I had no idea why I was annoyed. Nor so at Jace. He technically hadnât done anything but state what everyone had typically considered as fact. But the way he had said it made my skin crawl, and I dearly wanted to wipe that look off his face, and for a split second, I had foolishly let Hunter take over.
âHe fucking deserved it,â Hunter said whilst looking up from his slumber. He had been furious but had not given me a good enough reason for his actions, so I had been intentionally ignoring him, much to his visible annoyance. Hunter had been insisting all day that we go and find our mate, sling her over my shoulder and take her home to claim.
He didnât care that that wasnât how shit worked. He apparently couldnât think properly with our mate so close by. By lunchtime, I had apparently become unbearable, most of our pack had decided that it was better to leave me be instead of trying to talk to me. It wasnât fair on them; I was never this terrible to be around ordinarily. I couldnât seem to control my anger.
Kane was the only one who seemed naturally to know what I was going through; I had caught him several times trying to calm himself down, apparent in his desperate eyes and demeanour that Jax kept fighting for control. If I knew how to get my hands on Wolfsbane, I would give my brother and myself a hit to get through the day without Hunter and Jax, I thought bitterly.
Just after lunch Kane and I received word that two of our pack members had left their guard post, apparently to flirt with the wolves from another pack. The thought of letting Alpha Miller and his daughter down had made both Kane and I furious. Instead of heading to the training centre to help them with training, we informed Alpha Miller that we had personal business to attend to.
The pack members who had stolen our chance to meet Beta Miller before the Ball tonight had better have a fucking good excuse for their behaviour, or they would pay dearly for the interruption. When we arrived minutes later at the River Run packâs southern border, we were met by our Betas, Will and Henry. I noted that Jace was not present. Wisely staying out of the way, I thought.
âCare to explain what the fuck is going onâ, I growled menacingly to no one in particular. âAlpha Kane, Alpha Rayneâ Will spoke wearily with a slight nod in greeting.âJames and Chris over thereâ, he said while motioning with his chin, âleft their post for almost an hour while they pursued some females. âThey..â He didnât get a chance to finish his sentence before Kane and I both shifted to our wolf forms and pinned the irresponsible men to the ground, snarling viciously in their faces. They knew they had fucked up; they also know they would only get one warning.
I have no idea how long we kept the men pinned to the ground but decided enough was enough when one of them pissed their pants. Kane and I both shifted back into our human forms in utter disgust that we had such a weak man working security for us.
âDid you smell that, brother,â Kane said with a pissed off look on his face. âNext time they fuck up, I will not be so lenient. They have jeopardised many lives today with their bullshit stunt. Can we trust them to be on the lookout tonight, brother,â Kane continued, coking his head to the side to measure my reaction to his question.
âThey would be fucking foolish to let their guard down again,â I replied bluntly. Looking back at the two miserable assholes still laying in the dirt behind us. I let out a warning growl, âGo get cleaned up and be back at your post in an hour. Donât even think about stepping foot inside the Ball tonight. You are both working double shifts,â I spat contemptuously.
Wisely neither of them grumbled nor dared to look us in the eye. They kept their heads down and nodded before they took off towards the packhouse to the accommodation that had been provided for them.
âFucking pups,â Kane said through gritted teeth. âWill and Henry, make sure those two careless fools do their job tonight, please,â I said tersely, âIf anyone gets through on their watch, they have signed their death warrantsâ. âSure, thing Alpha Rayneâ Will said âI will make sure of itâ, he added vehemently.
Kane and I were eternally grateful to have Will and Henry as our Betas. Their no-nonsense attitude and easy manner made them very easy to be around, not to mention trust. We had grown up with them and knew they took their job very seriously. They were as dedicated to the River Run pack as much as we were.
âYou two had better get out of here to start getting ready for the Ball. I have seen firsthand all the she-wolves swooning at the chance to get to dance with you two,âHenry said enthusiastically, waggling his eyebrows at us âYou two are very popular indeed,â He said with a smirk. Only our Betas could get away with such remarks, I thought fondly. Anyone else would have their ass handed to them for making such comments.
