Chapter 38

Accepting My Twin Mates Chapter 38 CHAPTER 38 – AN ENRAPTURED AUDIENCE?

Astennu “Lucy, slow down,” Evie dropped mine and Badru’s hands, grasping her friend’s shoulders to calm her and make some sense. “Why have you gone all high-strung?”

‘f**k I knew I was right to be worried,’ Aasim groaned. ‘What the hell has our smother planned?’

Whatever this ‘surprise’ was she had in store, involved the multiple wolf auras I was sensing.

… Goddess, tell me she wouldn’t!

Lucy’s features contorted in a grimace, “your mother has kinda invited a bunch of unmated she-wolves to see if-” her words were interrupted by the door to our right opening.

I knew what she was about to say, to see if any of them were our mate.

“Ahibbaa! (Darlings!)” My mother bustled towards us. “There are some very eager faces waiting to meet my beautiful boys.”

I loved my mother, I truly did. But she had not only reached the limits of my tolerance with her meddling, she had surpassed it.

“’Umiy, nahn bihajat ‘iilaa altahaduth, (mom, we need to talk,)” I hissed, grabbing her wrist to pull her into the kitchens with my twin, who I could sense was equally as pissed, and our mate following close behind.

‘Don’t worry, Lucy. We got this,’ Badru mind-linked, flashing her a courteous smile before we disappeared through the doorway.

“You invited a bunch of she-wolves?!” He exclaimed before the door swung closed.

“Habibi (darling), don’t shout,” our mother chided, eyeing Evie curiously, obviously wondering why she had followed. “Evie, be a dear and take this through while we speak,” she handed her a tray, expecting her to go on her merry way.

Our mate’s mouth formed a tight line, a tiny sigh escaping her pursed lips. I was about to argue that Evie was going nowhere. She was about to be the key topic of discussion, but she silenced me with a pleading look in her eyes.

‘You talk to her in here. I’ll take this out to keep her happy for the next 30 seconds before she blows her top.’

‘Coward. You just want us to do the dirty work,’ Badru narrowed his gaze.

‘She’s your mom.’

‘We’re gonna need some compensation later, ammar,’ I challenged, my words holding promise.

“It’s just a little gathering. No need to get worked up so much,” our mother tried to reach out and cup our cheeks, but the two of us pulled away, annoyed with her interfering.

“You need to stop pushing women at us!” I fumed, a growl almost ripping from my throat, one that I somehow managed to contain.

“I just want to see you happy, to feel the joy of the mate bond,” her eyes glistened, looking between us, my anger melting away instantly. “You’re both such sweet boys and you deserve your mate, I’m just trying to help that along. Now, come on. She may be in there waiting for you.”

‘Technically, she ain’t wrong,’ Aasim inappropriately snorted in laughter.

I didn’t have time to respond to his inane comment, as our mother was brushing past us to rejoin this pointless soiree she was throwing. Badru and I shared a fleeting yet serious glance, rushing after her before this farcical affair escalated any further.

“Mom, you need to stop because we’ve already found our mate!” Badru announced rather loudly, as we marched through to the parlour.

The low din of the room evaporated, a hush falling upon the occupants.

Evie ‘I can’t believe you chickened out and left it to wingus and dingus to handle,’ Evva howled at my retreat.

‘I did not!’ I lied. ‘I’m going back in there, so shut it with the judgement. I’m just escaping the initial blast zone.’

I glanced around the small room, a dozen or so she-wolves mingled and floated between each other, all dressed impeccably and looking every bit the Luna, Qamar wanted for her sons. While I, on the other hand, looked as though I had been through a wind tunnel, complete with muddy boots, leaving a tiny cookie-crumb trail of crud behind me.

Why did the moon goddess think I would make a respectable Luna, again?

‘I’m so sorry about all this, Evie,’ Lucy squeaked, trying to clear a space for me on the serving table filled with various canapés and finger foods.

‘It’s fine, honestly, and none of it is your fault. We were going to tell the Luna and Alpha anyway,’ I tried my best to console her. ‘Besides, I’m kinda seeing the funny side.’

A party thrown so that the twins could find their mate and I was here waiting on it. My sides were splitting from the force of my nonexistent laughter.

‘I’m hoping this is going to turn into your coming out party,’ Catalina sauntered over, dressed to perfection as usual. ‘Poor Lucy’s been chewing her fingers to the bone worrying. I couldn’t help much either, I can barely mind-link a mile away here.’

She wasn’t a member of our pack, and although her Alpha wolf afforded her a greater distance to mind-

link, she was limited to how far she could reach.

‘Didn’t stop you joining in the festivities, did it?’ I threw her a pointed look.

