Chapter 0911

“Yes!” mom says, happily walking over to him and holding out the tray. Jackson lifts off the lid and groans when he sees the stacks of pancakes and eggs and sausage and bacon.

“You’re my favorite, Ella,” Jackson murmurs, eagerly taking the tray and sitting down on the bed, settling it onto his lap and digging into the bacon with his hands.

“Jackson, there are utensils!” I call, scolding, as I wheel in the first trolly from the hall. His eyes go wide when he sees it.

“All of that?” he gasps.

“You said you were hungry,” Ella says with a happy sigh. I just laugh and shake my head, settling the trolly against the wall and going out for the next one.

“Some of this is for me,” I say, eyeing the big pot of coffee with particular interest.

“Fight me for it,” Jackson murmurs, a little growl in his voice, making us both laugh.

But Jackson shares much more willingly than he pretends, which is easy considering that my mother has brought a ridiculous amount of food. Jackson does fairly impressive damage to the supply and mom and I mostly just watch in fascination as he eats way more than we thought he could.

“Damn,” I murmur, when Jackson goes back for fourths. The three of us sit comfortably on my bed and I sip at my coffee, my own finished plate of waffles set in the blankets before me.

“He’s so cute,” mom says on a sigh, sipping at her own coffee, watching him. I laugh at her, because only mom would think a voracious Alpha restoring his magical body weight is adorable. Well, her and me. Jacks ignores us, reloading his plate with another stack of pancakes.

A creaking sound brings my attention to the door and I burst into a smile when I see Rafe shuffling forward, his eyes half closed, his nose lifted in the air sniffing.

“Help,” my brother mutters, leaning hard against my doorframe. “I need sustenance.”

Jackson snarls from his place at the tolly, possessive, but we just laugh and ignore him.

“Poor baby, did you let your wicked cousin get you all drunk?” mom says, reaching for Rafe, who shuffles into the room and collapses onto the bed, his head landing in her lap. Miraculously, mom and I manage not to spill our coffee everywhere.

“No this is all my fault,” Rafe murmurs. “I can’t blame Jesse, unfortunately. The only way to get my wolf to shut the hell up last night was to drown him in whiskey.”

Mom coos consideringly, softly

stroking Rafe’s hair as Jackson comes over with two plates and generously lays one before Rafe’s prone body. I send a swell of gratitude down the bond to Jacks, realizing perhaps more than the others that it is a mark of great esteem to share the food he needs to refill his body weight and magical storehouse after basically starving for a week.

Jackson brushes off my gratitude and comes around the bed to sit next to me, leaning close and offering me a strawberry which I happily take, popping it into my mouth.

“You’ve certainly got a challenge in front of you, meatball, when it comes to our spicy little Maryam,” mom says, her voice sorry but not truly full of pity. “How are you feeling about it?”

“I don’t know,” Rafe sighs, opening his eyes a little to peer at the food and then seeming to turn slightly green at the sight of it, perhaps changing his mind about what he needs. “I need to talk to her. But I have a feeling she’s not going to let me get close.”

“She will, Rafe,” mom says quietly, continuing to stroke her favorite’s hair, smiling softly at him. “You just have to be patient with her. Let her get to know you. She’ll come around.”

“Just let her see you with your shirt off,” a voice says from the door, and all of our heads turn to see Jesse standing there, looking utterly exhausted, rubbing his eyes with one hand. “That was your tactic with all of your other conquests, wasn’t it?

Chapter 0912

Rafe snarls half-heartedly at Jess, not opening his eyes, as I burst out laughing.

“Is that…did that work?” Jackson asks, looking between Jesse and Rafe curiously. “He’d take off his shirt and…what would happen?”

“He’d take off his shirt and the panties would drop,” Jesse says, dropping his hand demonstratively. Jackson’s mouth falls open as mom and I burst out laughing and Rafe groans, embarrassed. Jesse grins, still tired but I think a little happier here with all of us. He gives Jackson a wink. “You should try it sometime, Jacks. See how many of the nations’ citizenry fall for you when they get a sight of you bare- chested.”

I snarl at my cousin, even as I continue to laugh a little bit. Then I glare at my mate, daring him to try it. He smirks at me and shrugs and I laugh, bumping my shoulder into him.

“Where did you sleep, Jess?” Rafe asks, sighing as he sits up and moves closer to my mom, making room for Jesse on my tiny little girl bed. I grin as Jesse comes and joins us, very pleased to have everyone close and happy again. My wolf gives one anxious turn, thinking of Juniper, but I run a hand over her fur, reminding myself that there’s nothing I can do but trust my little sister to keep herself safe and strong.

