into their rooms or go running. “We have to get her –“

But Jackson just groans and steps away, shaking his head – holding his hand out flat towards Rafe – his shaking shoulders begging the Prince not to come closer.

“Jacks,” Ben gasps, his eyes going wide. “You can’t –“

“I – I need a minute,” Jackson murmurs, devastated, ashamed of himself, his eyes falling to the ground. Because he knows what he has to do – what he should do – that he should take Ariel in his arms and hold her close and ensure that she’s all right. But his wolf is howling within him, so full of grief, in real pain at what they now know.

At what they’ve lost.

He can’t – he can’t hear anything – can’t concentrate –

If he takes her, he’ll drop her. Or just collapse to the ground with her in his arms, sobbing.

“Jackson!” Rafe snaps, appalled and ashamed. “Get your shit together! She needs –“

“Please,” Jackson begs, taking another step away and putting both hands up now. “I’m – I –“

He moans, ducking his face into his hands, trying so hard to get his thoughts together, to pull himself together for her.

She needs him.

But his wolf is trembling in his grief, agonized by it. He lowers his snout to the ground and pants, hard, his eyes squeezed shut.

“Jacks,” Ben whispers, stepping closer, reaching out a sympathetic hand.

“God, fucking mates,” Rafe snarls, turning and storming away with Jackson’s girl in his arms. “I curse the Goddess for making fucking mates. I’m taking her upstairs!”

Jackson moans at this too, taking a step towards them, not wanting her gone – but then what? What does he want, for everyone to just stay in this hallway until he pulls himself together? He grits his teeth and pulls his face from his hands, disgusted with himself, working so hard to be strong and just failing – failing when she needs him -

But feeling so, so broken. So pathetic.

“Ben!” Rafe snaps over his shoulder, striding fast away. “Get Jesse! Jackson, come when you figure your shit out!”

Ben hesitates, looking after Rafe, wanting to obey – but he turns back to Jackson first.

“Are you okay, man?” Ben whispers, still holding his hand out but not daring to touch the devastated Alpha before him. Because he knows that in this volatile state Jackson, too, is dangerous.

“No,” Jackson growls, working hard to take deep breaths in through his nose. “No, I’m not all right, I’m –“

But then Jackson’s head snaps to the side, and his lips peel back, his fangs flashing.

“Jacks?” Ben whispers, yanking his hand back.

Jackson just snarls, lifting his nose in the air, sniffing again.

And yes, there it is – the scent of that fucking traitor, who marked her and then hurt her and then ran. Ran – he doesn’t know why – Jackson doesn’t understand any of what happened. But one thing he does know for sure.

“Jacks!” Ben gasps, realizing at last what’s happening and grabbing for Jackson’s arm, even if he risks his own safety by doing it.

Jackson wrenches his arm from Ben’s hand and turns away. “I’m going to kill him,” Jackson snarls to himself as much as to his friend. And then he shifts into his wolf and pounds down the hall, chasing Luca’s scent.

“Fucking mates,” Rafe grumbles as he storms up the final set of stairs toward their room. “I fucking hate mates. Want some magic? No, you need a mate! Want a nice calm educational experience while you’re at school? No! Here’s your fucking ridiculous sister, and her two insane mates!”

He kicks the door open when he gets there, snapping the lock and gritting his teeth when he realizes that he’ll just have to replace it. Regret fills him fully then, both for the door and his harsh thoughts towards his sister, neither of which deserved his treatment.

But he’s just so…pissed.

Rafe sighs, working hard to calm himself as he steps into the room. He looks down at his little sister in his arms, unconscious but breathing steadily, and knows he doesn’t mean any of it. That he loves her, and is devastated for her, and just wants to fix the entire world so that things can just be easy for her sake, even if it means harder for his.

“But that’s not your story, is it, trouble?” he murmurs, hefting her a bit in his arms, quite gentle, and carrying her over to her nook. There he settles her quite gently on the bed, taking a great deal of time to nestle her comfortably into the pillows and the blankets, ensuring that she has her favorite green one close by, pressed soft against her cheek. Then he lays several more warm blankets on top, tucking her in safe, terrified she’ll be cold.

When Rafe stands, trembling a bit, and stares at her, he realizes again just how tiny she is, like a little rabbit.

So tiny, but so, so good – and so powerful – and so important.

“That fucking idiot,” Rafe growls, running a frustrated hand through his hair as he grits his teeth. “Didn’t even realize what he had.” He sighs, putting his hands on his hips and staring at his sister who breathes peacefully. “What do you think, Ari, should we chop his head off? Or do you want to burn him to cinders?”

He waits. She doesn’t say anything.

And Rafe’s heart breaks for his little sister, who deserves so much better than this.

“I’m…I’m going to go across the room,” he whispers, leaning close to her, speaking soft around the knot in his throat. “To get the first aid kit, all right?” He points to it, as if that’s going to help.

Then he laughs at himself even as tears sting his eyes, because obviously she doesn’t hear him. Rafe turns and strides away to the shelf where they keep the little kit of gauze and ointment. He’s back halfway across the room when someone slams into the door and gasps when it flies open.

Rafe turns snarling towards it, his hands gripping the first aid kit so tight it cracks, but he loosens his grip when Jesse comes stumbling into the room, gasping, his face as pale as a ghost.

“Wh-what-“ he looks around, baffled, terrified.

“You were supposed to watch her,” Rafe growls, taking two hard steps towards his cousin, who looks disheveled as hell. He stops in his tracks, looking Jesse over, wondering why the fuck his shirt is mis-buttoned, his hair such a mess –

But then the scent pasted all over Jesse hits him, and Rafe’s eyes go wide.

“What happened!?” Jesse barks out, glaring at Rafe and then striding for Ariel in the bed. He cries out when he sees her lying there, unconscious, and crawls across the bed to her far side, leaning close, inspecting her. When he sees the mark on her neck Jesse gasps and covers his mouth, just…staring.

Rafe stares too – at the pair of them – his poor sister – and his cousin, who…who betrayed him.

Rafe’s heart sinks deep, deep in his chest.

But he grits his teeth and pushes it aside because Ariel needs him right now. There are more important things to be done. The betrayal…

It can wait.

“Luca marked her and then rejected her,” Rafe snaps, pulling the shattered remains of his heart together and then striding over to the bed with the first aid kit. He sits down hard on the side of the bed and opens the kit, pulling out some supplies with which to clean the mark. Of course, if Luca had done it properly, it wouldn’t be an open wound like this – it would have started healing – but obviously, some sort of interruption occurred.

“Why?” Jesse gasps, looking up at Rafe and shaking his head, completely baffled. “Why the fuck would he do that? Why would that happen? A marking and then –“

“I don’t know,” Rafe growls, shaking his head. “I don’t know anything about it – when I got there Ben was holding her naked on the floor –“

“What the fuck…” Jesse breathes, sitting up straight and running his hands through his hair, his canines flashing as he stares down at his cousin, horrified for her and terribly confused.

Both Jesse and Rafe turn with snarls towards the door when they hear it creak open across the room.