My eyes immediately dart to Rafe and Jesse across the room, but they’re caught up in their


    conversations with Jackson and Tony.


    “No no,” Aivez says, his voice soft and pleased. “Don’t shout for your brother, Ariel. That would be a


    poor choice.”


    I turn my eyes back to the professor as, inside me, my wolf’s hackles raise.


    “Don’t misunderstand – I am excited that you are here, highness,” Alvez murmurs, giving my hand a


    little squeeze. “I’m looking forward to working with you, developing your powers. But, of course, if


    anyone were to discover that I knew that a young woman had infiltrated the academy…I would lose my


    job.”


    I stare at him, instantly realizing the trap that he’sid for me here. If I reveal to anyone that he knows


    who I am even my brothers – he’ll have me expelled, even


    if it means he goes too.


    “Mutually assured destruction,” he murmurs, seeing me process the consequences. “So, I think it’s best


    that the two of us work together, don’t you? Trust, after all,” he says, his voice low and luxurious, “is the


    foundation of any great rtionship.”


    “Fine,” I say, my word hardly a whisper as I nod. “Please just…don’t…”


    “Ariel,” he murmurs, moving closer, his eyes slowly drifting over my face. “Your secret is safe with me.”


    I exhale slowly.


    “But,” he continues, “you could thank me for my generosity.”


    “Thank you,” I say instantly, the words falling from my mouth, and the way that he grins…


    Instantly I realize how under his thumb I am.


    How much he likes forcing my hand, making me his little puppet.


    “You are wee, my Princess,” he purrs. Alvez takes another moment to stare into my eyes before


    turning to look at the marble, his entire demeanor changing in an instant. I stare at him, shocked a little


    to see that he is again the mind- mannered professor. “Now,” he says, grinning. “I’ll do my best to push


    my power


    towards you. What do you think, should we try to levitate it? Or push?”


    “Um,” I reply, still staring at him, a little shocked.


    “Let’s try push.” he says, ncing at me with a friendly grin. “Concentrate now, rk. See what you


    can do.”


    I stare at him for a moment longer, still rattled by his revtion and the way that he took control. But


    then I loose my breath and concentrate because…what else am I going to do?


    Any way this turns, if I do anything at all beyond what he says, I’m kicked out of school. So…Iply


    and focus on the marble in front of me.


    To my surprise, my hand where it’s sped in Alvez’s begins to heat – and more than the usual body


    heat produced by two people holding hands. I flinch a little, turning towards him.


    “Nooo,” he murmurs, giving my hand a squeeze. “It’s totally normal – don’t get distracted. Concentrate,


    rk.”


    I turn my attention back to the marble, and I do willing it first to lift, and then to move, and then to…I


    don’t know, do anything.


    My whole body is sweating after about fifteen minutes of concentration, but then Alvez sighs and drops


    my hand. “It was good work, rk,” he says, smiling at me with encouragement as he ps me on the


    shoulder. “It may just be that our particr magics do not speak to each other. Shall we switch it up?”


    Alvez ps his hands in the air and asks for results, but when no one reports any ability to make the


    marble do anything at all, he just sighs and puts us in new couples.


    I’m with Tony this time, who gives me a friendly nod. “Hands okay?” he asks, offering his.


    “Sure,” I say, taking it. It’spletely different this time, and a coolness rushes through me as Tony and


    I stand for a long, long time looking at the marble before me. After awhile I find myself almost in a…


    meditative state. I’m calm, and rxed, and honestly I feel like I’m almost…floating. All of the heat


    which resulted from my experience with Alvez is wiped from me, reced by utter calm.


    I jump when Alvez again ps his hands – because, how long was that? It felt like


    about three minutes….


    But as I nce at the clock, I realize that about half an hour has passed. I gape.


    “Any results?” Alvez calls out to us, and Rafe begins to murmur something about. the marble maybe


    moving a little bit as I look up at Tony in surprise.


    He blinks down at me, a smile on his lips, and I instantly grin as I realize that his experience, somehow,


    matched my own. “I kind of forgot about the marble,” I say, smiling up at him.


    Tonyughs. “Me too, but…”


    “That was cool wasn’t it!?”


    “I feel like I’ve been at the spa all day,” he whispers back,ughing more now with the joy of it. “I’m so


    cozy, warm in my soul. I’m so fucking rxed.”


