Chapter 493
“What do you mean you’ve never been in a house before!?” I cry, smacking my mate on the arm.
He grins down at me and Marigold does too. “I mean, when would I have been in a house, Ariel? I grew up in a barracks cabin with a bunch of other boys, and then moved to the city where I lived in an apartment building. From there I lived in the candidate barracks and then the castle…” he raises his chin towards the castle on the cliff as I just stare at him, slack-jawed, realizing that he’s right.
“That’s so weird, Jackson,” I whisper, shaking my head at him.
“It’s nice having a feral friend,” Jesse says, stepping close and clapping a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “Come on, my guy. We’ll domesticate you and, in doing so, introduce you to the wonders of the single-family home.”
Jackson laughs and takes my hand as we all walk up the short steps to the adorable little porch and then through the front door into our little blue house. Unsurprisingly, my eyes mist immediately at the thought that this is our first little home together as a family. That this is where Marigold will get to know her new sisters, and where we’ll have so many new experiences.
“You happy?” Jackson asks, stroking a hand over my hair as I look around at the sweet little living room, still bare of any furnishings or decorations but completely full of possibility.
I press myself to his side, tucking my face against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist, completely overwhelmed. “Yeah, I’m happy,” I squeak, meaning it utterly as my wolf pounces around in my soul, rubbing herself warmly against Jackson’s wolf and then darting over to the two new little bonds, just…completely thrilled.
“Good,” Jackson says with a happy sigh, looking around the room with interest as he wraps an arm around me, holding me close. “I’m happy too.”
We stand quietly in the center of the room together for a long time, our family happily milling around us. But while they chat and talk about the possibilities and all of the furniture mom ordered to fill the room – which is apparently being delivered this afternoon – I find myself a bit breathless and wordless.
Just…completely happy, totally blessed.
My dad looks over at me and, sensing my mood, gives me a happy smile and a warm nod.
And I smile right back, knowing that he could have said no to all of this.
But that he is, in fact, the best dad on the planet – always supporting our dreams and doing everything in the world that he can to make them come true.
The rest of the day passes in a rushed blur. Dad spends a great deal of time meeting with the Captain and the rest of the staff, going over documents and reconsidering both the rules of the Academy as well as my individual learning plan. And as much as I sigh to see that my lessons with Blaze will be less violently focused for the time being – more stretching, less punching – I resign myself to the realization that adjustments do indeed have to be made.
I’m pregnant, after all, and happily so. There are some things that I’m not going to be able to do.
But not much, my wolf says, trotting around smugly in my soul, her nose lifted high in the air.
Right, I say, nodding internally. Not much at all.
As dad works, mom supervises the delivery and distribution of four houses’ worth of goods as well as a surprising amount of clothing for Marigold.
“Mom,” I whisper, watching it all be delivered and carried in by Jackson, Rafe, and Jesse (who grumbles about every box). “How…did you do all this? I mean, have you been shopping for years?”
“I admit,” mom says, hands on her hips, directing the boys to carry a particularly plush sofa into the house she’s designated as hers and dad’s. “I strained even my own shopping skills last night and today. I barely slept. I’m going to need some time to restore my energy.”
“So, like, you’ll start again tomorrow?” I ask, dry.
Mom laughs and wraps an arm around me, tugging me close. “Well, someone has to clothe these little twins, Ariel, and I know you’re going to be too busy to do it. If it was up to you they’d run around in their diapers for the first three years of their life.”
I laugh, hugging her back, grateful for my mom in turn and realizing that…she’s probably right.
By the time night falls it’s shocking how well-equipped the little houses are. Only mine has running water and plumbing for the moment, but we’ve been assured that the others will be updated tomorrow.
“Wow,” I say, flopping onto my brand-new couch and pulling Marigold up onto my lap, looking around at my living room which has all the basics it needs for life and company. “This is…amazing.”
“I know,” Jackson murmurs, settling down next to me on the couch and peering into the tiny kitchen, where mom is making me a cup of herbal tea and dad is pouring whine and whiskey for those of us who are able to partake. Rafe and Jesse are gone for the moment, getting Midnight settled in her own little house.
