Chapter 375

“Hi! Hi cuties!” Mom’s voice rings out the moment the five of us troop into the room. The Captain enters too, going to stand out of sight in the corner. “It’s so good to see you, I – oh!”

I frown when I see her go a bit still on the video screen, seated there next to Cora with dad and Roger standing behind them, bending down so that their faces are in the frame.

“What’s wrong, mom?” I ask.

“It’s not what’s wrong with me, it’s what’s wrong with those two.” She narrows her eyes and looks interestedly between Rafe and Jesse, who come to stand behind me. “What’s wrong, boys?”

Neither Rafe nor Jesse say a word, each looking away. Cora grimaces, worried.

“There’s no time for this,” dad sighs, shaking his head and likewise peering at us from the screen as Jackson goes to one knee at my side and Ben leans down on my other. “We have to –“

“Why are you all dressed up?” I ask, tilting my head, frowning at them. Every single one of them are in state dress, dad and Roger with black sashes across their chest. But why would they –

My mouth falls open as I realize what it must be.

“Funeral got moved to today, sweetie,” mom says, leaning forward to peer at me. “We’re sorry – we knew you’d want to attend, but your father wanted you at school.”

“And we’re leaving for the front immediately after,” dad snaps, nodding seriously to all of us. “And we want the five of you there.”

My eyes go wide as I glance up at Rafe and Jesse, who look at each other for the first time. Whatever’s going on between them, they’re clearly putting it aside for the sake of the war.

“What’s going on, dad?” Rafe says.

“Atalaxia is moving against us, hard,” Roger answers, his arms tense across his chest. “With what looks like everything they’ve got. We didn’t expect an assault like this so soon but…if we don’t meet them on the field they’re going to bowl us right over. We even risk…” he sighs, pressing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “This is classified, so please don’t share, but we risk having our borders breached for the first time. And if that happens it will be…disastrous.”

I go very pale and very still. “We’ll get on the helicopter,” I say, nodding seriously. “Right now.” Because I can turn it – I can do that – I’m very powerful, they can put me at the center of the force and –

The way my father looks at me through the screen makes me pause, and then I reach for Jackson’s hand, wanting him close, needing it. He’s there, instantly, grasping my hand right back. My parents eyes see it – I know they do – and a little smile comes to my mom’s lips.

But dad speaks what we’re all thinking. “Can you do it, Ariel?” he asks quietly. “Without Luca there – what are your powers like?”

“I – I don’t know,” I whisper, shaking my head, my gaze shifting to Cora, who looks stern and contemplative.

“I think we have to go too, Roger,” Cora murmurs, keeping her eyes on me. “Ella and I will need to experiment with Ariel to see what she’s capable of. But even without the wind, the flames and the shadow combined should be formidable.”

Dad sighs, scraping his hand down the length of his face, but then he nods. “All right. Kids, are you agreed?”

“Yes sir,” Rafe says, answering for the rest of us, who just nod. “We understand. We’ll be on the battlefield as soon as you need us.”

“Good,” dad says on a sigh. “We’re going to go. We’ll see you soon. We…” he hesitates now, and I see a muscle flicker in his cheek. “We love you very much.”

“We love you too, dad,” I say, leaning forward, eager for him to know and understand it. “All of you. You can count on us.”

“You probably have an hour to pack,” he says, nodding once. “Helicopter on the roof.” Then he leans forward, flicking off the screen.

The five of us exhale, looking around at each other as the Captain comes forward from the corner of the room. “Are you ready for this?” he asks, tense. “This isn’t a trial or a place-filler, like the last battle was supposed to be. If you five don’t have your heads on right, I’m not sending you to get killed. So if they’re not, you tell me now.”

My four Alphas turn to me as I steadily hold the Captain’s gaze. “We’re ready,” I say, soft and sure, and my wolf howls proud in my heart. Because even if there’s still pain, and even if I am still finding my feet amongst all this grief, my nation needs me now.

And god damn it, but I’m going to show up.

The Captain nods once and sends us on our way.

Jackson keeps his eyes on Ariel the entire walk back to the room. Ben splits off at his floor, going to quickly pack a bag, but Ariel and Jesse walk close together, murmuring about possibilities for the magic now that Luca’s gone, discussing honestly if they need to switch things around – if he should be sending out his shadows with the flames tracing through them, rather than the reverse, which they’ve been doing so far.

But Jackson barely hears it, because he knows whatever they decision they come to is fine with him. Whatever power Ariel needs on the battlefield he’ll give it, and more – no matter what the configuration.

No, what matters to him now is keeping her safe.

We have to destroy them all, his wolf says, wary, his lips peeling back to bare his fangs. All of Atalaxia – anyone who would hurt her – they must be ended, immediately –

Jackson sighs and puts a hand over his wolf’s ruff to calm him. It’s not that he thinks the wolf is precisely wrong…his wolf has been…trouble over the past few days. Going into over-drive, ready to attack anything at the slightest sign of trouble. It’s been difficult, keeping him in check.

Rafe wordlessly strides ahead down the hallway to their room, pushing open the door and moving in. Jesse and Ariel follow, Jackson bringing up the rear, thinking over what these past days have been like – how incredibly, incredibly had it had been to play it cool when Ariel took that bandage off her neck this morning and showed him Luca’s mark.

Because even if he had managed, somehow, miraculously, to hide his wolf’s howling devastation and convince Ariel that it really had been fine –

The truth was that it really did feel like a knife to his heart, an absolute devastation.

We did the right thing, his wolf snarls, looking up at Jacks, pausing in his plans for world destruction. She needed to hear it was okay. That it will be okay.

Jackson nods, agreeing – because none of that was a lie. Jackson – he loves Ariel to the absolute ends of himself, and things will be fine. It’s just…he exaggerated, just slightly, for her sake, just how fine he feels about Luca’s mark on her body.

The real truth? When he saw the mark, he instantly regretted not killing that boy. Fought hard against the urge to leap up, and run to the capital, and tear him to pieces. He should have done it when he had the chance. Only stupid pity had held back his hand for that pathetic wretch of a man, that horrible excuse for a mate.

And yet here Jackson is, planning to kill all of Atalaxia and every threat to Ariel, when he can’t even take out the one person who actually posed a threat to her safety? Who marked her and left her bare for the vultures to take?

God, can he even protect her at all? What good has he been in any of this? Ariel, she’s suffered so much in the past week and at every turn Jacks has failed her – just completely failed to be there when she needed him. When Tony died, he hadn’t been there. When Luca snatched her away from Daphne’s room and took her to his own? Again, gone.

Jackson hangs his head, wondering how the hell he’s going to manage this, how he -

“Whatever,” Jesse snaps, slamming his dresser drawer shut. Jackson’s head snaps up, distracted from his terrible thoughts. He glances down at Ariel pressed close to his side and frowns, watching Jesse stride for the door.

“What’s happening?” Jackson murmurs. “Why’s he…mad?” Ariel grimaces as she looks up at him.

“Jesse!” Rafe snaps, striding after him. “You’re being a fucking fool! We have work to do –“

“I’m going to see Daphne,” Jesse bites out, shoving Rafe hard away from him. “You try to stop me and I’ll break your damn arm.”

Jackson’s eyes go wide. What – what the hell? These two never fight – and what the hell does Daphne have to do with it?