003

{THE PRINCES OF BLOOD }

Betty was completely sure the guy with golden eyes was going to kill her. The way he stared at her felt not just threatening, but also like it was the end.

He moved closer, his boots making noise on the rough ground of the alley. Before she could scream, he grabbed the collar of her big hoodie tightly.

He picked her up off the ground with one easy hand.

Betty gasped, her legs hanging helplessly as he pulled her closer toward his face. He didn't look at her as a person; he leaned in and took a deep breath by the crook of her neck, his nostrils widening.

The smell of him—leather, cedar, and something old and like blood—hit her hard. Then, he growled, a deep sound that shook Betty's teeth, and threw her back onto the muddy floor like she was trash.

"We got the wrong one," He shouted, his voice deep and rough, bouncing off the wet brick walls.

Another figure came out from the dark corner of the alley. Betty caught her breath. He looked just like the first one—tall, strong, and giving off a muscular, manly energy that made the air feel thick.

The first man had messy red hair and golden eyes, but this one had blonde hair that shone in the low light and eyes that sparkled with a silver glow.

Twins.

They looked the same, were very attractive, and could be dangerous.

"How did we lose him, Aiden?" the blonde one—Adam—asked, his voice was smooth but still threatening. He looked at Betty with a small frown. "I had the rogue's scent. Then this... thing... stumbled into the path."

"Don't blame me," Aiden snapped, crossing his massive arms over a chest that looked like it was carved from stone. "She came out of nowhere, messing with the air. Look at her. She's drenched in sugar and mud. Her scent is a goddamn mess. I can't smell anything but spoiled fruit and fear."

They both stood over her, big and strong, looking down at her like she was a bug they had stepped on. Betty scooted back on her bottom, her hands getting wet in the oily puddle, her mind racing.

"Father won't be happy we lost another victim,"Adam said, his silver eyes squinting. "The King expects results, not excuses."

"Maybe we just hand her to him instead," Aiden suggested with a cruel, lopsided smirk. "A consolation prize."

Betty's heart stopped.

Father? The King?

Her eyes quickly looked at their forearms, where the sleeves of their tactical gear were rolled up. There, carved into their bronzed skin, was a matching tattoo—a crown of thorns wrapped around a wolf's skull.

It was the symbol of the Lycan King.

These weren't just wolves.

They were the infamous, bloodthirsty Lycan Twins—Aiden and Adam. The princes of the territory.

Ruby Miller never shut up about them; she kept photos of them folded into her vanity mirror, whispering about how she would one day be their Luna.

And here they were.

And Betty had just ruined their hunt.

Suddenly, the reality of her situation crashed back into her. She looked down at the mud pool where Dave's practice bags were soaked.

The white jersey was now a gross, dirty grey.

The leather gloves were ruined.

"The bag," she whispered, her voice shaking. "The bag... you made me drop it."

Aiden let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. "What did you just say, stray?"

Betty scrambled to her feet, her legs shaking so violently she had to lean against the brick wall. Tears spilled down her cheeks, hot and angry, as she clenched her fists.

The fear was still there, but it was being drowned out by a wave of pure, exhausted frustration.

"You made me drop it!" she cried out, the sound surprising even her. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Dave is going to kill me! He's going to lock me in the basement for a week! I was supposed to have these cleaned, and now they're ruined because you were playing hide-and-seek in an alley!"

Aiden and Adam exchanged a long, silent look.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aiden asked, stepping into her personal space. He was so tall that her head barely reached the middle of his chest.

"You're lashing out at us? Do you even know who we are?"

"I don't care!" Betty sobbed, Her chest rising and falling. "Kill me! Rip my throat out right now! It will be faster than what Dave is going to do to me when he sees this mud!"

Adam stepped closer, his silver eyes looking at her more seriously. He bent down, sniffing the air around her once more.

"What kind of wolf has such a confused scent? You smell like the Miller pack, but there's no individual strength here. You're... empty."

"I'm a stray!" Betty yelled. "I'm a freak! I'm nothing! Are you happy now?"

"Dave Miller?" Adam asked, ignoring her outburst. He tapped Aiden's shoulder. "The Beta's son. The one who thinks he's an Alpha-in-waiting."

