Chapter 4

Sunlight stabbed through my eyelids, dragging me from sleep.

My body ached everywhere, a delicious soreness that reminded me exactly what I'd done last night. I shifted slightly and felt the evidence of our activities, sticky and uncomfortable between my thighs. Heat flooded my cheeks as memories crashed over me, their hands, their mouths, the way they'd taken me over and over until I couldn't remember my own name.

I opened my eyes slowly, expecting to find myself alone. Instead, I found two pairs of silver eyes watching me.

I jerked upright, clutching the silk sheet to my chest. Kade sat in a chair by the window, fully dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt that hugged his muscular frame. Kane lounged at the foot of the bed, shirtless, his sculpted abs on full display as he leaned back against the headboard.

In the harsh morning light, their beauty was almost painful to look at. They were identical in every way except for subtle differences I hadn't noticed in the dark. Kade's hair was slightly longer, falling into his eyes, and that scar through Kane's eyebrow gave him an edge of danger. But it was their eyes that held me captive, silver and intense, studying me like I was a puzzle they were trying to solve.

"Morning, little human," Kane said, his lips curving into a smirk.

I pulled the sheet higher, suddenly aware of how exposed I was. The alcohol-fueled confidence from last night had evaporated, leaving behind raw embarrassment. "How long have you been watching me?"

"Long enough," Kade said, standing and moving toward the bed with predatory grace. "We need to talk."

My stomach dropped. This was it. The part where they kicked me out, maybe with some cash to keep me quiet. One night stand with the cursed twins, it would make a hell of a story, if I lived long enough to tell anyone.

Kane reached over to the nightstand and picked up a folder I hadn't noticed before. He tossed it onto the bed between us. "Open it."

I hesitated, then reached for the folder with shaking hands. Inside was a thick stack of papers, official-looking documents with legal jargon that made my head spin. But certain words jumped out at me: contract, one year term, financial compensation, residential requirements.

"What is this?" I asked, looking up at them.

Kade sat on the edge of the bed, close enough that I could smell his pine and smoke scent. "A proposition."

Kane leaned forward, his expression serious. "Our wolves like you."

I blinked. "Your wolves?"

"It's rare," Kade explained. "Our wolves are... particular. Aggressive. They don't respond well to most people, especially humans." His silver eyes bore into mine. "But they responded to you last night. They wanted you, claimed you even. And that means something."

I shook my head, trying to process. "I don't understand what that has to do with a contract."

They exchanged a look, some silent communication passing between them. Then Kane spoke, his voice low. "We're cursed."

"I know the stories," I said. "Everyone does."

"The stories don't tell you everything," Kade said. "The curse isn't just bad luck or violence. It's tied to our wolves. They're stronger than normal alphas, more dominant, and more... hungry." He paused. "If we don't satisfy them daily, they consume us. We lose control, lose our sanity. We become monsters."

My throat went dry. "Satisfy them how?"

"Sex," Kane said bluntly. "Raw, primal, constant. Our wolves need it like they need air. Without it, they'll tear through our control and destroy everything in their path, including us."

I looked down at the contract, my mind racing. "So you need someone who can... handle that?"

"We've tried," Kade said, his jaw tight. "She-wolves from our pack, from other packs. But our wolves reject them. They're too aggressive, too demanding. Most women can't last more than a few days before they break." His eyes met mine. "But you took everything we gave you last night and came back for more."

Heat flooded my face. "I was drunk."

"Drunk doesn't change biology," Kane said. "Drunk doesn't make you compatible with two cursed alphas who fuck harder and longer than any normal shifter." He gestured to the contract. "We're offering you a deal. One year. You live with us, satisfy our needs, and in return, we take care of you."

I flipped through the pages, my hands trembling. The terms were laid out in black and white. Residential requirements at their pack house. Daily sexual availability. Confidentiality agreements. And at the end, two things that made my heart stop.

Full coverage of all medical expenses.

Ten million dollars upon successful completion of the contract term.

Ten million dollars. Enough for chemotherapy. Enough to live on afterward, if there was an afterward. Enough to maybe, possibly, survive.

"Why so much money?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Because what we're asking isn't easy," Kade said. "Because you'll be giving up a year of your life to keep two monsters sane. Because you deserve compensation for the risk."

"What risk?"

They were quiet for a moment. Then Kane said, "Our wolves are possessive. Once they claim someone, they don't let go easily. There's a chance that at the end of the year, walking away will be... difficult."

"Difficult for who?" I asked. "You or me?"

"Both," Kade admitted.

I stared down at the contract, my vision blurring. This was insane. Living with two cursed alphas, being their sexual outlet for an entire year. It went against every survival instinct I had.

But I was dying. I had three months without treatment, maybe a year or two with it. And these two devils were offering me a lifeline wrapped in sin.

"I need to think about it," I said.

"You have until tonight," Kane said. "After that, the offer expires."

I looked up sharply. "That's not enough time."

"It's all the time we can give," Kade said, standing. "Our wolves are already restless. If we don't find a solution soon..." He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.

