Four.

Xander

I didn’t trust him. I never had.

My brother was secretive. Always coming up with plans, trying to figure out things so that they would benefit him. It had been the same for as long as I could remember. But I was curious as to why he wanted Blue so badly. Of all the ones we had been mated too, he had never wanted anything to do with them, so why now? What was so special about this one?

He had commented about her blue hair. But why was that so important? I had seen the way he had looked at her too. He had never looked at another woman in the same way. But Blue was damaged goods. It wouldn’t look good, not for us and not for the pack. I had to make him see sense before it was too late.

Jaxon sits in my fathers chair in the office. He props a foot up on his knee and spins in the chair like a four year old. “Not long now little brother.” He smirks at me. “The pack will be ours.”

“You are a minute older, I’m hardly your little brother.” I mutter, rolling my eyes at him. “But we do need to talk about her.”

“What’s wrong? Worried she won’t find you attractive?” He sniggers as he riffs through our fathers paperwork.

“She comes with too many problems. The human friend, the scars, she has been raped! And to top it off, she is a wolf!”

“Blue is the best one for us. The other’s just bowed. She held herself. That’s the kind of Luna we need. Fuck her past, she will learn to love us.”

“She hides herself away!”

“Xander. She lives among humans, of course she hides herself away.”

“She doesn’t shift!”

“She hasn’t allowed herself to heal.” 

He had an answer for everything. But Blue was broken, I could tell that much by the way she held herself. She was a little too confident, but not in a good way. But something else bothered me, there were only photos of her and the human in the house. There was no sign of a family.

“I think she is a Rogue wolf.” I tell him, already preparing for him to laugh it off. The same way he did with all my ideas.

As expected, he bursts into laughter. “A Rogue, really brother? She is nothing like a Rogue.”

“How many other wolves live among humans?” I had thought it over, everything in their little apartment showed me that she didn’t live in a pack. “Just think about it. She doesn’t shift. There are no photos of her family. There were no other wolf scents in the apartment. There is just something off about her.”

He smiles at me, “Maybe that’s exactly what we need. Something different, something spicier.”

“We can’t have a Rogue wolf as our mate. Father will never hand over the pack! He will give it to Cecelia.”

“Cece doesn’t want it! She wants to leave as soon as her and her mate are married. She just hasn’t told father yet.”

“Are you serious, why didn’t Cecelia tell me?”

“Maybe because you insist on calling her that. She hates it.” He cracks his knuckles on the desk. “Xander, I love you, you are my brother, but Blue is the one for us. You will learn to love her. You will get over her past.”

I glared at him because I knew what it meant if we didn’t agree. I was not ready to be mateless for the rest of my life. Not that I was keen on sharing her either.

“Now, we will be going back tomorrow. I want her to feel comfortable around us before we even consider bringing her here.”

“Father will hate her!” I mutter, standing up to leave.

“Father isn’t going to be the one fucking her.” He stares at me and I roll my eyes. If only he acted the same way in front of women as he did behind closed doors.

The following morning, I find my father and my brother joking around the breakfast table. They both stop the moment they see me. Father picks up the newspaper, hiding himself behind it. It had been this way for years. Father was much more fatherly to Jaxon than me.

“Good morning father.”

“Good morning, son.” He mutters from behind the paper.

Jaxon nods his head at me, “You need to hurry up, we are leaving in thirty minutes.”

“Where are we going?”

“We are going to look for our mate. We will spend the whole day looking if necessary.”

We had already found her so I assumed that he wanted us to spend the day with her. It was his way of telling me without father knowing.

“Fine.” I make myself sound happy about it. Father would only question me otherwise.

Saying goodbye to father, he wishes us luck. He was so desperate for us to bring a mate home. But all I could see is how he would tear her apart the moment he finds out what she is. Because I was certain that Blue was a Rogue.

Jaxon drives, he preferred too. But I just think it is another way for him to assert his dominance over me. To remind me that he was the older twin. That he was somehow more powerful.

“What are you hoping to achieve today?” I ask

“To find out her bloodline.”

“Do you think she actually knows? If she is a Rogue…”

“Will you stop with this Rogue business! Rogues are rough, they live in the woods and the forests. They don’t live among humans and they certainly don’t work in bars for minimum wage.”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Act like you give a shit! I watched you lure our other mates into bed, even when I told you they were no good. Just because you don’t seem keen on this one doesn’t mean we are rejecting her. You don’t see what I see!”

“It’s because you thought the others would choose me, isn’t it?” I mutter, knowing full well that was why he wanted us to reject him.

“Shut up!”

“I’m right, aren’t I Jaxon? You knew they wouldn’t put up with your lies and deceit.”

“They were from our pack. They knew too much.” And there we have it. He was putting on a false front for Blue. I would have to help her see it. See that Jaxon is a con artist.

“Well, they were certainly happy to jump in my bed. You only like this one because she speaks to you.”

He gives me a warning growl as we roll up to the apartment block. Blue’s floral scent was thick. It should be, we were right outside of her home. I watch my brother take a deep breath, he closes his eyes. “Are you ready, Xander?”

We make our way up the two flights of steps. With each step her scent grew stronger. Our other mates had never had such a strong scent, not like this.

Jaxon knocks on the door and unlike yesterday, Blue opens it without hesitation. “You really do stick to your word don’t you?!” She mutters

“Can we come in?” Jaxon asks. He wasn’t speaking in his usual tone of voice. He was speaking softly. His eyes glistened as he looked at her, what the hell was he up too?

She steps back, holding the door wide as we step through.

“Why are you so calm today?” I was curious. This wasn’t the same person that I had watched for the last week. And she definitely wasn’t the same girl from last night.

“What’s the point in fighting it?” She shrugs her shoulders at me and gives me a small smile. But I smell the alcohol on her breath as I walk by.

“Where’s the human?” Jaxon asks as he makes himself comfortable. He already knew where she was, we could both smell her.

“In her bedroom, getting ready for work. Vita has called us in.”

“You’re not going!” My brother orders.

“I know you don’t want me too, but Vita is short staffed and I like working the bar and for her….”

“I said no!” He was annoyed that she wasn’t conforming. Yet last night, he said he liked that about her.

“I have an idea. Why don’t you go to work and we will take our usual booth?!” At least this way I could keep an eye on my brother and Blue.

“If that’s what you want to do.” She shrugs her shoulders. “But I need to work.”

“Have you taken something?” Jaxon demands, staring at her.

“I needed a drink” She waves her hands around, “Especially if you are going to be hanging around.”

Her comment makes me laugh and my brother glares at me. She certainly didn’t have a problem with answering back. Maybe she was right for us after all.