Chapter 25

Accepting My Twin Mates Chapter 25 Chapter 25 – Have Words?

Evie I had never wanted to hug a man so badly before, and this wasn’t just one man, it was two men. And it wasn’t just any hug either. I had an overwhelming urge to pull both of them into my chest, stroke their hair and just rock them both so badly.

‘That’s 100% the mate bond f*****g with us. But I doubt they would say no to a boob hug either,’ Evva snickered.

‘Yeah, well, hugging leads to other things, especially with mates,’ I reminded her.

‘Live a little, would you? Let ‘em get up in there, especially Astennu, he’s been a patient little goober for us,’ she pawed the ground in anticipation.

‘Chill, before they smell things!’ My damn wolf was nothing but a horny animal wanting to follow her v****a.

“So,” I cleared my throat and hoped they hadn’t sensed my arousal. I grabbed another bagel to eat because I was fit for starving after this emotional sharing circle. “You said last night you had some sort of idea, to explain me being around or something? Because I know we’ve broken some barriers, but I’m not ready yet for the pack to know about us.”

“Yeah,” Astennu sat a little more upright on the bed. “Finley is out as our Beta, that’s a given…”

“Don’t say you want me to be some temp Beta for you?” I almost choked. “I can’t even shift!”

“No,” he chuckled at my mildly panicked expression and wiped what I would assume was a smear of cream cheese from my cheek. “But because of that, we do actually need help. There are changes we want to make for the pack and we’re starting to receive a lot more responsibilities that we can have some influence over. What we could do with, is another pair of hands. Would you be our assistant?”

“Assistant?” I repeated, taken aback.

Astennu hummed in agreement, “I know Tamlyn is already on board with how Badru and I want to move forward… and so is the guy we want to be our Delta.”

“You guys have a Delta?!” I practically shouted.

I had never heard of any of this! I knew some packs had them as they modernised, but there hadn’t been a whisper around Two Moons of the twins picking a Delta.

“We’ve been keeping it super quiet,” Badru chimed in. “His name is Elan. He’s gonna help us with pack finances, contracts, things like that. He’s on his honeymoon at the moment but he’ll be back in a day or two.”

Honeymoon? Very few werewolves went on honeymoons because we didn’t marry, we marked.

“He isn’t a wolf,” Astennu guessed my puzzled expression. “He’s a wiccan, an earth wiccan who’s a member of the Family that lives on the Yakama Indian Reservation to our east. He married his familiar just before we went on our training trip. It was a pretty fun evening, even if we were the only wolves there.”

Badru chuckled at the memory, “I thought he was gonna lift you off your feet when you handed him our wedding gift. We got him a two-month stay in Hawaii, that’s why he wasn’t at the party… not that our parents would have thought at inviting any of the wiccan Family anyway,” he rolled his eyes. “The Family is a little too ‘free-spirited’ for their tastes. Our dad is less than pleased with the idea of Elan as our Delta. He doesn’t think the role should go to a non-wolf. He’s gonna be in for a hell of a shock when we go and do it anyway.”

Though they were close by, I had never visited the wiccans’ commune because I had never needed to go; I had barely ever left our pack borders. Wiccans lived in a Family, their version of a pack, and they had familiars, their version of a mate that they shared a deep bond with.

“Going back to the point, what do you think about helping us out? It’d be a good way for you to learn leadership duties from us. And it’s a decent excuse to spend a lot of time together, get to know each other? Because we don’t know anything about you, other than you’re fiery as hell, make the best dessert ever and have a mean knee-jab,” Badru grinned.

“I guess, uh, yeah?” I was still reeling that the twins had some secret wiccan Delta that they were going against their parents for. They really were full of surprises… I truly knew nothing about them.

“I mean, yes,” I tried to say a little more resolutely. “I want to get to know you both better too, but I need to take this slowly… I hope you understand?”

They both nodded, flashing me their signature smiles. Astennu’s was warm and sweet. Badru’s was more of a little smirk, that made me irritated; an irritation that was quickly becoming a pleasurable sensation.

“I hope this doesn’t mean you think I’ll be running around getting you coffee all the livelong day?” I quirked a brow.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Badru uttered, leaning forward. I was about to push him back, thinking he was trying to kiss me, again. However, he only nuzzled against me. “My nour el-ain,” he whispered.

“What does that mean?” I pulled back slightly.

“It’s an Arabic term of endearment,” a small blush crept into his cheeks. “It means light of my eyes.”

“Oh,” I smiled at the beautiful words. I was also reminded of the word Astennu had said when he mind-

linked me thinking I was the one knocking on his door.

“What does ammar mean?” I asked, turning to him.

“Moon,” he said, simply, moving forward to nuzzle into the side of my face. ‘My moon,’ he whispered in my mind, his lips almost brushing against my cheek.

‘f**k, now that’s romantic,’ Evva swooned. ‘I dare you to tell them that you secretly call them goober and the nugget,’ she howled.

‘Uh, I think I’ll keep a lid on that one for a while.’

“I should go,” I said reluctantly. I would have loved to stay here and just laze around with my mates, talking about anything and everything. However, they had their not-for-much-longer Beta to deal with.

I stood and grabbed my clothing I had changed out of, as well as two of the half-bagels for the road.

