Mated to the Alpha Twins by Jane Doe
Chapter 75
We met up with Garrett, Julian, and Alec just an hour later. Between Alec’s heated glances and Kade’s comforting touches, it was hard to take the situation seriously. I invited Tori to join, no longer keeping her at an arm’s length.
Tori acted as a bodyguard of sorts. Alec and Kade had a*s*signed her to me shortly after the rogue incident, which I found somewhat surprising. Oddly s*e*xist of me, but I didn’t expect Tori to be such a sK*lled warrior. She had fought in the battle with the rogues, but I hadn’t taken the time to notice. My eyes had been only for Alec and Kade that horrible day.
Every time I thought about my life in this pack, I found myself astounded. I had gone from trusting no one to finally having a family of my own. I trusted Tori, Alec, and Kade with my life. I only trusted Garrett and Julian due to their mutual agreement on keeping me alive. Both needed an heir to their pack’s, and unfortunately, that was me.
We met up in Alec and Kade’s house, using one of the many rooms I hadn’t yet ventured into. This one was large and open, and office of sorts. A large table sat in the center of the room, surrounded by swiveling office chairs. A few large maps were pinned to the walls, highlighting our territory and the surrounding packs.
I could now see what Garrett and Julian were talking about. Both of their lands was pinned directly under Alec and Kade’s, making it impossible for them to expand their territory.
I hadn’t talked it over with Alec and Kade yet, but I was beginning to think of a solution for that problem. Once we took over Julian and Garrett’s packs, all of the territories would be lumped together. There would be more than enough room to disperse some of the citizens and possibly expand our own territory North.
Julian and Garrett were the first to arrive, both looking a little worse for wear. While Garrett and Alec were looking for more information on my abilities, Julian was looking into the rogue attack. My gut was telling me there had been something more that caused the attack. It was the first I had seen, and hopefully the last, but the scale of the attack it had been larger than I thought possible. I shuddered at the thought, wondering what an all-out war between werewolves would look like.
Garrett stood against the edge of the circular table, his palms flat against the cold surface. His eyebrows were bunched together, and his l!ps were pressed in a thin line. Julian looked nearly the same, and even Alec had a frustrated expression on his face, which smoothed out a bit once I walked into the room.
As much as I wanted to stand and feign strength, my muscles were aching bitterly. I plopped down in one of the chairs, thankful Kade sat in the one beside me. Alec didn’t bother sitting, but leaned against the table to the right of me, looking like a male model with his shirt sleeves bunched at the elbows and his hair sK*llfully tousled. Even frustrated, he was incredibly alluring.
“Well, let’s get on with it then,” Garrett grumbled, caring little about formalities once the Twin’s parents made their way into the spare room. All eyes turned to Garrett’s. “I’ve found next to nothing, but I haven’t extinguished my resources yet. I have a few friends at the High Table who might be swayed to our side.”
“I’d say you found a little more than nothing,” Alec grunted, flashing Garrett a quick glare.
“It means nothing.” Garrett snapped, much unlike his usual well-kept self.
The heavy emotions in the room were beginning to give me a headache. Julian, Garrett, and Alec were all frustrated, but emotions weren’t that simple. They were often layered, sometimes mixed with one another. While Garrett was frustrated, he was also anxious and worried. Alec’s emotions mirrored Garrett’s down to the last drop. Whatever they had learned, it was something to worry over.
“Garrett, tell us what you know,” Kade grunted, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Garrett’s eyes snapped over to Kade, flickering with annoyance. It was still strange to see myself reflected in those eyes, to know that I had gotten that trait from Garrett. “Any information helps.”
“White wolves were much more prominent a couple of hundred years ago. It seems hunting them to near extinction has caused a—decline in white wolves. Who would have thought?” Garrett scoffed dryly, “The abilities were paired into categories. Those who weren’t a threat, were usually allowed to live—so long as they didn’t rustle the waters, so to speak.
