Chapter 38 The Doppelganger
1922 Words
Chapter 38
The Doppelgänger
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Louise
The road filled with hundreds of determined canine footsteps. Wolves appeared from all directions, closing around the scene, ready to protect and kill if necessary. I wanted to run up and protect this girl–this doppelgänger. Why does she look like me?
“We mean you no harm,” the tallest girl shouted above the new arrivals. She pulled her hands out from her black jacket and held them above her, making her jet-black hair fly around her. “But we must speak to the Alpha and Luna … it’s an emergency!”
More wolves approach.
Something inside me drew my feet another step closer. Why was I suddenly so intent on protecting this girl? I drew nearer, almost close enough to reach her, when a large mocha-furred wolf leapt from the shadowy mist and landed before me with such grace. It lifted his enormous head, and two shimmering charcoal eyes met mine.
“Tye, is that you?” I asked, sensing him. “Maitea?”
He snorted a response and walked around me, stopping before me again.
“I’m fine,” I pointed at the girl–my doppelgänger. “I need to speak to that girl! I feel it’s important.”
He shook his head and partitioned himself between us. For a giant, deadly hunter, his fur shimmered in the headlights like a full moon over a nighttime desert.
“Please, Tye – Maitea…”
He shook, making his fur fan out around him. Over the top of Maitea’s body, I noticed the large wolf from the other car had returned to his human form. The man was huge, muscular and surprisingly handsome in the night. I could sense an air of importance about him. He was either a part of the Alpha’s hierarchy or the son of one. The red-haired girl handed him some clothes, and he hurried to put them on.
A chest-rattling howl punctured the air as a pure white wolf ran through the crowd, not looking at who it disturbed along the way. He skidded to a halt before a snarling wolf crowd threw its head back and hollered.
“Kingston?” I gasped, attempting to move closer.
Again, Maitea stopped me, planting himself firmly in my sight.
The males in Kingston’s family had the rare white wolf trait—huge, bright white, and deadly. His dad was the biggest in the crowd and stood mere inches from my lookalike, but Kingston was close behind him in size.
There was a whimper, and Kingston burst into his human form. He dropped to his knees and knelt before the tall girl.
“Mate!” He whimpered as he reached out for her, pleading up at the girl with eyes that should have brought her to his arms–brought any woman to his arms, especially a mate. Why wasn’t she moved? Did she feel the mate bond or not? Something wasn’t right.
Now, all the wolves were on edge. Howls, snarls, and grunts echoed around me. I would have given anything to have my wolf so I could be privy to their mind-linked conversation.
Mate!” Kingston whimpered again. He stood in all his nakedness and reached for her.
“Back off!” She shouted, thrusting two hands towards him. An invisible pulse left her fingers, knocking him and Beta Reece backwards.
“Witch!” I gasped. I stepped away and bumped into Maitea. “She’s a witch!”
Every wolf backed up, trying to put space between themselves and the witch. Their kind were known to be deadly to wolfkind… and humankind, too.
“Please…” the girl—my twin—started to cry. We need to speak to Alpha and Luna…”
My heart broke for her. Tears niggled at my eyes. Maitea pressed his body protectively against mine.
“Maitea-Tye, you must let me through,” I gestured at the girl. His eyes followed my hand. “She looks like me! That must mean something!”
Before he could disagree, a large silver wolf lunged out from the shadows and landed at the head of the crowd. He was bigger than every wolf around him, his muscles rippling with purpose beneath the silver fur. It turned and met my eyes, paralysing me with the intensity. Maitea snarled. The wolf pulled its lips back and snarled, flashing his deadly canines.
“Joseph!” I gasped as he returned to the scene before him.
Behind the gathered wolves, two fully clothed figures emerged–Alpha George and Luna Ruth. The wolves stepped aside and began to transform into their human form. They untied their clothes from around their ankles and slid them on.
“Celestial Moon…” Alpha George snarled sharply. The venom in his words was unmissable. “You are forbidden from entering our territory! Why have you come?”
The girl resembling me trembled as she stepped beside the witch, fiddling nervously with his fingers. “My name is Jada… Jada Hugh.” She swallowed a trembling breath. “I ran from my false parents–the Alpha and Luna of the Celestial Moon Clan… I need your protection, and in return, I want to help… There was a mix-up at the hospital almost seventeen years ago… I’m your biological daughter!”
There was a collective gasp. Everyone tensed. Beta Reece and Gamma Archie tensed their shoulder, readying themselves to protect their ruler.
Kingston remained on the ground, watching them. The pain in his eyes reminded me of the pain I suffered after learning Joseph had a mate, and I was too young to feel the pull.
