The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 65
“Don't you just want to see what else you can melt, Clark?” Jackson asks on a
long inhale of breath, looking at me with sad eyes. “Come on, I bet you could
melt this whole tree if you wanted to.”
“Well, one, that's not good for the environment,” I say, rolling my eyes at him
which makes him laugh, just a little. “And two, no, I don’t want to melt the tree I
want to talk about you. Honestly, Jackson, I won't tell anyone you know I won't. I
won't even let anyone know that I know! I'll keep your secret.”
“Why does it even matter, Ari?” he asks, looking away from me. “Why do you
want to know so badly? It doesn’t change anything.”
A thousand answers flood my mind. That it could help me understand what I can
do how. his power compliments mine. That I want to know more about him. That
I'm just so damn
curious.
But, in the end, I settle for the truth.
“I want you to know that you have someone here who will keep your secrets,
Jackson,” I say quietly, willing him to believe me.
Jackson looks up at me in surprise, his blue eyes wider than I've seen them
before.
We're silent again, but as it has been before with us, there's no awkwardness to
it. But then he breaks it.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” he whispers, half baffled and half...
suspicious, I realize. Lik
I've got ulterior motives or something.
I stare at him, my heart cracking in grief for the lessons his past life must have
taught him.
“Jackson,” I murmur, saying his name like a promise. “Why are you so surprised
that I genuinely just...want to be nice to you?”
He turns his face away from me like he’s been struck, staring at the ground
beneath the tree in shock and surprise. I watch his profile as he swallows heavily,
as he presses his lips
together in frustration or...consternation? Honestly, I don’t know what. But I give
him the space to process it.
“I don't have to eat,” he says suddenly, the words falling from his lips in a rush,
like they've escaped from a dark place and can’t wait to get away.
“What?” I ask, confused.
He looks at me then, his brows drawn, almost angry as he speaks — but I know
not at me. “I don’t have to eat like...ever, if I don’t want to. I mean, eventually, I'd
have to eat, but...that's what I can do.”
“Whoa,” I say, sitting up straighter. “That is....that is seriously weird, Jacks.”
He nods solemnly, agreeing. “I also don’t have to sleep, if I don’t want to, for
like...days. Longest I've gone is three weeks. And I can run for miles and
just....not get tired.”
My eyes go wider as his confession progresses. “And like, nothing happens? You
can just go?”
He looks at me then. “I get really skinny after a while,” he says, shrugging. “Oh,
and I can eat like...everything.”
I laugh then, shaking my head. “I'm not sure that's magic,” I say, looking him up
and down, “Rafe’s as big as you and he also eats like a horse
“No,” he says, smiling at my laughter, “I mean like...I can eat without stopping for
as long as I wanted. And I don’t get full I just get...” he looks down at himself, at
his seriously impressive musculature. “...bigger.”
“Really?” I ask, my laughter fading as I look him over anew. “So....could you get
as big as an elephant if you kept going?”
“Nah,” he says, smirking, “we tried that once. I think my skeleton’s reached its
natural height I just get...fat.”
I laugh then, unable to imagine it. Jackson — he’s very fit, isn't he? “Wait, how
fat?”
He groans, putting his hand over his eyes and then rubbing it down the length of
his face.
“So fat, Clark, you don’t even want to know. Thank god there aren’t any pictures.”
“What, did you just like, experiment? To see how long you could push it?”
He shrugs, nodding, turning his face back to me. “Wouldn't you, if you figured out
that that's what you could do?”
“I suppose,” I murmur, turning my head. “Though didn’t you get bored, when
everyone else. was asleep? And like, get sick of the taste of food?”
“Yes!” he says, his eyes going wide as he laughs. “That's exactly what happened
— and nobody gets that. Like, after eighteen blackberry pies...you never want a
slice of pie ever again.”
I laugh, squeezing his hand and nodding at him. “It's really incredible, Jackson,” I
sigh, so happy that he told me, so honored that he trusted me enough to keep his
secret. “It's one hell of a power. I wish I could borrow it, would probably keep me
up through these long nights of studying.”
“Well,” he says, looking down at our clasped hands. “Maybe you can...”
“What?” I ask, also looking down.
“Clearly, there’s some sort of connection between our... magic,” he murmurs.
Inwardly, I correct him. Us, I think. There’s something between us. But I clench
my jaw to keep from blurting it out.
“I think... well, I think that you were able to melt the marble because of whatever
connects. our magic,” he says, and I nod, agreeing. “So...maybe I can pass mine
to you or something. Who knows.”
“How do we experiment with that?”
Jackson shrugs. “Next time you're tired, come find me. See if I can pass some
energy to you. I've got plenty of it — it's annoying, honestly.”
1 grin, pleased to see him talking more casually now, like one would to a real
friend.
Or a MATE, my wolf corrects in my mind, trotting anxiously back and forth. She's
pissed, I know, because she wants me to tell him my secrets, to be as open with
him as he’s been with me.
Soon. I murmur to her, stroking a hand over her fur. Not yet.
She huffs but lets me be.
“Why is it annoying to have so much energy?” I ask.
“Constantly have to monitor it,” he murmurs, looking into my face now, studying
me, I think, in the same ways that I've studied him. “It all comes down to what I
eat. If I eat too much, it manifests in either sleeplessness or weight gain. If I eat
too little, I lose muscle.” He sighs, shaking his head. “It's annoying, counting
calories.”
“Jackson,” I say, dry, raising an eyebrow. “I've seen you eat breakfast — that
mountain of pancakes?”
He laughs, seeing the direction of this.
I roll my eyes now, “you're not counting calories.”
Jackson grins at me with a shrug. “Fine, it's not a precise science. But I've had
enough sleepless nights to know not to push it.”
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I . » . . Sr
Well, fine,” I sigh, putting my chin in

my hand and resting my elbow on my

: : “
knee while I gaze at him. “If you want
to pass me energy when it comes
time to study for exams, I am not

3 » 5
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chapter there!
“Good,” he murmurs, smiling a little. “At least this gift will benefit someone
besides me, for
once.”
of his clear desire to connect with
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I think, then, on the selflessness of
that statement someone, to be a
help. And then, interestingly, how
much it relates to what he said about
wanting to help the people of his
community... The content is on
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chapter there!
But also, how he doesn’t miss them.
Honestly, what has been his history?
I know better than to press now, though. I have a feeling that Jackson is probably
finished confessing for today.
“So,” I say, grinning up at him. “What's the longest you've stayed up?”
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Jackson laughs then, tilting his head
back and pressing his eyes shut,
clearly remembering something
o : : : ao
either hilarious or terrible. “Ari,
) »

honestly, you don't want to know.” I
smile as my eyes go immediately to
the long length of his throat, the soft
skin at the base of his neck. I have to
bite my lip then, resisting the urge to
bend forward and press my lips
there. The content is on
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chapter there!
Do it, my wolf hisses.
I just sigh and mentally press a hand to her fur. Someday, I promise.
“No, tell me!” I insist, tucking my emotions away and forcing myself to be,
instead, the friend he so clearly needs. “I want to know.”
And, to my delight, Jackson turns to me and begins.