“What do you mean, where did he sleep?” mom asks, sitting up a little straighter, her coffee cup pressed between her hands. “He didn’t sleep in your room?”

“No, he went on some weird adventure,” Rafe murmurs, flicking a hand dismissively at the profligate duke. “I thought maybe it was a dream but he wasn’t there when I woke up.”

“I stole a helicopter and went to the Academy,” Jesse sighs, laying himself out along the edge of the bed and covering his face with his hands. “To see Daphne.”

We all go very still and very quiet.

“Please don’t tell Midnight,” Jesse says, his words slightly muffled against his palms. “It’s…..not a secret but…maybe if she didn’t know it would be better. She does…not like the idea of me seeing Daphne, especially not alone. But I couldn’t not see her, especially after mom told me she was there and I was an idiot and just left the Academy a few days ago without popping downstairs to say hi.”

“How’d it…go?” Rafe asks, quiet and awkward.

“Horribly,” Jesse sighs, letting his hands slide away, his face turning to the side, his expression miserable. My heart aches for him very suddenly and he shifts his eyes to mine. “She’s not doing well, Ari. Could you…would you reach out to her? I’m worried about her but…she kind of asked me to leave her alone.”

“Of course,” I say, nodding seriously to my cousin, guilt running through me when I realize that I should have done this before.

“What is like…happening there, Jess?” Rafe asks, rubbing his head a little. “Do you still have feelings for her?”

“Of course I do,” Jesse says, turning to Rafe with a frown.

A little anxiety stirs in me as I look between my brother and my cousin, remembering that the last time they were together at the Academy they fought Jike dogs on the subject of Daphne. Obviously they’re friends again but…has that issue resolved itself?

“My feelings for Daphne were never shallow, Rafe,” Jesse says, sitting up a little

to glare at my brother. “I was in love with her. I’m still in love with her.”

“But how is that even possible?” Rafe asks, leaning forward, more curious than anxious.

Mom just sits quietly sipping her coffee, looking between the pair of them, clearly worried but willing to let them sort it out.

“What are you talking about,” Jesse replies, snapping a little. “You know how great she is, Rafe, I don’t know why you think that I’d -“

“No, you’re misunderstanding me, Jess, I’m sorry,” Rafe says, holding out a hand to him and closing his eyes, clearly still suffering from his hangover and trying to put his thoughts together.

Jesse slowly closes his mouth, letting Rafe have the time to think.

my

“I mean…” Rafe continues, “that the moment I saw Maryam, all thoughts of any other girl went right out of head. I actually feel really guilty about it I was so mad at you about Daphne and now…I mean, now it

feels like I picked a fight over nothing.”

Jesse snarls at the implication that Daphne might be nothing.

Rafe narrows his eyes. “You know that’s not what I mean, Jesse. I’m talking about

me, about my feelings. It’s no reflection on Daphne – she’s fantastic.”

Jesse settles a little, frowning. “Your feelings for other girls…just got wiped away?”

“Yours didn’t?” Rafe asks, his face screwing up with confusion. “When you met Mids?”

Jesse turns to the rest of us. “What happened with you all? Did you stop having feelings for other people?”

“I had unique circumstances,” I say, raising my hand a little.

“No other girls to speak of,” Jackson says with a tiny shrug.

Mom just sighs, sipping at her coffee. “And didn’t know I had a wolf and a mate until after your dad ar and I were pregnant and pretty heavily involved. So, I also don’t know. You should probably ask dad about it, he’d know. Or Roger.”

Chapter 0913

“About what?” another voice says at the door, and my face bursts into a grin when I realize that it’s my Mark.

“Markie!” I call, thrilled, patting the bed beside me.

Mark starts to smile at me but then looks around the room, guilt washing it away. “Rafe, I’m really sorry -“

“We’re good, Mark,” Rafe murmurs, nodding to our brother and jerking his chin to the spot on the bed next to me. “Don’t kill yourself over it. I know you didn’t do anything just to be cruel.”

Mark sighs but nods and then comes over to sit with me. “But seriously, what were you talking about when I came in?”

“About whether or not you stop having feelings for previous crushes when you meet your mate,” Jesse says as I lean close to Mark when he sits, wrapping him in a one-armed hug.

To my surprise, Mark goes a bit stiff beneath my arm. I frown up at him, wondering what could be off.

“Um,” Mark says, looking awkwardly down at the blanket. “Do they?”

