Mated to the Alpha Twins

Chapter 107

“Hello, Aurora. If you’re getting this message, it means I am d**d.” Every muscle and fiber in my body locked up at his words. His face remained plastered on the screen, while Delilah’s played in my mind. My stomach rolled at the thought of something happening to that little girl, of Marcus getting his hands on her. Her strange teleportation abilities would certainly pique his interest, which I’m sure was why Jaspar kept her hidden from the world. “Your current location is safe, for now. I have prepared evacuation plans for you and your crew. Three days after you receive this message, a man and woman will knock on the front door. Trust these people with your lives, go where they take you, and for the sake of the future–stay alive.”

The television clicked off, blanketing the room in darkness. After a total of two seconds, I scrambled from where I stood for the remote. Before I could grab it, Alec snatched it from the table and flicked onto the news. I had no clue what channels were human news and what were werewolf, but the twin’s seemed to know just fine. “Mere hours ago, a battle to the d***h took place when head of the High Table, Marcus Novak, sent his troops through the lines of Ex-High Table member, Jaspar Fox’s territory. What began as a casual encounter quickly turned carnal when Mr. Fox unleashed his warriors on the troops. Multiple rumors had depicted Mr. Fox’s pack as a safe-haven of sorts for white wolves, forcing the High Table’s hand. As it currently stands, no evidence of white wolves has been found on Mr. Fox’s land.” A somber news caster with doe eyes and heart shaped lips frowned, giving the camera a look of genuine sympathy. “I’ll pass this on to Nathan Dolohov, who is currently at the scene of what marks the end of Mr. Fox’s reign.”

The screen shifted, now showing a man in a casual suit, standing in front of the charred husk of a house. Its wooden bones were blackened, leaning as it held itself together with nothing more than luck and a few stubborn nails. Nathan Dolohov looked at the camera, brushing back his golden hair with a hand, and began speaking. “I’m here at the Fox’s family estate, and what looks to be a tragic accident that claimed the lives of

Jaspar Fox, his mate Emily Fox, and their daughter; Delilah Fox. One of our paramedics on scene have confirmed that three sets of remains were found. The origin of the fire is currently being investigated, spearheaded by Jaspar Fox’s eldest son. When we return in an hour, I hope to glean more information from the Head of our High Table, Marcus Novak.” The screen changed again, flitting back to the brunette with sad eyes. “Until the High Table’s investigation surrounding Jaspar Fox have been concluded, he is assumed innocent from all accused crimes. Our team, along with agents from the High Table, interviewed many of Jaspar Fox’s pack members. All vehemently expressed their Alpha’s innocence, even though a mere hour before Marcus Novak entered their land, Mr. Fox transferred all power and titles to his eldest son.” She spoke, her unwavering gaze on the camera. “He made his son Alpha, and a member of the High Table.” Alec scoffed, swiping a hand across his jaw. His face was illumined by the television, making the darkness in his eyes swirl. “He knew this was going to end in a fight, the man was prepared for it. Question is, do we think he’s still alive?” “Would he really go through all of the trouble to fake his family’s d***h?” Tori questioned, her eyebrows knitting together as she picked at a few stray fibers on the pants she wore. ” They would have had to– acquire three bodies, and b**n them. Which is deeply unsettling.” “Not nearly as unsettling as what Marcus would do to them if caught.” Kade grunted, settled on the couch with his elbows on top of his thighs. Strands of hair fell in his face, but my attention was quickly diverted back to the screen when the woman continued speaking. “The entirety of Mr. Fox’s land has been combed through, and within these next few days, the High Table will send warriors to scour the packs that surround Mr. Fox’s. It is within the best interest of these packs that you co-operate with the High Table and trust them to uncover the truth. As the largest broadcasting company for our kind, we will provide hourly updates on the progress of this investigation and the even more elusive search for the soul-eater and her companions, which has thus far been fruitless. In precisely one hour, we will return with more information for these cases, both of which are the biggest we’ve seen in decades.” She continued, her face neutral and her words perfectly spoken. A croak left my lips when three pictures of me flashed on the screen. All were from the hotel and the High

