The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"Sweetheart," mom whispers, glancing back at the fire. "Baby...try it again, okay? Can you...can you pull on the wind? Like you did before when... Luca was here too?"

I frown at her and shake my head. "Mom, it needs physical contact," I say. "That's how it's always been. And he's...not here."

She looks at me, her expression pleading, and she glances once at Jackson like she's worried for him. "But he is with you, baby," mom whispers, raising her own hand to wrap around her neck, high up and close to her jaw.

I gasp a little, realizing that she's touching her neck precisely where Luca marked mine. My own hand flies up to the mark - the indelible piece of Luca that I'll always carry

And then I snap my head back to the fire that still burns in the middle of the clearing, and I pull hard on the wind, just as I would if Luca were here holding my hand.

The wind soars through the clearing, ragged and uneven. I pulls it in shaky bursts, not the smooth torrent it was before - but it's there - and it's so clearly responding to my call -

I moan a little, in relief as much as grief, as the wind mixes with the fire, lifting it high into the air. We all watch, breathless, as the fire climbs into the sky. And I shake my head because it's not the same. The whirlwind sputters and starts, climbing and then falling and then climbing again, rough and uneven. But it's there.

I let it fall, letting the fire collapse to the ground, and groan as I turn into Jackson, burying my face in his chest, my shoulders shaking as I try to put the pieces of this together. He wraps one arm around my back, his other hand softly cupping the back of my head as he stands steady and holds me tight. I take a few deep breaths, trying - trying hard to understand it - to put the pieces of it together.

And as I do, the Goddess's words come back to me. That I need my mate's marks, that it's important to my magic. That this, maybe, was what she was talking about the whole time. That getting the marks wasn't even about my romantic relationships that it was always about the magic. About giving me a piece of them as part of me so that I'd be able to do...this.

Whatever this is.

Even when they're far away.

"Baby," mom murmurs after a long moment, coming close. "Sugar, are you all right?"

I take a few deep breaths, trying hard to pull myself together, and then I turn my face to my mother, my cheeks damp. "How is it possible?" I breathe.

"Ariel," mom says, stepping close and again glancing up at Jackson with that worried expression. "Luca... your bond with him isn't fully broken, all right?"

My eyes go wide as mom quickly

explains, Rafe and Cora coming to stand close behind her listening. She tells me everything - about dad

saying the physical effects of th netsnoveldrama

rejection should have been so much worse, and checking on the bonds, and finding that my bond with Luca is still...there. Ragged and thin but there.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I whisper, shaking my head, wrapping my arms as far around Jackson as they'll go, wanting to keep him close.

"You were already in so much pain,

baby," mom whispers, shaking her head at me. "We never meant to keep it from you forever. But we wanted to give you space, to let you heal piece by piece. I'm sorry if that

was wrong."

I nod, looking down at the ground, considering it. But ultimately deciding that...I get it. That she was just trying to protect me and let me heal.