Mated to the Alpha Twins

The twin’s parents contacted us nearly an entire day later. While they had the address for the safehouse, there was no way for us to contact anyone in the outside world. There were no telephones in the entire house, and our own cellphones were lost or broken during the chaos.
“They won’t come here.” Kade reassured me, ” Marcus’s men could be anywhere. Coming here would only bring trouble.”
Even though I cherished these hours with the twin’s, they were wrought with anxiety. I couldn’t help but feel like the world was holding its breath, waiting for the next move to be made. Marcus had clearly made the first move, ordering my capture along with Tori and the twins. It was our turn, but we were in no position to do anything.

Both Tori and Zayne stayed in their rooms for most of the day, managing to come downstairs at different intervals. While it might’ve been chance, I had the distinct feeling they were completely avoiding each other. I thought back to last night and the interaction between the two of them, wondering if something more might’ve happened once, she shut the door behind them.
Ava had actually stayed in the living room all night. The twin’s and I had come downstairs to her wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, with various snacks littered around her body. While she didn’t go any further into detail, Ava mentioned her large family and the closeness between them all.

The day passed slowly, but the twins had their ways of distracting me. In truth, I think they needed the distraction as well. I knew that not only were they worried about the countless white wolves within Marcus’s walls, but they were worrying about their own pack. Actual war, it’s not something an eighteen-year-old ever thinks they might experience. Where the concept was once concrete in my mind, I now couldn’t wrap my head around it. Even with the confusion and guilt, I knew I’d remain strong. It wasn’t just about me and my freedom anymore, it was about the freedom of thousands.
I was finding it hard to sleep that night, even after hours spent in their embrace. I listened to the ringing in my ears when the silence became to deafening, staring up into the darkness that cloaked the ceiling. The twins had both fallen asleep already, even though I knew both would wake from little more than a whisper.
I was the first to hear the feather-light knock on the door. Both Alec and Kade woke up, awareness already forming in their eyes.
You could have easily convinced me I was dreaming when Kade opened the door to reveal a pale looking Zayne leaning against the frame. The three of us were silent long enough for Zayne to roll his eyes and come walking in. I could feel how he forced himself to stand upright, to shove and bottle his pain until his entire body throbbed.
“Look, Tori’s the one who knows all of the medical stuff.” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. “You’re going to have to get over being around her so she can fix your wounds. I’ll only end up doing more damage, the twin’s even worse.”
“I am not here for medical attention.” He said through clenched teeth, his eyes hardened into sheets of ice. “I am here because this is the only way to speak with you without her overhearing. As you’re well aware, she’s–difficult to get along with. I don’t need her interfering in these plans, not when they can tip the scales in this war.”
“We’ll go back to the part where Tori is the difficult one later, but explain this plan.” I toned my snarl down into a venomous whisper. “Staying in the shadows only works for so long Zayne, especially with something this big. This isn’t just about rescuing a few white wolves; it doesn’t just end with that. Not anymore.”
“I understand clearly what’s going on, more than you know. I’m all but signing my f*****g d***h warrant.” He grunted, walking slow and stiff to the couch across the room. There was pain in his stiff movements, even if they looked formal and polite. Shadows hung in the depths of his eyes, and his emotions were just as blocked as they had been when he was sober. “I fully intend on coming out of the shadows, at the right moment. When you take my father’s head, I will be the one to bring him to his knees.”
As much as I despised Zayne, and only tolerated him for the sake of this war and Tori, this was what we needed. We needed the upper hand, an advantage against the most powerful person in our world.
“What’s your plan?” Alec was the first to ask, his once carefree face now hardened from equal parts loathing and determination.
“First, I need you to tell me something.” Zayne said, his eyes directly on me. “How is it that my father found out about our involvement with rescuing your mate here?”
I figured Jaspar hadn’t the time to tell Zayne with him getting dragged off and tortured, but the two actively worked together, which meant I trusted him with the truth.
“A white wolf that Marcus brought, she saw the memory in my mind when she touched me. ” I explained as best I could, recounting the woman that had bumped into me.
“Cleo. She works for my father willingly. You’ll find that not all white wolves are unhappy with their positions. They thrive just as much on cruelty as my father.” Zayne said darkly, “The only good thing out of this, Cleo can only see a single memory at a time, and she has to know what to look for. My father must have fed her the information about your missing mate, and she followed the path in your head.”
“This is a good thing, how?” Kade asked, sitting beside me on the couch. I sat between my twin’s, thankful that I wasn’t still tossing and turning in bed. Hopefully discussing war plans would help calm my mind. “Marcus has no reason to trust you knowing that you helped us.”
“Cleo’s abilities are like watching a recap of a television show. She can’t hear your thoughts or most of the conversation. The longer she keeps contact with you, the more details she can get. She must’ve seen just enough for my father to assume guilt.” He explained, his eyes peering out the window, to the darkness that peeked between the c******s. “Which means he’s still clueless about my involvement with the white wolves. He also has no knowledge of our agreement or the reasons behind my helping you.”

