The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

He turns his head back to me. "They nap?"

My mouth spreads into a grin. "At four? Kind of a lot."

"Oh god," he groans, putting his head again in his hands. "I don't - I don't know what I'm doing. I'm trying to do it all right – I just...have no idea what's going on..."

"You sound just right for a new dad," Roger says, wandering over with Cora at his side, both of them smiling lovingly down at my big, confused Alpha mate. “We pretty much lived in that state of anxiety and unknowing for the first eight years of Jesse's existence."

"And I'm great!" Jesse calls from the breakfast buffet, where he loads up a plate. Jackson hesitates, studying Jesse, clearly wondering if it was the best choice.

Cora and Roger burst out laughing, and I do too, and then Jackson does and the room rings with it. I scootch closer to Jackson's side, looping my arm in his and leaning against him. "It's gonna be fine, Jacks," I whisper. "This is her family. Kind of a crash course in it, yes but...she's going to have to get used to us sometime."

“Yeah, I guess you're right," Jackson murmurs, looking over to where Seraphina really is playing quite gently with Marigold - much more gently than she does with her other siblings, who she bites and tackles with glee. But the light in Marigold's little brown puppy eyes that shine so bright against her wolf's dark fur - god, she just looks so incredibly happy that my eyes fill with tears.

“Looks like breakfast cocktails are in order," Roger says, giving us both a wink and then starting over for the bar cart.

"What?" I ask, wiping at my eyes.

But I understand more completely when I look over at Jackson and see his eyes filled with tears too as he watches his little girl play with her new cousin. As he realizes that unlike him, she's going to grow up with a family.

And a really, really good one at that.

I lean close against my mate and pass a great deal of love down our bond.

Jacks leans against me too and sends it right back.

Sensing that it will put Jackson most at ease, my family is uncharacteristically calm and subdued for the rest of the day. Roger pours Jackson a big glass of whiskey that he nurses, his eyesnoveldrama

constantly moving back to old.

As the hours pass each of the adults in our family spends a little one-on-one time with Jacks, chuffing him up and ensuring him

that he can do this.

Rafe, Mark, and Jesse each take turns playing with the girls, little games that leave the pair shouting with laughter and joy. At some points I even hear Marigold chattering with her new friend, talking on and on in her excitement, belying her first impression as a quiet and subdued child.

But even as they have fun, I keep myself stuck to Jackson's side, knowing that Marigold is in good hands and that Jackson needs me more right now. Because even as he starts to settle into his new role as father - more aligned with dad and Roger now than Jesse and Rafe - I can still feel the confusion, and anxiety, and quite a bit of fear roiling within him.

-

So, I just stay quietly at his side, passing him counter emotions as much as I can down the bond. Not telling him that he's wrong just... providing encouragement and perspective. Letting him know that we're safe. That it's good. That it's all going to be all right.

By the time the girls fade a bit, ready

for their afternoon nap, and Cora

and mom take them into mom's

bedroom to lay down and sleep for a bit, I sense that Jackson's a bit ready for a nap too. His anxiety about the nap ran high for a moment until Cora introduced him testhe concept of a baby monitor, after which I saw his shoulders

slump visibly with relief. Saw, indeed, a great deal of exhaustion come over his face.

"You okay?" I whisper, leaning against Jacks, smiling up into his face.

"Oh, I guess so," he says, glancing down at the monitor and accepting a fresh drink from Roger, taking an eager sip and welcoming the relaxation it promises. Then he smiles at me and nods over to the couches where everyone is sitting, and we go over to join.

We're just sitting down and settling in when another knock comes at the door.