Jackson blinks, clearly still working to clear the sleep away as Jesse and I peer at him from either side. “McClintock isn’t a real name,” he murmurs, looking between us. “We don’t…have last names in the Community – they just assigned McClintock to me when they gave me my identity paperwork, which w
I scowl at my mate, and then glance down at myself as we move further into the cool darkness of the castle, making our way to the elevators that will take us back up to our rooms. “I hate that you work out with us now,” I mutter. “Before, I was able to be mysterious, to keep my weaknesses hidden –“
Luca and I fly through the halls of the castle and I have to laugh a little, because there’s something fun and exciting about rushing around with my hand warm in my mate’s. Luca, feeling it too, sends me a grin over his shoulder even as he moves fast, even as I can still feel his anxiety at facing m
“Mom?” I ask, my voice tense, moving immediately to her side. Dad, too, looks over at mom with concern. Mom blinks, coming back to herself, and holds out her arms to me as she stands, wrapping me in a warm hug when I come close enough. “Hi, baby,” mom murmurs, holding me tight. “Are you okay, mo
“We’re here,” dad says, pulling a chic pair of reading glasses out of his pocket and slipping them onto his nose, “to talk about Ariel’s finances.” Mom and I both smirk and send each other a glance, because dad looks so cute in his reading glasses. Not that we’d ever say that to him – he’s far too
My eyes go wide. “But I don’t want that!” “You should,” dad says, and I whip my head back to see him studying me with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t raise my children to simply hand out millions of dollars without knowing precisely where it went, Ariel.” “It’s going to Luca, dad,” I say, narrowing
I sit for a moment, my hand in Luca’s, considering my options. Part of me wants to push back – to just tell my parents to spend the money for me as they’ve always done. But still another part accepts that what they’re saying is right – that I’ve been insisting for months now that I’m not a little
“With my mind,” I say, raising my hands to my temple and narrowing my eyes, working hard for a joke that doesn’t land. Luca just stares at me and goes a little pale. “And I can light things on fire,” I say, giving a shrug as I sigh. “With your mind?” he whispers, still staring at me, his pace