The Alpha Twins Rejection
Chapter Three - Ashley

Jogging away from the packhouse, I headed towards the town square to attend the impromptu pack meeting Dad had called. I mind-linked Zac. “Hey Zac, where are you” I grumbled. My day had started bad, then picked up immensely and had come full circle and was back to being shit.

“Ashley, turn around. If you slowed down a little, you would have noticed I was behind you the entire time” he chuckled through the mind-link. He must have still been in the packhouse, I thought. God, I didn’t even have to turn around to know that he had a massive grin on his face. I could hear it in his voice. The thought made me smile and want to run my hands through his hair. I loved Zac’s smile. It never failed to make my heart flutter. A wistful sigh escaped my lips. As much as I would love to return to bed with Zac, we had work to do and couldn’t afford to be distracted. Not now. Pack security was my foremost concern.

“Hurry up, slowpoke”, I gently teased. It was as easy as breathing being around Zac, and I was glad that his sour mood from earlier had seemed to have lifted. He caught up to me quickly with a couple of enormous strides, playfully swatting my arse as he darted up the stairs to the town hall. Impossible man, I mused, racing up behind him. The hall was alive with non-stop chatter. The meeting was yet to start, so it gave us a few minutes to walk around the room and talk to pack members, stopping to reassure some of the elderly, mothers with young children, etc. that we would fill them in on everything as soon as my father, their Alpha, arrived. Just as I was stopped for what felt like the hundredth time in the last five minutes, I heard my father loudly clear his throat from my podium. “Showtime,” I said to Zac, who was hot on my heels as I excused myself.

As soon as we took our seats on stage, the meeting began. “As you would know by now, we received intel this morning that a vast band of rogues have been causing death and destruction recently in neighbouring packs. Last night they ran through the territory to the north of us, the Nightshade pack, killing over a dozen members as they passed through”. My father said in his commanding Alpha voice, not bothering to use a microphone. Being Alpha, he didn’t need such things. He was the most incredible Alpha this pack had ever seen; hardworking, loyal, strong, and above all else, he would do anything for his pack. No matter what. The Bloodmoon pack had the utmost respect for him and would listen to him, hanging on his every word. He rarely used his Alpha voice to force anyone to submit to him, and no one ever questioned or challenged his integrity. He was in his element. Protecting everyone was what we were made for, I thought as my chest swelled with pride as I listened to every word he spoke. It gave me goosebumps to think that I would take over as the leader one day.

By rights, I should have taken over at 18, but without a mate by my side, I had held off. Allowing my father to continue to lead us while I trained hard to move up the ranks with blood, sweat, and tears while waiting. I had given up long ago, though. I snorted. Finding my fated mate was no longer at the forefront of my thoughts anymore. “What’s funny, Ash” Zac mind-linked, turning slightly in his chair with a quizzical look. “Nothing”, I replied hastily. There was no way I could talk to Zac about mates. It was kind of like a sore spot for us both. Neither wanted to believe how cruel the Moon Goddess could be by forsaking our love and desperate desires to be fated mates. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I turned my attention back to my father just as he was asking the pack to do a show of hands-on continuing with the Bloodmoon Ball that was to be held in our town square in less than 48hrs.” Those for the ball going ahead, please raise your right hand,” my father said.

Surveying the room, it seemed the jury was in - they wanted the beloved ball to go ahead. Almost everyone in attendance had their right hand raised. My father didn’t need to ask those against, so he spoke loudly and in a clear voice. “Well, that settles it then. The ball will go ahead as planned; I will leave the continued organisation of the grand event in the competent hands of our Luna”. Turning, he looked lovingly into my mother’s eyes for a second, searching for her approval of the plan. If you weren’t looking at them closely, you would have missed the very slight nod of my mother’s head, reassuring her husband and Alpha that he was making the right decision.

“We will be doubling our security. If you are not already listed to run perimeter checks and have spare time, please see Beta McMillan at the packhouse after lunch to sign on. I would also like to ask that anyone who is part of the pack security training team to talk to Beta Miller to go over security protocols and run through any drills they deem necessary to be prepared for an attack,” my father said to the pack while gesturing towards me.

Our pack needed this ball. More than anything, we needed the alliances it would bring with the younger pack members finding their fated mate and welcoming new blood or making our ties with others stronger. With the rouge pack growing in numbers, it was necessary to rely on each other now more than ever. It was unheard of to have a rogue pack. Generally, rogues were killed on sight because they were deemed a threat to packs and pack life due to their unpredictable nature. Wolf shifters usually only went rogue if their mate was killed, they were cast out of their pack for unforgivable transgressions, or they had been rejected. They became feral and spent more time in their wolf form, their minds splintering and leaving them more animal than human.

No one could say for sure where this rogue pack had come from or who its leader was, but we all agreed that it needed to be stopped and dismembered, literally, as soon as possible. As dad closed the meeting, the pack dispersed into a flurry of movement. All eager to get everything into place before the neighbouring packs started to arrive and double our security. We were leaving no stone unturned. “Hey Ash, I have been meaning to ask you what you think about the River Run Pack arriving a day early,” Zac asked with an unusual look on his face, getting up from his chair and starting to lead the way out of the hall. “Dad mentioned earlier that Alpha Smith was coming to help with security, didn’t he. I cannot wait to meet him,” I replied, striding towards the side door.

