Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Secret Twins Chapter 18

Virginia

Monday morning came too quickly for my comfort. School would be starting in about an hour. I had the twins with me in the kitchen where they were quietly eating their breakfast, but I knew they were communicating with each other in the twin way that they did. They wanted to go to school. I could tell by how they eyed their backpacks.

I sighed while checking my phone. Francine had sent a picture of the petition for the twins to be treated fairly. She was going to present it to the alphas today when they visited her classroom. She said it would be great to have the twins in attendance too. Fear had kept me from responding. But the texts were listed as read. She could see that I had seen them. She was giving me space to think.

If only I had more time to think. A weekend simply wasn't enough. And after everything I had experienced with Slater, I was running on empty. Plus I owed Fred that favor.

Another text rolled in from Francine. Isaiah apparently had offered his services as a guard. It made me smile to see that there were people around here willing to accept us and protect us aside from our alphas. Perhaps we weren't as rejected as I had originally thought.

I set my phone aside, lifted my coffee, and took a sip. Sweet caffeine slithered down my throat. A few more sips set me straight and I cradled my cup while focusing on my kids. "Do you want to go to school today?"

Both of them shot up from their chairs and cried, "YES!"

I cringed at the volume but then started laughing uncontrollably when they zipped off to grab their bags. We had a ten-minute walk ahead of us, but I knew Francine would be lenient. After alerting her through text that I was bringing in the twins, I went to the main bedroom to get ready.

What was a deceptive slut like me supposed to wear while walking her children to school? I'd always been fond of making a statement. Maybe this time, instead of trying to make myself small, I would make myself big, loud, irresistible.

They were going to talk. Might as well give them something to talk about, right?

One of my favorite crimson-red crop tops hung in the closet labeled Bikini Kill. Yep, a punk band shirt would definitely look good on me today. And since it was sleeveless, it would show off the bite mark on my shoulder. Loud and proud was my new motto. I was going to do everything I could to live up to it.

With my hair tousled stylishly and leggings hugging my curves, I slid on a pair of sneakers and went to meet my kids in the foyer. Anthony opened the door, splashing light into the house and dissolving the rest of my fear. I had a wonderful mate who was going to stand up for me and I had a family that wanted us to be part of theirs.

What could go wrong today?

The first five minutes of our walk were just fine. Some of our neighbors were out doing yard work. A couple of them waved. The twins excitedly chirped back about having a nice morning. It felt good to be out in the open. We were doing alright so far.

But as we neared the school, my heart started thudding up a storm. There was a group of parents standing around the entrance with Celia as their leader. She had her hands on her hips and her glare cast outward toward us. If I had considered her capable of such a thing, I would have said she was casting me the evil eye.

Maybe this was a bad idea, I thought as I slowed my pace. I got between my kids and took their hands. No, we need to be respected. We won't earn that respect if we don't try.

I held my head up as we marched forward. The closer we drew, the quieter the group got. There were only about five of them with Celia. Being able to count them individually made them much less scary. It wasn't so much a mob as it was a bowling troupe. And there wasn't a whole lot they could get away with doing once Francine caught them out here.

Unless she already knew and couldn't break them up.

I sucked air into my lungs, puffed up, and paused about five feet away from the group. We stared at each other for a while. I think the others were waiting for Celia to say something while Celia was waiting for me to say something. It sure was a stalemate if I'd ever experienced one. It would have gone on forever if a huge man with rippling muscle hadn't stepped up toward the group.

He frowned at Celia. "You're blocking the entrance."

"This doesn't concern you, Isaiah."

He cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat. "If you don't move, then I have permission to move you myself."

"You wouldn't dare touch me," Celia barked. "I'm the head of this PTA group and we demand that our children aren't subjected to those rejects."

Isaiah rolled one shoulder and then cracked his neck. Just the sound of him doing so pushed a few parents off the sidewalk and onto the grass. Nobody aside from Celia and one other parent seemed intent on blocking us from entry now.

"We heard about your marriage deal," the one remaining parent said. "The Silent Pride will come looking for you. We don't need that mess here."

Celia nodded curtly. "That's right, Sara Walsh. Why don't you take your reject kids and get out of our pack? You don't belong here."

"If she doesn't belong here, then neither do you," spoke a familiar voice.

Slater appeared just behind Celia, forcing the remaining parent who was sticking by her side to join the others on the lawn. Isaiah smiled proudly while shuffling toward the door to make sure nobody else tried to block us from walking inside. With a snotty eye roll, Celia turned around and squared up to Slater. "Oh, it's just you." She scoffed. "Why would your opinion matter? It's not like you're being logical about any of this."

"Oh, there doesn't need to be logic when it comes to my mate," Slater retorted with a smile. "Especially not from a woman who's been evading her taxes for the last four years."

Now I couldn't see Celia's face, but I could feel her sinking expression from here. It made me beam.

"I spent the night going through the archives of every established family here in the pack," Slater explained. "See, my family works in the financial sector. We have records on everybody." He grinned brightly. "And your family, Celia, has been avoiding your debtors for years." "Wait just a second-we've been trying to-well, Nathan said that-"

Slater laughed. "If you have a problem with my mate, then you should take it up with the alphas instead of picking on her in your spare time."

"That's just not fair! Those records are private. Your father said-"

"My father kept it private for a while out of respect for you so that you could get your shit together. But clearly, this is what you'd rather be doing than getting your records straight."

Celia stammered in shock. It was nice to see her knocked down a few pegs. And now the group that had once been at her back was whispering among themselves. Such sweet justice.

