Mated to the Alpha Twins by Jane Doe
Chapter 71
After a long but much needed night with the twins, I woke to an empty bed. Well—it wasn’t completely empty. A head of flaming hair was the first thing I saw as I opened my eyes, followed by Tori’s smirking face. She was perched on the edge of the bed, her chin resting on her hands.
“Um, how long have you been here?” I grunted; my voice thick with sleep. As I rubbed the cobwebs from her eyes, she straightened and flashed me a cheeky smile.
“Oh, a half an hour or so.” She shrugged, brushing some strands of hair from her forehead.
As my senses sharpened and the thick haze of post-sleep faded, I noticed she was wearing an emerald sports bra and black leggings. Her thick curls were pulled back from her face, and her round eyes held a flicker of impatient excitement.
“Do you always watch your friends sleep?” I snickered, sitting up against the wooden headboard.
“I most certainly do not, that is an honor bestowed only to my Luna.” She smirked, which quickly turned into a humorous grin. “I must say, Luna Aurora, you have horrible bed-head in the morning.”
“Oh, shut up.” I hissed, tossing one of the plush pillows at her face.
“Oh, testy.” She tsked, jumping from the bed before the pillow managed to hit her square in the face. “Alec and Kade must love morning Aurora. So feisty, so fierce. Keep that mindset for training today, you’re going to be one grumpy Luna once were finished.”
I grumbled incoherently as I stood from the bed and meandered over to the walk-in closet across the room. I had learned pretty quickly that Tori was one of those infuriating people who could wake up at five in the morning, chipper as can be. It took me a little longer to wake up, and even longer to shake the initial grumpiness that followed. Caffeine helped, but I had always hated waking before the sun crested in the sky.
“Chipper as always, I see.” I snorted, rummaging through the clothes hanging in the closet.
Alec and Kade’s Mom had taken it upon herself to purchase me an entirely new wardrobe. Her style was very different from my own, but I was beginning to like the clothes she had chosen for me. What made me most uncomfortable were the frilly sets of bras and underwear; that I would probably never get used to.
While I was used to the thought of Alec and Kade as my mates, the accepting nature of their family was taking a bit longer to get used to. They opened up their home to me without issue, and even let the three of us share a bedroom. Alec and Kade had briefly told me that werewolves weren’t worried about mate’s being intimate with one another. It was a natural occurrence, they said.
“Oh, you’re not going to want to wear that.” Tori shook her head, leaning against the door frame.
“Why not?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at her.
I stuffed the black t-shirt I had clutched in my hands back into the drawer it had come from. The shirt belonged to Alec, just as the sweat pants I had picked out belonged to Kade. Their clothes were more comfortable to roam the house in, and had the added bonus of smelling like my mates. They never minded when a few articles of their clothing went missing, only to reappear days later on my body. If anything, they had the ple@sure of removing said clothes at the end of the day.
“You’re going to be miserable wearing that.” She shrugged, and chuckled boisterously. “All sweaty and what not. Opt for a sports bra and leggings. You’ll show a bit of skin, but think of how much Alec and Kade will enjoy that later on.”
“Fine.” I scoffed, rummaging through the drawers of the dresser that sat in the walk-in closet. “Only because you put it that way.”
“Tell me, what’s it like having two mates?” She giggled, ending her words with a devious smile. “At this point, I’ll take one!”
A horrid blush stained my face, and I could practically her thoughts about what everyone knew went down between the three of us. The day after first sleeping with Alec and Kade, I had noticed a change in my own scent. I seemed to carry a piece of Alec and Kade wherever I went, and couldn’t ignore the knowing looks I received from quite a few people. They had sheepishly told me that when first mating, our scents would merge. Not only did I carry a piece of them with me, but they carried some of my scent as well. As much as I wanted to be angry with them, I couldn’t—not when I could feel their emotions and see the happiness on their faces.
“It’s fun, more fun than I initially thought,” I smirked, offering up no further details. “I’m sure you’ll find your mate eventually.”
“Oh, come on!” Tori gr0@ned, a hand against her heart. “Give me some juicy details! Judging from the blush on your face, I’m sure there’s plenty of nice tidbits you can tell me.”
“I should probably get dressed now, before we’re late for training,” I smirked, stepping into the bathroom with my clothes clutched in hand.
I could hear Tori’s gr0@n from inside the bathroom and chuckled at her expense. I tugged down the thick hem of the sports bra I wore, scowling at how my entire mid-section was exposed. It’s not that I typically dressed modestly, but I had never worn something quite as revealing as this. If what Tori had said was true, I’d take an exposed stomach over being hot and miserable any day.
Alec and Kade’s Mom had set out an entire breakfast for us, one I was dying to dig into. It was my turn to gr0@n when Tori handed me a foul looking smoothie and a couple protein bars before dragging me out of the house.
