Chapter 387

“I mean,” Midnight says, rolling her eyes, “I don’t really know exactly who it was – they never fill me in on anything good. But it was probably those stupid Atalaxians. They’re always messing around here, driving their stupid carts around, building things.”

“What Atalaxians?” Jesse asks, leaning forward, fascinated. They can come here? They’re…building things?

“I don’t know,” she grumbles, peevish, meeting his eyes with her own dark brown ones. “Not all of them can come through – just the King and his son and the other one – the tall one with the pretty eyes. And then only sometimes. Not like me.” She sits up straight, quite proud. “I can go back and forth anytime I want because I am Papa’s favorite.”

Jesse presses his lips into a thin line, kind of doubting that. “Do they come a lot? And bring stuff?”

“No,” Midnight answers with a shrug. “Anyone else who comes here and any supplies those three have to bring through. But they’re fancy and busy so…” she shrugs. “They don’t come a lot. Not now that they’re finished.”

“Finished what.”

She goes silent, staring at him, realizing that she’s said too much.

“Midnight,” Jesse says, watching her carefully. “Have you been…spying on the Atalaxians?”

She gasps, her eyes going wide. “No!”

Jesse’s face bursts into a grin. “Another lie,” he says, closing one eye and pointing a finger right at her face.

She gasps again, a bit in wonder at how he knew, but then she looks around frantically, her full lips turning down into a desperate frown. “Please,” she begs, looking all over like someone could be listening, like they could be anywhere. “Please don’t tell, Jesse – please – he’d be furious if he knew I spied – I was just curious – and I’m so bored all the time – there’s nothing to do –“

She gets to her knees, leaning towards Jesse, her breath coming in quick pants as she shakes her head, desperate for him not to tell.

“Midnight!” Jesse says, his eyes going wide as he catches her shoulders, giving her a small steadying shake. She whips her eyes up to him and he holds her gaze, quite serious. “I’m not going to tell anyone, all right?”

She stares at him, horrified, like she can’t believe she told him in the first place. Like she can’t trust him.

“I’m on your side, okay?” Jesse whispers, surprised to find that he means it – really means it, from the bottom of his heart. “I’m not on Darkness’s side, all right? Or the Atalaxians, which means…you and me are still at odds on some things. But I am on your side, okay?”

Midnight closes her trembling mouth, her breath coming a little easier now. “Okay.” The word is squeaky, scared.

“I’m not going to tell anyone you told me,” Jesse says, quiet, assured.

“Okay,” she whispers again, nodding.

Midnight sits back and Jesse drops his hands from her shoulders. Anxiety rushes through him as he quickly does a check on himself, reaching for his wolf. But his wolf presses himself warm against Jesse’s mental palms, assuring him that he’s fine – that the corruption didn’t come through just because he touched the girl. Jesse exhales a shaky breath.

“What else do you know about the Atalaxians?” he asks, his equanimity slowly coming back.

Midnight scowls at him and he smiles. “I’m not telling you. I’m sure I’m not supposed to. You’re on stupid Moon Valley’s side, and they are bad.”

“Moon Valley is great,” Jesse says, dismissive and moving on immediately. “But no, you have to tell me.”

“What?” Her eyebrows go up.

“We’re mates,” he says, cool and easy. “You have to tell me everything. Those are the rules.”

Her eyes flare as she stares at him, clearly buying into it, and Jesse’s wolf sighs, glaring at him for lying to this girl, manipulating her with logic that would work on a five-year-old. Hey, Jesse says internally, giving his wolf a little shove. We’re at war, and this girl has information.

His wolf just grumbles his discontent as Midnight again crosses her arms over her chest.

“Fine,” she says, raising her chin. “But then you have to tell me stuff too.”

“I’ll tell you whatever you want,” Jesse says, giving a shrug, knowing he means it quite earnestly except in terms of state secrets or something. But he doesn’t have many of those anyway.

“Fine,” she sighs, standing up. “But let’s go to my house and talk there. Where there are snacks.”

Jesse perks up at the news of food, his stomach growling. But even as he stands, he watches her warily. “Seriously, Mids, where is this house? Is it honestly very far?”