Table meetings. “I’m Sara Barns, and thank you for tuning in.” The television then changed to some singing commercial, which Alec silenced almost immediately. I knew without my abilities, that we were all at a loss for words. The fact that we were all wanted by the most powerful man in our world, it was a hard pill to s*****w. Every single pack would be on the lookout for us, and we were away from home. We sat in silence for the entire hour, having nothing better to do than to sit and watch. It was almost funny in a strange way. We were watching updates on our own manhunt. While the world watched and wondered where we were, they hadn’t a clue we were watching as well. Unsurprisingly, after an hour, no further evidence on either case had been found. The High Table still couldn’t find us, though if they had any leads, there was no way they’d spill. They did, however, go over nearly every detail of my life starting with when I first moved in with Melissa and Frank. The only time Garrett or Julian was mentioned, was when my inheritance was brought up. The twins could feel my own mood souring as Sara Barns recounted the worst years of my life. She even gave some information on the twins, and even a small segment about Tori. I felt utterly drained afterwards, and jumped when Alec’s voice tore through the silence. “We’ve been reduced to companions, Kade.” Alec scoffed, finally breaking the silence. “Can you f*****g believe it? They could’ve at least included a picture of us.” Kade turned towards Alec, with an incredulous look on his face. The sight made me want to laugh, especially with the stress that had just been thrown on us. “I was comatose for nearly a week, and missed out on the entire meeting.” Alec raised an eyebrow at his brother, daring him to say something. I didn’t miss how the last sentence was said a bit sourly. I could tell what irritated him the most was that Marcus’s men had managed to snag him. “Forgive me for wanting accurate news. The least they could have done was mention mine and Tori’s kidnapping.” From NôvelDrama.Org.

“I do have a name other than soul-eater.” I pointed out, giving Kade the same frown Alec was currently making. “I’m pretty sure I only heard my actual name one time.” “Soul-eater sounds kind of badass though. Makes people think twice about messing with you.”‘ Tori

shrugged from where she sat across the sectional. Alec gave her an exasperated look, “You seem awful calm considering they did you even worse than Kade and I.” “It’s just the news.” Tori shrugged, “The details of the story all depend on the person telling it.” “They called you Aurora’s assistant.” Alec deadpanned, jumping when my unrestrained laughter startled him. Perhaps it was all of the stress that finally made me crack, or how truly dumbfounded Alec felt talking to Tori and Kade; but my sides ached and my eyes watered as I laughed at the three of them. Alec was second to join in, followed by Tori. Even Kade chuckled, which was the most I’d get out of him right now. “Three days.” I sighed after finally catching my breath. I fell back on the couch and sighed when Alec’s fingers brushed through my hair. “Three more days of waiting. I think I hate the waiting more than anything else.” For three days we spent as much time as possible with one another. After rummaging through the overstocked pantry in Jaspar’s safehouse, I concluded that I was tired of all things in shiny packages. It was the heinous workout sessions in the morning that helped me maintain some semblance of self- defense, other than my ability to tear the soul from someone’s body. On the third day, at ten in the morning, a sequence of heavy thuds sounded on the door. The tablet with its security cameras beeped, pulling up an image of a man and woman. When we opened the front door for them, I wasn’t the only one who was a bit dumbfounded. The woman was in her early thirties, but was dressed well–like a tourist. Her t-shirt said, ‘I heart NY’ and she wore an actual visor on her head, along with a pair of wide framed sunglasses. Her cargo shorts and thick soled shoes completed and confirmed the tourist outfit. The man at her side was dressed much the same. Cargo shorts and a black f***y pack, along with an identical pair of thick soled shoes. While their clothes completely threw us off, I did not miss the alertness in their emotions, or the muscles that protruded from just about every surface of their body.

“We are here to escort Ms. Aurora, her mates, and friend.”‘ It was the man who spoke, towering over Tori and I. My own surprise shocked me, as did the man’s voice when he spoke. It was light, carefree, and actually kind of happy considering the circumstances. I could feel that positive attitude as it radiated from him in warm waves. He looked a bit gruff with the shaved head and thick beard, but the grin on his face transformed him from threatening warrior to gentle giant. “Looks like we found the right place. The name is Dex, and my cheerful partner is Carson.” “You won’t be needing to take anything with you.” Carson said in a harsher tone, one that said we needed to get going. Her demeanor was different from Dex’s, much sterner and more serious. “Let’s get going. We had to leave the van on an access road. These shoes aren’t meant for hiking through the forest.” During the day, the house looked much different. It wasn’t the first time we had stepped outside since arriving at the safehouse, but I still couldn’t get used to how large it truly was. I found myself both relieved and anxious as we walked down the steps, towards where the forest and yard met. “What’s with the clothes, anyway?” Tori was brave enough to ask, cocking an eyebrow at the t-shirt she wore. “Right now, your friend the most important person in our world. Considering she doesn’t let it go to her head, she could really change things for all of us.’ Carson tossed over her shoulder without looking back. The French braid that ran down her back swayed as she walked. “She needs protection, but we can’t drive down the highway with an armored vehicle and six escorts. Marcus Novak would be on us within minutes. A disguise might just buy us enough time to get you to the drop off.” “Are backroads not available?” I asked. “Marcus is gonna have those monitored first, considering they’re smaller and more likely to be used by you fugitives.” Dex said with a deep laugh, like two boulders clashing together. I looked back to where he tailed us, unable to refrain from cracking a smile. “The highway is just as dangerous as the back roads, but it’ll save us a good two hours.” Carson said from the front, increasing her pace to where Alec and Kade had to help me from tripping over everything.

