Chapter 581

noveldrama

"Ariel," Jackson breathes, turning towards me with his eyes wide. "It's hypothetical - I don't think - I never -"

My body's temperature begins to increase exponentially as I just stare at my mate, my wolf whimpering and snarling in me at turns as I turn the idea over in my mind, unable to turn away from it.

Jackson - with another mate. Jackson - another girl - who he met when he was younger - someone else - me having to share him, to watch him look at another girl the way he looks at me -

"You need to calm down,” Jackson whispers, his eyes flicking to my hands pressed against my desks. He leans forward, taking my face in his hands, staring deep into my eyes. "Calm down, Ariel. Seriously."

But his touch - something in me grabs onto his power. And quite suddenly, the table beneath my hands gets very, very hot.

"Shit, shit," Rafe shouts, jumping to his feet and leaping for Jackson, intending to push him away from me -

But it's too late - I gasp as the desk beneath my hands begins to superheat, smoke starting beneath my palms. I panic, but it only makes it worse, and Jackson shouts as he jumps to his feet, dropping his hands from my face. Even with him gone, I suddenly feel my power moving without my intent-flowing into the wood, following my wild emotions' order to burn without any way for me to stop it, to pull it back.

"Ari!" Tony gasps, jumping out of his own chair and reaching for me. Jackson turns to knock him away, growling, protective - but Tony ducks under his arm, reaching for me, his hand coming to lay flat against the back of my neck.

Instantly, coolness floods me - as it did before, so many months ago, when we worked together in class.

The desk beneath me still smokes but instantly I feel coolness like snowmelt flood my body, my veins. And I welcome it - welcome Tony's magic, whipping my head up to stare at him in shock.

"Water and fire," he whispers, holding my gaze, giving me a little smile as he glances at my hands and sees that I can move them away now, that they're not nearly as hot as they were. "See? We're friends for a reason."

I start to take deep breaths, taking my shaking hand away from the desk, not surprised at all but certainly appalled to see my handprints clearly branded into the surface there.

Wide-eyed but in control, I look around to see everyone staring at me with similar expressions on their faces.

"I'm sorry," Jackson whispers, reaching for me again but then hesitating, not wanting to start me off again.

"I think we have learned," Jesse says quietly, "to never, ever mention the idea of Jackson having another mate to Ariel, ever again."

I spin my head to glare at my cousin, my eyes flashing as my emotions flare, my palms again growing hot.

Jesse's eyes go wider and he puts his hands up in apology. "Apparently," he says quietly, "not even in jest."

Tony, his hand still wrapped lightly around the back of my neck, quietly lets me feel more of his magic and coolness again floods me.

I take a few deep breaths and then turn to Tony, nodding to him, letting him know that I'm okay. And then I reach out my hand for Jackson, whose wolf is howling, horribly sad for upsetting me so much and wanting very much to be told that it's okay.

"Are your hands okay," Jackson asks, his voice shaking as he kneels in front of me and reaches for my hand, turning it over. But I already know what we will find, because there's absolutely no pain. When he turns my hand over in his we both see that my palm is totally fine - not a scorch on it.

Because of course not - I'm a tiny fire goddess. Of course I'm immune to the burns.

I exhale slowly, closing my eyes, wondering how the hell we didn't realize this before.

Jackson clasps my hand in his, horribly relieved, and I take a moment to reassure him down the bond that it's okay - letting him feet that I'm all right, apologizing in turn for freaking out so much. He murmurs quietly back to me down the bond, saying the same things, both of us feeling incredibly guilty and honestly neither of us feeling much better about it.

“We need to talk about this," Rafe says, his voice harsh, pulling me out of my moment with Jackson as we all turn to him. I see him looking at me, worked, before he returns his eyes to mom and Cora. "I get this theory about Jesse...maybe meeting his mate," he says, his voice snapping. "But things are very different now - Ariel burning things just because she gets upset? She's always upset!"

My mouth falls open a little at this, annoyed, but he ignores me and moves on.

“And Tony being able to seriously affect her magic with his touch?" Rafe says. "And even Jesse like... being able to do that with his shadows after like, a day?" He casts a hand out towards our cousin, "it took Ariel months to do anything except melt some glass - and Jackson now can just....give me and Jesse energy through Ariel!? I honestly don't think it was just coincidence that we just happened to figure all this out now. Maybe some of it, but not all of it. What - what is happening?"