All Chapters of Two Alphas One Mate: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The last thing I wanted on my first day at Silver Moon University was attention.Unfortunately, attention seemed determined to find me anyway.I stood beneath the enormous stone archway at the entrance, one hand wrapped around the handle of my suitcase while the other held my phone hostage. My mother’s old photograph was tucked safely inside my wallet, the edges worn from years of being carried everywhere.I glanced up at the university sign.SILVER MOON UNIVERSITYThe letters were engraved into dark stone, elegant and imposing. Beyond the entrance stretched a sprawling campus filled with old brick buildings, manicured lawns, towering oak trees, and students rushing from one place to another.For everyone else, it probably looked like the beginning of an ordinary semester.For me, it was supposed to be the beginning of a completely different life.I took a slow breath.“Here goes nothing.”My voice sounded steadier than I felt.I had spent the last few months convincing myself that le

By Wednesday, I had established a routine.Classes in the morning.Library in the afternoon.Coffee with Mia whenever we could escape our assignments.And, despite my best efforts, occasional encounters with the Blackwood twins.I told myself I wasn’t looking for them.I wasn’t.It just seemed that wherever I went, one of them happened to be there.The student café.The library.The courtyard outside my lecture hall.It was becoming slightly ridiculous.“You know they’re doing it on purpose, right?”Mia stirred her coffee while watching me.“Doing what?”“Appearing everywhere.”I laughed.“You sound paranoid.”“I’m observant.”“You’re dramatic.”“Also true.”I closed my notebook.“I haven’t even spoken to them today.”Mia raised an eyebrow.“Give it five minutes.”Three minutes later, a familiar voice came from behind me.“Aria.”I slowly closed my eyes.Mia looked delighted.“I told you.”I turned.Kian stood behind us, holding two books beneath one arm.“How do you keep finding me?”

By Monday morning, I had decided that Friday night had been perfectly normal.Mostly.The Blackwood estate was beautiful. Their parents had been welcoming, the food had been excellent, and Kian had spent most of the evening making me laugh.There was nothing strange about any of that.Except for one thing.The way Richard Blackwood had looked at me.I couldn’t stop thinking about it.I’ve heard that name before.I had replayed his words several times over the weekend, trying to remember whether my mother had ever mentioned the Blackwood family.She hadn’t.At least, I didn’t think she had.“You’re doing it again.”Mia’s voice pulled me back to reality.I looked up from my coffee.“Doing what?”“Staring into space.”“I was thinking.”“About?”I hesitated.“Friday.”Her eyes immediately lit up.“I knew it.”“Nothing happened.”“That’s not what I asked.”I sighed.“I met their parents. We had dinner. Kian showed me around. Then he drove me home.”Mia leaned closer.“And?”“And nothing.”

I barely slept.By morning, I had convinced myself that the message was probably some elaborate prank.It had to be.There was no other explanation.Still, the words wouldn’t leave my mind.Ask Richard Blackwood what happened twenty years ago.I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror while brushing my hair.“Don’t be ridiculous, Aria.”I said it aloud.“You’re not going to interrogate someone’s father because some stranger sent you a text.”That sounded reasonable.Until I remembered the way Richard had looked at me.The way his face had changed when I’d mentioned my mother.I lowered the brush.Maybe asking one question wouldn’t hurt.⸻Mia was already awake when I returned to our room.She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through her phone.“You look terrible.”“Good morning to you too.”She smiled.“Bad night?”“Something like that.”She studied me.“Are you okay?”I hesitated.I could tell her.But what would I say?Hi, my dead mother’s name is somehow connec

By the time I reached my dorm, I had convinced myself of one thing.I wasn’t going to run to Richard Blackwood demanding answers.Not yet.I needed facts first.The photograph had given me one.My mother had been at Silver Moon University in 2006.She had known Richard Blackwood.And somehow, twenty years later, their children had ended up in my life.That couldn’t be a coincidence.I placed the photograph beside my laptop and stared at it.My mother was smiling in the picture.I’d never seen that particular smile before.Not the one she gave me when she was being a mother.This was different.Carefree.Young.Almost like she had been happy in a way I’d never known.My phone vibrated.Kian: Are you home?I stared at the message.Then another appeared.Kian: Please answer.I typed back.Me: I’m fine.Three dots appeared immediately.Kian: That’s not what I asked.I smiled despite myself.Me: Yes. I’m home.His reply came quickly.Kian: Good.Then nothing.A minute passed.Then:Kian: M