    “I know! I –”


    “Results?” Alvez says, pitching his voice louder to interrupt us. Tony and I both turn to him and when


    Alvez flicks his eyes down to our still–joined hands, I blush a little and pull my hand away.


    “The marble didn’t move,” I say, my voice solid. Tony looks down at me, perhaps wondering why I’m not


    sharing more, but I just stand straight and don’t look at him, hoping he holds his tongue.


    Good, my wolf says, though she’syingnguidly in my soul now, her eyes half- lidded in her


    rxation. Let’s not tell the professor anything until we know more about what he wants.


    I nod, agreeing with her.


    “Shame,” Alvez says, quirking his head to the side. Then he looks up at the clock. “We are out of time,”


    he says with a little chagrin. “For homework, I’d like each of you to get into yourst pairing and try


    again for longer this time. At least a full hour. Come to our ss in two days ready to report your


    results. Sinir? Pleasee over here to arrange a time to meet with me privately.”


    Alvez nods around to us before moving to his desk, starting to pack up his bag as Rafe approaches to


    arrange a time.


    My eyes immediately move to Jackson, who turns to me.


    Because he’s the only one who’s left.


    Tony leaves my side, heading for Jesse as Jackson slowly moves over. I have to crane my head back


    on my neck to look up at him as he moves close.


    “I’m d to see you made it into the Academy,” Jackson says quietly, his voice gruff as he stares down


    at me, his expression stony and unkind.


    I can’t help it, I burst into a grin andugh, just a little bit.


    “What?” he asks, frowning now, confused.


    “You just said something really nice,” I answer quietly, shrugging one shoulder, “even though your tone


    and your expression still say you want to rip me to shreds.”


    Jackson flinches back a little and stares at me. “Wait, really?” he asks.


    4. 4.


    “Yeah,” I say,ughing a little more now. “Are you now aware of it? The fact that you’ve got like, murder


    in your eyes pretty much all the time?”


    “Oh my god,” he murmurs, dropping his head and scraping a calloused hand down the length of his


    face. “No, I guess I wasn’t.”


    “Well, I’m d I’m here too,” I say quietly, more serious now. “And thank you for


    “Don’t mention it,” he murmurs, and as he nces around I realize that it’s as much a desire for


    secrecy as it is a downying of his generosity in the obstacle course. “So, we have to…”


    “Yeah,” I say, clearing my throat a little awkwardly. “Um, do you want toe up to our room for


    dinner? You could eat with us and then…” I reach out and grab the little marble still sitting on the desk.


    “Try to blow this to smithereens, or whatever.”


    Jackson smirks at me and nces over his shoulder towards Jesse and Rafe.“Yeah, Jackson,” Jesse


    says, and I smile as he appears at Jackson’s side, holding my


    Chemistry textbook out to me. “Come to dinner – you can have your food sent up with ours.”


    From the other side of the room, I hear Rafe groan as he hears the invitation.


    “Ignore him,” I say, stepping closer to Jackson and shaking my head as I look up into his face. “He’s


    being a dick. Seriously,e!”


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    “I’ll think about it,” Jackson says, ncing over his shoulder at the crown Prince who so clearly doesn’t


    want him to do that. “If not, I’ll send word about my schedule. See if we can’t make a time to meet.”


    “Okay,” I say with a shrug, taking my books from Jesse and smiling up at my mate, kind of unable to


    help it. Because…honestly, I’m not scared of him at all anymore, even if I probably should be. After his


    apology in the bathroom, and then how he helped me?


    I don’t know. I’m starting to realize that there’s more to Jackson than just his gruff surface.


    For a second, my mind shes to Luca –


    But I push it away, not letting myself go there.


    Jackson nods to me and Jesse, not bothering to say any other words of goodbye as he grabs his


    satchel and heads from the door.


    “He’s not all bad, that one,” Jesse says, considering Jackson as he disappears. “Even if he is mildly


    terrifying even at the best of times.”


    “I agree,” I say, contemtive. Jesse just grins at me and nods towards the door, where Rafe is waiting


    at Alvez’s side, Alvez patiently holding the key to the ssroom in his hands.


    “Good luck!” Alvez says to the three of us cheerfully as we move through the door. “Rafe, I’ll see you


    tomorrow afternoon. Jesse, Ari, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need anything.”


    –


    We murmur our thanks to our professor, turning away –


    And honestly, I thought it was all finished, until I feel fingers trace down the length of my spine as I turn


    away.