Chapter 0576

“Don’t get too excited,” I say, grinning at the suggestive little pulse that Luca sends down our bond. “I want to go visit Daphne.”

“Daphne,” Luca says, his eyebrows going up. “Yeah, sure, sounds fun. But why do you want to visit Daphne?”

“Because,” I say, slumping against him and letting him take my weight a little. “She just had a breakup too, and we’ve all been so busy and supportive of Rafe, but I’m worried that she feels a little alone. I mean, I know she dumped him but,” I shrug, “I don’t think it means she’s happy.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Luca says, drifting his thumb over my cheekbone and then dipping his head to give me a sweet kiss. “Besides, I like Daphne. She’s fun to hang out with.”

“Is she?” I ask, grinning up at him curiously.

“What, you don’t think so?” he asks, grinning back.

“No, I do, I’m just…curious what made you say that,” I say, giving a shrug.

“She’s cool,” Luca says, dropping one arm and using the other still around my waist to escort me to the door. “Daphne’s funny and a good time, plus hanging out with her is really low-pressure. I’ve never met a girl like that before.”

I burst out laughing as I bend down to pick up our bags, handing Luca his. “Luca,” I say, shaking my head at him. “I bet you’ve met a thousand girls like that.”

“What?” he says, turning his head at me, confused. “No I haven’t, all the -“

“Have you ever tried just being friends with a girl before?” I ask, slipping my bookbag over my head and looking at him quizzically.

Luca goes still, staring at me.

“Hmmm?” I say, leaning closer to him, grinning up into his face because I already know what the answer is.

“All right, fine, no,” Luca says, his face breaking into that million-dollar playboy smile as he slips his arm back around my shoulders. “But that doesn’t mean Daphne isn’t particularly cool.”

My smile deepens as we head out of the gym and down the hall. “Daphne is particularly cool – but could it be that you think Daphne is chill and cool because you’re not wrapped up in a romantic drama with her? That she’s just a pal, like anyone else?”

“What, you want me to try my new line on her?” Luca asks, giving me a too-charming wink that makes my stomach flip. “See if I can imbue some drama into the relationship?”

“You try that line with any level of seriousness and I’ll kick your ass,” I growl, giving him a solid little rabbit punch in the belly that makes him burst into laughter and tug me, closer to his side. “Besides, Daphne would never fall for it. She’s my

friend first and would never betray me.”

“Yes, true,” Luca says with a sigh as we begin to climb the stairs to Daphne’s level. “Besides, I’m totally gone on blondes now. Redheads hold no interest for me.”

“Good,” I murmur, tightening my arm

around his waist, for the second time today throwing caution to the wind regarding whether or not I’ll be seen walking the hallways like this with my mate. But after the had?

swny I’ve

I don’t know. I just…want them close, and keeping my secret in this school seems to pale in comparison to the rather cosmic news that the Goddess gave us.

Luckily, we don’t run into anyone by the time we reach Daphne’s door and I deliver a soft little rap.

The sewing machine inside goes quiet and Luca drops his arm from my shoulders as we hear footsteps moving towards the door.

It cracks open and Daphne goes a bit still when she sees Luca and me standing there, but then her eyes instantly fill with tears.

“Hey, guys,” she says, giving us a wobbly smile as she pulls the door open and leans against the frame.

“Daph!” I gasp, instantly reaching for her and grabbing her in a tight hug, pulling her with me into the room. “What’s wrong!?” “Nothing!” she says, laughing, hugging me back with one arm while she raises the other hand to her cheek, wiping at the few tears that spill over her long dark lashes. “I just – I’m glad to see you!”

