The Double Anchor

ZAYNE:

The sweet, suffocating scent hits me like a freight train the second I cross the threshold.

Cedarwood. Ozone. And beneath it all, the undeniable, intoxicating essence of soft skin, wild forest rain, and pure gold.

Sara.

My wolf roars so violently against my ribcage that my vision flashes blood-red. Three years of tracking cold leads, three years of suffocating anger, all crashing down into a single point in space. She’s standing behind the counter, looking smaller than I remember in an oversized green hoodie, her big brown eyes wide with absolute terror.

I step forward, my heavy boots crushing the fallen paper cups, intent on claiming what’s ours. Beside me, Kyle moves in total sync, his usual arrogant smirk completely wiped from his face.

We vault the granite counter at the exact same second.

My palm slams around her waist, pulling her flush against my chest, while Kyle’s fingers lock around her delicate wrist. The moment our skin touches hers, the air in the room combusts.

A golden, blinding shockwave snaps through my chest. It isn't just a connection, it’s a violent, ancient lightning strike that fuses my soul directly to hers. But as I lean into the soft curve of her neck to inhale her scent, I feel the exact same surge of Alpha energy vibrating through Kyle right beside me.

Our eyes clash over Sara’s head.

Kyle’s golden eyes are blown wide, glowing with an intense, luminous amber. His breath hitches in his throat. For the first time in twenty-four years, my twin brother looks entirely, utterly paralyzed.

The bond didn't pick. It anchored to both of us.

"MINE," we growl in absolute, synchronized unison the sound tearing from our chests so loudly that the glass display cases rattle.

Sara gasps, her body going rigid between us as horror pales her face. "N-no..." she chokes out, her pulse hammering against my palm like a trapped bird.

"Zayne..." Kyle rasps, his voice trembling with a rare, raw disbelief as his grip on her wrist tightens possessively. "Do you feel that? Tell me you fucking feel that."

"I feel it," I growl, my jaw aching from the strain of keeping my wolf from completely taking over.

The split mate bond. A myth passed down through Alpha bloodlines, a freak anomaly meant to prevent twin heirs from destroying each other. She belongs to me. And she belongs to him.

Around us, the cafe erupts into chaos. A human customer drops his mug, the ceramic shattering on the tile. "Hey! What the hell are you doing to her?! I'm calling the police!"

The word police acts like a bucket of ice water over my raging blood. The human task force. If officers show up here now, they’ll smell the sudden spike of Alpha pheromones saturating the air.

"Kyle," I command, my Alpha tone slicing through the haze. "Vehicle. Now."

"Touch her again and I'll break your arm, man," the human customer yells, stepping forward bravely.

Kyle doesn't even look at him. With a flick of his wrist, he shoves the man back into a row of chairs with superhuman force, sending him crashing to the floor. "Back off, sheep," Kyle sneers, though his gaze snaps right back to Sara, dark and ravenous. "We're taking what's ours."

"Please, Zayne, no!" Sara cries out, thrashing frantically against my grip, her knuckles white as she tries to pry my hand off her waist. "You can't do this! Let me go!"

"You ran once, Sara," I whisper harshly into her ear, my lips brushing the sensitive skin below her jaw, making her shiver violently as the mate bond sparks between us. "You don't get to run twice."

I scoop her up into my arms, hauling her against my chest. She fights like a wild animal, hitting my shoulders, but her hybrid strength is nothing against two fully matured Alphas locked in the grip of a mate bond. Kyle covers our rear, his body vibrating with lethal energy as he glares down the cowering humans in the shop.

We burst through the back door into the crisp, rain-slicked alleyway.

Our blacked-out SUV is idling in the shadows, the exhaust curling into the damp morning air. Kyle yanks the rear door open, and I slide inside, pulling Sara directly onto my lap to pin her arms. Kyle climbs in right behind us, slamming the door shut and locking the heavy reinforced doors.

The engine roars to life, tires screeching as the driver hits the gas, plunging us into the city traffic.

Sara lies breathless against my chest, her chest heaving, her eyes darting between me and Kyle in total panic. "You don't understand," she pleads, her voice breaking. "The police... they're hunting wolves in the city! If you take me… "

"The police are the least of your concerns, little wolf," Kyle murmurs, leaning in close until his lips almost touch hers, his eyes burning with a dangerous, possessive fire. He reaches out, tracing a warm finger down her trembling cheek. "You just bound yourself to two Alpha Kings. And our father is dying."

Before Sara can scream, the SUV takes a sharp turn, heading straight toward the mountain borders, and the dark, violent pack war waiting for us at home.