“There’s more information about the peaceful abilities. Speaking to animals, increased knowledge, controlling nature. All seemingly non-threatening abilities. The next tier had even less information. Levitation, telekinesis, weather control. Dangerous, but not the worst of the bunch. Those wolves were either controlled, or put to death.” Alec picked up where Garrett had left off, running a hand over the lower half of his face. “The highest tier only had a few names, most of which made no sense—except for one.
“We have no proof that Aurora is what they speak of,” Garrett grunted, wiping the emotion from his face as though he had forgotten my strange abilities.
What I felt coming from him was fear, only solidifying the fact that Garrett cared for me in some strange way. Love wasn’t perfect, nor was it always healthy and pure. Whatever Garrett felt for me, it wasn’t only because I was his daughter. That kind of love was selfish, but did that make it meaningless? I wasn’t entirely sure.
“You’re right, we don’t. Either way, we’re not keeping this from her.” Alec snapped, not bothering to hide his anger and general dislike towards Garrett. Alec turned his eyes to me, and I felt that flash of comfort settles over my weary bones. “There wasn’t much, but the passage talked about fire-starters and something they liked to call an emotional leech.”
“An emotional leech?” I scoffed, somehow managing to feel offended at the term.
Sure, my abilities had to do with emotions, but to call me a leech I wasn’t sure I agreed with that.
‘Well, what you did during the battle was kind of what a leech does.’ Thalia chimed in, not at all caring about the crude term. ‘You s*cked all those terrible emotions from everyone and gave it back to them. Hence the term, emotional leech.’
‘Fine, you’re right about that part, but that’s the only time I feed off of emotions.’ I grunted defensively, ‘I’m not feeding off their emotions right now, am I? If anything, they’re all beginning to give me a headache.’
The amount of frustration and pent-up dislike reminded me of the skittering feeling that came when an insect crawled over your skin. I continued shifting in my seat as the boiling emotions rolled across my skin, setting my teeth on edge. The only thing that took the bitter bite off of the emotions was Alec’s gentle touch. His l!ps were tipped down, and concern radiated from his very pores.
“While the name is a bit crude, it somewhat fits.” Alec frowned, standing from the edge of the table as he sat in one of the office chairs and pulled me into his lap.
The love that emanated from him felt like being wrapped in a thick blanket, one that chased away the other harsh emotions battering my mind.
“Crude?” Tori snorted under her breath, “More like ignorant. Of course, men would criticize something they know little about. Better to just K*ll them all off then actually try and understand them.”
“Not all were needlessly K*lled off, child. White wolves were brought into the world to help bring peace, but many were s*cked into wars started by Alpha’s.” Garrett grunted, fixing Tori with a sour look. He glanced my way as he spoke these next words, bringing on a glare of my own. “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“You’re saying Aurora’s power will corrupt her?” Tori scoffed, shaking her head at Garrett. “Forgive me, Alpha, but you’re full of sh*t. Even a blind person could tell she’d make a great Luna. If anyone can handle that kind of power, she can. Besides, she has me and the twins, of course.”
“Regardless, many of the Alpha’s at the High Table will want her dead. Better safe than sorry, in their case.” Garrett snarled under his breath.
“Then it’s your job to convince your friends to join our side.” Kade chimed in, his voice a deep baritone that echoed across the room.
“Alpha Grayson might not be on the High Table anymore, but I still consider him a good friend. Perhaps he could help sway some of the others,” The Twin’s Dad mused.
“Then it’s settled.” Alec nodded, turning his gaze to Julian, who had remained silent for this entire ordeal. “What did you find out regarding the rogue attack?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Julian frowned, and the tension in the room seemed to ripple tenfold. Noticing the confused expression on my face, he turned his eyes my way and continued. “Typically, after a rogue attack, there will be the talk amongst the packs. Rogue’s rarely ever do anything quietly. I’ve spoken with every surrounding pack, and none have seen a single rogue.”
