#7 The Twins of Satin Moon

Maizey

I had done what I was told, and hid in the cave, cowering in the back as I listened to the sound of snarls and howls coming from the outside. Light poured into the cave and I thought it was Hunter, instead it was an unfamiliar man with greasy hair and an awful grin. He had a snarling wolf behind him. The man grabbed me by my hair and drug me through the woods kicking and screaming. It wasn’t long after we arrived at the cliff’s edge that Hunter found us.

I wasn’t surprised at all that this man was a friend of Paul’s. He had the same disgusting aurora about him. I was, however, shocked that he was responsible for the rogues and that he was a rogue himself. I had no idea Paul knew about the supernatural let alone was a werewolf himself. It didn’t make any sense.

But, I didn’t have time to dwell on it before the man hurled me over the cliff. I was confident that I was going to die, that this was the end of my life. He released me over the edge of the cliff and I closed my eyes, ready to fall to my death.

Instead, I was ripped from the air and landed on something soft. I immediately thought of Watcher, but when I opened my eyes I was laying on a white wolf who I immediately knew wasn’t Watcher. They looked exactly the same, yet I know this wolf was different. I squealed and jumped up. The wolf hopped up and looked at me with the same green eyes as Watcher. He stepped back and shifted. The man in front of me looked exactly like Hunter, but yet so different. Just like their wolves.

He was Hunter’s identical, the same skin tone, body shape, defined features, green eyes, and dark hair. But, his entire body was covered in tattoos, and I could say that confidently considering he was standing before me butt naked. His body was full of scars, just like mine, and his eyes were cold and hard where Hunter’s were full of light and humor. His lips looked like they were painted on his face in a permanent scowl.

He was staring straight at me, his eyes slightly widened and his lips parted. He was breathing heavily, his hands clenched into fists at his side. I composed myself and my wandering eyes, locking onto his gaze. I knew I was trembling, I knew my eyes were wild and my hair was a mess. I probably looked like a crazy person.

“Maizey?” Hunter’s twin tried out my name on his lips, his facial features contorting at the unfamiliarity of it.

“You’re Archer?” I asked in a small voice and his entire body became ridgid. He stiffed at the sound of his name and I couldn’t help but notice that something else had stiffened as well. I blushed deeply and averted my gaze.

“Are you alright?” He asked, stumbling forward but then stopped himself, like he was afraid to be near me.

“I…I think so. You saved me?” I felt my eyes pulling together in question.

“Of course I did.” His mouth twitched like he wanted to smirk.

“Where’s Hunter?” I looked around, suddenly feeling panicked.

“He’s dealing with that man.” Archer snarled and I stumbled back a little bit in fear of his outburst. Archer’s face fell at my retreat, “He needs to die for what he did to you. Him and Paul.” He stated.

“Hunter said you were going to kill him anyway.” I narrowed my eyes on Archer.

“I was. I was looking for him. I was surprised when my search led me here. I haven’t found him yet, but my investigation did lead me to his henchmen.” Archer said without emotion.

“You….”

“Maizey!” Hunter cried and suddenly I was in his arms. I immediately relaxed, burying my face into his chest, “Oh, baby, you’re okay.” He purred into my ear, his hand gripping the back of my head to keep me close.

I caught sight of Archer from under Hunter’s arm and noticed that he was frowning. Hunter pulled me away and started planting kisses all over my face.

“You’re okay?” He asked me this time and I nodded. Hunter pulled me back into his chest and seemed to notice his brother for the first time. “You saved her life.” He said to Archer.

“Why does everyone sound surprised at that?” Archer grumbled.

“Thank you.” Hunter replied, ignoring his question.

“She’s my mate, you don’t need to thank me.” Archer sounded irritated.

“She’s our mate.” Hunter clarified, struggling to keep from growling at his brother.

“Yes, well, our mate almost died today because you didn’t take care of Paul when you had the chance.” Archer snapped, “In case you were unaware, humans cannot fly.” He said in a sarcastic tone. I glared at Archer from under Hunter’s arm.

“Hunter, I want to go home.” I said, pulling away to look at Hunter’s face.

“I’m taking you back to the packhouse, princess, you’re staying with me.” He demanded.

“Hunter, no, I said that I wasn’t….”

“Don’t argue with your Alpha!” Archer’s voice made me tremble. I squealed and jumped in Hunter’s arm, turning around to face Archer but keeping myself pressed against Hunter’s chest.

“Archer!” Hunter yelled, tightening his grip on me, “You can’t talk to her like that! She’s our mate, not some omega. We can’t just order her around.” Hunter was seething. I could feel the rage rolling off of him.

“She needs to learn her place.” Archer snapped, ignoring me.

“My place?” I was glaring at Archer now, feeling my own rage bubbling inside me.

“Maizey, just ignore him.” Hunter mumbled in my ear but it was too late, I was already yelling at his brother.

“Nobody gets to control me, I make my own decisions. You don’t get to show up here and boss me around like you own me! If you think that’s how this works you can go straight back to wherever you came from.” I huffed and broke free of Hunter’s grip, storming away from the twins.