"I'm going to call Alpha Blake right now," Celia grumbled as she stepped aside. "He'll set everything right. He'll make sure you two know what's coming to you."

"You can tell him now if you want," Slater said while pointing behind me. "He's heading this way."

Celia turned pale. I turned to see if Slater was right, and he sure was correct about the alphas approaching. Men like them were early everywhere they went. They had such good timing. Had they heard anything that was said just now?

Slater walked up next to me and took my hand. The twins greeted him with praise and fell quiet once Blake and Troy had reached us. Both of them smiled in greeting.

"Good morning, friends," Troy said jovially. "Marvelous morning, isn't it?"

Blake looked at Slater, looked at our entwined hands, and then focused on me. "Could we have a word in private?"

"Sir, if I may," Slater interjected while plucking a packet of papers from his pocket. "I've written a few pages on why we should be allowed to have our original mate bond established officially by the alphas."

Blake appeared surprised while Troy looked impressed.

"We should discuss the behavior of the parents in this pack as well," I added. "Considering recent events..." I glanced at Celia, who now appeared so much smaller than before. "I think it's safe to say that our community is fractured. We need to address these injuries if we're ever going to come back stronger."

Panic danced at the edge of my awareness. I was suddenly cold in the warm morning sun. But when Slater squeezed my hand, all that fear melted away.

I drew air as easily as ever. "We should also discuss the fact that I saw Dirk's car in town over the weekend."

Blake nodded firmly. "I have my eyes and ears on the ground, Virginia. You don't have to worry about that."

Celia stomped forward. "See? That's what I mean! She's dragging danger right into our midst when we could be-"

Both alphas growled, sending Celia stumbling back a few steps. The two advanced in unison as if they were attached at the hip.

"Celia, this behavior is childish," Blake stated.

Troy nodded. "We expected better from an established pack family."

"Your financial status needs to be discussed immediately as well." Blake turned to Slater. "Would you have your father meet us at the mansion? I'm afraid he'll have to pay for what he's done. Withholding such important information as part of our financial sector is a terrible mistake that must be rectified."

Slater appeared torn but he also seemed like he wanted to appease his alpha. He bowed his head and replied, "Yes, Alpha."

"I appreciate you pointing it out," Blake said in a low voice. "However, in the future, if you replace such discrepancies, I'd like to be alerted first."

"My apologies, Alpha."

Troy's eyes sparkled with amusement though he didn't wear a smile. "Rebellious, isn't he, Blake?" He cleared his throat. "Kind of reminds me of someone else who's committed to justice."

The Beaufort Creek alpha drifted back, offered Troy a smile that seemed to share an understanding, and then the smile was gone in favor of a more serious expression. As they went to talk to the group of parents, I turned to Slater with a sigh of relief. "Gods, I thought I was going to die," I joked. I glanced at the kids. "Are you two alright?"

"We'll be fine, Mama," Adhara replied. "I can see Archie through the door. Can we go inside now?"

I chuckled and released them, watching them dart into the hallway where they practically tackled Archie to the ground.

Francine popped open the door and waved at us. "Glad to have you back!"

My throat was clogged up with unshed tears. Slater rested his hands on my shoulders with a smile, seeming to be thinking about something that made me shiver all over. Was he going to kiss me? That would certainly be a first for our pack to witness. He scratched the side of his head, started to speak, stopped, and then stepped back. I gaped at him. What was going on? Did he have some great secret to admit to me? Well, I shouldn't have assumed the other night had solved all of our problems. I'd barely given him a second to speak after I spilled everything to him.

Was he going to reject me again? My poor heart wouldn't be able to take it. Just because our alphas hadn't read the proposal didn't mean that-

Slater knelt on one knee. Gasps echoed from the parents who were speaking to the alphas, and then the alphas turned too, and then Celia turned as red as a ripe tomato. I held my breath so hard that I thought I would faint until I finally let it out in a loud whoosh. Between us, Slater held up a gold ring. It was such an unassuming little thing, a modest band with a lovely diamond on it. Probably something he had scraped to replace at the last minute. We were both impulsive like that. Upon reading his expression, I knew I was right. I knew he had gotten this ring in the last couple of days.

"Ginny darling," he said slowly, pronouncing every syllable like it was sacred text he was speaking out loud, "will you do me the honor of becoming a Duff?"

I broke into giggles while covering my mouth. Those familiar tears came to my eyes again, the ones that I'd so happily shed the other night when we were talking on Bravecrest land. I was so glad to have found him even though I didn't know precisely where he had been. My heart had led me to him.

When I dropped to the ground, he seemed disappointed until I threw myself at him and cried myself into a silly fit. "Yes!"

Somebody shouted something in the background. A round of applause broke through the mess of me crying. Slater scooped me up and kissed me so hard that he dropped the ring. But the ring wasn't really important to me. It was the gesture. It was the fact that he'd gone out on a limb and taken a chance of me denying him.

Nope, that would never happen again. Every part of me wanted every part of him.

And it all started at this moment.

As the cheers died down and the alphas approached, I prepared myself for them to turn us down outright. But Troy stepped forward, gestured to the ring, and said, "You'll have to present your case along with the proposal." Slater laughed. "I already did the proposal."

Blake rubbed the bridge of his nose while Troy guffawed.

"He means the written proposal," Blake said firmly. He smiled kindly and bowed his head. "Meet us at the neutral cabin in an hour."

My whole body went stiff, rivaling the joy I felt deep down. Was this the end of my membership with the Beaufort Creek pack? Or would the alphas really change their minds about us?