âI am only interested in one female tonight,â Kane said. As soon as the words left his mouth, his face went red. Shit, we hadnât told anyone that we had smelt our mates, and now Will and Henry had snapped to attention with that juicy little titbit.
âInterestingâ, Will said mockingly with a devious grin on his face,âAre you saying what I think you are saying, Alpha Kaneâ He continued, barely able to hide his piqued curiosity.âInteresting indeedâ, Henry chimed in.
âDo you think we should let Will and Henry in on our suspicionsâ? I asked Kane via mind-link. âNopeâ came his prompt reply.âNot until we have found our Lunas. Leave them hangingâ, He said with a smirk. At that, we both exchanged a knowing glance and just shrugged our shoulders, not giving in to their pleadings. â
Well then, you had better hurry back so that you may at least look presentableâ, Will said, eyeing us up and down.âNot sure anyone would find the smell of another mans piss on you deliciously intoxicatingâ The prick could barely hold his laughter in with that comment. It had him and Henry slapping each other on the back, tears rolling down their animated faces. Fuckers. Inhaling sharply, though, I knew they were right. We did smell horribly like piss.
Kane let out a slight growl that had Will and Henry snap to attention. They werenât sure whether he was seriously pissed with them or if he was playing. I thought I would leave them guessing and turned around to head back to our lodgings to get ready for tonightâs Blood Moon Ball.
Hunter was restless and kept vehemently insisting that I shift and allow him to run so that we could get there quicker, but I was still pissed off with him, so I slowed my gait to a stroll. Boy, did that upset him. He was howling a storm up and swearing revenge with the most colourful language and ways of brutally torturing me. I had to give it to him. He was creative, I thought with a laugh.
âWhatâs funny, brother,â Kane asked. âHunter is threatening violence if I donât hurry up and get to the ball,â I laughed again. âI wonder if Jax and Hunter are also twins...They seem to be always on the same page,â he replied sarcastically with a rueful laugh.
My stomach started to roll the minute I finished getting ready. It was an unusual and foreign sensation. I had never been a nervous type. I had always been sure of my standing in life and could control everything around me. Tonight, was different though. Tonight, Kane and I would find our mates, and it would change our lives forever. I hoped for the better.
Knocking on Kaneâs door, I didnât wait to be invited in. I knew he was ready. What I hadnât expected when I entered was to find him sitting at the desk in his room with his head lying flat on the desk, lost in apparent thought. âEverything ok,â I asked. I didnât like to see my brother, an Alpha no less, looking so lost. It was a foreign sight, and it bothered me.
âWhat happens if I meet my mate tonight and she doesnât like meâ Kane replied grimly, lifting his head to meet my eyes. I didnât know how to respond; it had never crossed my mind that our mates wouldnât like us nor that Kane would be worried about it. âI donât honestly know. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it,â I said with a shrug. âCome on, we are already lateâ, I said, trying to change the subject.
Kane didnât say another word. He just stood up from the table and shrugged into his suit jacket. We both wore matching tailored charcoal suits with crisp white shirts and black satin ties. Since we were children, we enjoyed nothing more than to observe the look on peopleâs faces when they realised they were looking at identical twins. We didnât like to make identification easy on them. Hmmm, I wonder if our Lunas will be able to tell us apart. I thought darkly. This could be fun.
As Kane approached me, I gave him a reassuring smile and clapped him on the shoulder. âShowtime,â he said, plastering a smile on his face that didnât quite reach his eyes. I knew the feeling; I was apprehensive about tonight and the prospect of finding our mates. It thrilled and frightened me in equal parts, so much so that I had called our mother today to fill her in on our thoughts of having possibly finding our mates. The squeal through the phone had made me smile, but by the time I had hung up, I was still nervous as shit at the prospect.
As we walked towards the twinkling lights in the distance, I decided to firm my jaw and leave tonight in the capable hands of the Goddess.
As soon as Kane and I stepped onto the dance floor, we were surrounded by she-wolves, all vying for attention and a chance to dance with us. We spent the first hour being passed around the dance floor, pretending to give a shit about whom we were dancing with. In the end, we decided that we would head over to the bar and growl at anyone who thought to approach us.