They left me alone in the room with the contract and my racing thoughts. I read through it three more times, looking for loopholes, for traps, for anything that would tell me this was a terrible idea.

But all I found were terms that were surprisingly fair. I'd have my own room. My own space. Limits on what they could ask of me outside of sex. And most importantly, a clause that said I could terminate the contract early if my health deteriorated beyond a certain point.

They knew. Somehow, they knew about the cancer.

I grabbed my clothes from where they'd been scattered across the floor and dressed quickly. My phone was dead, no surprise there. I'd been gone all night. Not that anyone would be looking for me.

By the time evening came, I'd made my decision. I found them in what looked like a private office, both dressed in suits that made them look like lethal businessmen instead of cursed alphas. They looked up when I entered, their expressions unreadable.

I set the contract on the desk between them. "I want to negotiate one term."

Kade raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

"The medical expenses," I said. "I want them paid upfront. Before I move in. Before anything else happens."

They exchanged another one of those looks. Then Kane pulled out his phone. "Give me your doctor's information."

I rattled off Dr. Morrison's name and the hospital. Kane typed rapidly, his fingers flying over the screen. Less than five minutes later, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

*Payment confirmed. $15,000 transferred to St. Mary's Hospital for patient Ariana Blackwood. Chemotherapy scheduled to begin Monday.*

I stared at the screen, my hands shaking. They'd just paid for my treatment. Just like that. No hesitation, no questions asked.

"Anything else?" Kade asked.

I shook my head, not trusting my voice. I picked up the pen lying on the desk and signed my name at the bottom of the contract. Then I slid it across to them.

Kane signed first, his signature bold and confident. Kade followed, and just like that, I'd sold myself to the devil twins for a year.

"Welcome to the Ashford pack," Kade said, standing and extending his hand.

I took it, his grip firm and warm. "When do I start?"

"Now," Kane said, coming around the desk. "Pack your things. We leave in an hour."

The next hour passed in a blur. I went back to my room above the laundromat and threw everything I owned into two garbage bags. It didn't take long. I didn't have much.

They were waiting outside in a black SUV that probably cost more than most people's houses. Kade took my bags without a word, tossing them in the back. Kane held the door open for me, and I climbed into luxury I'd never experienced before.

The drive to their pack lands took forty minutes, leaving the city behind for sprawling forests and private roads. Their pack house came into view as we crested a hill, and my breath caught. It was a mansion, all stone and glass, sprawling across the landscape like something from a magazine.

"Home sweet home," Kane said as we pulled up to the front entrance.

But as I climbed out of the car, I felt eyes on me. Pack members had gathered, watching with expressions that ranged from curiosity to outright hostility. A woman with silver hair and a sharp face stepped forward, her lip curling in disgust.

"You brought a human here?" she spat. "To our pack?"

Kade's expression went cold. "Watch your tone, Mother."

Mother. This was their family.

An older man appeared beside her, his face carved from the same stone as theirs. "Explain yourself, boys. What is the meaning of this?"

"She's under our protection," Kane said, his voice hard. "That's all you need to know."

The woman, their mother, looked at me like I was something she'd scraped off her shoe. "Protection? Or is she your new toy? Another whore to warm your bed?"

The word hit me like a slap. I wanted to shrink back, to disappear, but I forced myself to stand tall. I'd signed the contract. I'd made my choice.

"She's none of your concern," Kade said, stepping between us. "Come on, Ariana. Let's get you settled."

As they led me inside, I heard the whispers starting behind us. Human. Weak. Pathetic. Whore.

The pack house was beautiful inside, all hardwood and expensive furniture. But the beauty couldn't hide the cold reception. Every person we passed stared, some with contempt, others with pity.

They showed me to a room on the third floor, large and elegantly furnished with a king-sized bed and private bathroom. It should have felt like a palace compared to my room above the laundromat.

Instead, it felt like a gilded cage.

"The family dinner is at seven," Kane said from the doorway. "We'll come get you."

"Do I have to go?" I asked, already dreading it.

"Yes," Kade said firmly. "You're part of this pack now, whether they like it or not. You need to be seen."

They left me alone, and I sank onto the bed, my head spinning. I'd escaped one nightmare only to walk into another. The cancer, the pack's hatred, the contract binding me to two cursed alphas.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

My phone buzzed. Another text from the hospital.

*Chemotherapy confirmed for Monday, 9 AM. Please arrive one hour early for pre-treatment consultation.*

I had treatment in three days. The twins had delivered on their promise. Now I had to deliver on mine.

But as I looked around the expensive room in the hostile pack house, one thought kept circling through my mind.

They'd told me their wolves needed sex to stay sane. They'd told me about the curse, the aggression, the constant hunger.

What they hadn't told me was why a human could satisfy them when she-wolves couldn't. What they hadn't told me was what would happen to someone without a wolf, someone fragile and mortal, when two cursed alphas used her body night after night.

What they hadn't told me was that this contract might save me from cancer, only to destroy me in a completely different way.

And as footsteps echoed in the

hallway outside my door and hostile voices drifted up from below, I realized something else.

The sex wasn't going to be the hardest part of this year.

Surviving their pack was.