The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 0867 "Mids," Jesse sighs, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head at Midnight, exhausted and frustrated. He peeks over the top of the separating screen that Juniper gave them, well aware that the tent full of ambassadors and Atalaxian royals is listening to their heated conversation and casually pretending that they're not.

"I don't want to go," Midnight growls, curled in a ball at his feet, her face tucked tight against her knees and her hands sunk deep in her hair. "You can't make me!"

"I can't make you," Jesse agrees through his teeth, crouching down next to her. "But if we stay here, we're all going to get killed."

"We won't get killed," she hisses, whipping her face up to glare at him. "I will negotiate with Darkness when he breaks out of that stupid egg! I will assure him that we are still his humble servants! He'll just kill all of them!" She jerks her head towards everyone else in the tent.

One of the eavesdropping ambassadors groans in fear. Another hisses at him to shut up.

"Oh, Midnight," Jesse sighs, falling back on his ass and reaching out to stroke Midnight's back. This conversation has been going on for...far too long. And every moment that passes gets a lot closer to that reality - to Darkness getting free, and coming here, and destroying them all.

Except, unlike Midnight, Jesse has no intention of declaring his fealty to evil or watching his countrymen die.

"What are you really scared of, Mids?" he asks, continuing to softly stroke her back. "What's stopping you from letting me take you home and give you a wonderful life?"

She just shakes her head and tucks her face back against her knees, as she's been doing this entire time.

"I mean, everyone's going to be really nice to you," Jesse says softly. "I'm sure they can't wait to meet you. You're going to have a fantastic life in Moon Valley."

"They'll make me be a whore," she moans.

Jesse can't help laughing, just a little. "M ight, I promise, no one will make you be a whore."

silent and Jesse lets her

laced with fear. "She's going to take my magic from me,"

asks, his shoulders straightening

Midnight moans, devastated

mate for a second, confused, and then bursts into

when she realizes that Jesse is laughing, she smacks

"It's not funny!"

Midnight and tugging her close. "But why would you think

Midnight murmurs, leaning against him. "And now he's

adds. "And not corrupted. That darkness was making him horrible, Mids. He punched Ariel and...probably did all sorts of other awful stuff that the corruption made

face up to Jesse's, her eyes wide and sad and shining. "If you think the corruption makes people horrible," she whispers. "Do you think I'm

you're

"I think that whatever that

it for years.

to tremble and Jesse's whole heart

adds, soft. "It breaks my heart to see your little wolf sunk in the Darkness like that. I

standing at the edge and peering over at Midnight's long-suffering wolf, sunk deep in

"Jesse, I don't know who I am without the Darkness,"

still be you,"

she asks, tears slipping down her cheeks. "What if darkness is too much of who I

Because Midnight is right. Gabriel - his whole personality shifted when the darkness left him. Midnight