Tyler
Two silver wolves surround a large black she-wolf. She looks at them for a challenge, but it’s not for a fight. She licks her lips and takes off into the thick wolves. We run after her issuing challenging growls. Her mysterious eyes keep looking back, and my wolf manages to nip her heels.
We catch up to her, and she turns to us. She is huge for a female, and I sense a strong alpha aura coming from her. ‘Imagine how strong our pups will be,’ My wolf Castor mutters.
“Who are you?” Pollux asks in my twin’s voice.
“Don’t you recognize your own, mate,” She responds. “I’m Lilith. I can’t wait to meet you,” She grins and disappears into the fog surrounding us.
A loud pounding wakes me from the recurring dream. “Tyler!” My twin brother Skylar calls out. “Dude, get up. Dad is going to be pissed.”
I groan and open my eyes and look at the clock. It’s almost thirty minutes past my alarm. This morning Skylar and I must sit in the office while Dad negotiates with a new ally. He wants us to take over as alphas in a few months, so we spend most of our time with him.
“Tyler!” Skylar opens the door and steps into my room. “Why did you miss your alarm?”
I pick up my phone and notice the alarm was never turned on, “I guess I forgot to turn it on,” I mumble as I sit up.
“That’s not like you,” Skylar snorts.
“Tyler, Skylar!” Our father’s voice booms against the wall. Seconds later, he is standing in the doorway, “Why are you still in bed, Tyler?”
I look at Skylar, and he is already dressed and ready to go. I shrug, “Sorry, Dad.”
“Sorry is not good enough, Tyler,” He grumbles. “Alpha Martin should be here in less than twenty minutes, and I need you both downstairs to learn about negotiating with other packs,” He lectures me.
“I know,” I snarl.
“Get your ass out of bed and dressed, now!” Dad shouts and storms out of my room while Skylar stares at me.
“f**k off,” I curse at my twin.
“You were having the dream again, weren’t you?” He smirks and folds his arms.
“Haven’t you?” I ask him, and he nods. “She’s, our mate.”
Skylar snorts, “And? You know we are choosing Savannah, right? We don’t need some goddess to tell us who to f**k for the rest of our lives.”
“No, you are choosing Savannah,” I counter.
Savannah Grant is the daughter of Richard Grant, the beta of our pack, Nightstar. We all grew up together. Savannah is a beautiful, smart girl who has been our girlfriend since middle school. Deep down, I long for my fated mate, but Skylar does not. He doesn’t believe in fated mates.
“We,” He emphasizes, “We are choosing Savannah,” He stands up. “You love her too. Just like I do. Savannah is everything we need for a Luna.” He slaps my shoulder. “Get your ass dressed before Dad comes up here and kicks both of our asses.”
I watch my brother leave my room before getting out of bed. I go into the bathroom and rush through my morning routine. I look at my chin-length black hair and comb it. My father hates that it’s long. He expects me to be more like Skylar. Skylar keeps his hair short like Dad’s. He is also the more dominant but obedient twin. I tend to want to do my own thing. Skylar loves sports and cars, while I am more into music and nature.
I walk out of my bathroom and into the closet. I put on a pair of slacks and a blue button-up shirt and then put on the Rolex that my grandfather gave me for my sixteenth birthday.
“Looking sharp,” Skylar appears in the doorway of the closet. He is dressed similarly to me, only his shirt is grey. We like to try not to look completely identical. Skylar keeps his face clean shaven while I leave a bit of stubble. We are both six foot six inches tall, but Skylar has bulkier arms, and I have more tattoos.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I smirk at my twin. Despite our differences, I still love my brother.
We walk out of my room together and into the hall. Our younger sister Corie is walking with our mother. “There are my handsome boys,” Mom grins at us. She is a beautiful woman with light brown hair and golden-brown eyes.
Skylar and I got our father’s dark blue eyes that appear almost black sometimes. “Good morning, Mom,” I greet her with a peck on the cheek.
“You are both late,” Corie wrinkles her nose. “Daddy is going to kick your butts.”
“Shut up, Corie,” Skylar snarls at her.
