Accepting My Twin Mates

Astennu

My brother's fist connected with the once clean-set jaw of who we had established to be the club manager. His dislocated mandible matched nicely with the broken nose I had gifted him a few moments ago. A couple of hours and his bones would be set by his werewolf healing, ready to begin again if he continued to remain silent.

“We know you have she-wolf rogues here," I demanded, grabbing him by the collar. “Release them to us, now."

Between the information Adrian, the rogue males and Bastiaan and his vampires had gathered in Marceau’s compound, we knew they had at least fifteen she-wolves housed in the club. And we knew for certain Marceau owned this “establishment. The man spat a bloody wad to the side and followed with what I could only interpret as an insult.

“Enculer, couillon.”

“Adrian? Translate for our friend,” I released the manager knowing full well he could speak English. He was merely being a d**k and testing my patience, a poor decision on his part.

“With pleasure" the warrior stepped up, rolling his sleeves. “Oil sont les louves?”

He landed an uppercut, hitting directly under the man's broken jaw, sending him flying backwards and over the desk “Monsieur,” Bastian drawled, leaning over the desk and resting his weight on the knuckles of his fists. “You can play with these gentlemen or I can drag you downstairs by that rather expensive looking tie to the gentlemen you presided over when they were forced to fight here. Rest assured, they shan't play as nicely as we do. You are but a stepping stone to those men being reunited with their families and they are quite eager to get to the chateau that houses them.”

Showing that he did, in fact, understand English, the manager fished out a key from the drawer of his desk and scrawled a number on a piece of paper, pushing both towards us.

“A l'étage, porte rouge.”

“There, that wasn't so hard,” Adrian snatched them away before the man had any bright ideas, holding them out for me. “Present for you, booboo!

“When we burn this place down; I grabbed the items from his hand. “Ym leaving you inside!

Is this our love language now? You making empty threats to kill me?’

“Who said they're empty?’

“Go to our happy place; Aasim grumbled away. “Evie, wearing nothing but her hair down and-"

“Don't start, wolf. I can't run a rescue if I'm pitching a tent.

“What do we do about this guy?" Badru thumbed over to the manager. “We can't just let him go!

In silence and faster than even my Alpha wolf sight could follow, a metallic flash sliced the air apart and embedded itself in the man’s left eye, dropping him to the ground dead.

“He's dealt with,” Bastian rasped a huge sigh, his shoulders slumping as though a bitter weight had been shed. “..I'm done here."

The door opened with a resounding slam, denting the plasterwork with an imprint of the handle where it struck the wall. Badru and I shared a look, wondering whether it was the right choice to let the vampires and rogues accompany us to raid the club. The families weren't kept here and we knew it from the files sealed in Marceau’s compound. The club was on the way to the chateau where they were held hostage on the French coast, but we couldn't leave it to stand another night. This hell hole wrapped in gold had been built on these men’s backs, on their blood. Seeing with their own eyes what lay above the pit's cage stirred a turmoil of sentiments for them.

“What did dead guy say?" My brother asked Adrian as we followed after Bastian.

“Upstairs, red door. Guess we missed that while we were having to play house.”

Normally, I would have bitten at his teasing remark, but it was lacking its distinct baiting edge. There was a lot we had missed, it seemed, being so focused on finding Evie.

“What could we have done?’ Aasim rationalised. “Had we put a paw out of step, we would never have seen our mate again and the rogues would never have been freed!

I knew my wolf was right, but it didn't mean that it sat any easier.

Back in what was left of the once lavish main atrium of the club, I picked my way around the bodies we had left. Glass and mirrors were scattered in shards and the velvet chairs and seats lay upended, smatterings of blood splattered across them. The personnel had been armed, yet obviously hadn't expected our party knocking down their doors at daybreak. With us were a small group of ten wolves from Two Moons, as many as could accompany us on such short notice; five wolf males and five she-wolf warriors and trackers.

“Alphas?” Bastian called our attention. “My coven found a discreet staircase leading to an upper level. But I do not believe you are best to investigate.”

“Agreed,” my brother looked over to our head tracker, Suzanna, and her four other she-wolf warriors.

“Suzanna? Take your team to investigate,” I handed her the key and the scrap of paper that I was sure was a door code. “A bunch of wolf males storming where the women are kept could terrify them. We'll keep our distance down here”

She gave a curt nod and accepted the items offered, gesturing to her team of she-wolves carrying blankets and clothing to follow. They vanished behind heavy black drapes trimmed in gold and we waited the agonising minutes for their return. “What're you doing?" I jerked when I heard a crystalline smash ricochet back behind me in the direction of my brother.

