Chapter two: 30 Days

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*CHAPTER 2: 30 DAYS*

The lock clicked.

Charlotte stared at the door. Then at the two men in the room.

Valentine sat on the edge of the massive black bed, shirtless. Bandages covered the gunshot on his chest. His gold eyes tracked her like she was prey.

Angelo closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Same face as Valentine. Same sharp jaw. But Angelo’s eyes were darker. Colder. And his smile was dangerous.

“Drink?” Angelo held up a glass of water. Like this was normal. Like she wasn’t trapped with two Alpha werewolves.

“I want to leave,” Charlotte said. Her voice shook. “I have patients. I have a job.”

“You don’t have a job anymore,” Valentine said quietly. He stood. 6’4 of muscle and scars. “You saved an Alpha’s life with your blood. That makes you ours now.”

Charlotte backed into the door. “That’s kidnapping.”

Angelo laughed. “No. That’s fate.”

He pushed off the door and walked to her. Slow. Predator slow. He stopped an inch away. She could feel the heat coming off him.

“Do you feel it, Doctor Vale?” he whispered. “The pull in your chest? That’s the mate bond. Your blood is in him. His blood is in you now.”

Charlotte pressed a hand to her chest. He was right. There was a warmth. A string tying her to both of them. It hurt.

“I’m human,” she whispered. “Mates aren’t real for humans.”

Valentine’s jaw ticked. “You’re not just human.”

Both twins looked at her.

“What do you mean?”

Angelo answered. “No human smells like you. No human made the bond snap that hard. And no human could donate 2 bags of blood and still be standing.” He tilted his head. “What are you hiding?”

Charlotte’s heart stopped.

She couldn’t tell them. If wolves found out she was a White Witch, they’d kill her. Witches and wolves had been at war for 200 years.

“I’m tired,” she lied. “Can I sit?”

Valentine gestured to the bed. “Sit.”

She did. The mattress dipped. Angelo sat on her other side. Now she was trapped between them.

“30 days,” Valentine said. He sat in front of her, on the floor, so he was eye level. “That’s the law of the bond. From the moment it snaps, we have 30 days.”

“To do what?”

“Either break it,” Angelo said. “Or seal it.”

Charlotte frowned. “How do you break a bond?”

“Distance,” Valentine said. “Pain. Letting it starve. In 30 days, if we don’t touch, if we don’t claim, it dies.”

“And sealing it?”

Angelo’s hand brushed her knee. Just once. Her whole body jumped.

“One night,” he said softly. “Mark her. Bite her. Make her ours. Then the bond is permanent.”

Charlotte stood up fast. “No. I’m not— I don’t even know you.”

Valentine stood too. “Then let’s get to know each other. For 30 days.”

“You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” Angelo said. He stood and walked to the mini bar. Poured 3 glasses of whiskey. “But we’re insane together now.”

He handed her a glass. She didn’t take it.

“Look,” Charlotte said. “I get it. The bond is an accident. Let me go. I’ll donate blood again in 30 days if I have to. Just don’t lock me in here.”

Valentine’s eyes flashed gold. “You think we locked you in here to hurt you?”

“Didn’t you?”

“We locked you in here to protect you,” he growled. “Other packs heard I was shot. They know there was an O-negative donor. If they find you before we figure out what you are, they’ll take you. Or kill you.”

Angelo sipped his whiskey. “Brother’s right. You’re safer in here. With us.”

Charlotte looked between them. Two Alphas. One room. 30 days.

This was impossible.

“What if I refuse both options?” she asked. “What if I don’t break it and I don’t seal it?”

Valentine and Angelo looked at each other.

“Then we go feral,” Valentine said. “The bond gets stronger every day. By day 30, the need to claim will drive us mad. We won’t be able to control it.”

“So you’re saying I have to choose?”

“Yes,” Angelo said. He finally handed her the whiskey. This time she took it. “Choose by day 30. Break us, or rule us.”

Rule them.

The words hit her weird.

“Why would I rule you?”

“Because,” Valentine said. He stepped close. Too close. He lifted a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. His fingers were warm. “Your blood didn’t just save me. It calmed me. For the first time in 28 years, the wolf in me is quiet. Only when you’re near.”

Angelo nodded. “Same. She tames our heat, brother.”

Charlotte’s breath caught.

Rule their hearts.

That was the contest. That was her story.

“I need to think,” she whispered.

“You have 30 days,” Valentine said.

Angelo unlocked the door. “Bathroom’s through there. Clothes are in the closet. Guards are outside. You can’t leave, but you’re not a prisoner.”

Charlotte walked to the bathroom on shaky legs and locked the door.

She stared at herself in the mirror.

Dr. Charlotte Vale. 26. Orphan. Broke.

And now the mate of two Alpha twins.

Day 1 of 30.

And somehow... part of her didn’t want to break the bond at all.

*To be continued...*

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