“Oh, Daphne!” I cry out, hugging her tight and feeling incredibly guilty that I let it go so long before reaching out like this. “I’m so sorry -“

“No, it’s totally cool,” she says, breaking away from me and giving Luca a little hug after he shuts the door. “I get it – Rafe was so upset, and you had to take care of him -“

Chapter 0577

“Oh, Rafe’s a big idiot who can take care of himself,” I say, waving a hand in the air and pulling Daphne over to the bed. I mean, I don’t actually mean that but I think Daphne needs the assurance more than Rafe needs my undying sisterly loyalty right now. “I don’t want you to think that I’ve been staying away because I’m taking his side or something.”

Daphne stares at me for a second before her eyes well up with tears again. “Really?” she whispers.

“Oh my god!” I cry out, grabbing her again in another hug. “I’m so sorry. I should have come sooner. Of course not, Daphne, you’re really important to me! I’ve been such a jerk.”

Luca stands awkwardly by, checking out Daphne’s bookshelf, as the two of us take a few more minutes to reassure each other that neither is mad at each other and that our friendship is solid.

“I really should have come down, Daph,” I say quietly, shaking my head at her. “I’ve just been so insanely busy.”

“No, I know you are,” she says with a sigh, pushing herself back against her headboard and settling in. “Especially with the Games tomorrow. I shouldn’t have worried.”

I fight my impulse to assure her again that I should have been a better friend so she didn’t have to worry, but I know that’s just going to lead us down an endless circle. So I just smile at my friend, who grins back at me, both of us silently agreeing to move on from it.

“So, is that what’s been on your mind?” Daphne asks, looking between Luca and I. Luca grabs the chair from her sewing machine and joins our little group, looking between us. “The Games?”

“Yeah,” I say, sighing and settling back against the wall, pleased to have some time with my friend. “That and a weird visit from my grandmother the Goddess today.”

Both Luca and Daphne go pale as they gape at me and I grin, kind of tickled by the effect that dropping that little fact had. But I quickly move on, filling them in on what details I can – that the Goddess gave us some new information about our magic, and that Jesse’s magic has developed. I don’t give any big details, though – especially regarding the provenance of Jackson and Tony’s gift, or the shape that Jesse’s magic takes, or the fact that the Goddess ordered me to swiftly collect my mate’s marks.

Those seem either not my details to share or far, far too delicate for a little catch-up chat at dinner time.

“That’s insane,” Daphne murmurs, shaking her head at me and running a hand through her long auburn curls. “I can’t…I can’t believe that. And Jesse has his magic now? That’s…amazing.”

“I’m sure he’d be pumped to tell you all about it,” Luca says, perhaps…a bit too casually. He very pointedly does not look at me as he says it, giving Daphne a friendly nod. “You should come to the room tomorrow night after the Games – we’re all getting together, mostly so this lot can lick their wounds after their devastating loss to my team.” Luca points his thumb at me as he says this and I snarl and give him a little kick.

But then I turn my head back to Daphne, eager at the idea. “You really should come!” I say, nodding fast. “I would love that, and a room party always needs more girls. Plus, you can meet our friend Tony*I beam as if this is the greatest treat in the world.

But Daphne just bites her lip and shakes her head. “I don’t know,” she says, “that seems…very bold, to dump Rafe Sinclair one day and then show up at his party the next.”

“Please, this is my party,” I say, sitting up straight and pressing a possessive hand to my chest.

“Oh whatever, Ariel, you didn’t even know this party was happening,” Luca says, leaning back in his chair and giving me a lazy grin.

“Really?” Daphne asks, the hope on her face breaking my heart.

Chapter 0578

“I honestly think Rafe would want you there,” Luca says, giving Daphne a lazy shrug. “He’s upset, but he’s a good guy – I’m sure he still wants to be friends.”

Is that true? I ask Luca down our bond, kind of surprised. I mean, I’ve never known Rafe to hang out with his ex’s before – but then again, I’m not sure I knew he was dating anyone.

Oh, no, he’s still in love with her, Luca says, flashing his eyes to me and fighting a smile. But he told me he’s going to try and get her back – why not give him the opportunity?