“They were all concentrated on our pack,” Kade muttered darkly, his eyes flickering over to where I sat on his brother’s lap. “This was orchestrated by someone. Have you heard the word of any of the other Alpha’s planning something like this?”
“I’ve heard nothing, not a single whisper.” Julian sighed, “Many of my pack members have family within the rogue communities. They have suffered many losses.”
“They remain loyal to your pack?” Kade asked without caution, and Julian’s face soured at the question.
“Of course. Where the rogues live without rules, they also lack discipline and protection. I offer them that protection, give them a safe life one where they can find their mates and have families. None would ever betray me, that I am certain of.” Julian responded icily. “Speaking of which, I would appreciate my pack member back-the one I sent to retrieve Aurora. I hear he’s been sitting away in your dungeons.”
“I think Justin’s release should be Aurora’s decision, don’t you?” Kade remarked, the corners of his l!ps twitching.
As much as I wanted to hold a grudge against Julian’s poor decision, feeling the emotions of others gave clarity to many situations. For example, all I could feel from Julian was concern. He was worried about Justin, worried about the family that missed him. That alone was enough to f0rce my hand, to rea*s*sure myself that I was making the right decision.
“Let him go.” I nodded, not once breaking eye contact from Julian.
“Thank you, Aurora.” Julian nodded, his voice steady and genuine.
“Do something like that again, and it’ll be you sitting in the dungeons,” I warned, speaking with more false bravado than anything else.
Kade let out a booming laugh, one that nearly made me jump. Tori’s quiet chuckle was next. Even Julian’s l!ps had twitched into a smile. The only one who remained solemn was Garrett.
I was horribly tired, and the emotions flitting around the room were only making it worse. As our meeting came to an end, I was more than excited for a little one-on-one time with both of the twins. They were the brief break from the emotional barrage that pounded my mind, like the calm within the storm.
Tori, it seemed, had other plans in mind. She wanted a few more hours of training, insisting I learn a few more basic combat moves. More than anything, I was thankful she didn’t drag me back out to the gym. The twins had a small gym of their own in the house, one that would suit our needs just fine.
As Alec and Kade sauntered into the basement gym, I found myself feeling horribly self-conscious. It wasn’t a secret that I had little to no knowledge of defending myself. You’d think dealing with Frank would make me want to learn to defend myself, but I never had the resources to try that route.
My self-consciousness went out the window the moment Alec and Kade added their own advice into the mix. The three of them showed me how to disarm an enemy, whether they held a gun or knife. Kade showed me a few moves I could use should anyone sneak up behind me. It was much easier training with Tori, if I were being honest. Every time the twin’s pressed up against me, their strong hands on my waist or arms, well-it made it hard to focus on what they were saying.
An hour turned into three, and I was practically swaying on my feet by the time we finished. The sun had set in the sky, and night now reined. I watched from the living room window as Tori jogged down the street and over to her house. Before I could get a word in, I was scooped into a familiar set of arms.
“Looks like someone’s had a long day.” Alec chuckled, letting out a low growl as I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck. A heavy shudder seemed to work its way up his spine, and his fingers tightened around my waist.
“Think we should mention it to her now?” Kade’s voice sounded distant. I tried my hardest to listen, but my eyelids were so, so heavy. My entire body felt made of lead, and I cherished the weightless bliss of being held in Alec’s arms. “They’ll expect us to be marked when we arrive.”
“Not right now. Something tells me she’s not listening anyway.” Alec chuckled, brushing some sweat-coated hair from my forehead. “It’s going to be harder for her, having two mates. One Alpha’s mark is bad enough.”
“If anyone can handle it, Aurora can,” Kade grumbled sincerely.
While I picked up every word, my sleep-infested brain thought them useless and chucked them aside. I didn’t feel the plush bed beneath my back as I was set down, nor did I feel them pulling my socks and shoes off. I did, however, feel comfort wash over my every aching muscle when the two of them slipped into bed beside me.