The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 39

HARPER

\tl felt much better after talking to Remy about everything. I knew I had overreacted this morning with Caulder, but what had scared me most was how comfortable I felt with him. He had always been a part of my life, so it was normal to be around him, but last night felt different. I didn't want to admit it to his face, but I had been worried out of my mind waiting for him to return. \tEverything recently had felt like a lot, and it was more bearable when Caulder was by my side, but when he wasn't around me, I worried about the future of the twins and this pack. There was too much danger lurking around the corner, and it was almost paralyzing.

\tThe need for Caulder to be by my side was daunting. I had wanted this chance with him for as long as I could remember, but now that I had it, I was waiting for it to fall apart. Caulder was eighteen now, which meant at any moment, he could replace his mate, and I would be left behind. The deeper I fell for him, the more it would hurt when that inevitably happened.

\tIt would be easier to break things off with Caulder now, before it got worse, but even the thought of breaking up with him made my heart hurt. It was the logical thing to do, but the only thing I knew my heart was capable of was staying with Caulder until he broke up with me. I felt pathetic for it, but Remy had made a good point. I was happy with Caulder now, so there was no point in ruining it. All I could do was enjoy him and his company while it was still mine.

\tWhen school was over, I rushed to the parking lot, hoping to replace Caulder before he left. I had to talk to him and explain everything.

It- \tCAULDER

\tl never wanted to go back to class. It felt like a waste of time, and one of my last priorities. The past week had only made it ten times worse, especially since Harper had been avoiding me all day. I wasn't sure if I should give her space or insist she talk to me. I didn't have anything to apologize for-at least nothing I was aware of.

\tl needed to see Harper. Even if she didn't want to talk to me, I wouldn't be able to focus until I saw her again.

\t"Hey, Cauldy, where are you going?" Julie waved me down. She was clearly waiting at the school exit for me.

\tl walked right past her, completely ignoring her existence. She was the last thing I wanted to deal with today. Everything about her was annoying, especially the way she said my name. \t"Cauldy, why are you ignoring me?" Julie said, pushing her lower lip out. She hurried after me and grabbed my arm, stopping me in front of the school.

\t"What part of leave me alone, don't you understand?" My voice was harsher than normal, but I was fed up with Julie. I had no interest in her, and her behavior disgusted me. She never tried to be my friend or get to know me for me. I knew she was only coming after me because she was jealous of Harper, and she loved the idea of being the future luna.

\tShe kept a firm grip on my arm and stood tall. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I could help you relieve some of that tension you're holding in your shoulders. You could also use me in whatever way you wanted to relieve that tension." She winked at me, and my body shuddered automatically.

\tl tried to shake her off of me, but she only strengthened her grip. She wasn't giving up as easily this time.

\t"I really don't feel like dealing with you right now," I groaned. "Just go leech onto someone else."

\tJulie only smiled at me. "We were meant for each other. You'll realize that soon enough. Once I'm eighteen, you'll clearly see that I'm your mate." She stepped forward and touched my chest. "I can feel it in my heart. You would see that if you just gave me a proper chance."

\t"You're delusional, Julie. You should get some help." I tried to step back to break free from her, but she dug my nails into my arm. I knew I could easily use force to get her off of me, but I was trying to avoid hurting her, knowing that would only cause more issues. \tJulie pursed her lips. "You'll see. Once you stop wasting your time with that b***h, you'll see the truth."

\t"Watch it." A low growl escaped my lips, and I knew if Julie continued to insult Harper, we both would have issues.

\t"I know she was avoiding you today. The whole school was talking about it. Not even a week into the relationship, and it's already on the rocks. Just face the facts. She can't handle who you are, but I know all of you, all of the dirty... little... secrets, and I still want you." Julie licked her lips and looked up at me with big eyes. She was trying every little trick to make me want her, but none of them worked. In fact, the more she tried, the more disgusted I felt towards her.

\t"Whatever happens with Harper and me is none of your business, and I will never want you. You'll replace someone someday, but it will never be me. I just pray the Moon Goddess has sympathy for anyone who ends up being your mate." I ripped my arm out of Julie's grip. All of the niceness in me disappeared, and I was out of patience with her.

