Chapter 15

Accepting My Twin Mates Chapter 15 Chapter 15 – Do We Have Competition?

Evie Both Astennu and Badru seemed deep in contemplation, neither looking up as I emerged from the doorway. My eyes landed on Badru first, dressed in a black three-piece suit and a dark silver open-

collar shirt. Dark stubble lined his jaw, adding to his whole ‘bad-boy’ appearance, and his hair was tied back with a few strands hanging down effortlessly. Astennu was dressed in a dark blue three-piece suit and a crisp white shirt, also open-collar. Unlike his brother, Astennu had left his silky ebony hair down, the waves flowing around his neck. His clean-shaven face only highlighted his sharp cheekbones and angular jaw.

Both were unfairly handsome.

Each suit fit its wearer impeccably, like a second skin. They did nothing to hide the twins’ broad physique, only accentuate them…

‘Can you ask them to change into something that doesn’t make me think dirty things?’ Evva groaned.

Badru was the first to finally notice me, tugging on his brother’s arm to gain his attention. Their once magnetic sapphire eyes quickly swirled black, showing their waning control. The sight was churning the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to run, but their intense stare held me fixed and hostage. For the first time, the bond tugged painfully, wanting me to run towards them.

‘Be warned, they’re probably smelling our arousal,’ Evva gulped in a rare show of nerves. ‘And don’t you dare tell me to try and control it… control left along with my common sense at seeing the pair of packages in those pants.’

‘You are literally the most fickle creature on this planet,’ I grumbled. Her hot and cold antics were giving me a headache.

As I steadily approached the twins, I noticed their eyes kept flickering to my neck, their chest heaving each time.

‘This is probably a good time to mention the mistake you’ve made with our hair,’ my wolf chuckled to herself.

‘What mistake?’

‘You’ve pulled it to the side, exposing our neck, a marking site for one of our mates. You are advertising it to them right now,’ she smirked.

While I felt a sense of dread wash over me, there was also a strange sense of satisfaction that I was unknowingly taunting them, teasing them; a dangerous game but a gratifying game all the same. It was silly and in no way made up for what had been done, but the chance to f**k with them all night was too good to pass up. Sure, it would be difficult for me also, but worth it. Little Alphas that were used to getting what they wanted, when they wanted it, with no effort? They were going to find out the meaning of ‘restraint’ and ‘sufferance’ with me by the time I was through.

‘So…’ I mind-linked, feeling all my confidence evaporate with their broad figures surrounding me. ‘This is probably gonna suck for the three of us, but we’re just going to do it, ok?’

They both nodded, not uttering a single word.

‘Right then,’ I took a deep breath. ‘Get your game faces on.’

Their expressions didn’t relax in the slightest. They looked uncomfortable and strained.

‘Is that seriously your game faces? You look constipated,’ was ‘act naturally’ a foreign concept for them?

They gave me identically offended looks, but I didn’t have the energy to argue with either twin.

‘Ok, whatever. Let’s make constipated work,’ I shook my head and turned to go do my job, smirking a little to myself as Evva howled in laughter in my head, the two of us mentally high-fiving each other.

Badru Her dress looked as though it was painted onto her skin. It hid nothing from my eyes and made my brain turn to mush. I couldn’t even get my mind-link to work, let alone my mouth.

‘You should have told her how pretty she looked,’ Baniti whined. ‘You just stood there like a fish!’

“You look beautiful!” I shouted and instantly wanted the ground to swallow me up.

Evie’s cheeks flushed pink and she looked around, making sure no one was around, her hand frozen on the door handle. She glared at me, her plump lips forming a thin line. She ripped the door open, closing it with force behind her.

‘Maybe we should just go back to being a fish,’ my wolf uttered, his paws folded over his eyes.

“You’re gonna need a dumper truck by the time you’re finished,” Astennu shook his head at me.

I looked at him confused. Was he making fun of me again?

“For that hole you’re digging,” he clarified, completely straight-faced.

I rolled my eyes, “I’m nervous, ok?” I hissed. Every time I reacted, I found I was wrong and I was making things worse.

‘What the hell are we gonna do?’ I mind-linked my twin, staring at the door Evie had just disappeared through. ‘Every male is gonna be eyeing her up and I can’t murder anyone!’