He popped open a bottle of honey-coloured liquor that smelled strongly of alcohol and said, without a glance in my direction, “getting ready to torch the place.”

“You maybe wanna wait till we're out?"

Rolling his eyes and giving me a pointed look, he flung the bottle in his hand, spilling its shattered contents.

“Tm not lighting it up now, chill. I just wanna be ready!

Since we had left Evie's side following her sonogram scan, my younger brother was having difficulty keeping still. I was too, but, as always, I managed to conceal my agitation a little better than my twin did by drumming my fingers impatiently against my bicep rather than hurl alcohol about to prepare an almighty blaze.

suzanna called out through our mind-link, “I have them; as the dead weight of a body was thrown down the stairs and wrenched the curtain off its rails. “There was only one guard who thought he could win. One wolf male against five pissed off she-wolves? Doesn't even seem fair."

She ushered a huddled group of fifteen women down the stairs who peered at our group of men with thinly veiled suspicion. Vet despite their wariness, they came closer. The blankets our pack had carried now draped over their shoulders and the spare clothing was clutched in their hands.

“They all understand English to some degree. I'm pretty sure two of them were sold by Isaac... they mentioned a pack in washington!

Suzanna cast Badru and me with a concerned gaze.

Great. A perfect start to earning their trust.

I was surprised that none of the male rogues we had rescued so far were those Isaac had sold. It was a bitter-sweet sentiment that he hadn't sold males with their mates or pups. However, it was a stark reminder, standing in flesh and blood before us, that he had sold people without regard for their fate.

I didn't need to be told what these women were kept for here in the club. It served as yet another reminder of the bubble in which I had been raised within, where I had never once imagined such atrocities existed or understood the harsh dangers rogues faced going it alone without a pack.

“Ladies,” I approached with slow steps and a soft voice to address them. “If you'll come with us, we'll get you to safety. No one here is going to harm you and you'll never return to this sort of life again. Just stick with Suzanna and our other pack she-wolves. They'll ensure you get everything you need.”

They bobbed their heads, agreeing and clustering together to follow our head tracker, flashing us small smiles of silent gratitude. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of one she-wolf in particular, struggling to move and follow the others. Not because she was hurt or injured, but rather because she couldn't look away from one wolf male specifically.

I followed her line of sight to one of the Portuguese brothers, Rudolfo, if my memory was correct. He stood rigid, his eyes never moving from her. His brother, Mariano, who had restrained him, released his hold.

The two steadily inched closer, until their bodies were only inches apart. Rudolfo reached out, wanting to cup her jaw, but pulled back, as though he was unsure of his boundaries. She grasped his wrist, nuzzling into his palm, an understanding sparking between them that transcended any barrier.

Aasim wolfishly grinned away to himself in my mind, watching the scene unfold. “l was expecting some mate bonds to pop up, but maybe not so quickly!

“The moon goddess knows what she's doing; Suzanna flashed her gaze to me. “That she-wolf is Brazilian, so communication won't be an issue for them!

Slipping his arm around her, Rudolfo held his newfound mate as close as possible, following after Suzanna who had waited for them to catch up.

In the early morning winter sun, the riverside Toulouse street barely stirred with any signs of life, except for a small flock of pigeons strutting about and wisps of morning frost fogging against the air. Soon, people would begin to go about their day, oblivious to the brief battle that had raged under their noses.

The women were swiftly escorted by our head tracker to the awaiting vans we had parked and bundled them inside for their seats.

Torch it; Badru instructed the last of our wolf male warriors, exiting the building.

We had all we needed from inside; a list of other potential key locations to investigate and possible names of other ringleaders. The club had no other use than to burn to the ground like it had never existed.

The two newly found mates looked reluctant to leave one another, the blossoming bond, I knew all too well, demanding they remain glued to the other.

I put my hand on his shoulder, causing him to momentarily look away. “You should go with her. We'll see to it your brother is reunited with his mate and pups. I promise, we'll be back in a few hours”

Adrian translated as best he could with what he knew of Spanish so the Portuguese wolf could understand. The brother encouraged him, practically shoving him in through the sliding door of the van.

Their vehicle took off and we were close behind, piling into our own and winding through the sleepy city streets towards the open road. The destination for the van in front was a safe house we had arranged to reconvene and coordinate from once we had the young pups. For us, we were heading towards one more brawl.