I noticed that Zac had stopped walking too late, making me slam ungracefully into his hard as stone body. Placing my hands on his lower back to steady myself. The familiar contact provoked a slight rumble of pleasure to pull from his chest. Taking a deep breath, Zac turned around slowly, and even though he had enjoyed the brief contact of our bodies, he still wore the same troubled look on his face as before. “Ok, what’s up, hotshot,” I ask, rolling my eyes. God, men, could be so infuriating. “Alpha Smith’s, you mean Ashley” Zac practically spat the words out. Shit, I wonder what that is about. Why was Zac getting all pissy about meeting a new Alpha? Lost for words, I stare up at him, wondering what he is on about. “Alpha Tyson Smith isn’t attending Ashley,” he said after a few moments, realising I wasn’t about to reply. “Well, who is?” I question, trying to think what I had missed and why he was so bothered.

“Alpha Rayne and Alpha Kane Smith, his twin sons. They just turned 18 and have taken over River Run pack,” Zac replied with a huff. “Wolf shifter TWINS?” I respond in bewilderment, “I have never heard of such a thing!“. “I have been told they are hoping to find their mates at the Bloodmoon Ball as they didn’t have any luck in their pack,” He replies sullenly. “They have been dating steadily since they were young apparently, but their long term girlfriends found their mates earlier this year, and since then, they have been sleeping with anything that will smile at them. Sowing their wild oats, it would seem,” Zac deadpans. For some reason, this titbit of information seemed to annoy Zac, which I found extremely funny as neither of us was virtuously waiting for our mates.

“Why do I get the feeling this somehow pisses you off, Zac? Out with it. I don’t even want to know where you got your information,” I mock glared at him-making him blush under my gaze. The twins part had the gears turning in my head. I had never heard of twin wold shifters before, let alone twin Alphas. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to meet them, something I would not let on to Zac as he was already possessive of me, even with the pack members we had grown up with. I couldn’t imagine how he would react to me checking out twin Alphas from a rival pack. “What if your mate is part of their pack,” he said quietly, looking down at his feet while putting his hands in his pockets. Gosh, he looked adorable at this very moment.

“Not this again, Zac. I am twenty-four. The only thing you should be worried about is if your mate belongs to their pack. By the way, you need a haircut,” I teased, running my fingers through his gorgeous golden hair. Zac leaned into my touch with an audible sigh and then seemed to remember himself and where we were. Straightening himself, we continued our brief walk back to the packhouse in companionable silence. I could tell Zac was anxious and made a mental note to soothe his torment later tonight. Goddess, I know how much he loved me. He showed me every day, and I was grateful for it and for now, that was enough. I was more than content and would deal with whatever happened at the ball when the time came. There was no point in worrying myself about what may or may not occur in the future. It only robbed you of the present. And at present, Zac and I are happy.

Crossing the short distance, a sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach and settled at the bottom of it like lead. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that Zac’s mate wasn’t part of the River Run pack as well. I had the same fears as Zac. I tried desperately to hide them. I knew deep down in my soul that I hoped she was. He deserved to be happy, and I would not stand in his way if he found the other half of his heart. As much as it would kill me to see him with someone else, I would let him go. I knew how much it pained Zac. He thought he needed to protect me because I had not yet found mine. Over the years, I tried my hardest not to let on how much it affected me, trying to ease Zac’s pain and apprehension about our future.

Most of the Bloodmoon pack felt sorry for me. They tried not to show it, but I could see it in their eyes every time they spoke about mates in my presence. It was one of the reasons why I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t want people to have to walk on eggshells around me, so I decided long ago that I was happy with my own company and that of being alone, Beta working her arse off to protect the pack instead. I resigned myself to being the crazy cat lady later in life. If one would stay around long enough, that was. Cats seemed to have a problem with living with wolf shifters. I can’t say I blame them; I chuckled to myself. We were kind of scary in our wolf form and were their natural enemies.

As we reached the staircase to the conference room in the packhouse, I took the good fortune of being alone to grab Zac by his wrist and spin him around swiftly. Catching him off guard, I pushed him roughly against the wall in one fell swoop, pressing my lips to his with a sense of urgency. His eyes registered shock, rapidly followed by arousal. A lust-filled growl ripped from Zac’s chest, so I growled back playfully, taking him by surprise. Pressing my body tightly against his, I ran my hands through his lush, golden hair and peppered gentle kisses along his jawline. I knew what it did to him. After our previous discussion, I wanted Zac to know how much he meant to me. I wanted to reassure him that I would always love him no matter what happened.

Sadly, I think we both knew we didn’t have much longer together before our worlds would be turned upside-down by the pull of a mate bond. Fuck, I didn’t know what I wanted to convey at the moment. I just wanted to take his mind off things for a while and make him forget. Today had been a seriously fucked up day, and I wished dearly that it would end already. Scrap that, I quickly thought. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to think about the implications of the impending ball. I hungrily rubbed myself along the large erection straining against his faded, ripped jeans. Fuck. I. Wanted. Him. BAD.

I stepped back a few inches after kissing Zac thoroughly to take him in and commit every inch of this god that stood before me to memory. Embarrassingly, that’s when I heard a small cough behind me. Hastily spinning around, I came face to face with Beta McMillan, trying to stifle a snicker. I had to give him props. He tried to look ashamed and even had the decency to look away when he noticed the bulge in his son’s pants.

“Ashley, follow me. We have much to discuss”, he stated as he started to walk towards the open conference room door. “Zac, I will see you in a few minutes,” he said awkwardly, tilting his head, motioning towards his son’s nether region with a devious wink. ARGH, could this day get any worse? I snorted.

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