‘Stop being overdramatic,’ he sighed. ‘Like she said… we’re just gonna have to do this and get through it.’

‘This is gonna be torture…’ I willed myself to step forward and enter the hall.

‘No… it’s karma,’ he frowned and I felt a wave of unease flow through me from my twin.

‘What if another wolf male wants her… what if he’s better than us?! Oh goddess, what if she accepts him instead?!’ My wolf’s panic wasn’t helping me stay calm.

Astennu always called me the ‘drama llama’, when he had no idea what I was dealing with inside my head.

Evie “You look beautiful!” Badru shouted, just as I was about to enter the hall.

I froze, feeling a heat wash throughout me at the unexpected compliment and his adorably awkward face.

‘f**k is he cute when he’s stupid,’ Evva’s tone was a mix of irritation and longing.

I stormed inside, slamming the door behind me with more force than I meant to, drawing all eyes to me.

‘Want to slam it again? I think the servers in the kitchen didn’t quite hear,’ my wolf gruffled.

Luckily, there were no guests yet. The only occupants of the hall were the servers arranging trays and drinks, and the Alpha and Luna overseeing the final arrangements before the guests started to flock in.

Luna Qamar eyed me with narrowed slits at my graceless entrance. Fantastic, I looked like I was throwing some temper tantrum, further fueling my insolent image.

‘If you’re quite finished throwing your weight around, would you mind doing your job?’ She snarled.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, walking over to the piano, keeping my head down so no one saw my still pink cheeks.

“Ahibbaa! (Darlings!) There you are,” the Luna exclaimed, rushing forward to greet her sons who had finally filed in through the door.

I started up playing, keeping my head down to concentrate on the soft but bright background music for people to mingle to, until the band started up a little later. No matter how much I willed myself to focus on the keys in front of me, my eyes kept darting up to see what the twins were doing, what they were saying, and their eyes kept meeting mine.

The guests started to trickle in. Astennu and Badru remained by their father’s side to greet them as they entered. I tried to strain my ears to listen in, their voices barely audible over the music and the din of conversations beginning to build. I don’t know why I was so interested, all they were doing was saying mundane ‘hellos’ and ‘thank you for coming’. What did twist my jealousy was how some of the she-wolves were tripping over themselves to greet my mates, especially one she-wolf in particular.

She was stunning. With deep, almost black hair, pinned up into an elaborate bun, golden tanned skin and dark brown eyes. Her dress was exquisite, a deep wine red and all in lace. I recognised the older Alpha and Luna at her side, Alpha Matías and Luna Julieta Rivera, the leaders of our pack’s close ally, Opal Sun. She must be their daughter, given that she resembled the Luna… did that mean she had spent time with Astennu and Badru while they were away?

Now I worried myself, wondering whether I had made the right decision with the twins. Should I have just outed myself as their mate? What if a woman, that beautiful Alpha woman, asked them to dance or something… what if they accepted?

‘Oh, we cut a b***h if they do!’ Evva snarled, nearly making me slam the keys as her rage jerked my hands.

‘It’s not the she-wolves’ fault. They think it’s fair game,’ I reminded her. All of this was my doing, was what I had demanded.

‘…I wasn’t talking about the she-wolves,’ Evva growled, her eyes narrowing at the twins.

Dang… my wolf was slightly terrifying.

But my worries seemed to be unfounded. Neither Astennu nor Badru gave her or any of the she-wolves a moment of notice. Would their lack of interest last the night? Or would my unwillingness to accept them instantly make them seek comfort elsewhere?

There was one face among Alpha Matías’s entourage I recognised instantly; Adrian. The same dark hair and dark brown eyes, shined with a familiar warmth. He did come. He smiled brightly in my direction and came over instantly to where I was playing.

It had been a while since I last saw him. He was a year older than me and had found his mate in his pack just over a year ago when she shifted. Adrian was a wonderful man, he was kind with a wicked sense of humour and was one of the best warriors in Opal Sun pack. And because of how close our packs were as allies, he was a frequent visitor. We were far more than some ‘friends with benefits’. He was one of the only men who showed a genuine interest in me and I came to really care for him. So much so that when he asked me if I would consider being his chosen mate… I almost said yes. At the time, I thought it was love, but now I realised it was just a strong affection because he showed me attention when I thought no one ever would; Badru’s words had cut me deep and I feared I would be alone forever. That, and my wolf was becoming a no show and I thought I would never feel the mate bond.