They had lost their warmth, but were still so good.

As I moved to leave, Badru cleared his throat, a mischievous glint in his eye. “The door is that one on th-”

“If you remind me, I’m going to put your head through it!” I snapped, interrupting him.

He didn’t shrink away at my outburst this time. He sat, grinning wildly at me.

f**k his smirk!

As I ripped the door open, thankful it was in fact the hallway. Because if I walked into another closet, I would have to go bury my head. I paused by the door frame, remembering there was still one final question I had before I left.

“What’re your wolves’ names?”

“Mines Aasim,” Astennu started.

“And mines Baniti,” Badru finished.

“Evva, and she’s very instant that it’s spelt with two V’s. Apparently, one is too basic for her,” I muttered.

Badru huffed a quiet burst of laughter, “she sounds just like you, I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Do you know why she’s only appeared in your mind?” Astennu asked.

I shrugged, “all she says is that there’s something missing.”

“Maybe it’s our marks,” Badru wriggled his brows, suggestively. His brother promptly smacked the back of his head and the two glared at each other, obviously mind-linking.

‘You can tell our genius nugget, it’s definitely not that,’ Evva sounded thoroughly unimpressed. ‘It’s something else… the conditions don’t feel right yet.’

“Stop thirsting for things I’m not ready to give,” I shot Badru a warning look.

“We’ll see you later,” Astennu gave me an out, before his twin said anything else.

I shook my head, closing the door behind me and left the Alpha wing, carefully looking out to make sure I didn’t run into anyone else. I slipped my espadrilles back on by the door, remembering Luna Qamar didn’t like shoes on inside her home, and headed back to my room.

Goddess, I had a headache from the number of things I had to think about.

I had heard my twins out and I thought that was all I needed to make my mind up on how I felt about being their mate. Being their Luna was not a title that was sitting with me comfortably yet.

‘You’re not the only one shitting yourself here,’ my wolf piped up.

‘Really? I thought you of all wolves would be eager to dive in to be queen b***h,’ I tried to laugh but stopped when I felt her unease slipping in.

‘People are going to be looking up to us. We have to lead by example and, like you, I don’t know how to be more than a sarcastic asshole… I don’t know how to be a Luna that’s pleasant… though, we can’t exactly be any more unpleasant than Qamar now, can we?’ She chuckled nervously.

‘We’ll figure something out, together,’ I wanted to be supportive. It was unlikely that I would be sitting down to tea with the Luna and swapping tips any time soon, or ever.

When I neared my room, I checked in on Lucy, punching in the code to her door. Most wolf homes and residences used number combination locks, which were far more practical than having to worry about keys. It wasn’t as though a wolf form had pockets. She was completely sound asleep, so I let her be. I’d see if she wanted something to eat later.

Inside my room, I slumped onto my mattress, staring up at the ceiling. The displaced air around where I had landed held a familiar aroma, the incredibly faint scent of an exotic forest and it wasn’t from Astennu’s clothing I was still wearing either. I leant my head down to inspect further… was it possible?

How were the twins’ combined scents on my mattress? Was that why it was always so comforting?

How did I somehow end up with their mattress?

…Did they know?

‘Still so slow,’ Evva shook her head in amusement. ‘You think it’s a coincidence?’

A sudden warmth spread through my chest. They had looked out for me again without me knowing.

And the walls of my room really were the same deep midnight sapphire blue as their beautiful eyes.

Goddess, how did any of this come as a surprise to me, honestly?

After speaking with my mates, the one thing that was troubling me most was that I thought our main obstacle would be their mother. Now, I wasn’t so sure. The last thing I wanted to be was a wedge in Astennu and Badru’s family.

I did have some respect for Alpha Isaac. He had never treated me rudely or dismissively, or so I had thought. He had organised my personal training, but I suppose now that was only because he thought the effort would reap some benefit for the pack; a benefit that never materialised as I had failed to shift.

To know I was just brushed under some rug because I was some ‘rogue-orphan’, that one stung. I knew he was just looking out for his son, but still… What should I have expected from a man who gave his own Gamma an ultimatum just because his mate was a rogue? My problem would not just be their mother, their father would most likely cause a stink alongside his mate.

The Luna I had always struggled to understand. I was barely a month old when I was found. I had never lived as a rogue but the association was enough to be tarnished in her eyes. Did her hatred for rogues run that deep? Or was it fear too? Whatever it was, her views had rubbed off on an already elitist pack. I knew I irritated her because I truly did press her buttons, deliberately sometimes. So I didn’t exactly win any favours with my sparkling personality. Though, maybe I would be less irritating if I was given a fair chance. But then she did things such as arrange and pay for my piano lessons. Why?

Was it just a way to give the rogue some culture? These vacillating gestures just confused me more.

The sharp knock on my door yanked me from my thoughts, startling me clear off of my bed. I picked myself up from the heap I had landed in, sensing the aura accompanying the unexpected guest… an Alpha’s aura and it was not my mates’…

A sharp rap sounded again. There was no use in pretending, they would hear I was in the room. I opened the door to reveal a familiar beautiful woman with deep golden skin and ebony hair, only now she was dressed in actual clothing.

Catalina.

“Hey, I thought we should have a word or two.”