Aiden scoffed. "The Miller kid? He's a brat. And he's the one you're afraid of?"

"Take responsibility!" Betty snapped, her desperation giving her a false feeling of courage. "You ruined the gear. You explain it to him! Tell him it was your fault!"

Aiden threw his head back and laughed—a loud, barking sound that sent a flock of crows taking flight from the alley roof.

"The audacity of this girl. You walk into a live hunt, ruin our trail, and then demand we go play negotiator with a Beta?"

"She's annoying," Aiden muttered to his brother. "Let's just leave her here."

Out of nowhere, a loud ringing sound filled the alley. Adam took out his phone from his pocket. He looked at the screen and his face showed he was really annoyed.

"It's Silver," Adam said.

He touched the screen and put it to his ear. A girl's voice, loud and worried, could be heard by Betty too.

"Adam! Where the hell are you and Aiden? Sheryl is at the palace again. She's throwing a massive temper because you guys aren't here. She's being a total bitch to the staff, and she's currently getting into a shouting match with Aunt. If she wasn't Alpha Pious's daughter, I would have dragged her out by her hair ten minutes ago!"

Adam sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Silver, behave yourself. Keep our guest company. We're busy with a problem."

"What could be more important than this? This girl is insufferable!"

Adam looked at Betty—muddy, tear-stained, and currently glaring at Aiden with everything she had. A slow, calculating smirk spread across Adam's face.

"Something interesting crossed our path, Silver," Adam said. "We will be there soon."

He hung up before his sister could finish her sentence. He turned to his brother. "Aiden, stop being a prick. She is annoying, but she's right. We did cause the mess."

Aiden looked horrified. "You aren't serious. You want to follow this stray home?"

"Think about it," Adam said, his silver eyes flashing. "Sheryl is at our house acting like she owns the place. And here we have this innocent girl asking for our help. Wouldn't it be a shame if we showed up with her?"

Betty stood there, frozen. She considered her options.

Option A: 'Go home alone, present Dave with his ruined bags, and get beaten and locked in the dark.'

Option B: 'Have the two most feared guys in the kingdom walk her to her front door.'

The Millers were high-ranking, but they were nothing compared to Lycan royalty.

If Aiden and Adam were there, the Millers wouldn't dare lay a finger on her tonight. She might still starve, but she wouldn't be bruised.

"You will... you will really do that?" Betty whispered. "You will tell them it wasn't my fault?"

Aiden rolled his eyes, looking at his brother in disbelief.

"Fine. But if she starts crying again, I'm leaving her in the street."

The walk to the Miller house was the strangest experience of Betty's life. She walked in the center, with the twins on either side.

They walked smoothly, catching the attention of everyone on the sidewalk, who stopped and stared in silence. Betty kept her hood down, holding the heavy, muddy bags tightly, her heart racing in her chest.

As they turned onto the clean, well-kept street where the Millers lived, Betty could already hear the noise.

The front door of the Miller house was wide open. She could hear Ruby's loud voice and her foster mom, Mrs. Liv Miller, sounding annoyed.

"Did that brat run away?" Mrs. Miller was shouting. "I told you, Dave, she's more trouble than she's worth!"

"She took my practice gear!" Dave's voice was a mess. "Do you have any idea how much those leather gloves cost? If she's lost them, I'm going to make sure she doesn't eat for a month."

Betty felt a rush of familiar, crushing shame. She bit her lower lip so hard it bled, her hand trembling as she reached for the gate.

"Don't," Adam whispered, his voice a cool command.

He stepped in front of her, his presence suddenly filling the entire yard. Aiden was right behind him, his golden eyes glowing with a dark, expectant hunger.

Betty took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Inside, Ruby was already mid-sentence, her voice got louder with hate. "She probably dropped them in a ditch like the clumsy freak she—"

The door swung open.

Ruby Miller stood there, her bob perfectly styled, her mouth open to scream another insult. But the words died in her throat. Her face went from red with anger to a ghostly, chalky white in a matter of seconds.

She looked at Betty, then her eyes traveled up... and up... and up. She saw the red hair. The blonde hair.

The golden and silver eyes.

The Lycan King's brand on their arms.

"Mom..." Ruby choked out, her voice a tiny, terrified squeak.

"Mom!"