Chapter 1009

"Ut-oh," Jesse says, turning to grin at me. "Looks like the secrets out."

"You could look less cheerful about it," I say, glaring at him even as I climb out of bed and move towards the door as Jackson pulls on his shirt. "It's not your education at stake, after all."

"Nooo, don't forbid me my glee," Jesse says, laughing a little as he, too, makes himself more presentable and stands up. I grin at him, knowing that he's just teasing – that he'll back me up no matter what.

I reach for the door handle as a second angry knock comes, but I don't let it rattle me, instead glancing over at Midnight and Marigold. Pleased to see that they're undisturbed and continuing their breakfast order, I take a deep breath and pull open the door.

The Captain glares down at me, livid.

"Oh hey, Captain!” I say, giving him my best Princess smile and tucking my hands innocently behind my back. "It's so nice to see you again - how've you been!?"

"Sinclair," he growls, taking an angry step forward to loom over me. He opens his mouth to begin what I'm sure is a long and fervid lecture about not letting girls into the castle.

But then he suddenly goes very still, staring at me, his eyes going wide as his mouth falls open.

And I just grin, knowing that he probably just caught a whiff of my scent.

I hear and feel Jackson coming to stand behind me, steady and strong, my Alpha ready to protect me and our two little baby girls against anything the Captain might say or do.

"Captain," Jackson says, his voice rumbling low with warning. "Good morning. Would you like to come in?"

"Hi!" Jesse calls, a little too cheerful.

I suppress a grin and step back from the door, waving a hand to invite the Captain further in.

He doesn't move, just continues to stare at me. "You're...you're..."

"Knocked up!" Jesse supplies, gleeful.

"Jess!" I sigh, turning to glare at him a bit.

"I mean, it's true," my cousin says with a shrug, grinning at me.noveldrama

"Yeah well, he brought his mate," I say, pointing over at Midnight, who puts the breakfast order into the dumbwaiter and shows Marigold how to shut the door and push the button that will deliver her magical commands. “And she's possessed by Darkness. So. I'm not the only one breaking the rules."

"To be fair," Jackson murmurs, slipping a hand around my waist and pulling me back against his chest. "I don't actually think the Cadet handbook has any clauses that forbid Cadets from getting pregnant. So, you might be in the clear there."

My eyebrows raise as I turn my eyes back on the Captain, indicating that my mate might have a point.

Something about this breaks the Captain out of his shock and he snarls, stepping into the room and leaving the door standing open in his rage. "This is - this is ridiculous - I will not have this kind of anarchy at my school!"

"It's not anarchy," Jesse murmurs, walking to the center of the room and seating himself down in his armchair. "I think you'll find that we're very organized."

"Organized," Marigold whispers, tottling over to Jesse, who scoops her up and seats her comfortably in his lap, pressing a kiss to her hair. Midnight follows, giving a happy little wave to the Captain, sitting in Rafe's chair.

The Captain just stares at both of them in shock before his eyes quickly dash to Marigold, and then up to Jesse's face and back. But then his head whips to Jackson, putting together the undeniable fact that the little girl is Jackson's daughter, not Jesse's.

“Cadets are not allowed to have children,” the Captain growls, leaning towards Jackson to glare at him. "And if they do, they are not to take residence at the Academy -"

"Well, I've got three now," Jackson says with a shrug, evenly meeting the Captain's gaze, his arm tightening around me. "And I don't think Ariel is letting any of them go anywhere."

The Captain just stares at him, again stunned, trying to put together the math that makes that statement make sense -

"Twins," I whisper, grinning and pointing at my belly.

The Captain shifts his eyes to me. "We've made exceptions for you before, Sinclair, but this goes too far - the Academy is far too dangerous a place for a pregnant woman -"

"I'm not pregnant!" Midnight calls, sounding far too proud of the fact. "So I can stay!"

The Captain whips his head to stare at her for a second before returning

his eyes to me. "You are hereby disenrolled, Sinclair,” the Captain growls, still livid with me for thinking I could just show back up and everything will be fine. "We can discuss your continued enrollment after you've..." he stumbles for the

words, his eyes moving down to my

belly. "Produced the children..."

I sigh, tilting my head to the side, not letting his anger and his commands ruffle

me. After all, we've had time to prepare for this.

"I'm afraid that timeline isn't going to work for me, Captain," I say, heaving a little shrug. "I'll be continuing my enrollment now. We'll each have to find ways to adjust."

The Captain's face starts to redden with rage at my open defiance. "You cannot -"