‘And miss the mimosas? Are you loca?’ She waved her glass filled with the orange drink, offering me one too.

I was beginning to believe this woman had a problem. But I supposed it couldn’t hurt and could only help. I downed the glass in one go, savouring the sweet and tangy fizz and the fleeting warmth of the alcohol tingling my throat.

“Uh, miss. Are you alright?” I heard one of the she-wolves say nearby, garnering my attention.

My eyes fell on Lucy, steadying herself with one hand on the table and the other balancing a bowl of potato salad. I rushed the few steps to grab the bowl before she or it connected with the ground.

“Luce? You don’t look too good. You’re not feeling sick again, are you?” I pressed a hand to her forehead. “You’ve got a bit of a temperature.”

Catalina helped her to a chair, sitting her down just as the Luna whirled in through the door, quickly followed by the twins, hot on her heels.

“… to stop because we’ve already found our mate!” Badru was mid-shout behind her back.

The chatter died instantly, the entire room turning at the declaration. So much for all of this being discreet. Who didn’t want a room full of she-wolves gathered together as potential partners for my mates to witness the rogue outed as future Luna, in front of their mother, who hated rogues and was more than likely about to have an aneurysm. An enraptured audience was precisely what I dreamed of in this moment.

The young woman, who had drawn my attention to Lucy initially, turned in the direction of the twins and the Luna, stepping back in the process… and directly into me, upending the bowl still in my hand, coating me in its contents.

This had to be a joke, a set-up, a higher power’s idea of entertainment.

‘At least it isn’t yoghurt again,’ Evva chuckled nervously.

There was rarely a time when my anger got the best of me. However, on this occasion, I hadn’t a single iota of willpower to hold it in and contain it.

I slammed the bowl to the ground, smashing it to pieces. An almighty growl ripped from my throat.

“If one more person crashes food into me again, I’m gonna start ripping out some f*****g hair!” I bellowed.

“Evie!” Luna Qamar boomed, horrified by my language in front of her distinguished guests.

Unfortunately, I was too blinded by my temper to rein myself in.

“Oh, f**k off!” I screeched, realising too late I had screamed at the Luna.

‘You couldn’t make it better, so decided on making it worse? A novel approach, I’ll give you that,’ my wolf whistled at my eloquence.

In for a dime, in for a dollar.

Astennu and Badru came rushing towards me without an ounce of hesitation.

“You ok?” Astennu wiped the smear away from my cheek, nuzzling his nose against mine.

I could only imagine it was a chunk of potato that Badru had flicked from my hair, his finger trailing down my jaw and neck. Every shred of anger and irritation vanished as soon as their hands landed upon me.

“This has to be some kind of joke,” Luna Qamar’s voice jolted me back to reality.

Her British accent drawled every syllable, filled with horror and dismay. A myriad of emotions crossed her face, not a single one positive.

“I’m not doing this any longer,” Badru turned to his mother. “She’s our mate and we adore her. There’s nothing you can say or do that’s gonna change that…”

‘I realise that’s the first time I’ve ever said anything like that out loud and I’ve just made things awkward as hell, but I don’t care,’ he flashed me that sweet boyish smile that was usually accompanied by a momentary flush of pink to his cheeks.

The room around us was so silent, a pin dropping would have echoed off of the walls. That was until a loud popping sound rang out, followed by the sound of fizzing and the glug of a bottle being poured.

Every face turned to the source… Catalina, pouring herself out a glass.

“What?” She innocently paused, her eyes never once dropping from Qamar’s. “Champagne is the only way to fully appreciate this drama.”

In any other situation, I would have burst out in laughter and I was tempted currently. What stopped me was the silent and calm daggers being invisibly thrown at me from Luna Qamar.

‘You want me to pour you one? You could use it as a weapon if she tries to claw you,’ Catalina playfully shimmied the bottle still in her hand.

‘I think I’ll need the whole bottle. A single glass won’t do.’

“Catalina, this is no laughing matter and I do not appreciate your tone,” Qamar bit out, desperately trying to hide her irritation, and failing.

“Luna, have you ever considered being less of a judgemental b***h and just let your sons be happy?”

Catalina drained her glass and casually poured herself another. “Might be something new and fun to try?”

“What would your father say if he heard such language coming from your mouth?!” Luna Qamar chastised, incensed.

“I don’t think he’d say s**t because he would know I was right,” she smirked darkly, with no struggle to look the Luna in the eye.

I didn’t know what metal this woman’s nerves were cast in, but I wanted them too.

“If you’ll excuse us for a few moments, ladies,” Qamar attempted to regain her composure, straightening her back with practised poise. “We’ll rejoin you as soon as we’ve corrected this situation.”

