The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 2

CAULDER

\tl froze, hearing the footsteps of the patrol nearing us. They were early tonight. I motioned for Remy to crouch down and hold still. We were downwind of the guard, so I hoped our scents were masked enough from the distance we were at. I had snuck out most nights for the past couple of years, and I had never been caught before, but this time was different. I had Remy with me.

\tl was surprised when she woke me up and asked me to take her out for a run this late. She had refused to sneak out of the pack house several times before when I offered to let her come with me to some parties with friends. She would rather ask our parents for permission. Usually she received the go ahead, especially because our parents knew she was a good kid. They trusted her.

\tThey trusted me, too, and I was sure they would give me permission to go out late sometimes, if I asked. But there was a thrill to sneaking out late at night. Plus, I knew they wouldn't let me go if they knew some of the things I was doing with girls. I was the golden child, and it was best for them to just keep thinking that. They didn't need to know how I blew off steam on occasion.

\tThe guard easily passed us, and I let out a long sigh. I didn't want to disappoint Remy on her first outing with me. I wanted her to continue coming out, and I hoped this would get her to come more often.

\tl motioned to her that we were in the clear, and we continued to the forest. When we got deep enough in the forest, I started taking off my shirt. "Ready for this run?"

\tRemy nodded, beaming with excitement. When she looked like that, it made me happier than ever, but it also worried me that the world would take advantage of my sister. It was one of the few reasons I was willing to take the position of alpha. I knew that I would be able to protect her better if I was stronger. She was sweet and innocent to the world, and I knew I couldn't shield her forever, but I wanted to shield her as much as possible.

\tWe continued changing before putting our clothes in a bag that I strapped around my ankle. We faced away from each other until we were shifted into our wolf forms. Remy's wolf form was one of beauty. She had pure black fur, which was the exact opposite of my pure white coat. We were often called yin and yang or light and dark. We balanced each other out, and my mother always said that we had to always be there for each other. Our bond was one that no one could ever take away from us.

\tWith a nod of my head, I started running through the forest, and Remy quickly followed. It felt amazing to run and stretch my wolf legs. I didn't go for runs enough, often distracted by my magic practices. My mother said I had extreme potential as a sorcerer, so she had me take extra lessons with Ginger, the old sorceress of the pack. She was the only sorceress that lived with us.

\tGinger typically kept to herself, except for when it came to our family. She had a soft spot for my mother, and she was like a grandmother to us, the only grandmother we had. She was strange and kooky, but she knew what she was doing when it came to magic. \tBetween training with her, training to be an alpha, training to be a warrior, and making sure I still held good grades in school, a good amount of my time was spoken for. That was one of the most stressful parts about being the son of an alpha. There were too many expectations, and everyone just expected me to fulfill them flawlessly.

\tl glanced back at Remy, who was bounding through the forest like she was a natural at this. She looked so carefree and happy. It made me jealous of her. She didn't have the kind of pressure I did to be perfect. She had more time to pursue her own passions, and her future wasn't already set out all for her. I just hoped my sacrifice could give her a good life.

\tl shook off that thought and decided to push myself, running faster and dodging trees effortlessly to see if she could keep up. It was no surprise to me when Remy mirrored my actions, easily catching up and even passing me. Her wolf was always stronger than mine. We continued running for a while before we stopped at the top of a hill. It was the place we only went to with each other. It was our special place.

\tWe shifted back into our human form and quickly got dressed. Remy flopped onto the grassy patch beneath us and looked up at the sky. I lay next to her and looked up, seeing a nearly full moon hovering above us.

\t"It's supposed to be a full moon tomorrow," Remy said. Her voice was soft and quiet, and her lips were touched with a smile.

\t"I've heard that's good luck, turning eighteen on a full moon." I was constantly told that many things about my life were good luck. It was good luck to be twins. It was good luck to be the first born child. I wasn't sure if I really believed in luck. \t"And who told you that?" Remy cooed. She already knew the answer, and she was just teasing me.

\t"Harper," I muttered, knowing it was pointless to try to hide it. Harper was our best friend. She was Beta Rie's daughter, and she was only a few months younger than us. We had grown up together in the life of the pack leaders' children. She understood us more than anyone else in the pack.

\tRemy suddenly turned on her side, propping her head with her elbow as she stared at me. "Remind me again why you and Harper aren't dating."

\tl rolled my eyes. Not this conversation again. "We're not talking about this."

\tRemy huffed and looked back at the sky. "Do you think we'll replace our mate tomorrow?"

\t"No." My answer was short and quick. It was rare for a wolf to replace their mate on their eighteenth birthday. There were too many factors to consider, and most people weren't that lucky.

\t"Someone is a negative nancy," Remy sighed. "I think it would be nice to replace my mate tomorrow."

\t"You're more likely to replace your mate at the Lycan ball. Seriously, what are the chances that our mates are already eighteen and live in our pack?"

\tRemy shrugged. "It's still a nice thought." She had always been a hopeless romantic, so nothing about this conversation surprised me.

\tMy ears suddenly perked as I heard voices down below us. I looked over at Remy, and her eyes were wide. We both moved to the edge of the cliff and looked down. There were three men walking through the forest, bickering amongst each other. Their scent hit me first, and I instantly knew they were not a part of our pack.

\tl looked at Remy and linked, "Rogues."

