The Alpha Twins Rejection
Chapter Two - Zac

Zac’s P.O.V.

It started like any other night. I couldn’t sleep knowing that Ashley was under the same roof. I never could. She consumed my every thought; whether I was asleep or awake, I longed to be by her side. For as long as I could remember, I had felt drawn to her, connected somehow. I was enamoured with her from a young age, always following her around like a lost puppy. I couldn’t believe my luck when I was 16, and I found out that she felt the same about me.

I had been moping around for quite some time, secretly pining for her. Growing up together, I thought I would never have a chance at her loving me the way I had loved her. At first, everyone at school thought I was gay since I rejected every female who showed any interest in me. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me, though; it was only Ashley’s opinion that mattered.

The last few weeks had been different, though; something had shifted inside of her; I could feel it in my bones. I am unsure if she noticed the change or not; she didn’t let it show or let on if she did. Something had been stirring inside her. I didn’t know what but knew we would soon replace out. Deep down inside of me, I had a sinking feeling that her mate was nearby, their inner wolf calling to hers. The thought was starting to make me frantic, hence why I was restless and eager to be with Ashley every spare moment possible, all the while trying not to smother her. I didn’t know how I would cope once she found her mate—the other half of herself. The thought had my heart twisting with fear.

Egotistically, I had believed that her mate must be deceased; I was praying selfishly since every year came and went without her replaceing them. I thanked the goddess for allowing me to keep my self-centred hold on her longer. I knew it was only a matter of time before my good luck was bound to run out. Either she would replace her mate, or I would replace mine. I had always thought that I would reject my mate the moment I saw her. I couldn’t imagine loving anyone more than I did Ashley. She was magnificent in every single way.

She was just shy of 6ft tall, lean muscles, full breasts, irises the colour of lilac and the most gorgeous wavy, long silver hair. Thinking about her always made me hard with lust. It irks me that she feels that she isn’t a goddess. Ashley stubbornly thinks because her torso and neck are covered in jagged scars that she isn’t worthy of being loved or appreciated if only she knew what half of the male (and female) pack members thought of her!

More than once, I had to rough up a few unmated males, warning them about pursuing my girl or for even looking at her while they trained under her. Being the pack Beta and their Alpha and Luna’s daughter, they needed to show her more respect! Especially since she would shortly take over the pack from her parents, another reason why I worked so hard as a delta so that one day I would become Beta of the Blood Moon pack. Even if we both found our mates, I would have a legitimate reason to stay by her side, I thought.

Ashley was stunning, but she was by no means a damsel in distress that needing saving, I thought with a snort; on the contrary, she was one of the most skilled and lethal fighters this pack had ever seen. I mean, I was huge and deadly, not to brag, but she had crazy speed and strength, a strength that came from somewhere deep within her. Ashley’s years of training and dedication were unmatched in our pack, and I highly doubted that any other rival pack had such a commanding and deadly female in theirs.

Somehow Ashley was still self-conscious, even though she tried to hide it. When I looked at her naked form in awe, her brows would knit together ever so slightly, wondering what I saw in her. Undoubtedly, she must hear my heartbeat accelerate and my breath hitch every time I looked at her. As far as I was concerned, her scars only added to her beauty.

I wondered, not for the first time, if her recent nightmares had been connected to the utter hell she lived through when she was 18. I had only been 12 at the time but can still remember the day my world came crashing down around me. I had felt like such a failure that day; I still do. I was unable to protect Ashley, my then sister like she had always protected me. I vowed from that day forth that I would train hard and become as big and as strong as physically possible and never let anyone harm her ever again. On her 18th birthday, I had been so happy that morning. I had made a special card for her. I had been so proud of all the hard work I had put into it; it was a picture of two wolves eating a birthday cake, I recalled. It seems silly now, but at the time, it was important to me to show her how much I loved her.

Before I made it to Ashley’s bedroom, an alarm had sounded; all the pack warriors were summoned to the packhouse via the mind link. My father had raced over to the packhouse and was hastily informed via mind-link that Alpha Dante of the Midnight Pack had kidnapped Ashley. Alpha Dante was Ashleys Mothers jealous ex-boyfriend. Alpha Dante had lost the plot years ago when he discovered that his childhood sweetheart had been mated to another Alpha instead of him when they had both turned 18. Alpha Dante couldn’t handle losing her and went so far as to reject his mate when she approached him at his Alpha initiation party—condemning her to a life of misery and shame while separating any alliance his pack had with hers.