“Skylar don’t be a jerk to your sister,” Mom admonishes him as we reach the elevator. She pats our shoulders, “Well, you best rush on down, so your father doesn’t get too mad. You know how angry he gets,” She waves us off.
“Have a good day, Mom,” I touch her arm and nod at my sister. “Bye, Corie.”
The doors open, and I step into the elevator with Skylar. While riding it down to the bottom floor, my mind wanders to the black she-wolf. Castor whimpers in my mind. He too longs for our fated mate.
‘Lilith,’ His voice echoes.
We only know her wolf’s name, but I can’t wait to meet her. I smile as I imagine who she is.
“Tyler,” Skylar slaps my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts.
I shake my head and follow him down the hallway of our grand packhouse. Nightstar Pack is a large pack. We command a great deal of respect among our surrounding packs. Smaller, weaker packs also look to us for protection. Today we are meeting with Alpha Henry Martin of Shadow Winds Pack. They are a smaller but very strong pack. Alpha Martin’s Elite Squad is legendary among the packs.
Beta Richard is standing in the hall with Gamma Tony. Richard nods at us. “Alpha Martin’s entourage just entered the pack grounds. You two better get out front,” He explains.
“Yes, sir,” Skylar agrees.
We head outside, perfume hangs in the air as Savannah saunters into the house with her best friend, Jasmine. She grins and flips her honey-brown hair. “How are my alphas this morning?” She coos and slinks up to us.
I must admit that she looks good in her tight white jeans and pink crop top. But beyond that, I feel nothing for her. She kisses Skylar on the lips, and they linger too long. I turn away as Castor whimpers. I know that Skylar’s wolf Pollux isn’t happy about Savannah either.
A hand touches my cheek, and Savannah stands in front of me. I smile and place a kiss on her lips, but I don’t linger like Skylar does. “Have a good day, Savannah,” I say to her.
“Come on, boys,” Dad walks past us.
Skylar touches Savannah’s shoulder, “Tonight. We’ll f**k your brains out,” He winks at her.
I say nothing and follow Dad out of the packhouse. We all line up, two black SUVs stop in front of the house, and several omegas greet the men who exit the vehicle.
I recognize Alpha Martin’s son Deacon. We had just trained with him a few weeks ago at alpha training. The sweet scent of wild raspberries seems to be coming from Deacon, which is driving Castor nuts. I glance at Skylar. He sniffs the air and shudders. I know it’s affecting him too.
“Welcome to Nightstar, Henry,” Dad extends his hand to the other alpha.
“It’s good to see you again, Victor,” Alpha Henry greets our father. He is a large and sort of round alpha with balding blonde hair and pale blue eyes. “You remember my boys, Skylar and Tyler,” Dad gestures to us.
“Yes,” Alpha Henry nods and extends his hand to us. “This is my son, Deacon.” We all shake hands, and Alpha Henry gestures to the other men with him. “This my beta, Burton Bell, and his son Lewis. Then those are my warriors.”
Dad nods at the beta, “My beta, Richard Grant, and my gamma, Tony Diaz.”
“Gentlemen,” Alpha Henry acknowledges them. “I would have brought my gamma, but someone has to keep an eye on Shadow Winds,” He chuckles.
“Well, now that we got the introductions out of the way, let’s go inside,” Dad suggests. “Your warriors are free to roam in and around the packhouse, and food is available for them in the kitchens.”
“Thank you, Victor,” Alpha Henry smiles as we all start into the house.
Dad and Henry walk ahead while my brother and I hang back with Deacon and Lewis. The scent coming from Deacon is driving me nuts. Castor is pushing to get out of my head.
“This is a nice packhouse,” Lewis remarks.
“My Mom would go nuts for the rugs,” Deacon laughs. “She is always changing the interior of our packhouse.”
“Oh, our mom is the same way,” Skylar laughs. “It drives Dad nuts.”
“My mate Brandy isn’t keen on design, but my mother is trying to teach her,” Deacon laughs.
“Is she why you smell like wild raspberries?” I blurt out, and we all stop.
Deacon looks hard at me, “Are you sniffing me? You are as bad as my cousin,” He laughs. “She was sniffing me the other day and acting weird.”
“So, your mate doesn’t smell like raspberries?” I ask again.