\tl started to turn, but Julie's eyes widened in panic. She grabbed my arm again and pulled me towards her. This time, she threw herself at me, grabbing my face and pressing her lips firmly against me. It felt like kissing sandpaper, and my skin crawled. I had to resist the urge to throw up as she tried to force her tongue into my mouth.

\t"Caulder?"

\tNo, no, no, no, this couldn't be happening. I quickly shoved Julie off of me, and when I turned around, I saw Harper standing off to the side, her face paled and her eyes wide. She looked horrified, and I understood why. This looked like a worst-case scenario. \t"It's not what it looks like," I said. I had to explain myself, but I wasn't sure how much good that would do. Harper was already mad at me for whatever reason, so it would be harder to make her see reason.

\t"I'm an i***t," she whispered under her breath.

\t"Harper, please. I didn't kiss her." I felt desperate as I saw Harper's heart break in front of me. This was all wrong, and I needed her to see that.

\t"Then what was your mouth doing on hers?" she asked. She didn't sound angry, but her soft voice told me more than enough. When Harper was truly angry, she quieted down, shoving all of her rage down as far as it could go. \t"Caulder and I were meant to be together. I was just reminding him of that," Julie said, a smirk plastered on her face. She saw Harper approaching. I knew it. She had to have seen her from the angle she was facing. She knew Harper would see everything, and she wanted Harper to break up with me.

\tlt made the rage boil inside of me. "Never speak to me again if you know what's good for you," I said to Julie, my voice low and full of harmful intent. I would never attack one of my pack members unprovoked, and I especially wouldn't attack a female pack member who was clearly weaker than me, but if Julie didn't leave soon, I wasn't sure what my rage would lead to.

\tJulie took a step back, and her entire body was tense. She looked terrified of me, and her entire body shook. I didn't have time to deal with her anymore, though. I turned back to Harper, but she wasn't there anymore. She was running across the parking lot, and I immediately ran after her.

\tShe was practically flying into her car when I caught up with her. She slammed her car door shut, but I slid my fingers into the opening to stop it. There was a sharp pain in my hand, and I knew my fingers were bruised at the very least, but I didn't care. Harper had to know the truth.

\t"Caulder, leave me alone," Harper said, holding the door, ready to try to shut it again.

\t"I swear. I was telling her to leave me alone when she kissed me. I didn't want to kiss her. I never want to see her again." I felt absolutely desperate to get Harper to understand I would never kiss anyone but her willingly. "I don't want Julie or anyone else. I only want you."

\t"I'm a complete i***t. I was coming to apologize to you for freaking out on you this morning. I knew you didn't do anything wrong, but I was scared. I was scared of this exact thing, of the day you would get bored of me." Harper was trying really hard to keep it together, but I could see the tears threatening her eyes, and it broke me. Knowing my mate was hurt by something I did was too much-even if I wasn't the one who initiated the kiss.

\t"I will never be bored of you. I swear I didn't kiss her willingly. She forced herself on me because she's crazy and jealous of you. She wanted to hurt our relationship, because she knew you were there." I pushed myself closer to the car, making sure Harper couldn't drive away before she heard my side of things.

\t"Even if you didn't mean to kiss her, it's only a matter of time before you kiss someone else." Her hands were shaking as she spoke, and she curled her fingers into fists to try to control it.

\tl touched her thigh, but she only jumped at my touch. "What are you saying?"

\t"I'm saying it's only a matter of time before you replace someone better than me, until you replace your mate and leave me broken in the dust. We should just end this now before we both get hurt." She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at me.

\tl felt like my heart was breaking, and my entire body froze. I needed to tell Harper she was my mate. Maybe it would stop her from running away, but I felt like I couldn't move.

\t"Caulder, please don't push this anymore. Let's just stop this now. This was just a mistake." The tears finally started falling out of her eyes. "Please."

\tl grabbed her hands and held them to my chest. "No. I will never stop fighting for you. I need you to understand that you are the only one for me. Now and forever. If you need space, I will give you what you need, but I need you to understand that I'm not going anywhere. You are the only one I want."

\tHarper's tears started to slow down as she listened to me. "I don't understand. How can you say all of those things, knowing that your mate is out there somewhere?"

\tThere was no way around it anymore. I wanted Harper to make her own choice, but she also needed to know that I was completely serious about her. "I already know right where my mate is, and I'm not planning on letting her go."