The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

For a moment my wolf likewise stands frozen with shock in my soul as we both just stare at the little girl in front of us.

But then my wolf breaks into a terrible howl, starting to dart back and forth in my soul, panicked.

I come back to myself, gasping in a long breath of air before I start to pant, my eyes flicking between the little girl and my mate – immediately seeing the

resemblance there - the fucking uncanny resemblance between this little girl and her dad.

Her dad.

Her fucking dad, who looks just like her, from whom she inherited that steady gaze, those gorgeous blue eyes...

My hands curl in and out of fits as I try, quite desperately, to avoid a meltdown.

Because...what the fuck is happening?

Where...where did this kid come from!? And why is she in my house!?

"You..." I whisper, my eyes moving to Jackson now. "You...you have a...baby..."

"Not baby," Marigold says and I snap my eyes back to her, awed to hear her speak because when she does she's so...she's just so fucking real. "Marigold."

I huff out a little laugh, appalled and shocked and...fascinated.

Because...is that her name?

"You...have a Marigold," I whisper, my eyes slowly moving back to Jackson, who just stares at me, devastated.

"Ariel," he says, his voice croaking out of his throat as he gets to his feet, reaching for me. "Please, this just happened -"

"It so did not!" I say, laughing hysterically, gesturing towards her. "She's like - eight!"

"Four!" Marigold corrects, frowning at me.

I again snap my eyes back to her, shocked.

"Allll right," my mom says, slowly getting up out of her chair and reaching for the little girl. "Rafe, you grab some cookies for dessert, and the three of us," she says, pointing between herself and Rafe and Mark, "are going to take Marigold upstairs to get her ready for bed!"

I squeak with shock because...is she sleeping over!?

What the fuck is happening right now!?

"You two talk," mom says, settling the little girl on her hip and looking sternly between Jackson and me. "And be kind to each other, okay?"

I stare into my mother's eyes for a moment before my gaze drifts down to the little girl. And then I turn, watching as the four of them move out of the kitchen. A soft whine breaks from Jackson's throat and I spin towards him, realizing that -

That he doesn't want the little girl to go.

Because it's his fucking daughter - and he wants to be with her so he can protect her -

My entire body starts to tremble. "Jackson?" I whisper, shaking all over. "What... what's happening?"

He turns his head to me and gasps, reaching for me at once. "Ariel," he says, grabbing me by the arm, pulling me roughly to him and wrapping me up against his chest. "I'm so, so sorry -"

I continue to shake, gasping little huffy breaths, completely shocked at this bizarre turn of my reality. I mean, is this even happening? Is this even real?

"Who is that little girl?" I whisper.

Jackson sighs, and I feel his chin on top of my head as he tucks me in close. "She's my kid, Ariel. I'm sorry - I didn't know - Cristof surprised me, he brought here here like an

—

hour ago I haven't even had time to process it myself -"

My mind turns fast as I begin to put the pieces together. Cristof.

Cristof had the child.

Which means she came from the Community.

Which means...

My mind flashes back to a conversation that feels like forever ago, but that was probably just a few months. Of being curled up with Jackson, and him telling me about his life, and his history -

Telling me about a girl who was kind to him, whose...

Whose favorite color was yellow.noveldrama

I stare up into my mate's face, still utterly shocked. "Tasha," I whisper.

Jackson swallows and clenches his jaw, looking at me with a great deal of sadness in his eyes, feeling every single one of my complex emotions through the bond as they flit through me. My wolf howls desperately and begins to dash away, running needing something to do with her body so she doesn't go insane. Jackson's wolf takes off after her, desperate to be by her side, but she just keeps running - panicked and terrified.

"Tasha," I say again, gulping. "That's that's Tasha's child -"

"My child," Jackson says, taking my face in his palms. "Mine and Tasha's, yes."

"Well, where the fuck is she!?" I ask,

stumbling back, looking around the kitchen like I'm going to find her hiding behind the huge industrial fridge or something. Which - honestly-considering I just walked into the kitchen to find my mate's daughter having dinner with my mom and brothers, doesn't sound so incredibly insane right now!