“It smells like feet,” I commented, wincing as I took a large gulp of the fruity concoction.
“Plug your nose.” She teased, “It’s a protein shake, Aurora. They’re not meant to taste fabulous.”
“Are there vegetables in this?” I grimaced, glancing down at the dark green shade of the shake.
“..Among other things.” That was all she said, snorting at the look of horror on my face.
When we pulled into the parking lot of the local gym, a look of confusion had formed on my face. The gym in our pack was nice, much nicer than the one that sat by the High School I went to. What confused me was why we were here to begin with.
“Here, you’re going to need this. Layer up, Luna!” Tori chuckled, tossing a small stick of deodorant at me.
I did as she said and layered the deodorant on my underarms, shrugging as a strong floral scent wafted into my nose.
“Better than stinking like sweat,” I murmured appreciatively.
“You gotta train in your human form first,” Tori commented, rummaging through the trunk of her car for a large, pink duffel bag. “The stronger you are in your human form, the stronger your wolf is.”
“Does that mean I’ll be lifting weights?” I grunted, a slight sour tone to my voice.
It was no secret that I had the coordination of a toddler, but I had yet to see what finally shifting had done for me. Back when I absolutely failed at sports, I had thought I was merely human. My senses were sharper now, my eyesight crisp in a way it hadn’t been before. Above all, I desperately hoped I could be useful to this pack—besides my strange white-wolf abilities. I wanted Alec and Kade to know that I could take care of myself instead of relying on a power I had no idea how to control.
“We’ll both be lifting weights.” Tori quipped with a cheeky grin, “Don’t worry, we’ll firm up that perky behind in no time!”
“It’s not my behind I’m worried about.” I huffed, following her to the front door of the building. “And my behind is already perky!”
The gym in town was a large modern building with a parking lot that could easily accommodate everyone in town. A large window gave me a clear view inside the gym, where I could see a mult*itude of men and women wandering from machine to machine.
We stepped inside and was greeted by the scent of disinfectant and something similar to leather. Upon entering, I found myself surprised. Whenever I thought of a gym, I had a pretty clear image in my head. A bunch of muscular, sweat-stained men grunting as they flexed and lifted weights in front of a mirror. It was just another thing I had been wrong about.
Sure, there were plenty of muscular men in this gym but there were also just as many women. The scent of sweat was so diminished, it was easily ignorable. If anything, the most noticeable scent was that of cleaner and deodorant.
The bottom half of the gym was huge. Apart from a long desk that sat a few feet from the entrance, the rest of the room was filled with machines of all types. Half of the wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and there was a plethora of those water bottle refill stations everywhere.
The woman at the front desk was casually dressed and was merrily chatting with some of the current gym-goers. Her golden hair was pulled up in a high pony, and she wore similar athletic clothes to what Tori and I wore. When she caught my eye, her spine seemed to straighten a bit, and just a tad of that easy-go humor left her eyes.
“Luna Aurora, it’s an honor to have you here!” She grinned, coming around the counter to approach us. She gripped my hand firmly and gave it a shake before flashing Tori an equally polite smile. “Everything here is at your disposal. Your trainer is upstairs in one of our private rooms. Feel free to use any of our faculties. On the second floor you’ll also find a smoothie bar, and on the third floor are the locker rooms. We have showers, and even a sauna, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
I managed to stammer a suitable thank you and followed Tori through the maze of weight machines. The quiet sound of weights clicking could be heard, along with the ever-so silent murmur that came from many of the people working out. While many eyes darted over to meet my own, none strayed any lower than my face. Men and women of all ages greeted me with a slight nod before turning back to their workouts.
Alec and Kade had explained the pack dynamics to me a few days ago. They hadn’t planned on introducing me so soon, but my appearance during the rogue battle spurred attention. Men and women of all ages would show me nothing but respect, as my word was also law.
“While I love and respect you, my benevolent Luna; I will never hesitate to call you out on your sh*t.” Tori grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as she steered me towards the stairs.
“Honestly, I appreciate that.” I chuckled along with her, “I’ve been treated like vermin my entire life, and now I’m suddenly royalty. It’s really strange, and kind of unnerving.”
“You’ve been surrounded by worthless a*s*sholes your entire life, what did you expect?” She grunted, but quickly wiped away the grimace that formed on her face. “Think of it this way, now you’re surrounded by people who know how awesome you are.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t all go to my head.” I laughed.
“That’s also in my job description.” She winked, “As the Luna’s best-friend, it is my job to make sure you don’t become all snooty and full of yourself.”
“I hope you know I’m not paying you for this.” I scoffed.
“To be in your glorious presence is payment enough, Luna Aurora.” She cooed, poking he tongue out at me.
“If you keep talking to me like that, I’m definitely going to get a big head,” I replied, giving her a genuine smile.