Our patience was growing thin, and making matters worse, Hunter and Jax were in full asshole mode, insisting that they could sense our mates close by. âYou need to find mateâ Hunter roared for the millionth time tonight. I was sure my hair must look like I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket. I had run my hands through my hair more times than I can count. âIf you donât quit your yapping Hunter, I am going home. I have had enough of you misbehavingâ with that he let out a low warning growl and turned to stalk away.
Thank fuck, I thought, I didnât know how much longer I could stand his attitude, and I knew people had started talking about Kane and my dismissive behaviour tonight.
Thankfully the band stopped playing, and Alpha Miller took to the stage. Kane and I were at the very back of the gathering and couldnât see the stage well, so we decided to make our way through the crowd to get a better look. We both knew that Ashley would have been on stage with her father and wanted to get a glimpse of her finally.
Before we could get to the front, the crowd started to part and woman began to shriek. âWill, what is going onâ I mind-linked my Beta.âRogues,â he panted back. âThey are dead,â I said harshly with uncontrollable fury, shifting to my wolf form. Kane and I observed several rogues just off in the forest and wasted no time in ending their miserable lives. When we were done, James and Chris were dead I thought bitterly. There was no doubt in my mind what had happened.
âDo you smell that, Rayne?â Kane said via mind link? For just a moment, I inhaled deeply and instantly wished I hadnât. Hunter went into absolute beast mode and cut rogues down left, right and centre. I had never seen him so ferocious. Desperately looking to my left, I realised that Jax seemed to have grown bigger. He looked like a monster ruthlessly tearing throats out, the enemies blood dripping from his jaw.
Just up ahead, there was a sandy coloured wolf surrounded by several rogues. Kane and I raced towards them, eager to help, when suddenly the most beautiful, and possibly the only, silver wolf I had ever seen came into view, twisting and turning through the air as it left dead wolves in its wake. Hunter and Jax suddenly lost the will to think and stood motionless with their tongues hanging out of their mouths.
It wasnât until the last of the rogues were brutally killed and a small crowd had gathered that we realised what we were doing.
The rogues were no match for the full force of the security at Blood Moon, and as soon as it started, it was over. When we sensed that there was no more threat, we shifted back to our human form. Kane and I were, however, still rooted to the spot, our eyes seemingly glued to the magnificent silver wolf. It was covered in head to toe in blood, I thought I could be in love.
Hunter finally stirred inside of me after several minutes of stunned silence he howled âMATEâ furiously. âWHAT. THE. FUCK. DID. YOU. JUST. SAY,â I asked. I couldnât believe his words. I dared to take my eyes off the silver wolf to sneak a peek at my bother. He couldnât seem to take his eyes off the silver wolf either. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. While trying to process my thoughts, Kaneâs eyes widened, and he let out a small gasp.
Hunter went crazy, howling furiously and clawing frantically at my mind. I whipped my head back around in time to see the most stunning female with lilac coloured eyes and silver hair heading towards us. I glanced back towards my brother, who was now smiling like a lunatic, and then back at the unknown female approaching us. Just as she reached us, we both involuntary said the words we had waited our lives to utter, âMateâ.
âWhat,â we both said via mind-link. Both perplexed at the prospect of being given only one mate. We had no time to process the thought or appreciate her beauty as she stopped abruptly before us and struck us both painfully across the face.
âWHAT THE FUCKâ I growled via mind link. I couldnât think. Hunter was howling even louder now that the object of his desire had slapped us. Kane and I stared in disbelief as she took a slight step back from us, hatred rolling off her, while she rejected us as her mate. She turned on her heel and took off back towards the crowd.
She didnât make it far before she passed out, collapsing to the ground with a thud. Kane and I raced to her crumpled form but before we could make it to her, the filthy fucking pup picked her up in his arms, pulling her close to his chest. âFuck,â I said bitterly via mind link. âI guess we have just met Ashley,â Kane replied.
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