It wasn’t missed on me how she emphasised the word ‘corrected’ and neither was it lost on the twins.

“No,” Astennu stated with finality. “Everyone can leave, because me, my brother and our mate,” he glared at his mother, “won’t be returning.”

Without waiting, their mother turned and left the parlour, muttering something in Arabic that I didn’t understand. Badru leaned in, conspiratorially, to say she was heading to their father’s office to ‘see what he had to say on the matter’.

“Come on,” Astennu tugged at my hand. I held no objections as it was where I would have preferred to have done all of this to begin with, in privacy. “With any luck, dad will be a lot calmer about this.”

He seemed quite confident in his faith in his father and all I could do was trust in that faith; he knew his father best. I glanced backwards, still worried about Lucy, and no more comforted with what I saw. She was both flushed and pale, all at once.

‘Don’t you dare think about staying here with me,’ she threatened. ‘I’ll be fine, I swear, and you can always check on me after.’

Catalina inclined her chin, letting me know she would take care of my friend, our friend, while I went to do battle with pack leadership. I walked, in step, with my mates, not behind them as a shield, but at their side as an equal. The few pack members that we passed physically halted mid-stride, freezing at the sight of their future Alphas hand in hand with the rogue Omega.

I held my head high, walking into Alpha Isaac’s office, interrupting Luna Qamar’s rambling pacing.

“Close the door, Ru, would you son?” The Alpha asked Badru, who brought up the rear.

“No need to say it, your mother’s already said enough,” he spared his mate a concerned glance. “I should have known something was up the moment you two said you wanted Evie as an assistant. Out of the blue, after she hears her wolf, you suddenly want to spend all your time with her?” He shook his head. “I guess, now, I understand your reaction to that boy, Damien, Aste.”

The mention of the boy’s name that had led to the entire well fiasco, had Astennu wincing at the memory. Even after talking about it, hearing his side, understanding and forgiving him, I still felt his guilt lash at his heart. I gripped his hand, stroking his arm in comfort.

Badru ‘Dad, don’t remind him of that night,’ I pleaded. ‘You know how hard that was on him.’

I hated seeing and feeling my twin in such turmoil, especially over what was an accident. Our dad sighed and nodded, offering me a sympathetic smile and acknowledging his slip.

“You realise what this entails, undertaking this responsibility?” He spoke, getting straight to the point.

His eyes made an appraising sweep over our mate, so I had to assume he was addressing her directly.

“Yes,” she stood forward, moving in front of Astennu and me. “I won’t lie and say I’m confident and ready to handle everything, because I’m not. I didn’t agree to be their assistant as part of some ruse. I did it because I genuinely want to learn… especially from two men who are going to make remarkable leaders.”

‘Our nour el-ain thinks we’re remarkable!’ Baniti ran circles in my mind, delirious and clutching to the praise from our mate and nothing else.

And I would admit, they were the only words I clung to as well. They weren’t meaningless or superficial to curry favour. She meant them.

“Very well. Then we’re done here,” our dad said simply, leaning back in his large leather chair and steeping his fingers together.

‘That was it?’ My wolf questioned. ‘I thought he would make at least one objection.’

‘He might not have objected, but he hasn’t offered any support either,’ I pointed out. Even I had noticed the lack of congratulations. He knew how much Astennu and I had wanted our mate.

“What do you mean ‘done’?!” Our mother spat fireballs. “You cannot seriously be fine with any of this!”

“There isn’t much else to be done if she is their mate,” our dad stated calmly.

“Yes, there certainly is,” our mother’s gaze whirled on our mate. “There is one very definite action that can be taken to rectify this mistake!”

Mistake? Both Baniti and I repeated to ourselves, internally. We knew what she was demanding we do.

Over my f*****g dead body!

A growl rumbled in my chest at the threat, from my own mother, to reject my mate. Astennu was quick to place Evie behind us, on protective instinct, both our arms around her in support that she would firmly now and forever be in our lives.

“The only mistake here is not calling out your prejudice sooner,” my brother glowered.

“If either of you,” I looked between our parents. “Think we would choose a title over Evie, you’re deluded. We will walk out of this pack, right now, with just the clothes on our backs.”

Our mother appeared to have her own choice words. Never had Astennu or I spoken to her like this before, but maybe if we had, none of it would have blown up in this manner.

“I believe everyone needs to step away and breathe, before something is said that can’t be taken back,” our dad mediated, making a point to look directly at our mom. ‘Boys, leave your mother to me. I’ll talk her down. You may need to lead training solo, tomorrow.’

I didn’t need to be told twice, and neither did Astennu, the two of us quickly leading Evie out of the office to literally anywhere except here.