The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

I can't help it. I just get incredibly jealous.

"Tell me," Jackson urges, feeling the shift in my emotions, tightening his arms

around me.

"I just want to do that," I say, laughing a little, shaking my head, feeling petulant. "It sounds so cool, and important, and... vivid. I want to do that work, Jacks. I want to help."

He nods, humming his understanding, letting me have the space to speak.

"I just...Jacks, I don't know if I'm going to be a very normal kind of mom," I say quietly, worried about it. "I don't think I can do it."

"What's a normal mom?" Jackson asks, genuinely curious.

"Like my mom," I say quietly. "Dedicated to raising the kids and keeping the family together. Letting the man in the house take charge."

"She does more than that."

"I know," I say on a sigh. "But...mom and dad fall into some really normal gender roles. It works for them. Family has always come first for mom - she loves it."

"You don't think you'll love it?"

"I think I will," I say quietly, looking out the window at our vast and beautiful country. "But I love other things too. I think I'm more like my dad. I think I want and need to have more balance. Are you okay with that?”

"Of course I'm okay with that." Jackson gives me a warm little nudge with his nose, letting me know that he means it. “If it helps, I don't think I'm going to be a normal dad either. Mostly because I have no idea what that entails."

I laugh, turning to him, smiling up into his face. "You're going to do great, Jacks." "So are you, Ariel."

I cuddle closer, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

"What I do know is that you and I are going to do everything we can to love and raise these girls," Jackson murmurs "And...I don't have any knowledge to back this up with, but I think that's all that really matters. And I think they'll be proud to have a badass warrior mom."

"And if they don't?" I ask, a little smile playing at my lips.

"Then I'll...punish them..." Jackson murmurs, his voice clearly belying the fact that he has no idea what he's talking about. Or what that punishment would even look

like. Or how he'd ever actually have the heart to enact that threat.

I burst out laughing and Jackson

snarls, snatching me close, pressing me to him and letting me feel precisely how much I'm loved. Which is a great deal. Marigold looks over at us at the noise and smiles, two little pony toys clutched in her hands.

"We're going to be great at it," Jackson whispers, kissing my temple. "I can just feel it."

"Yeah," I say on a sigh, resting against him. "We are, aren't we?"

He hums, confidence running through him alongside his very real worry that we have no idea what we're doing. But the confidence wins. We're going to figure it out and love the hell out of our kids.

"Only question is," Jackson says. "What do we do now?"

"What do you want to do?" I whisper, turning my head to look at him.

He shakes his head at me. "You lead on this, Ariel. What do you want?"

My lip quivers a bit as I look up at him, so touched in his faith in me. "I want to go to school," I whisper.

Slowly, his lips break into a smile. And then I shout with surprise as Jackson moves fast, hoisting me up into his arms and standing all in one big movement. Marigold squeaks as I burst into laughter, shaking my head at my mate as I secure my arms around his neck. "What on earth are you doing!?"

"Taking you to school!" he booms out, laughing and striding for the closet. "Comenoveldrama

on, do you have any cadet uniforms in here?"

I laugh harder, shaking my head at him, spilling out protests that it's ridiculous and we have time and there's no rush.

But he pauses and grins at me, eager and kind. "If you've decided, Ariel...why wait?"

I bite my lip, going still in my mate's arms, and then burst into a wild grin. "Let's do

it!"