“You’re going to feed him a story, something that would put you in the clear.” I pieced it together, feeling my stomach sink for both Tori and Zayne. “You’re going to go back.”
“Yes, I am going to go back. I plan on leaving tomorrow night.”‘ He answered smoothly, his eyes betraying nothing. “I will tear his pack down from the inside, while you gather your armies.”
That small shred within me that still housed the fearful human girl–she wanted to run for the hills. It was becoming all too real for her, some magical fantasy turned dark and b****y. She had signed up for the endless, eternal love–not the magical enslavement, m****r, and lies.
“How–how does war work?” I asked plainly, even though the question itself wasn’t stupid in the slightest.
“Packs always formally announce acts of war against one another. They’re recorded so we can always remember our history.” Surprisingly, it was Zayne who explained. I liked to think that he wanted to speak, to distract himself from whatever mess was going on inside of his head. “At times, an Alpha will challenge another to single combat, to save their packs the pain and loss of war.”
“I don’t suppose Marcus would be interested in single combat?”‘ I suggested with a brittle laugh that quickly sputtered out.
“My father will not show such courtesy. He will use every ounce of power at his disposal, even if it means sending his warriors to their deaths.” Zayne said in a gravelly voice. “Most of the warriors are just a formality, bodies to protect the white wolves that are his most powerful.”
“What’s this story you plan on giving to Marcus?” Kade asked, his dark eyes like bright orbs in the poorly lit room. “I assume it’ll paint Aurora and I as the enemies.”
“As bad as it sounds, I think that’s the smartest thing to do.” I frowned, “That’s what Marcus is trying to do, show the world that were the bad guys. If his own son shows up telling a story about how we held him against his will, it’ll give Marcus even more reason to believe it.”
“Then what’s the story?” Kade grunted, some of the hardness in his eyes eroded as he looked down at me.
“Well–we caught Zayne off guard and attacked him. We forced him to help us get Alec back and left him in one of the hotel rooms when we were finished.” I suggested, knowing that the story had holes. It was the best I could come up with at three in the morning.
“He’s going to torture me regardless, so I better get my stories straight.” Zayne said evenly, without a trace of emotion. What hurt me the most was how nonchalant he sounded, as though that kind of punishment was normal growing up.
“Won’t he just use Cleo on you once you get back home?” I pointed out, knowing that could ruin his plans before they even begun.
“Once I’m in my father’s pack, I have allies of my own. There are a lot of protective abilities among the white wolves, and more than enough owe me a favor or two.” He replied without looking away from the window, “We’re going to need more details. If you and Kade subdued me, why did I not simply mind- link my father or his men?”
I paused for a moment, working through the steps.
“We used silver on you, enough to knock you out and cut your connection to your pack.” I said a bit slowly, feeling the pieces click together in my mind.
“Up until we went there, you had no clue the house existed. Won’t Marcus know that?” Kade asked, which turned out to be a very good point.
“I’ll tell him I’ve known about it the entire time.” Zayne shrugged, meeting Kade’s eyes. “I know he purchased it nearly a year and a half ago, and who the buyer was, which will be proof enough for him.”
“Once we had Alec back, we left you in one of the hotel suites. We knew you couldn’t miss this meeting or it would draw attention, so we injected you with just enough to knock you out for an hour. It wore off in time for the meeting, which you then showed up for. You didn’t have the time to tell Marcus what happened, because the meeting had already begun.” I concluded, feeling somewhat proud with myself.
“What about Ava? Won’t he know from Aurora’s memory that she was there as well?” Kade pointed out.
“Your cynical nature is really proving handy on this one, brother.” Alec smirked from beside me.
“How long did Cleo touch you for?” Zayne asked, his voice sharp. “I need you to be as accurate as possible.”
“It couldn’t have been for more than a few seconds, but there’s no way for me to know for sure.” I replied, refusing to balk under his gaze.
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take.” He said with finality, “She was with Kade for the first half. Let’s hope that’s the part that Cleo viewed.”
While I wasn’t exactly happy with sending Zayne back to his father, it wasn’t a horrible plan. If it worked, it would give us that upper hand we desperately needed. In the end, it was Zayne’s choice to make, but there was still something bothering me. I could feel it in my chest, picking and scratching as it made itself known.
“Why can’t we tell her, Zayne?” I asked seemingly out of the blue. “She understands just as well as anyone that you make your own choices. If this works, it could change things, but it’s your risk to take.”
“She will know nothing about it, Aurora.” He said harshly, his cool demeanor turning bitter. I could feel next to nothing from his emotions, and the wall he had erected around them. Brick by brick, Zayne and his father built that wall. “I don’t want her mixed in with what I am doing, and not for the sentimental reasons I’m sure are going through your head right now. She has no place in any of this. I might be stuck working with you three, but she is a distraction I never asked for.”
I wasn’t sure if he noticed that last part had slipped out, but his anger was palpable. The twin’s stiffened on either side of me, but I quickly told them both to cool it.
When Zayne had first showed up at the door of the twin’s cabin, I felt absolutely nothing from him. The wall around him was of thick granite, impenetrable and solid. After meeting Tori, the rock began to chip and erode; seared by her intensity and passion. That wall around him was going to shatter, and I only hoped Tori was free from the explosion when it did.
Against my better judgement, I pushed again. He was finally doing the right thing, standing up to Marcus in the one way that mattered. He was stepping into the light and accepting his role in creating this new future, but I still couldn’t fathom why Tori couldn’t be a part of this new future with him. One where Marcus wasn’t there to exact control over him, one where he was free to choose Tori.
“What you’re doing doesn’t make any sense, Zayne. Did Marcus mess you up that badly that you can’t see what you’re giving up? She’s literally meant for you, in all of your ignorant, stubborn, a*****e ways.” I scoffed, hardening my face as anger flashed in his eyes. “We’re trying to change things for everyone, to create something new and better. There is no reason for you to be doing this to her. She deserves better, and yet she’s saddled with you.”
Anger sizzled and burned through the cracks in his wall, though the emotion wasn’t scalding like Tori’s was. Zayne’s anger was through lashes of ice and spiderwebs of bitter frost.
“I don’t have to explain anything to you, not a single f*****g thing.” He snapped, his voice dripping with rage.