My eyes go a bit wide at this, but I quickly look back at Daphne, not wanting her to know we were talking about her mind-to-mind.

The little quirk at the corner of her lips lets me know I’ve failed in that a bit, but I give her my best princess grin in turn. “Come on, Daph,” I say, squeezing her hand. “I’ll talk to him about it and if he says it would make him uncomfortable then I’ll send a note saying don’t come. But please think about it?”

Daphne bites her lip but then exhales a long breath and nods. “Okay,” she says, smiling hesitantly. “If Rafe would be okay with it…I have to admit, I’d love to come. I miss you guys!”

“And we miss you too!” I say, laughing and moving across the bed to sit at my friend’s side, slipping an arm around her waist. “Now that the issue of your attendance is settled, on to bigger and more important things. Luca was telling me that he developed a new line for picking up women. He wants to try it on you.”

Daphne bursts out laughing and turns to Luca, expectant. Luca, always game, immediately reaches for her hand and gives her a smoldering look. “Daphne, little bird,” he says, pitching his voice low. “All of your emotions are brilliant, but —“

But he doesn’t get any further than that, because the two of us are laughing too hard for him to continue. Luca joins in, scolding us and shouting that we have to let him try again. But even if he doesn’t get very far, I have to admit – my soul feels lighter than it did two hours ago.

I beam at Luca, who is so lovely, who I know has a great deal to do with the unburdening of my soul. He beams back at me, sending a flash of love down the bond, before turning back to our friend and continuing on our project to cheer her up.

An hour or so later, Luca walks me back to my room. “I’ll leave you here,” he murmurs, using the hand pressed to my lower back to pull me tight against him, looking down into my eyes. “I want to get a good night’s sleep so I can kick your ass tomorrow in the Game.”

I grin up at him, shaking my head. “Not a chance, Grant. Gonna snipe you off the field – right off your feet, first thing. You don’t even have a shot.”

Luca laughs but then closes the

distance between us, kissing me hard and swift like he’s been waiting all night to do it – and which,

honestly he probably has. A soft et

squeak echoes in my chest as wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him back for all that I’m worth. We stay that way for probably much longer than we should, until Luca lets out a shaky exhale and pulls away.

“You sleep tight, gorgeous,” he murmurs, his fingers tracing over my face.

“You too,” I whisper. But when he

ne

moves to step away I grab his arm, pulling him back. “Luca,” I say, half on impulse and half desperate at the memory of the Goddess’s threat that if don’t get his mark within three months that I’ll lose him. “Can time

we can we spend more

together? Like this? Just me and you? I…I really had fun, even if we spent it with Daphne, and we should…” I shrug, letting him fill in the blanks.

But Luca bursts into a brilliant smile, cupping my face in his hands. “I would love that, Ariel,” he says, beaming down at me. “I know it’s hard to find the time but…we should do that. And nothing would make me happier.”

“Good,” I whisper, standing on my toes and giving him another brisk kiss.

“Love you,” he murmurs, kissing my forehead and then starting out down the hall, glancing over his shoulder at me as he goes.

I stand by the door, leaning against

the wall, watching until I can’t see him any more, biting my lip.

—

Because I mean, I adore Luca – and he’s so important to me. But

el.

Jackson really has been taking up the majority of my time and emotion lately. It’s not necessarily that I feel guilty about that I just…

I don’t know. Do I need to even out the time I’m spending with both of my mates?

My wolf nips at me inwardly, giving me a little growl and urging me inside the room. I sigh and nod to her as I reach for the door, pushing it open, because she’s right – I am tired, and hungry, and have other things to worry about right now.

Chapter 0579

When I get into the room, though, I’m a little surprised to see that no one’s sitting in the living room area – that there’s only a little covered plate there, apparently waiting for me.

“Over here!” Rafe calls, and I turn my head to see him sitting on his bed with Jackson across from him, a bunch of papers spread out between them. My face bursts into a smile to see them hard at work. Jackson’s eyes move immediately over me, assessing, making sure that I’m all right – always his first priority. But down the bond I feel a warm rush of love and affection and happiness that I instantly return.

