SeleneThings were definitely not going according to plan!And I blamed that girl!I stood in between Arnold and Ryker as they locked eyes angrily with each other. The brothers were about to fight, and it was all because of Keileigh.I smiled at a guard and informed them, “Send everyone out at once. This is a private conversation.”The guard nodded and before anything else could happen, they had already begun to make sure the pack members had exited the large hall.“This is enough,” I said to Ryker and Arnold, as they kept growling at each other. “You both can’t fight like this in public. Please.”Arnold snarled, “I have no desire to fight you brother, but if you keep on mentioning that girl’s name then-““Then what?” Ryker cut his twin brother off, before I could say anything.I cleared my throat, and Ryker’s eyes fell on me as it should.“Ryker, please think this through,” I simpered. “Your brother is right. We don’t know this girl. She may have bad intentions, and-“I reached out
KeileighI was in my bedroom now, my body shaking and the memories of the party coming back to me.I had caused the two Alphas to fight.That shame and guilt built up in me that I found I was trembling.After Ryker had taken me out of the party hall I had refused to go anywhere else with him because somehow I couldn’t stand it. Somehow that act of his had been the one to make me snap out of the way I had been frozen, watching everything go like it were from a book.I ran away from him and locked myself in my bedroom.I thought that would help me think more clearly and figure out what to do.But it had only made me become more lost.My stomach churned uncomfortably and I felt like I was the harbinger of bad luck to this mighty pack. There was no other way to describe how two brothers would suddenly be at odds once I came into the picture.As tears prickled my eyes I heard the knock on the door.Wiping my eyes I quickly stood up, wondering who it might be. I was left gaping afterwards a
RykerKeileigh’s words weren’t the only thing that struck a chord deep into me. The sight of her with tears running down her cheeks made my chest hurt and I knelt down to grasp her chin but she slapped my hand away and stood up immediately, to my shock.“Stay away from me,” she demanded as she put considerable distance between us, quickly moving to the corner of the room.She sniffled and tried to wipe at her cheeks and eyes, but all it did was make them even redder.“Keileigh, tell me what’s wrong,” I implored my mate, seeing how distressed she was. I hated to see her that way. What could have gone wrong?“Are you happy now?” She snapped at me, her voice full of anger and frustration and pain. “You do things without caring how everyone will take it. You planned this didn’t you? The party, and that announcement. You did all that, and you made such a fuss over nothing!”I blinked slowly as my mind processed the things she was saying.“Are you upset about that?” I asked her as gently as
KeileighThe next morning I opened my eyes blearily and slowly sat up on autopilot. It took me some time of blank staring in front of me to realize i had just woken up.I looked down at myself and saw I was still wearing the dress from the previous night’s Larry and confusion filled me for a second or two before I remembered the events of what had happened. A groan slipped from my lips and I teased my head into my hands.The party had been a disaster, hadn’t it? And after that Selene had come to my room to threaten me. I had broken down.My face warmed up on recalling how Alpha Ryker had gently held me and comforted me in a slow and deep soothing voice while I cried.“Oh no,” I groaned, my voice muffled.Why had I done that? Why had I let Alpha Ryker see me like that? And worse, why had I let him comfort me? I remembered his warmth as I pressed my face into his chest. His clavent had been somehow calming even when I didn’t want it to be. My mind had warred with my heart then, and I lo
RykerThe afternoon meeting with the warriors was finished and the patrol teams had made it back safely.Arnold and I were walking back in silence. To say the atmosphere between us was tense was a damn understatement. I had hardly spoken to my twin brother ever since we went together to meet with the warriors of our pack, other than a greeting.It was a shame we were not in agreement over so many things that we would fight this badly, but this was categorically not my fault. It was Arnold who was always so reactive and had lashed out in the way he did.I expected the walk back would be just as quiet, when Arnold cleared his throat out of the blue.“You must be glad, Ryker,” he sounded accusatory. “Selene has been difficult to console all morning. That you would abandon our Lady like that, when she has done so much for us, and hand on to that girl… it’s such a shame, brother.”I could tell he was holding back a lot of anger from the way that his tone sounded biting even when he tried t
RomanI walked down the hallway towards the Alpha Ryker’s study. I hadn’t come here since the surprise party - at least it was a surprise to me - where Keileigh was announced to be their mate.I grit my teeth and tried to not appear too upset by the thought of those events. I had not expected Alpha Ryker to be so spontaneous and act that way. If I had an idea that would happen I would have found a way to convince Keileigh to instead stay by my side.Mate bond be damned, I would have never let Alpha Ryker or Alpha Arnold touch her.But no matter.This was just another reason for me to bring the two brothers down by force and destroy everything they held dear.I got to the door of the study and was about to open it but my hand stopped halfway when I heard Ryker’s voice.He was speaking about… jewelry?I continued to listen and then heard him order Kara to bring a jeweler here, likely to get something made for Keileigh.I scowled at the thought. Show off. Did he think he could simply win
KeileighThe warmth of the afternoon combined with how comfortable the chair was, made my body feel relaxed and my eyes heavy.I shifted in my seat, forcing myself to stay awake through sheer will. I hated having naps these days, because of the nightmares I had been having.Therefore I did whatever I could to keep myself occupied. Normally Roman would have shown up by now but perhaps he was busy today for he didn’t even come by to check up on me.The afternoon, try as hard as I might was quickly becoming boring. At least, I thought to myself, eyeing the book I had tried to finish reading but dropped a couple of minutes later, Alpha Arnold and Selene hadn’t been a black spot in my morning today.At least I had gone longer without hearing their snide remarks about me, especially Selene’s that often seemed worse than Arnold’s at times. At least with Arnold he never hid his true emotions in public. But with the self-acclaimed Lady of the House, she had a small smile on her face most times
KeileighI was speechless; what could one say to that? At first I wanted to laugh so much that I felt it bubbling up. But quickly enough as it came it also died down.The realization that Roman, my best friend from my childhood and the only one I could count in, really had meant what he just said, slowly dawned on me.“Roman…” I said his name and covered my lips with my mouth. What could I say to him.His eyes stared insistently into me. I could feel the weight of his gaze, burning into me.“Keileigh, say something. Whatever you want to say, say it and I won’t get upset,” he insisted.“I don’t know what to say,” I replied. “This is too much. This could get complicated very fast.”“You mean with the two Alphas,” Roman reasoned, and I didn’t bother to correct him just yet. How else could I tell him it wasn’t just that? My past was also after me - Alpha Jake who I had given my heart to and he had played with it… and how my actions had caused my father’s death, and the destruction of my p