Alpha George stepped towards the group, impressive and intimidating. “That’s impossible! Our daughter is only ten years old!”
“Wait, my Alpha…” Luna Ruth stepped up beside her husband, touching his shoulder. Beta Reece and Gamma Archie edged forward. “Girl, who told you these lies?”
“It’s no lie...” Jada’s eyes were brilliant and alive. I could sense she believed this statement. But as the Alpha had said, it was impossible. Josie-Anne was only ten. The timelines didn’t match.
Wait… I stared at the girl with a deep-set realisation. She was almost seventeen, I was nearly seventeen, and she looked like me. How was this possible?
In his human form, Joseph peered back at me with eyes as dark as night. His shirtless figure stole my breath and made heat prickle at my ears. But I realised he had noticed the same thing, turning from Jada to me. Twins? Doppelgangers?
“I see it too…”
“Ha!” I gasped, turning to see Tye zipping up his cut-off denim shorts.
“She looks like you… I can see it, and so can everyone else.” He reached out and grabbed my arms, scanning my entire body. “You’re hurt!”
“Of course I am...” I rolled my eyes and shook my head simultaneously. “And here you are, yet again, to save me.”
“Isn’t that my job now?” He ran back to the car and grabbed my grey jumper. As soon as he returned to my side, he started wiping away the specks of blood. “As your carer and protector?”
“Ouch!” I winced as he removed a tiny shard of glass from my shoulder. I turned to him, meeting a worried pout. “Well, not officially, but you’re qualified.” We locked eyes, and for a moment, they mesmerised me. Something inside me pulsed, making my knees weak. I couldn’t look away from him. “Thank you, Tye… again.”
The redheaded girl’s voice rose above the crowd. “Alpha, I’m Anna Little, the daughter of the Celestial Moon Gamma Jackson… And, like my father, I’m a member of the Celestial Resistance… We overheard the Alpha of the Celestial Moon clan–”
“Silence!” Alpha George demanded, raising a hand to cut her off. He turned to Beta Reece and Gamma Archie, who were right behind him. “Take them to the packhouse. We’ll continue our questioning there.”
“Yes, Alpha!” They echoed in unison.
As they reached a hand for Jada, I saw red.
“No…” I growled, pushing past Tye.
“Louise, what are you doing?” Tyrone grabbed my hand, pulling me back. “They could be dangerous.”
“I don’t think they are,” I faced him and held his eyes. “Tye, trust me… There’s something familiar about that Jada girl…”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Because she looks like you?”
I shrugged. “Maybe… I don’t know, but I feel this connection to her… I need to protect her!”
His stare intensified, then suddenly softened. He half smiled, and I was taken aback by the soft handsomeness that covered his face. “If you believe that, then you have my support.” His lips met my cheek, bringing heat to the surface of my skin. “But I’m coming with you…” He released my hands and stood aside.
I smiled back at him, my hand going to the warm skin. “Thank you.”
Holding my hand over my stomach wound, I hurried towards the crowd, with Tye at my heels. I weaved through the collective body until I slid past Joseph and reached Jada.
“Wait!” I shouted, stepping beside her.
Jada’s eyes met mine, and the same stunned, open-mouthed surprise registered on her face.
“Why do you look like me?” We both said in unison.
There was a large hand on my arm. I turned to see Joseph pulling me back. “Louise, come away from them!”
“No!” I sneered, yanking my shoulder from his grasp. I backed towards Jada, shielding her from the pack. “I can’t...”
His eyes flashed an eerie red that sent chills down my spine. Then, authoritatively, he said, “Louise, I demand you to back away from that girl right now!”
The entire pack took a step back, even a startled Tye. Alpha George and Luna Ruth glared at me. I could feel their Alpha aura trying to bend me to their son’s command.
“I-I can’t…” I shook my head, clearing the fog from my brain, and stepped back until I could feel Jada’s breath against my neck. I turned to the Alpha and Luna. “I’m sorry, but I can’t… Can’t you see something odd is going on?” I moved away and allowed Jada to stand beside me.
The collective gasps grew. Now, everyone could see it.
“Louise,” Mum emerged from the crowd, her eyes large and glassy. She offered her hand. “We’ll go with them to the packhouse… And discuss this there.”
“Louise!” Tye and Joseph shouted. Their eyes turned wolf-black. As they reached me, I realised it was not out of anger but fear.
“What–” I trailed off, feeling the warmth of blood trickle down the middle of my stomach. I peered down and shook my head, knowing I had torn the stitches again. The accident had drawn a wave of adrenaline through my body, so I hadn’t felt it. Until now. “Just great!”
My head grew faint. I glanced at Jada once more before the world darkened. Someone’s arms found me. “Quick, get a doctor!”
- Writer