“No, she smells like banana bread,” Deacon laughs. He looks at Skylar, “Do I smell like raspberries to you?”
Skylar nods and purses his lips, “It’s sort of driving my wolf nuts,” He mutters.
“Interesting,” Deacon looks at Lewis. “Amber kept saying I smelled like rain and the forest,” he says to Lewis.
The name sends shivers up my spine, and Castor howls in my head, “Amber,” I whisper.
“Boys!” Dad calls down the hallway. “This is not a social hour,” He growls.
We all hurry to catch up and enter the meeting room. There is a long table, and dad sits at the head. “Have a seat,” He gestures to Henry as two of our omegas enter with a tray. It has coffee and pastries on it. My stomach growls as I haven’t eaten today.
“Would you like some coffee, Henry?” Dad asks him.
“Sure, Vic,” The other alpha responds.
The two omegas spend a few minutes serving everyone beverages and pastries before leaving the room. I sip my coffee and take a big bite out of a cinnamon roll. “Damn,” I moan, and my eyes roll back. “Elsie makes the best pastries,” I say to Deacon and Lewis, sitting across the table with their own pastries.
Deacon bites into a scone and gives me a thumbs up.
“Okay,” Dad claps his hands. “Let’s get started.” Richard sets a stack of papers on the table. “We discussed having your Elite Squad train here for part of the year while I will also have members of my pack in the squad.”
Henry nods, “That is the plan, Victor.”
The scent of wild raspberries wafts my way from Deacon, and my mind wanders. I have a hard time concentrating on my father and Alpha Henry talking. I should be paying attention, but the thought of her is driving me crazy.
A low growl of frustration comes from Skylar, and he suddenly gets up and storms out of the room. “Skylar,” Dad barks at him. “Tyler, go get your brother,” He orders me.
I stand up and follow my brother. “Sky?” I call as I wander down the hall. I hear him growling from outside and find him pacing in the garden. He kicks one of our mother’s gnomes sending it flying. “Dude, Mom is going to kill you.”
Skylar growls again, “I don’t want her.”
“Who?” I ask, and he growls again.
“Don’t be stupid, Tyler,” He mumbles.
“Oh, her,” I smirk and fold my arms. “Yeah, Castor is going nuts too.”
“Pollux won't shut up,” His eyes glow for a second. “He knows we chose Savannah to be our Luna!” Skylar yells.
I lean against the wall while he paces. “But you know our wolves will never accept her,” I say quietly.
“f**k them! They are stupid wolves!” Skylar bellows and his eyes turn yellow. “I don’t want a f*****g fated mate!” He punches the wall and buries his face for a moment.
I stand quietly a few feet from my brother.
“Boys,” Dad steps out of the house. “Are you ready to continue the meeting? This is very important for you two to learn from.”
“We’ll be right there,” I say and glance at my brother, “Right, Sky?”
Skylar shrugs, “Whatever,” he grumbles and brushes past me into the house.
“What happened?” Dad asks me.
“He just had a moment, Dad,” I mutter and follow my brother. I hear my father huff behind me. We reenter the meeting room and take our seats.
My best friend is sitting next to Richard, his father. He nods at me, “So, what’s up?” Richard gives Ethan a look as my father begins the meeting again.
The meeting ends a couple of hours later, and we all shake hands. The scent of raspberries coming from Deacon is too much for me, and I hurry back into the house. I run up to my room and bury my face in the pillows.
A knock on my door rouses me, “Tyler, come on,” Skylar calls out. “Savannah is in my room.”
Castor growls in my head as I slowly sit up.
“I’m coming,” I respond.
‘Don’t do it, Tyler,’ Castor whines.
I ignore him and walk across the hall to Skylar’s room. Savannah is sitting naked on his bed. Her long hair cascades down her shoulders, covering her ample breasts. The sight makes my d**k twitch but only a little bit.
Skylar strips off his clothes, and Savannah stands and starts making out with him. Minutes later and she is on her knee with both of our c***s in her hands, licking and sucking, but I don’t feel aroused.
Images of the black wolf and the scent of raspberries finally make me hard enough to almost enjoy myself. I look down at Savannah; while she is beautiful, I will never fully accept her. I want my fated mate.