“Hi!” I say, bouncing over to them. “What are you -“

“Nope!” Rafe says, pointing a finger at me that stops me in my tracks. “We’re busy, and we’re tired, and we need to get this done. You, baby trouble, will only distract.”

My mouth falls open and I cross my arms over my chest. “So rude, brother. I just wanted to say hello.”

“Liar, you wanted to jump up in Jacksons’ arms and get him all worked up,” Rafe murmurs, dropping his attention back to the papers in front of them plans for the Game, surely.

I shift my eyes immediately to Jackson, who looks at me a little wistfully, and guilt pulses through me because…well. Yup. That’s exactly what I want to do.

Jackson’s face bursts into a smile and he turns away from me, even though his wolf howls to see him do it. “Rafe’s right,” he says with a sigh, “I’ll see you in a little bit. Let us concentrate while we can.”

I push my luck for a minute, taking a second to tell Rafe that I’ve been down to see Daphne and asking if he’s okay with it that I invited her over to the room tomorrow. He stills for a moment but then clears his throat, trying to hide a smile as he assures me that it’s totally fine – why wouldn’t it be?

“Just wanted to make sure it was okay,” I say with a sly smile, looking between the two of them.

“Of course it is,” Rafe growls, looking down at his paperwork and waving a hand at me. “Now away, distraction. We have things to do.”

“Fine fine,” I sigh, looking around. “Where’s Jess?”

“In the nook,” Rafe murmurs.

I squeak in horrified surprise, looking over at my special cozy area and noting that the curtain is indeed closed. “What the hell is he doing in there!?” “He said he needed to decompress,” Jackson says, his voice low like he doesn’t believe it at all. “And that he was usurping it as an unclaimed and unused private territory.”

“What a nerd,” I mutter, waving to my brother and my mate over my shoulder as I storm over to my nook, grabbing my plate of food on the way. When I get there, I rip open the curtain.

Jesse goes still as his eyes flash to me, a cookie halfway to his lips, Tiger pressed close to his side and Jackson’s DVD player open in front of him in the darkness.

“Jesse!” I protest, appalled.

“Do you mind, Ariel?” he asks, raising an equally perturbed eyebrow my way. “I’m taking some me time.”

“With all of my stuff!”

“This is Jackson’s tiny TV, not yours.”

“They’re my cookies!” I shout, setting

my plate safely on the bed before

leaning across it and making a snatch for the packet of cookies. But Jesse grabs them out of my reach, holding them high. I just glare at him from my ridiculous position sprawled out over my comforter, one hand still poised high.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Jesse says, smirking at me in that way he’s been doing since a kid that always makes me laugh I can’t help it and grin back. You go take a shower and them come back here and wett watch TV together and eat snacks.”

“What do I get out of this?” I ask with a sigh, letting my arm fall down onto the bed. “I can do all of that without you in the nook.”

“You will get the pleasure of my

company Jesse says, smiling like it’s a great prize. “Now get going, you smell. Without waiting to hear my reply Jesse turns back to the DVD player and presses play.

But I give in, knowing that Jesse has had a hard day, and that I do smell, and that a TV night with my cousin might be precisely the thing I need.

“If you eat all those cookies before I get back,” I say, pushing myself up from the bed and looking over towards the bathroom. “You die.”

“Shower fast, I have limited self-control,” he mutters, his eyes fastened to the screen, his mouth full.

“No crumbs on the comforter!” I growl, walking away.

“No promises!” he returns.

But I just laugh and tug off my cap, loving my cousin and looking forward to the rest of my night.

Chapter 0580

“No, skip this one,” I murmur a little later when I’m curled up next to Jesse in the nook, freshly showered and finally eating my dinner. “It’s too sad, when they break up -“

“But there are so many good jokes in this one,” Jesse protests, casting a hand out towards the tiny DVD player in his lap. “We can’t -“

“We can,” I insist, leaning over and pressing the skip button. “And we’re going to!”