“No!” she says, huffing a frustrated little laugh. “It’s really just there! See? You can see the top of it.” She casts out a hand and Jesse leans forward, peering in the darkness.

And to his surprise, there actually is something there – just a little bit of canvas peaking out over a hill. Jesse stills and then turns to Midnight with a groan. “Midnight…is your house…is it just a tent?”

“Yeah!” she says, excited, almost skipping forward. “Isn’t it great?” She clasps her hands excitedly under her chin.

Jesse groans, his head falling back on his neck. But he slips his hands into his pockets and follows his strange, tiny mate to her bizarre little home.

Its difficult to wake up, to pull myself from the fog of sleep. I groan, rolling over in my blankets, burying my head in the pillow and fighting against the headache that pounds in the back of my head. I stretch my hand out, looking for Jacks, wondering why on earth he’s not beneath me like he always is but –

I lift my head when my hand just stretches out across cool sheets, finding no one there.

And then I gasp, sitting up straight, spinning and staring around the strange and luxurious room. Because I have…absolutely no idea where I am.

I begin to pant as my memories come back to me all in a rush. The battlefield – and sending flames everywhere – and being thrown aside, Jackson running for me, and that man grabbing me, pulling me into another world –

I groan again, putting my hands over my face and sinking back into the pillows, because it’s not just some man – it’s my mate.

A mate – another mate. And god, a fucking Atalaxian royal at that.

What on earth was my grandmother thinking?

“Hello?”

I go quite still at the sound of the soft voice, keeping my hands over my face, too shocked to move.

“Ariel?” Footsteps come into the room and I sit bolt upright as my instincts send me on the defense, my canines elongating, ready to fight.

A very small woman with shiny chestnut hair jumps when she sees me, flinching back, her eyes going wide as she lifts her hands close to her face. “I’m sorry!” she gasps, stumbling back over her feet. “I’m so sorry! I – I didn’t mean to scare you!”

My hand immediately flashes to my mouth, covering my fangs, because this woman – she’s tiny, and demure, and beautifully dressed, and very, very pregnant. Clearly, she is not my kidnapper, and very likely not someone who means me any harm.

“I’m sorry,” I say too, forcing my fangs back. “Um – you startled me.”

“Oh, you poor dear,” the girl says, rushing forward towards me, her eyes wide. “You must have had such a shock.” She reaches for me, warm and motherly even though she’s so young – god, is she more than sixteen? Her hands are soft and warm as they smooth over my hair and press my cheeks.

I just stare at her because…

Honestly, she is being very, very sweet. And after last night, this is not at all what I expected.

“This isn’t what you expected, my dear, is it?” She tilts her head as she stares at me, clicking her tongue in concern.

I go even more rigid when the woman repeats my words. Is she…a mind reader? Or just very, very emphathetic?

“Listen,” she says, sitting on the edge of the bed and letting her hands drop to my shoulders, giving me a steadying squeeze. “It’s just you and me for now – those are the rules. The boys can’t come into the room until we say that they can, all right? I know it’s different in Moon Valley where men just invade your space whenever they wish –“

I frown at her because…what? But she moves blissfully on.

“But here,” she gives me a happy grin that crinkles her pretty brown eyes. “We have rules to protect our women! And you’re quite safe. All right?”

“All…all right,” I say, my words breathy. Because even if I don’t understand it, honestly it does give me peace to think that my mate won’t be bursting through the door at any moment.

“And how are you doing, darling?” The girl asks, taking her hands from my shoulders and folding them neatly in her lap, still looking at me with concern. “Are you hungry? The bathroom’s just there if you want to get cleaned up,” she points over to the right. “Or! I can just sit with you? And we can talk, until you feel calm?”

I just…stare at her, wondering at how fast my life has changed and how easily I’ve fallen into this woman’s world. I look around the room again in a bit of wonder, noting the incredibly lush furnishings – far fancier and more expensive than even anything in our personal chambers in the palace. Then I look down at myself, noting that I’m in a very elaborate white nightgown. My eyes go wide at this and I wonder who…who on earth changed me.

Terror races through me at the idea.