“I’m inclined to think that they do,” Mom says quietly. “It makes sense, right? You’ve met what is supposed to be the one person who checks all of your boxes. How could someone else live up?”

“Well, Daphne lives up,” Jesse murmurs, a little angry and defensive, likewise looking down at the bed covers. “I didn’t stop having feelings for her. Not at all.”

“And Midnight?” mom asks, gentle, the softness in her voice clearly indicating that he doesn’t have to answer if he doesn’t want to.

“Mids is amazing too,” Jesse sighs, his head hanging. “I…don’t know what’s going on.”

Mom hums consideringly and nods. “Maybe we need Cora to give the Goddess another call. Though she’s a bit pissed at us lately – the Goddess. Cora…had some wine and called her up a few times just to give her a damn piece of her mind about allowing so many of her grandkids to be kidnapped by our enemies. They…are not on the very best of mother/daughter terms at the moment.”

I laugh at this, thinking that only my auntie Cora would have the balls to argue with a goddess like that. But hey, it’s her mother, and now that two of the three kidnapped kids are back perhaps they can reach more even ground.

“Oh, my little chickens,” mom sighs, looking around at us with a mix of joy and pity on her faces. Rafe leans against her, closing his eyes. “I’m so glad to have you all back together and here in my little coop, where I can take care of you.”

“I’m not sure that a palace fully qualifies as a coop, auntie,” Jesse murmurs, laying back down on the bed, giving into his exhaustion.

“And we still need our June back,” Mark sighs. “And Maryam, too.”

Everyone goes still. Rafe’s eyes flash open.

“What?” Rafe snarls, low and threatening.

Mark’s eyes flash wide. “Wait, what?”

“Mark, I’m going to murder you,” Rafe growls, leaning forward towards our little brother. “Did you just imply, ever so casually, that Maryam is gone?”

“You don’t know!?” Mark nearly shouts, likewise leaning forward towards our brother.

“Mark!” Rafe shouts, clenching a fist between them. “Right now! Everything you know, right fucking now!”

“I – I saw her! Mark sputters out, casting a hand towards the

windows. “In the park! I went running last night” he sends a guilty look towards our mom, who scowls at him, and she was out there-

swnov

“Why the fuck didn’t you bring her home!?” Rafe shouts.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to!” Mark shouts back, going pale. “I thought I don’t know! She had a backpack! I figured she was going somewhere! She was…walking with a purpose!”

Rafe just roars in frustration at our brother before hurling himself off the bed and

striding out the door. We all watch him go, open-mouthed.

“Oh my god,” Mark groans, ducking his face into his hands, his shoulders

twitching with what must be frustration and shame.

“Should we…help him?” Jackson asks, starting to get up.

“No no,” mom says quietly, reaching out a hand to place on his arm, stopping him. “This feels…like Rafe’s business now. He’s perfectly capable of handling this.”

“See?” I say, snuggling against Jacks. “You complain about how troublesome I am, but at least I never ran away from you.”

“There’s still time,” he murmurs, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close, pressing a kiss to my head.

Mark sighs and lays down, resting his head in my lap. “Pet me,” he begs, and I comply. “Am I ever going to do anything right?”

“Of course you are, baby,” I coo, stroking his hair. “You’re just…taking your time.”

“Is this a bad time to invite everyone

to lunch in the yurt?” Jesse murmurs, pulling my blankets up over him with a yawn. “I want a nap first but…then we should go check on Mids.”

“We’ll come,” I say casually, easily, even though my heart wonders after Rafe, who is probably dashing all over the city now looking for his mate, worried for her.

“Chaos,” mom sighs, resting back against my headboard and taking a peaceful sip of her coffee. “Good ole Sinclair chaos. I missed this.”

I grin at her, shaking my head a bit. But she just grins back, wrinkling her nose.

Chapter 0914

“Still not going to take my magic?” Midnight asks, standing in the door to her yurt with her hands on her hips, dressed in a fairly fantastic collection of clothes that she clearly picked for herself with enthusiasm from the insanely large selection my mom bought for her.

I smile, taking in the three scarves that Midnight has stacked over a sundress, which she wears over a pair of jeans that she’s tucked into a pair of yellow rubber boots. A jaunty winter hat is pulled down over her curls, the fuzzy purple pompom on top wobbling back and forth whenever she moves.

“I promise,” I say, giving her a little salute, an offering of cake in my hands as I stand before her with Jackson at my side. “Also, I love your outfit. You look great!”

“Thank you! You may enter,” she says, quite dramatic and smiling, bowing us into

the yurt.