For years he stewed on the loss of his claimed mate, and when he heard that the object of his desire’s daughter was turning 18, he decided he would take the next best thing, Ashley. After he had kidnapped her, he had kept her cruelly chained in his basement. Alpha Dante had tried to put his mark on her many times to claim her as his own. Each time her skin rejected it. He bit her over and over in a furious rage. The goddess had not made him for her, so all the cruelty of his bites did was leave hideous ripped skin in its wake. The unsuccessful marking attempts had infuriated him, which started a slow rage building inside him, one he was no longer able to control or put out. Fed up with the plan and how things were going, he decided to end Ashley’s life instead.

Using a silver knife, he endeavoured to cause as much damage and pain as he physically could. The pain he blindly believed was justified for the heartache and loss that he suffered. Luckily for Ashley, her father and mine had shown up in time, killing almost all Alpha Dante’s Midnight pack warriors and wounding him severely in the process. It had taken Ashley months to recover physically due to the sick torture she received from being stabbed and carved with the silver knife. I can’t fathom how she survived the torture, along with the daily wolfsbane injections. Wolfsbane was the most horrific pain a werewolf could endure, apart from being rejected by or losing your mate, I thought.

I couldn’t handle seeing her in pain and vowed I would one day end Alpha Dante’s life. My wolf, Callan, rose from his slumber with a growl just at the thought of killing him. “He won’t get away with what he has done to Ashley, and Callie” Callan snarled in my head; like me, he was fiercely protective of them both and longed to kill the man responsible for their pain.

Just as Callan laid back down with a thud, I heard Ashley’s haunting scream pierce my mind. Convinced she was having another nightmare, I sprinted as fast as I could through the packhouse to her bedroom suite while being as quiet as possible, so I didn’t wake the entire house up. Being a skilled hunter, I was very light-footed and able to sneak up on my prey easily. I wasn’t sure whether I should try and comfort her or leave her to sleep, no matter how fitful it might seem. Some rest was better than none, I thought.

As I reached her bedroom, I could hear water running, the sound coming from her bathroom’s direction. Listening to the water run steadily for a moment, I knew Ashley was awake and out of bed. I thought I would try my luck and lighten the mood, knowing that there was rarely any convincing Ashley to go back to sleep once awake. I knew she wouldn’t want to talk about the nightmare she never did. I thought the best I could do was chase them further away for her.

Entering Ashley’s room, I hastily discarded my clothing, silently making my way over to her large bed. As I closed the short distance, the heady scent of her engulfed me instantly. I had to contain my muffled cries of joy as I let her intoxicating aroma wash over me. Greedily I took extra deep breaths and then looked towards the bathroom; a low rumble escaped my chest before I could stop myself. Fuck. Was. She. Hot. My cock sprang to attention at the sight of her lithe body stretching in her panties and water-soaked singlet. Sighing with content when she accepted my invitation to come back to bed.

Feeling like the luckiest man alive as we made our way to training that morning; as always, I walked a few steps behind her to not only appreciate her fine arse but to also watch for any unsolicited male attention. It was not always easy for them to keep their jaws off the floor whenever Ashley was around. I mean, I couldn’t entirely blame them, could I, I thought darkly. It pissed me off that one: so many lusted after her and two: that they were not taking her as seriously as they should as the Beta of the Blood Moon pack, soon to be Luna.

They unquestionably took her seriously if they were partnered to spar with her in training, though; I chuckled to myself. They couldn’t afford to lose concentration around her. She had knocked out her fair share of cocky partners in the ring. The males no longer put their hands up when she asked for a volunteer, even if they had the chance to get up close and personal with Ashley.

I could see Alpha Miller and Dad off in the distance, standing with a small group of warriors on the field. As we approached them, Dad’s voice rang out through the mind-link. “Get your mind out of the gutter Zac, and wipe that wistful look off your face; we have serious business to talk about”, he growled lightly. “I know, I know. I am running a few minutes late. Not a good look for a Delta, I’m sorry,” I huffed back, exasperated. Dad would know what it was like to be a young unmated wolf! Surely, he hadn’t forgotten, I chuckled to myself as I walked towards him.

“That’s not it at all, Zac. Rouges have attacked the Nightshade pack to the north of us, killing over a dozen members. They are uncertain what they wanted apart from a fight. The Nightshade pack sent through an urgent warning this morning to be on the lookout and be prepared as they seem to be heading south. The rogues are causing chaos and destruction in their wake, heading straight towards us,” Dad shot back hotly. That sentence sure got my attention. “Shit” was all I could manage to utter, thinking of the consequence a rogue attack could have on our pack.