\t-

\tREMY

\tl froze when Caulder linked me. There hadn't been any rogues in this territory in a long time. It felt like bad luck that they would show up the one time I decided to sneak out of the house.

\tCaulder held up his finger to his mouth, signaling for me to stay quiet, which I planned on doing anyway. It was impossible for us to know if these rogues meant any harm or not, but the fact that they were wandering in our territory in the middle of the night told me they weren't looking to have a tea party with our father.

\tTheir voices drifted into the air above them, and my wolf senses easily picked up the conversation.

\t"How did you get us so lost? Can't you smell where we are going? It's going to take forever to replace our target now."

\t"Boss, it's hard to know where to go when there are scents going in all different directions. They have a weird pattern for their guards. Some of them just passed by here not too long ago."

\tThe footsteps stopped as well as the talking. I looked at Caulder, who was watching me with a strange expression.

\t"They are looking for something," I linked Caulder. I wasn't sure if he had heard the conversation like I had. My wolf sense of smell and hearing were stronger than his. It was the one advantage I had over him. \t"Did they say what?" he asked.

\tl shook my head. "Maybe they are looking for the pack house."

\t"In the middle of the night?" Caulder was skeptical.

\tlf these rogues were planning something bad, there wasn't much they could get away with. Our wolf pack was the largest in the city, and there wasn't much three little rogues could do to harm our pack. \t"Well, well, well, what do we have here? It looks like two young wolf pups out for a run in the middle of the night. It's our lucky day boys."

\tl flipped over, shocked by the voice suddenly in our ears. I hadn't heard these men approaching, which didn't make any sense. The three men were now hovering over us. A tall, scrawny man was standing in the center of them, looking at me specifically. \t"Boss, I think these two would make a good ransom for the alpha. What kind of alpha would risk the lives of two teenagers?"

\tCrap. This wasn't good. I glanced at Caulder, and his demeanor had completely shifted. He looked ready to pounce on these men. It reminded me that I also had warrior training, and I knew I could fight to protect myself, so I mentally prepared myself to attack. I was suddenly grateful for all of the fighting lessons my mother had made me take. I was nowhere near as skilled as Caulder, but I was still one of the best fighters of my age.

\t"When you get the chance, run," Caulder linked.

\tl looked at him, shocked he would suggest separating. "No, I'm not leaving you behind."

\tCaulder's jaw tightened. "Remy, please. Run and get out of here. Find help. Stay safe. I've got these bastards just fine."

\t"I want to help," I insisted. I didn't want to just run away. This was a perfect opportunity to prove to myself that I could fight and keep the pack safe, too. I didn't want to live in Caulder's shadow my entire life.

\t"What do you want to do with these two?" the third man asked, breaking my concentration with Caulder.

\tCaulder and I hadn't made a move yet. I was waiting for him to give the signal.

\t"Tie him up. I want to have a little chat with this one." The scrawny man leaned in towards me. "How old are you, sweetheart?"

\tThis was enough to make Caulder snap. He jumped up and lunged forward, swinging his fist and punching the man in the jaw. The man stumbled back, but then he threw a punch at Caulder. Caulder used his magic to disappear and reappear right behind the man, tripping him in the process. I stared in awe of Caulder's use of magic. It was something I had never been able to figure out, even though I was part sorcerer, just like him.

\t"Run!" Caulder snapped, lunging at the man again.

\tl didn't want to leave Caulder like this, but he was right. I needed to replace help and warn the pack that there were rogues in the territory. I rolled over and sprung to my feet, bolting past the other two rogues in the process. They didn't even try to grab me as I sprinted down the hill back towards the pack house.

\t"Rogues!" I linked, trying to open up the line to the warriors, but I only heard radio silence on the other end. My wolf wasn't strong enough to send out mass links to the pack yet. It was something that came with time and practice and coming of age. I wasn't eighteen yet, and my wolf powers suffered for it. Once I was officially eighteen, that wouldn't be an issue.

\tl heard footsteps running behind me, and based on the scent alone, I knew it was the burlier of the two henchmen that had been watching Caulder fight their leader. He seemed to be the dimwitted one, but he must have gotten his senses about him and came after me. I dug my heels in and ran faster. I wouldn't be able to shift into my wolf without completely shredding my clothes. If it came down to it, I would, but I wanted to avoid that situation if possible.

\t"If you stop now, I promise I won't hurt you," the man shouted after me.

\tl laughed at his proposal. I didn't trust a stranger not to hurt me. Plus, I was always told to stay strong and keep fighting if I was ever in a dire situation.

\t"You can s**k it!" I shouted back.

\tl jumped over a fallen log with ease. I knew this forest like the back of my hand from all of the times I had gone for runs. There was no way this guy would be able to keep up with me.

\tThe padding of paws nearby drew my attention. The wind shifted, and I picked up the scent of the wolf running straight towards me. I skidded to a stop when I came face to face with a wolf with dark gray fur.

\t"Uncle Mason," I exclaimed, feeling relieved to see a familiar face. Mason wasn't biologically our uncle, but we grew up with him always around, since he was married to Auntie Rie, one of our father's betas. He was family as far as we were concerned, blood or not. He was also second in command of our warriors.

\t"Remy, get to the pack house now. I'll take care of this," Uncle Mason linked me.

\t"Caulder is on top of that hill. There are two other rogues with him."

\tMason nodded, and then he turned back to the rogue that was chasing me and growled so loudly, I felt the rumble through my own chest. That was my signal to run back to the pack house.