Chapter 2

I needed to forget, and alcohol seemed like the only answer.

The club's bass pounded through my chest as I pushed through the crowd, the diagnosis papers still crumpled in my jacket pocket. Three months to live. The words replayed in my head like a broken record. Three months, and I'd spent eighteen years waiting for a wolf that would never come.

The bartender didn't ask for ID. I slid my last twenty across the counter and pointed at the cheapest bottle on the shelf.

"Whiskey. Double."

The liquid burned going down, scorching a path to my empty stomach. I ordered another. Then another. The edges of the world started to blur, the pain dulling to a manageable ache. This was better. This I could handle.

The dance floor called to me, bodies writhing under flashing lights. I pushed into the crowd, letting the music take over. For the first time in a week, I wasn't thinking about being wolfless or dying or sleeping above a laundromat. I was just moving, just breathing, just alive.

The song shifted to something darker, heavier. I closed my eyes and let my body sway to the rhythm. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the freedom of having nothing left to lose, but I felt wild. Reckless. Like I could do anything.

Then I felt them.

Two bodies pressed against me, one from the front and one from behind. Hands found my hips, moving with me to the beat. Heat radiated from them, supernatural and overwhelming. The one behind me was solid muscle, his chest pressed against my back. The one in front moved with predatory grace, his thigh sliding between mine.

I should have pulled away. I should have run.

Instead, I opened my eyes and looked up.

My breath caught in my throat.

The man in front of me had silver eyes that gleamed in the strobe lights, his jaw sharp enough to cut glass. Dark hair fell across his forehead, and when he smiled, it was all danger and promise. His twin stood behind me, identical in every way except for the scar that cut through his left eyebrow. Their scent hit me like a freight train, pine and smoke and something wild that made my knees weak.

I knew exactly who they were. Everyone in the supernatural world knew.

Kade and Kane Ashford. The cursed Alpha twins. The devils reincarnate.

The stories about them were legend. Born under a blood moon, blessed and cursed in the same breath. They'd killed their way to power at sixteen, taking over the most brutal pack in the territory. Ruthless. Violent. Dangerous. People whispered that they shared everything, including their women. That they were insatiable. That getting involved with them was a death sentence.

I should have been terrified.

Maybe it was the whiskey burning through my veins, or it was the cancer eating away at my insides. It can even be the fact that I had nothing left to lose.

But I didn't pull away.

Instead, I rolled my hips against Kade's thigh, my hands sliding up his chest. Behind me, Kane's fingers tightened on my waist, pulling me harder against him. I felt him against my back, hard and wanting, and something hot coiled low in my belly.

"You know who we are," Kade said against my ear, his voice like gravel and sin.

"Yes."

"And you're not running." Kane's lips brushed my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"No."

"Why not?" Kade's hand slid up my ribcage, stopping just below my breast. "Everyone runs from us, little wolf."

I laughed, the sound bitter. "I'm not a wolf."

That made them pause. Kane turned me slightly so they could both see my face. The strobing lights painted them in shades of red and shadow, making them look even more dangerous.

"Wolfless?" Kade asked, curiosity flickering in those silver eyes.

"As human as they come." I met his gaze without flinching. "Does that change things?"

They exchanged a look, some silent communication passing between them. Then Kane's hand slid into my hair, tilting my head back.

"Not even a little bit," he murmured.

Kade's mouth crashed into mine.

The kiss was fire and possession, his tongue demanding entrance. I opened for him, tasting whiskey and danger. Behind me, Kane's lips traced down my neck, teeth grazing my pulse point. I was trapped between them, drowning in sensation, and I didn't care. Let them consume me. Let them burn me alive. At least I'd feel something other than the crushing weight of my death sentence.

Kade's hands roamed lower, gripping my ass and pulling me flush against him. I could feel how much he wanted me, hard and insistent against my stomach. Kane bit down on my shoulder, not hard enough to break skin but enough to make me gasp into Kade's mouth.

"Upstairs," Kane growled against my ear. "Now."

Kade pulled back, his eyes dark with hunger. "Say yes."

I should have said no. I should have walked away from these dangerous, cursed alphas and whatever hell they would drag me into.

But I was dying. I was alone. And for the first time since that awful awakening ceremony, I felt wanted.

"Yes."

They moved as one, flanking me as we pushed through the crowd. Hands tried to grab at the twins, women calling out to them, but they ignored everyone. Their focus was entirely on me, and the intensity of it made my pulse race.

We climbed the stairs to the VIP section, past a bouncer who took one look at the twins and stepped aside. The music was muffled up here, the bass a distant thrum. Kane produced a key card and opened a door at the end of the hallway.

The room beyond was dimly lit, dominated by a massive bed covered in black silk sheets. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city, the lights twinkling like fallen stars.

I barely registered any of it. Kade spun me around, backing me toward the bed, while Kane locked the door behind us with a decisive click.

"Last chance to run, little human," Kade said, his voice rough with need. "Once we start, we don't stop."

Kane appeared behind me, his hands sliding under my shirt. "We take what we want." His fingers traced patterns on my stomach. "And we want you."

My heart hammered against my ribs. This was insane. I was about to sleep with the two most dangerous alphas in the territory. The cursed twins who everyone feared.

And I didn't care.

"Then take me," I whispered.

Kade's eyes flashed silver, his wolf rising to the surface. Kane's growl vibrated through my back, primal and possessive.

Then they were on me, hands and mouths everywhere, stripping away my clothes with practiced efficiency. The bed hit the back of my knees and I fell backward, bouncing slightly on the silk sheets.

The twins loomed over me, predatory and perfect, and I knew I was in trouble. The kind of trouble that would either save me or destroy me.

Maybe both.

Kade's hand wrapped around my ankle, slowly dragging me toward the edge of the bed. "We're going to ruin you for anyone else."

Kane's fingers traced up my inner thigh, his touch electric. "We're going to make you ours."

I looked up at them, these devils incarnate, and felt something shift inside me. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was desperation. Maybe it was just the alcohol and the cancer and the crushing loneliness.

But as Kade lowered himself over me and Kane's hands continued their exploration, I made a choice.

For tonight, I would forget about dying. For t

onight, I would let these cursed alphas make me feel alive.

Whatever came after, I'd deal with tomorrow.