I stiffened when I looked over at Ashley. I could see the concern blazing in her eyes. It was evident that her father, Alpha Miller, had filled her in as well. When her stunning lilac eyes met mine, the look of love and longing that was there when we walked over was replaced with one of determination and strength as she squared her shoulders and threw herself into making defensive plans with our fathers. I knew what she was thinking without having to ask her. She would put her life on the line to protect this pack. Ashley was never one to back down from a fight, and she would put one hell of one up. Her legend preceded her. She was known far and wide for her lethal ability and beauty in equal measure, much to her mortification.

Even though the sun was not fully up yet, the town had become a flurry of movement in no time. We had no idea how many days away, if any, the imminent attack was. To be honest, we didn’t even know if there was a fight coming. It was like the saying about a condom I thought, better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one. It was always better to be prepared. Ashley, I, and our fathers had retreated to the packhouse conference room to talk over strategies and go over our well-practised security details. All of us agreeing that the threat of rogues attacking was terrible timing, not that there was ever a good time for war, I thought.

The annual Blood Moon ball was held in two days, with all the connecting packs joining us. The Blood Moon pack had held the ball for the past 20 years to allow youngsters to replace their mate if they had been unsuccessful in replaceing them in our pack. It was wildly popular and always a success. The ball allowed us to form lasting alliances with other packs and keep them strong with new connections. We would not be so well informed of other packs’ happenings if we didn’t have strong alliances, I thought. We were very grateful, that’s for sure. It was always better to try and stay ahead of the game.

“The Alphas from River Run pack will be attending this year”, Alpha Miller stated, nervously looking over at Ashley with a weird look on his face. I am not sure she caught the look in his eye, but I certainly had, and it pissed me off. I knew what he was thinking. My jaw clenched, and I fisted my hands beside me.

“It is the first invitation to the ball accepted by River Run pack”, Ashley exclaimed thoughtfully. I couldn’t pinpoint the feeling but had a sense Ashley’s mind was a million miles away and that she was just polite by responding to her fathers’ statement.

“Yes, it will be an honour to have them here. I hope to form a lasting alliance with the River Run pack. We have all heard the rumours about how formidable they are,” Alpha Miller replied.

“It will be an honour to be sure, Dad.” Ashley retorted, with a small smile hovering on her lips.

Dad, Beta McMillan, cleared his throat and pointedly looked at Ashley. “Maybe your mate belongs to their pack Ashley,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows in her direction. Before I could stop myself, a loud snarl escaped my chest. My nostrils flared as I glared daggers at my father. Shit. I need to try and control my possessiveness of Ashley, I thought. I took a calming breath. All eyes had turned on me, apart from Ashley’s I noted. The minx was too busy covering her mouth to stifle her giggles. She had obviously found my reaction hilarious. I rolled my eyes at her in exasperation.

“Sorry, Zac, I forgot you were sensitive about that subject. I won’t mention it again,” Dad said, winking at the Alpha, something he thought I missed. The jerk, I thought, infuriated. He knew how to press my buttons.

With a heavy sigh, I stood from my chair and made my way to the conference room door, “If you need me, I will be at the training centre, see you there, Ashley”, I said while nodding to the small congregation in the room as I left. I knew I couldn’t control myself if I stayed any longer. The room had suddenly become too small, too confining for me. I needed fresh air to think, to breathe. I desperately needed to clear my head.

“Who the fuck does he think he is” Callan spat in my head, irate. I could feel the anger rolling off him as he paced inside me like a caged animal. Boy, did I understand just how he felt right now?

“Settle down, Callan, he was just teasing, I am sure”, I replied. “He knows how much we love Ashley; they all want what is best, though and know our mates are out there still” I tried to soothe Callan with my words. It didn’t help. He just slinked away and let himself fall into a heap with a deep scowl on his face. “I don’t want our mate. I want Ashley,” he panted, closing his eyes, feigning sleep to ignore having a conversation with me.

I constantly had a feeling like there was something wrong with me. My wolf shouldn’t have such an attachment to anyone but our mate. Most wolves detested the human side of them, falling in love with someone else. Sure, they loved the sex, and why wouldn’t they. They were the animal side of us. Their instincts to mate and reproduce were always at their forefront.

“Typical, you are quick to anger and don’t like to talk about things”, I retorted.

“Look who’s talking” Callan shot back with an angry huff.... He was right. I ran my hand through my hair for what felt like the millionth time in the last five minutes. Fuck. He was just like me.

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