The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

"I mean," Midnight says, rolling her eyes, "I don't really know exactly who it was - they never fill me in on anything good. But it was probably those stupid Atalaxians. They're always messing around here, driving their stupid carts around, building things."

"What Atalaxians?" Jesse asks, leaning forward, fascinated. They can come here? They're...building things?

"I don't know," she grumbles, peevish, meeting his eyes with her own dark brown ones. "Not all of them can come through - just the King and his son and the other one - the tall one with the pretty eyes. And then only sometimes. Not like me." She sits up straight, quite proud. "I can go back and forth anytime I want because I am Papa's favorite."

Jesse presses his lips into a thin line, kind of doubting that. "Do they come a lot? And bring stuff?"

"No," Midnight answers with a shrug. "Anyone else who comes here and any supplies those three have to bring through. But they're fancy and busy so..." she shrugs. "They don't come a lot. Not now that they're finished.

"Finished what."

She goes silent, staring at him, realizing that she's said too much.

"Midnight," Jesse says, watching her carefully. "Have you been...spying on the Atalaxians?"

She gasps, her eyes going wide. "No!"

Jesse's face bursts into a grin. "Another lie," he says, closing one eye and pointing a finger right at her face.

She gasps again, a bit in wonder at how he knew, but then she looks around frantically, her full lips turning down into a desperate frown. "Please," she begs, looking all over like someone could be listening, like they could be anywhere. "Please don't tell, Jesse - please - he'd be furious if he knew I spied - I was just curious - and I'm so bored all the time - there's nothing to do -"

She gets to her knees, leaning towards Jesse, her breath coming in quick pants as she shakes her head, desperate for him not to tell.

"Midnight!" Jesse says, his eyes going wide as he catches her shoulders, giving her a small steadying shake. She whips her eyes up to him and he holds her gaze, quite serious. "I'm not going to tell anyone, all right?"

She stares at him, horrified, like she can't believe she told him in the first place. Like she can't trust him. "I'm on your side, okay?" Jesse whispers, surprised to find that he means it - really means it, from the bottom of his heart. "I'm not on Darkness's side, all right? Or the Atalaxians, which means...you and me are still at odds on some things. But I am on your side, okay?"

Midnight closes her trembling mouth, her breath coming a little easier now. "Okay." The word is squeaky, scared.

"I'm not going to tell anyone you told me," Jesse says, quiet, assured.noveldrama

"Okay," she whispers again, nodding.

Midnight sits back and Jesse drops

his hands from her shoulders. Anxiety rushes through him as he quickly does a check on himself, reaching for his wolf. But his wolf presses himself warm against Jesse's mental palms, assuring him that he's fine that the corruption didn't come through just because he touched the girl. Jesse exhales a shaky breath.

"What else do you know about the Atalaxians?" he asks, his equanimity slowly coming back.

Midnight scowls at him and he smiles. "I'm not telling you. I'm sure I'm not supposed to. You're on stupid Moon Valley's side, and they are bad."

"Moon Valley is great," Jesse says, dismissive and moving on immediately. "But no, you have to tell me." "What?" Her eyebrows go up.

"We're mates," he says, cool and easy. "You have to tell me everything. Those are the rules."

Her eyes flare as she stares at him, clearly buying into it, and Jesse's wolf sighs, glaring at him for lying to this girl, manipulating her with logic that would work on a five-year-old. Hey, Jesse says internally, giving his wolf a little shove. We're at war, and this girl has information.

His wolf just grumbles his discontent as Midnight again crosses her arms over her chest.

"Fine," she says, raising her chin. "But then you have to tell me stuff too."

"I'll tell you whatever you want," Jesse says, giving a shrug, knowing he means it quite earnestly except in terms of state secrets or something. But he doesn't have many of those anyway.

"Fine," she sighs, standing up. "But let's go to my house and talk there. Where there are snacks."

Jesse perks up at the news of food, his stomach growling. But even as he stands, he watches her warily. "Seriously, Mids, where is this house? Is it honestly very far?"

"No!" she says, huffing a frustrated little laugh. "It's really just there! See? You can see the top of it." She casts out a hand and Jesse leans forward, peering in the darkness.

And to his surprise, there actually is something there - just a little bit of canvas peaking out over a hill. Jesse stills and then turns to Midnight with a groan. "Midnight... is your house...is it just a tent?"