“What is it?" I asked one of the vampires when I spotted his bewildered expression as he stared out of the window.

“The world’s moved on so much without us,” he lamented. “Two decades locked up... I'm not being funny, but this is going to take some adjustment.”

“Arwel, my boy, you'll assimilate just fine,” the red-haired vampire, Barend, nudged him playfully. “I was born in the spring of I852 and I predate the electric lightbulb. So I have every faith that you'll adapt to this changed world."

“Like you “adapted; Bastian laughed, air-quoting the word. “When I tried to demonstrate to you how to use dial-up?”

I wasn't about to jump in and start explaining how it had moved on to Wifi and fibre broadband. That was a headache for another time.

The vampires had spoken a little on the way to the early-morning raid on the club about where they had come from and how they had come to be under the control of a man like Marceau. Arwel, and a handful of the other vampires, were Welsh, from the UK. That was why my brother and I recognised his accent, it sounded similar to our mother's. They had encountered the Dutch vampires in the north of England, where they had established their coven within a wolf pack led by none other than a rare white wolf Alpha. Arwel told us of his sister, Maeryn, and her husband, Rhian, and not knowing if they had survived the attack that had destroyed their home.

“Are there any covens in the States?” Bastiaan shifted his attention from the outside to me in the passenger seat.

“Not that I know,” Badru answered from behind the steering wheel. “At least, not on the west coast that I'm aware of. So, if you do decide to come to our pack, be prepared for some stares. It's been a while since any of our pack have seen one of you guys!’

“There's actually a Gamma in a pack to our south in Oregon who's part vampire. He's a hybrid. His father was a wolf, but his mother is a vampire,” I recalled. Tamlyn was better acquainted with him than I was.

“Perhaps we could meet?” Bastiaan mused.

“Uhh,” Badru side-eyed me, not having the words to explain.

“That pack doesn't like ours very much," I stretched my words. “In fact, if they found out our pack has been selling rogues, they'd probably want to hang us."

Bastiaan inclined his head in question.

“Their Luna was a former rogue. It's why our packs were never close."

“If that is the case, wouldn't they be willing to assist you in extinguishing the rings?” He posed a reasonable question.

“We have no idea which other packs have been involved with them, if any. I would have never thought my father could have done any of this... I would have staked my life on it..” and I couldn't have been more wrong. “We're a little in limbo over who we can trust”

For all I knew, our southern neighbour's Luna was never a rogue to begin with and her background was a fabrication to establish a cover. I prayed I was wrong because Luna Grace had always been a warm, kind and nurturing wolf to us... the same words I would have used to describe my father.

“There's a big Alpha meeting we've been invited to in the summer. Something we would have been going to with our father,” I scoffed. “We're hoping they'll have a representative there and we can speak face to face”

I could only hope I would detect any deceit this time around.

The outskirts of urban Toulouse melted away into suburbs and finally to the rural French coast. A single lone house crept over the horizon, the only structure around for miles. As we drew closer, it took the form of a modest country chateau with round turrets on either side and a charming garden. The innocuous and pleasant dwelling would never have raised an eyebrow with the outside world. The high walls that sealed the back of the property were the only feature that looked amiss, but we knew the reason for them and what lay hidden behind.

“How are you thinking of approaching this?’ Badru asked me as he pulled up some distance from the chateau.

“Exactly like the club. Hit them hard and fast before they know what's happening!

Between ten rogues desperate for their mates and pups, ten vampires with nothing to lose, five highly trained pack warriors and two Alphas determined to right the wrongs of our predecessor, whatever guards lay inside didn't stand a chance.

The inside of the chateau imitated its outside, and like everything else under Marceau’s control, a gleaming exterior concealed a menacing secret. The guards were dealt with in the same way we dealt with others, putting a permanent end to any further damage they could cause.

Aasim and I dispatched the last guard, throwing him to the side as the last of the women and pups fled past us and out of the chateau. One of the small girls tripped over her feet, sprawling across the tiled floor of the foyer. My wolf quickly swiped our muzzle through our fur to wipe any blood away before we dove in to grab the pup by the scruff of her collar to carry her out.

We dropped her down on the soft grass carefully as Barend wrapped her up in a blanket, carrying her over to another small girl who looked like a brunette reflection of her. Most of the wolves, like myself, had shifted to fight off the guards, leaving the vampire males the only ones among us, aside from the pups’ mothers, clothed.