I was glad, in the end, that I had thought on it, that I hadn’t said yes immediately because when he went home he found his mate. I had been crushed but soon realised how much I could have taken from him had I accepted him. We may rarely speak now, but I was happy for him, truly.

“Evie! How you doing?” He leaned against the piano as I played. “You’re kinda glowing. Did you get your wolf? Your scent smells stronger.”

‘I did,’ I grinned up at him briefly, concentrating back on my piano keys. ‘But I haven’t shifted yet.’

“Still, congratulations! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I dunno. It feels kinda weird now,” I frowned.

“I know things have changed, but you can still talk to me, you know?” He furrowed his brows. “Have you found your mate now that your wolf’s out?”

I groaned out loud, ‘yeah… but it’s complicated and I’m keeping it quiet.’

‘Okaaaay?’ He drew out. ‘Wait, your mate isn’t giving you s**t for being rogue-born are they?’

I could laugh at how angry he instantly became. He was one of the few people who never cared about my status.

‘No, it’s not that. It’s… other stuff.’ A whole bunch of other stuff, I silently added.

I noticed Adrian glancing to the side looking perplexed. ‘Is there a reason why the Rolfe twins are staring daggers at me?’

I quickly looked around him to see Astennu glaring and Badru seconds away from wanting to murder someone.

‘Oh, ignore them. They can f**k off,’ I felt my cheeks heat up again.

‘Holy shit… they’re your mates!’ He grinned.

‘No!’

‘Yeah, they are. You’re pissed and blushing, they gotta be.’

I groaned, louder than I meant to. ‘Ok. Yeah, they are.’

‘A future Luna,’ Adrian gave me a long appraising look and soft smile. ‘So many things about you now make sense.’

Badru I knew that guy. He was one of the top warriors in Opal Sun. I trained with him. Adrian Draper.

How did he know Evie? Why was he making her laugh and smile? A fit of stinging and brutal jealousy flashed in my eyes, surging from both myself and my twin, who looked on at the display too.

I thought my wolf was being ridiculous thinking that our mate would choose another, that there could be someone better than my brother and me for Evie. How could there be? We were twins, Alphas and good-looking. I didn’t think there could have been much competition.

But now I wasn’t so sure… and it terrified me.

After Adrian left Evie’s side, my brother was instantly dragging me over to the bar, near to where she was playing.

“Where are you going, sons? We still have guests to greet,” our father raised an eyebrow at our unusual behaviour.

“Just… to get a drink. We’ll be back,” Astennu’s tone was a little clipped.

‘This doesn’t feel very low-key,’ I mind-linked him.

‘Like you’re not about to rupture a blood vessel wanting to know about those two!’ He snapped, uncharacteristically.

We tried to casually stand by the bar, pretending to drink what had been laid out, when in reality we couldn’t give a s**t.

‘So… you know that guy?’ My brother asked, attempting to sound chilled, but I could physically feel his worry.

‘As long as you don’t make a scene. I don’t want any secrets between us,’ I heard Evie take a deep breath. ‘We were close. He once asked me to be his chosen mate…’

Astennu’s horror and instant jealousy mirrored my own. My heart constricted tightly in my chest. She wanted to take another… I knew, deep down, this was because of what I said to her that night four years ago… I really had f****d everything up for my brother and my wolf.

I glared around my twin. The bastard that almost took my mate from me just grinned over to us, taunting us.

‘I have never wanted to pop someone’s head off more than now!’ Baniti snarled.

‘…But I’m glad I didn’t,’ Evie’s calm voice cut off my pre-rampage. ‘In case you haven’t noticed the mark on Adrian’s neck, he found his fated mate. He would have missed out on her and I would’ve missed…’

She suddenly went silent and I saw how she tensed, missing a few keys as she played. ‘He was a long time ago. You don’t have anything to feel threatened by him.’

Her response brought little relief to the stabbing jealousy and possessiveness flowing through Astennu and me.