“All right,” dad says, coming back in with mom and settling the tray of drinks on the coffee table. Mom hands me my tea before going to perch on the arm of the big lounge chair that dad sits in. “Tell me about this plan to adopt Marigold.”
My eyebrows go up. “Sorry?” I ask, looking between him and mom, realizing that mom must have told him about it. Which is not a surprise – mom and dad talk about everything and rarely, if ever, keep secrets. “Is it…a problem?”
Jackson tenses a little, likewise looking between my parents.
Goldie gives a little squeak, reaching for some coloring supplies on the floor, and I lower her on to down. She dashes over to the coloring book and picks up a fistful of crayons as I turn back to my mom and dad, giving them my full attention.
“It’s not a problem,” dad says, shaking his head slowly, his sharp green eyes on me. “Your family is your own, Ariel, and if you’re kind enough to welcome a child into it as your own then I certainly won’t stop you. But there are certain complications.”
My eyebrows go up and I glance up at Jacks, who sends a pulse of confusion to me down the bond, moving a little closer to my side.
“What complications?” I ask, a bit soft.
“Have you considered,” dad continues, looking between both of us now, “that your adopting Marigold as your daughter places her third in line to the throne?”
My eyes go wide because…nope. I hadn’t considered that at all. I sit back against the couch cushions, dazed at the realization that my dad is right. I mean, I’d always assumed that Rafe would pass the throne along to his own children –
But if his mate is Maryam, and she’s human, then they probably won’t be able to have kids. So, unless they adopt…
My eyes turn towards the little girl on the floor, happily scribbling over a picture of a cat with vivid pink crayon.
“Oh my god,” Jackson murmurs next to me. “I didn’t…I didn’t even think of that…”
“That in itself is not a problem,” dad continues, his own gaze moving to Marigold on the floor. “Except that…this is a child with ties to the Community, just like your mate. And the Community likely understands themselves as having a claim on her.”
“Which means…” I whisper, “that some could understand Marigold’s reign as the Community having a claim on the throne.”
“Precisely correct,” dad intones, sitting back in his chair and putting a hand on mom’s back, letting me and Jackson put together the pieces and consider it.
Jackson growls softly at the idea of the Community having any claim, at all, to Marigold or the throne. But I shake my head at him, denying it.
“She’s ours, Jacks,” I whisper, willing him to believe it. “She won’t even remember the Community – in fact, she wasn’t even ever there, right? They have no true claim on her. And we’ll raise her to be a patriot – to understand her responsibilities and be a good Queen –“
“Whether or not we claim her and she understands herself as Princess of Moon Valley doesn’t mean the Community will too,” Jackson says, shaking his head. “Or that Moon Valley will accept it. A child not of the Sinclair line…” he sighs, moving his eyes back to Goldie, who is blissfully unaware of how complicated this discussion is.
“She is of the Sinclair line,” I growl, hating the idea that anyone would see her as outside of it.
“Not by blood,” dad says. I whip my eyes to him, my growl growing. He tilts his head to the side, holding my gaze, giving me a little warning to watch myself. “It’s the reality, Ariel. And whether or not we understand Marigold as entirely a member of our family – which we do, and will – it won’t stop others from protesting her right to the throne.”
“That is my daughter,” I say, willing and determined, leaning forward and pointing at my little girl. “I claim her as such. Everyone else will just have to…deal with it.”
“Maybe she…shouldn’t be…” Jackson says with a frown, still looking at our little girl on the floor.
My eyes dart up to him, flashing wide. “What!?”
“I mean,” he murmurs, looking down at me and putting an arm around my back, trying his best to be warm and comforting. “She’ll be ours, Ariel. But should she really be a Princess of Moon Valley? Or does it cause more trouble than its worth? You know titles don’t mean much to me. Maybe she’s just our daughter and the next two are the Princesses.”
I bare my teeth at my mate, hating that thought.
