The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Jackson glares hard into my eyes, I think hating me a little bit right now for not being easy and simple and falling in line with his plans to be overprotective.

"You know I'm right, Jackson. That we have a better chance of winning with you down there instead of up here."

He sighs sharply through his nose, looking down at the ground, confirming that I'm right even if he doesn't say it.

"I want to win," I say, reaching for him again and placing a soft hand on his forearm. "And this is cutting into time I could be practicing with the gun. You can come up the moment anyone gets close but Jacks..." he looks up at me now, "no one's close. You know that, right? You know where the helicopters dropped people off."

Jackson sighs, dropping his gaze again and glaring hard at the ground. "Why are you so damn stubborn, Ariel?"

"I didn't enroll here to be sheltered and protected, Jacks," I say, my voice hard. "I came to learn how to do this - how to help my country, which means putting myself at least at a tiny bit of risk."

He whips his head up. "I'm never going to allow that."

"Yes, sweetheart," I say, my eyes softening as I raise myself again to my knees, moving close to him and taking his face in my hands. "You are. Because I'm going to ask you to. Because I'm not going to let you put your love for me in front of the wellbeing of my people. That's not what's at stake today but... that's what will be in the future. If I can make a difference, you have to let me go into dangerous situations. And if not then...what is all of this for?" I shrug. "If my safety actually is the top priority - the only priority - then we should have probably locked me up in a nunnery to start with."

murmurs, looking stubbornly away from me and

"Hey," I say leaning close enough for us to share breath. "I love you, and I love how much you want to protect

at that and Jackson raises a hand, curling it

low - you can't...you can't spend your entire life exclusively protecting me. You're too useful to just play bodyguard - and there's so much

me

"I love you so much, Ariel," he whispers back This is....incredibly difficult for

pressing my cheek against his warmth, letting my eyes

get even remotely close," Jackson growls. "I'm coming up here. Or, if I order you down the cliffside, you come skittering down

"And get started learning that weapon - we've... already lost enough time with this chat." "Okay, sweetie,"

and I look up at him, ready to listen. But he just stares at me, I think a bit at a

I smile, encouraging, just...waiting.

your mate," he says quietly, his voice tight as he stares down

against the raw emotion that

you, and you