I kept eyes on the ground, stepping over the stray roots and plants. I nearly fell to the ground as my foot slid on a patch of mud. It was Alec’s arms underneath my shoulders that kept me from being coated in the d***y substance. “What a dangerous soul-eater you are.” He smirked low in my ear, sending a flood of emotions through me that were not appropriate for the time and place. The access road was a thin dirt road that stretched off into the forest. The tree’s parted for the little dirt road, allowing just a sliver of the cloudless sky to shine overhead. The air was brisk and cool, much different from my time spent in the twin’s pack, where the sun and humidity were constantly at war. This time I did laugh as we came upon a navy-colored minivan. It wasn’t the floral seat covers that made me chuckle, but the wide array of bumper stickers on the back. One said “my child made honor roll this year!”. Another read, “Dog mom!”. On the back window were a cluster of those stick-man families. A muscular looking stickman posed a s the father, along with a mother, four children, and a dog. “Just another family traveling for vacation.” Dex grinned, patting the hood of the van with a firm hand. “Is this thing even safe?” Tori asked, lifting an eyebrow at Dex. “Oh, you bet it is.” His smile widened as though this question pleased him. He led Tori around to the side of the van and opened it up. “This thing is full of reinforced steel and bullet proof glass. Doesn’t even weigh her down.” Apart from the mix of country and rock music trickling through the dull speakers of the minivan, there was nothing but silence and the whoosh of the passing cars to fill my mind. I sat at the very center in between Alec and Kade, while Tori sat in the far back. “So, how do you know Jaspar?” I asked, finally finding the courage. Dex and Carson glanced at one another, a long look that just screamed silent conversation. “Mr. Fox is–was a High Table member. He knows a lot of people, werewolves and humans.” Carson responded in a tone that let me know I’d get no further information. Her emotions weren’t ones of aggression or anger, just fierce protectiveness and a professionalism that most people could never accomplish.

An hour of mountains and steep inclines passed before we had no choice but to stop. Both Dex and Carson agreed on stopping at the smallest, most decrepit gas station to ever grace this earth. It was nothing more than a small shack, big enough to fit a handful people at the very most. An old-fashioned cash register sat on top of a fold out table. A very disinterested looking man stood at the table, picking at something beneath his nails. Carson went inside the shack for the four of us, getting bottles of water and insignificant snacks. Both Tori and I headed around back to where the cashier claimed were bathrooms. What we found was one of those portable bathrooms, and from the looks of it, it had been sitting her for longer than either of us had walked this earth. “At this point, I feel like it would be safer to go into the woods and use the bathroom.” Tori snorted, though the comment was one hundred percent accurate. “Were you not able to go?” Kade asked with a tilt of his head, once we both returned. Tori and I scrunched our noses in sync, “No, that bathroom is a safety hazard. Hazmat should be called immediately.” Carson was a bit disgruntled at having to stop again, but it was better and faster than venturing into the forest. Yet another desolate gas station with an extremely questionable bathroom, but it was an improvement from the last one. We remained out of sight the entire time, hidden behind the tinted windows of the minivan. After another half hour, I was beginning to grow tired. Burrowed in Alec’s side, my eyes fluttered. I hovered on the cusp of sleep when I was ripped away, my eyes torn open as anger and determination radiated from four of the people in the vehicle. “Is something wrong?” I asked, pulling away from Alec to look around. We were still coasting down the highway, signs and other cars whizzing by. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t see anything amiss. “Let’s hope not.” Kade grunted from where he sat, turning around to wake Tori up. “What’s wrong?” She asked, cracking her neck with a soft groan. “We’re being followed.” Dex answered, all humor gone from his face. If anything, I think I preferred the laughing, joking Dex. Serious Dex was downright frightening. It

brought more attention to his hulking physique, which wasn’t as muscular as it was mountain-like. Carson pulled a cellphone from the pocket of her cargo shorts and placed the phone to her ear. “Coming up on exit 74. We’re being followed by a black Nissan. How is traffic from your standpoint?” She asked, forcing the words from her mouth in rapid succession. “There are others up ahead?” I asked, leaning forwards in my seat. “You didn’t think we came alone, did you?” Dex smirked in the rearview mirror. “It was too risky to have the others get close, so we have them stationed at different points on the highway. They’ll let us know if anything is up ahead.” “S**t, they must have spotted us somehow.” Carson cursed, pulling the phone from her ear to type out a message. “Traffic is coming to a complete stop within the next fifty miles. We have twenty minutes to get off–“ “WATCH OUT!” Tori’s scream was timed perfectly, as a Mack truck veered onto the median from the other side of the highway, and into the left lane where we currently were.