Chapter 855

Jackson snarls down into my face, though I don't budge an inch, completely unafraid. Because even if fear and anger ripple through him at that confirmation, I know that none of this is for me. For my grandmother, perhaps - but not for me.

"Hey," I whisper, reaching a hand up and cupping his cheek in my palm. "This one? This stupid mate? I hate him."

Jackson stares at me for a long moment before a laugh pulses through him. "Seriously?"

I nod vigorously. "He sucks, Jacks. He's really mean, and he murdered his cousin tonight, and he punched me earlier -"

Jackson stands up straight, his eyes flaring. "He punched you?"

I smirk a little, turning my face to show him my bruised jaw. "The regicide is okay, but the punching is where you draw the line?"

He snarls, deep and true, as he leans close to me and wraps his hands around the bars. "Come on, we're getting you out of here, and then I'm coming back to kill him."

"Jacks,” I say, a little frantic, my hands covering his on the bars. At least, as much as they can. "Not - not yet."

He whips his head up to look at me, again shocked. "What are you talking about? We have to go, Ariel!"

"No, please," I beg, my wolf howling her desperation so he can see how deeply we're feeling it. "I just – there's so much more happening, Jackson. Can we just take a minute, and think about it, before we go tearing this cage apart and make our escape?"

"What else could we possibly want to do, Ariel?" Jackson asks, bending forward to lean against the cage, to bring his face closer to mine. "Than get you the fuck out of here?"

I bite my lip and shrug. "Um...destroy Atalaxia and end the war?"

Jackson just stares at me for a moment like I'm insane. Then he shakes his head, once, hard. "Nope. Not our job. I'm getting you out of here."

He again tightens his hands on the iron and I smack at them. "It is my job! It is - these are my people and my nation that are being threatened by Atalaxia!"

"And my mate that they've got in a cage!"

"Please, Jacks," I beg, shaking my head at him too. "Please, let me just...tell you everything. And then we'll decide."

He sighs and hangs his head. "You are...killing me, tiny."

"I know, baby," I whisper, reaching up and again cupping his cheek in my hand. He sighs and leans his face against my hand, filling my heart with joy. "That's... also my job."noveldrama

Jackson huffs a laugh and then glances around. "Do we have time? Is anyone coming here?"

"I don't think so," I say, shaking my head. "They're really busy tonight trying to solve a murder even though everyone already knows who did it."

Jackson raises an eyebrow at that but lets it pass. "If anything weird happens, Ariel," he says, his voice low and serious. "I'm ripping these bars apart and taking you out of here. Okay?"

"Okay," I say, agreeing to these terms.

"Okay," he sighs, sinking down to the ground and indicating that I should do the same so that we can talk. I grin as I do as I'm told, settling down across from my mate and beaming at him through the bars of my cage. "I hate this a lot."

"Yes, but I love you for listening to me," I say, reaching forward and taking his hands. "Amongst a thousand other things."

Jackson sighs and raises one of my hands to his mouth, kissing it. And I begin to tell him everything.

The telling takes a long, long time, and the moons in the Land of Darkness crest all the way over the sky as I telt Jackson about Elias and Pippa, and Gabriel and his poor corrupted wolf, and the life of Atalaxian women, and of Faiza, and the cyanide, and Ben being here, and everything that happened tonight.

Jackson holds my hand in his nearly the whole time, staring at my palm as he listens, tracing over its lines with one of his fingers. He interrupts only a few times when he needs more information or I've skipped something over, but mostly my

sweetheart mate just lets meel

and listens intently. As he always does, taking me quite seriously, considering my thoughts and observations and opinions. As I go, our wolves curl up together, his making a neat circle completely around mine. She stretches her nose over his paw, completely content.

"So..." I say at the end, studying the wide set of my mate's shoulders, the top of

his dark head. "What do you think about all of that?"

He takes a moment before lifting his lovely sapphire eyes to mine. “I can't say I'm thrilled about the sudden appearance of a handsome new mate.”

"Handsome new murdery mate with very anti-woman leanings. Honestly, Jacks, he's...not a threat to us. To our relationship."

Jackson raises an eyebrow at me. "And yet you want to stay."

I sigh, moving closer to him, suddenly wishing desperately that Jackson would bend these bars sot could crawl though and curl up in his lap. "Jackson," I say, quite seriously. He looks into my eyes. "At the end of this? It's me and you."