“Tyrant,” he mutters, slipping a few more of my cookies out from their packet and popping one into his mouth. I just smirk, not denying the accusation and leaning close against my cousin’s arm as the Besties theme song starts on the screen. I take another bite of my dinner, feeling super cozy.

As the theme rolls on, Jesse fully concentrating on it, I take a second to glance down at the little stuffed tiger pressed between us, and the portable DVD player with its collection of DVDs spread out at the bottom of the bed, and a pair of Jackson’s boots tucked neatly beneath my desk where they won’t be in the way. In my dresser, I know, are a few perfectly folded sets of his uniform as well.

A little smile crosses my lips as I realize that Jackson is fully at home here despite Rafe’s initial insistence that he only sleeps here and would not be moving in. But little by little, Jackson did precisely that. I sigh with happiness, finishing my sandwich, loving that fact as I glance over at Jacks and Rafe, still working intently on his bed.

“What’s with all your happy sighs,” Jesse murmurs, flicking his eyes over at me. “For someone who had just as traumatic a day as me, you’re awfully chipper about it.”

“How can I be sad or worried when I’ve got my big cousin to hang out with me,” I say, turning my head to him and reaching up to ruffle his hair. “How could a single worry even come into my head?”

“True I am…..anathema to all worries,” Jesse murmurs, smirking a bit.

“Except your own, I think,” I say quietly, my face becoming more serious as I study the unusually dour expression I’m not even sure he’s aware that he’s wearing. Beyond that, it’s really not like Jesse to seclude himself away – he’s a very social creature. If he is disappearing into the nook to be alone and binge eat all of my cookies, something’s up.

“You okay, Jesse?”

He sighs and glances over at me, and then at Rafe and Jacks, who I intuit he doesn’t want to hear. “It’s just so weird, Ari,” he murmurs. “That like… I’ve apparently met my mate and have no memory of it. Like, what the hell does that mean?”

“I know,” I sigh, nodding along. I reach out and tap his chest. “What does wolfie say?”

“He’s as lost as me,” Jesse murmurs, looking down at his chest and then over to me. “So, when you met Luca and Jackson there was…no doubt? You just…knew it was them?”

“No, I actually didn’t know it was

them at first say, taking a cookie and eating it passively as I think back. “I smelled them and my wolf knew they were like… in the room.

But we didn’t know who it was until

later.”

Jesse sniffs the air like he’s going to be able to smell his mate here in the room with us and I do my best to hide my smile.

“You don’t remember anything like that?” I ask quietly. “Someone smelling great and your wolf going a bit crazy for it?”

“Nah,” he says, shaking his head and frowning, giving a shrug. “Something’s up. But unfortunately I don’t think that trying to puzzle it out is going to work – we don’t have all the pieces.”

“Poor Jess,” I say, laying my head down on his shoulder. “We’ll get it all sorted out in time.”

A long beat passes as the drama unfolds on the screen.

“If she’s going to be sneaky,” Jesse mutters, a little angry and so low I almost don’t hear, “she’d better be cool.”

I laugh a little. “She will be. The

Goddess can’t have stuck you with anyone dull-she’s your mate, after all.” I reach for the cookies and place them more solidly on his lap, the only thing I can offer right now.

UMS

Jesse sends me a little grin and takes a cookie. We watch the show together for a minute, I think neither of us really paying attention. “So,” Jesse says, too casual. “How’s Daphne?”

“What?” I ask, picking up my head and grinning at him.

“You smelled like her,” Jesse says, smirking and looking at me from the corner of his eye. “When you came up. Rude of you to take Luca to visit her and not invite me, leaving me here with the gigantic serious ones instead.” He gestures, cookie in hand, over at Rafe’s bed.