“Hey Mids,” Jacks says, giving her a little hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you.”

“Don’t kiss me,” she snaps, giving him a little shove away that doesn’t budge him an inch. “Jesse is my mate. You can’t seduce me away.”

Jackson sputters out a protest but I just laugh and take his hand, tugging him along with me to settle on the floor amongst the guests already inside.

“Hi! Hi!” I say, laughing and putting the cake down before giving both Benny and Elias big hugs. Jesse waves from his spot stretched out on the floor. “Where is Pippa?” I ask, looking around for her. “Is she all right?”

“She’s fine,” Elias says, leaning close to Ben and glancing at him with a little grimace. “She’s just…feeling very pregnant. And…not as fond of me as she has been.”

“Why?” Jesse asks, curious, frowning between Ben and Elias.

Ben just smirks, shaking his head a little, and I roll my eyes, kind of irritated that Jesse is being this oblivious.

“We’ll have to send her down some cake,” I say with a sigh, looking around at the wide selection that Midnight has gathered for her little lunch party. Indeed, there seems to be very little lunch to speak of, beyond several varieties of cake. Which is probably precisely as Midnight wants it.

“No, she can get her own,” Mids snaps, even as she cuts a thick slice of sponge cake and lifts it onto a plate, handing it to Jackson.

I grin at Midnight and settle in next to Elias, though my heart still worries on Pippa.

I saw her this morning but she was, indeed, oddly distracted and quietly asked me to leave after I’d only been there for about ten minutes, saying she wanted some time alone.

“Have her contractions kept bothering her?”

“She’s been having them for days,” Elias says with a sigh. “Ella’s checked her out and says she’s perfectly healthy, and the doctors say that that can happen, but…” he shrugs, looking at Ben, who looks at him sorrowfully. “She’s uncomfortable. I wish I could do more.”

“Why aren’t you with her?” Jackson asks, sounding kind of pissed off, like he wouldn’t be anywhere else if his Luna was having contractions no matter how long they went on.

“She kicked me out for a bit,” Elias

says, stretching his legs out and looking worriedly around, even as Midnight hands him his own piece of cake. Said she wanted some peace so she could try and nap. This all has… not been easy on her.”

“Well, it’s not going to be easier once she has a loud puppy,” Midnight says, handing me my own plate before popping down next to Jesse and digging into what’s left of the chocolate cake. “I don’t know why she decided to do a pregnancy. It seems very terrible.”

Ben and Elias smile at her a bit sadly, apparently deciding not to explain it to her. I don’t blame them, thinking that Midnight may never be convinced to see the more appealing aspects of motherhood.

“Um, did Rafe ever come back?” I ask, desperately curious. It’s been hours, most of which Jesse spent napping in my bed. I watched for him out the window and asked for updates from the guards, but…nothing.

“Yes, I did,” comes the dry answer from the door. My face breaks into a smile as I turn to see my brother standing there, his hands on his hips, looking very drawn and tired.

“Hi!” I call, laughing a bit. “What hap -“

But Midnight gasps in horror the moment Rafe takes a step inside the yurt.

“Buddy, you’ve got to ask,” Jesse says, sitting up and wrapping his hands around his knees, grinning at Rafe. “Midnight takes boundaries very seriously and I support her in that.”

“Oh,” Rafe says, blinking in surprise as he steps back out of the yurt. “Um, Midnight, may I come inside?”

“Are you going to try to kiss me?” she asks, sending a glare Jackson’s way. Jackson sputters in surprise. “Hey, I thought we were friends!?”

“We were,” she says, leaning forward to glare at him. “Until you tried to seduce me.”

“Oh my god,” Jackson murmurs, covering his face with his wide palm, making me laugh.

“Um, I definitely promise…..not to kiss you,” Rafe says, looking with baffled surprise between Jacks and Mids.

“All right, you may enter. Though it was rude of you to not bring cake.” Midnight quite primly begins to eat her cake again, and I don’t miss the satisfaction on Jesse’s face as he watches her eat her fill.

“I apologize,” Rafe says, a bit dry, sitting down on the ground to Jackson’s right. “I’ve had…rather a rough start to the day.” He nods his greetings to everyone around the yurt, his eyes lingering on Ben and Elias for a moment as he frowns, clearly still not getting it.

Chapter 0915

I bite my lip, fighting a smile, and Jackson sends me a nudge down the bond. When I look up at him and he frowns at me, clearly wanting to know what’s going on, I break into a laugh.