“I could’ve told you that was going to happen.” I heard Hunter say to his brother before he was suddenly beside me.

“Baby, I’m sorry about my brother, he’s a jackass. But, please, I need you to come home with me. I need to know that you’re safe.” Hunter begged.

“I want to know what’s going on with Paul. You won’t keep me in the dark.” I glared at him, using his desire to have me move into the packhouse as a bargaining chip. I had the distinct feeling that his instincts would be to hide everything from me and keep me sheltered like a scared little child.

“I promise to tell you everything and keep you in the loop. But, Maizey, I won’t ask for permission to do what I need to do to keep you safe. Even if that means killing Paul.” Hunter’s face was stern and serious. I sighed dramatically,

“Fine. Take me home first so I can pack and explain things to my brothers.” I said and Hunter nodded.

“Of course, baby. They can come, too.” He said, his face softening. I shook my head,

“Not with him here. My brothers will hate him and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” I nodded back towards Archer and Hunter’s face fell.

“He won’t hurt your brothers.” Hunter said but I gave him a pointed look,

“Can you promise me that?” I challenged and Hunter frowned again.

“I can promise you that he won’t touch you.” He growled and I snatched up his hand.

“I know that.” I offered him a smile and squeezed his hand tightly, “Will you keep the guards on my brothers?” I asked.

“Of course, baby.” Hunter said. We made our way back down to the truck and Hunter drove me home.

I had just gotten done explaining everything to Matt and Nicky, and while they were busy biting Hunter’s head off, I was packing my suitcase.

“You said she was safe with you!” Nicky yelled.

“She is, I kept her safe. I can’t promise that her life won’t be threatened, that rogues and who knows what else won’t show up, but I will always keep her safe.” Hunter’s voice was smooth and calm. I knew he was more than capable of handling himself.

“Honestly, Nicky, this wasn’t even because of him. This was because of our father.” Matt sighed and I could tell he was upset.

“Paul! His name is Paul.” Nicky was adamant on us no calling him our father. I couldn’t blame him.

“I’m going to kill him.” Hunter said plainly. There was a long pause and I imagined what my brothers’ reactions were.

“Okay.” Nicky and Matt both said in solemn voices.

“Are you sure that he’s a werewolf?” Matt asked.

“I’m not sure about anything, but that man who I killed today was definitely a rogue.” Hunter replied.

“Is this werewolf mercenary thing normal?” Nicky asked, sounding out of his element.

“Yeah, it’s more common now. A decade or so ago the organization that was leading the rogues was destroyed, so the rogues had to scramble to find new owners. Humans got involved then and rogues started becoming hired hitmen basically.” Hunter explained.

“That’s messed up.” Nicky was struggling to wrap his head around all of this.

“What are you going to do to find Paul?” Matt asked.

“My brother, Archer, has already started looking for him. Archer trailed him here so he can’t be far. I’m going to send another team out to track down Paul’s movements for the last couple of days and figure out who all he was working with. We should have a better idea about what we’re dealing with then. In the meantime, Maizey is safer on pack grounds.” Hunter explained.

“Even with your brother there?” Nicky asked.

I felt my breathing immediately increase at the mention of Archer. He was so different from how I pictured him. I pictured a monster, but he’s Hunter’s twin, so of course they looked the same. It was hard to feel negative feelings towards one and to be falling in love with the other. The way Archer looked at me when he first saved me made my heart race and something inside me ached for him. But, his attitude towards me when I questioned Hunter buried all of those emotions.

“I can confidently say that he will not physically harm Maizey. He’s a dick and he’s going to say the wrong things all of the time, but I will keep Maizey safe emotionally and mentally as well.” Hunter promised.

“But, she doesn’t want us to come along?” Matt said hesitantly.

“She’s afraid about your interaction with Archer, and I have to agree. Neither of you are going to like him and he’s not going to like you. It’ll make a tense situation even worse.” Hunter voiced my concerns, able to easily put my feelings into words.

“I will hold you personally responsible if anything happens to her.” Matt tried to sound threatening but, after hearing Archer’s growl earlier today, nothing could compare.

“As you should. I’ll be keeping the guards here for your safety. You’ll each have a detail assigned to follow you to and from work.” Hunter said and I could tell that he was holding back a smirk.

I finished packing my suitcase and wheeled it into the living room. My three boys stood up and hovered around me.

“Are you sure you want to go alone?” Matt eyed me curiously.

“Yes, Matty, I think it’s for the best. The packhouse isn’t that far away.” I smirked at my brothers who were acting like I was moving across the country.

“Of course you two can visit anytime.” Hunter added.

“But, no fighting.” I pointed my finger accusingly at Matt and Nicky who just rolled their eyes at me.

We shared a group hug before Hunter grabbed my bag and we walked back out to his truck. He tossed my bag in the back seat and opened the door for me.

“You ready?” He asked and I nodded, taking one last look back at my brothers standing on the front porch. I waved at them and climbed inside the truck. Hunter smiled at me before shutting the door.

“It’s going to be okay, princess, I promise.” Hunter grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I nodded at him but I couldn’t speak, I felt a lump forming in my throat.

Something told me that after today, everything was going to change.