Bastian handed out clothing rapidly, focusing on the rogues first so they could finally hold their mates, their pups or both. All around us, the excited babble and squeals of pups erupted. The rogue males embraced their families, some laughing and some crying with relief and joy to be reunited after years apart. I spotted Mariano and his son, whom he hadn't seen since the boy was a toddler, mesmerised by how much the pup had grown and holding on tight to his mate's hand

“That'll be us someday soon; Aasim wagged, missing home and our mate all the more for it and wanting to fast forward to the day we would hold our own tiny pup.

“As long as it's only ever in the delivery room and not after they've been taken from us again!

Next to me and looking around us, Adrian grinned. “It's enough to bring a tear to your eye."

“And you didn't even need me to cover your back this time, baby; he slapped my shoulder.

“Baby? That ones a touch generic for you, isn't itz’ I made the concerted effort not to fall for his bait.

Tm running out of fun names. I need maybe a week to come up with a fresh batch, then Ill hit you with “em all!

“F**k, I hate you," I uttered under my breath, walking away to round everyone up and move them to the safehouse we had set up.

“Of course you do, honeybuns!” The damned wolf shouted to my back.

If you wanna throat-punch him, ll back you up and deny all knowledge of seeing it; my twin nudged my shoulder.

“Don’t tempt me; I circled his other side, going through every avenue in my head about how we were going to transport the small population we had acquired to safety.

Taking in the numbers before us, I could see not every pup was so lucky to be reunited with a parent.

The pair of sisters Barend was consoling in his arms had no other parent stepping forward to claim them. Their father or guardian must have been one of the rogues that lost their lives in the breakout up the mountains.

He'll take good care of them for now,” Bastian spoke lowly, gathering the rest of his coven around him. “The man helped raise me and my brother and he had a daughter once... a very long time ago.”

“If he can look after them for the time being until we have a more permanent solution, hell have no argument from us." Badru gathered everyone's attention, speaking in a calm but firm voice that we needed to leave immediately.

“..And once we get you all to the safe house, you can decide if you want to remain behind to make a new life or if you'd like to join our pack over in the States. Whichever you choose, we'll offer as much support as possible”

To make room on the transport for the rescued families, some of our pack warriors would have to run in their wolf forms. As, fathers lifted their pups into their arms, cradling them close, and led their mates over to the van transports, a young woman approached with her mate trailing behind. I recognised him as the rogue Konstantin had spoken to, the quiet one from Belarus, Maxim.

“Alpha Astennu?” The she-wolf murmured softly in a similar accent to my father-in-law, struggling to meet my eye.

“You don't have to be scared of me..2" I prompted for her to give her name.

“Mira!

“Mira,” I repeated. “My brother and I aren't that kind of Alpha. You can talk as freely as you'd like with us.”

she nodded, but struggled to fight against what must have been an ingrained behaviour. “My mate, Maxim, and I want to come to your pack... but he is worried you won't take him."

“Why wouldn't we?" My brother's brows furrowed. “Is it to do with the crime he said he was accused of? Because he was a little cagey about the details"

She translated for her mate. He slowly bobbed his head and grew more shamefaced, his gaze fixed on the cold ground.

I wanted to be sympathetic, but if Maxim had been made a rogue for a legitimate reason, Badru and I needed to know if we were about to bring a potential threat into our pack.

"He was defending me" Mira whispered. “It was at a party and I was outside... alone. A high-ranking warrior tried to touch me and he got violent... Maxim saved me... and killed the warrior. That's why he was sold and I wouldn't leave his side;" she grasped his hand, leaning into him. “Maxim isn't dangerous...”

Would any man here have done differently?

I wouldn't have.

A sleazy look in Evie's direction from any wolf male would have had me seeing red

Hell, I was ready to kill Adrian over pure jealousy; and annoyance if I was being honest, hourly.

“I think we can work with that. Tell him not to worry," my brother said, echoing my sentiments.

For the first time since meeting him, a smile spread on Maxim's face when his mate translated our words. Kissing her hand and leading Mira over to the vans, he pulled her to his lap.

Once everyone had been loaded into the security of our vehicles, my twin and I shifted. Badru took up his place to guard the rear of our motorcade and I took up position to lead and guard our front.

This was one small victory.

How many more of these places lurked in an innocent wrapping, hiding their dark corruption beneath the surface?

At least we had a place to start. All we had to do was follow the crumbs.