He just scowls and shakes his head, wanting to know but not pushing it, knowing I’m not giving him any secrets until he tells me what Jesse told him about the Underworld. So, we are, essentially, still at a stalemate.

“Did you ever find Maryam?” Jesse asks, leaning forward towards Rafe even as his hand snatches out, grabbing a piece of Midnight’s cake and making her squeak in protest as he quickly pops it in his mouth.

Ben and Elias perk up just as Jacks and I do, all of us turning towards Rafe.

“Yes,” Rafe sighs, leaning back against his hands, rolling his eyes up towards the roof of the yurt. “I found her. She’s…back.”

“How’d you convince her to come back?” I ask, my voice a fascinated whisper. “Um,” he says, looking down at his lap, grimacing. “I…kind of didn’t.”

“Rafe,” Jesse says, laughing and already shaking his head. “What’d you do, carry her?”

I laugh and turn back to Rafe, but when he doesn’t answer – his grimace deepening and his cheeks going red – we all burst out into laughter.

I whip a hand across Jackson, smacking my brother hard on the arm. “Rafe!

Seriously!? You carried her back, kicking and screaming!?”

“Well, she didn’t kick and scream the whole time,” he mutters.

I lose it, falling onto Jackson’s side, who likewise laughs and wraps his arms around me, holding me close.

“Oh, come on, what was I supposed to do!” Rafe groans, looking around at all of us for some sign of pity. “She was at the fucking train station with nothing but a backpack and a one-way ticket to the North -“

“You’re supposed to let her go, Rafe!” Ben calls out, laughing. “She’s a grown ass woman she can decide where she goes! What, is she like your, prisoner now!?”

“No, she’s not my prisoner,” Rafe growls.

“Is she locked in a room somewhere?” Jesse asks, leaning forward, fascinated.

“The door isn’t locked!” Rafe bites out, glaring at him.

“Is it guarded?” I ask, a sneaky smile spreading over my face.

Rafe just scowls and looks away again, making us all crack up.

“It’s not safe out there!” Rafe bites out, though he too starts laughing. “She’s my fucking mate, I can’t just let her go on a train all alone to -“

“Oh no, not on a train!” I say, overly dramatic. “Those death machines, notoriously prowled by gangs of villains eager to maim -“

“That sounds very bad,” Midnight says, nodding slowly. “You were right to stop her, Rafe.”

“Thank you, Midnight,” Rafe says, sighing and not bothering to engage with my critique, realizing now that…he may have over-reacted. A little bit.

“Rafe, you have to let her go home if she wants to,” Ben says, laughing a little. “Her home isn’t dangerous – she’s lived there for years!”

“It’s not her home that’s dangerous,

it’s…” Rafe matters. But then he

groans and lays back on the floor of

the yurt, shaking his head. “Look,,

guys, don’t rub it in – I realize

being a complete idiot and a jackass. I just…can’t let her go until she…doesn’t hate me anymore…”

“I’m not sure kidnapping her and dragging her back to your houes is going to do

you any favors there,” Jackson mutters.

“Worked wonders for us,” Midnight says, grinning over at Jesse.

Jesse laughs and winks at her. “Yes, but we’re a very unique pair, Midnight. Rafe and Maryam, they don’t have nearly as much of our verve and flavor.”

Midnight nods deeply, conceding this point making me smile between them. God, as much as I love Jesse and Daphne together…this Midnight match, it does make sense on some level, doesn’t it?

“Oh, god, she’s going to hate me forever,” Rafe sighs, staring up at the roof of the yurt, resting his hands on his stomach.

“She’ll come around,” Ben murmurs, taking another bite of his cake. “Who can resist you?”

Elias snarls a little, giving Ben a subtle nudge with his elbow. I smile but Jesse snaps his head to them, his mouth falling open a little, clearly wondering what the hell that was about.

“What am I gonna do,” Rafe sighs, all the words slurring together in his agony.

I pout, reaching over to pat a warm hand on his shoulder. “At least you only have one to deal with.”

He snaps his head back to me. “All of yours liked you, Ari.”

“Yes, but I am very beautiful,” I say, grinning at him. “Even dressed as a boy.”

Jacks hums his support, pulling me back to his side.

“Hey,” Jesse says, leaning forward and grinning a bit deviously at Rafe. “Want to blow of the rest of the day getting completely shitfaced at all of our favorite bars and completely avoiding all of our responsibilities and the big life questions that are haunting us?”

Rafe gasps, sitting up and looking directly at Jesse. “Yes,” he breathes, nodding

eagerly. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want to do.”

Jesse whoops, clapping his hands together, making me laugh.