Rejecting Her Twin Alphas

Delta Squad

Amber

The silver wolves are hot on our trail as we run through the snowy woods. Lilith’s pure black fur sticks out on the mostly white landscape. She howls and yips as they get closer. One smells of the forest, and the other like rain. I get the chills as one of them nips at our heels. Lilith quickens the pace, and we near the end of the woods. Annoyed rabbits skitter out of our way as we tear through the snow.

The trees disappear, and we are vulnerable in the middle of a vast field overlooking a frozen lake. Lilith stops and turns to challenge the male wolves.

‘What do you want with us?’ I demand of them.

‘Just you, sweetheart,’ One of them replies.

‘Who are you?’ I scream.

‘Your mates, Castor and Pollux,’ They answered.

Loud knocking tears me from the dream. “Amber,” Dad called out.

I groan as I open my eyes, and the images of the dream linger.

“Amber,” Dad calls again and opens the door. “Are you up?”

I sit up, and he is poking his head into my room. “I’m up.”

“Okay, don’t be late for training,” He grins and shuts the door.

I flop back down and stare at the ceiling. A huge part of me feels like giving up and just lying in bed all day. After yesterday's humiliating failure, I don’t see the point of training. But I know deep down I would never stop training, so I throw the covers off and slide out of bed. I trudge into my bathroom and do my morning routine. I skip the shower and throw on a pair of workout pants and a grey t-shirt. I comb my hair and throw it into a messy ponytail before walking out of my room.

“Good morning, Amber,” Dylan’s mate, Nina, greets me. She has Luke on her hip, and I smile at my nephew.

“Morning, Nina,” I say to her.

Luke babbles while waving a teddy bear around.

I grab at the bear, and Luke squeals and kicks his legs.

“Amber,” Nina grumbles and passes him over to me.

“Oof,” I say as I take my wiggling nephew into my arms, “Hi, Luke,” I kiss his cheek, and he keeps babbling. We get downstairs to the kitchen, and I sit Luke in his play area. Dylan is sitting at the kitchen island wearing his patrol uniform.

He kisses Nina and grins at me, “Morning, sis.”

I nod as I open the fridge and grab a bottle of red sports drink. I open it and chug.

“So, are you going to join my squad?” Dylan asks.

“I don’t know, Dyl,” I shrug.

“You should think about it, Amber,” Dad steps into the kitchen wearing his gamma uniform.

“Dad,” I complain.

“What?” He counters.

“Come on, Amber. You like the guys on my squad. I know they aren’t elite, but we have fun,” Dylan is trying to convince me.

“Are you ready to go, Dylan?” Dad looks at my brother. “Henry wants us on the north side to check the perimeter.”

Dylan huffs, “Yes, Dad.”

“Let’s go then,” Dad tells him and looks at me. “Think about joining Dylan’s squad, Amber. Who knows, you could be leading it in a few months after Dylan becomes Gamma.” He leans over and kisses my cheek. “Then you can try out for the Elite Squad next year.”

I sigh as he and Dylan walk out of the kitchen.

“I’m going to the mall with Brandy and Ashley later,” Nina says while pulling eggs and sausage out of the fridge. “Do you want to go?”

I shake my head, “No, that’s fine, Nina. I have to get to training,” I say, chugging the rest of my drink. It takes me about ten minutes to walk to the training center. Marcus and Dewey are waiting for me as I step onto the field.

“Hey, Amber,” Marcus greets me.

I nod and start my warmups.

“Dude, don’t feel bad,” Dewey slaps my back, “I failed at getting onto the squad too.”

I sigh and ignore my friend as I do my push-ups.

“Amber,” My cousin Deacon’s voice makes me look up. The strange scent still comes from him, causing my wolf to act like a fool.

“Why do you smell like rain?” I ask as I stand up.

Deacon stands next to Dewey’s older brother Lewis, “What?” He huffs. “Why are you sniffing me?”

“I’m not,” I lean in and inhale.

“You just sniffed me,” Deacon laughs.

“You smell like rain and the forest,” I explain.

Deacon lifts an eyebrow, “You said that yesterday.”

“Yeah, my wolf caused me to fail the test because of it,” I grumble while Lilith whines.

‘I thought it was our mate,’ She whines.

“Is that the excuse you are going with?” My cousin’s statement infuriates me.

“Excuse?” I yell.

“Calm down, Amber,” Deacon throws his hands up.

“f**k you!” I shout.

“Ms. Payne!” Curtis Warrens walks up to us. “Did I just hear you cussing at our future alpha?”

“Yeah?” I shrug. “He was being an ass,” I glare at my cousin.

“You were the one sniffing me,” Deacon laughs.

“Shut up,” I shove him.

“Knock it off, Amber,” Curtis snarls. “Alpha Henry wants to know if you want to join Dylan’s squad, and he needs to know today.”

“I don’t know,” I yell, throw my hands up, and turn away from them. “f*****g men,” I grumble and start running laps. The enticing scent hits me again as Deacon jogs up to me. “What?”

“Nothing,” He responds.

“Whatever scent is coming from you is driving my damn wolf nuts,” I tell him

“What?” Deacon stops.

I stop and turn back to him, “Yeah, I said what I said.”

Deacon lifts an eyebrow, “You know Lew and I came home from alpha training yesterday.”

“So?” I snort.

“Anyways, I was around a lot of other future alphas, and well-“ He trails off and smiles. “I bet one of them is your mate.”

“Deacon!” I stomp my foot. “I don’t have a mate.”

“Everyone has a mate, Amber,” Deacon shrugs.

I growl and take off running again with my cousin on my heels, “I don’t want a f*****g mate!”

“It’s not that bad,” Deacon argues. “I don’t know what I would do without Brandy.”

I roll my eyes and increase my speed. Deacon and I finish at the same time, and I manage to let out a laugh. Uncle Henry is standing next to Curtis as we walk up.

“What’s up, Dad?” Deacon looks at his father.

“Nothing,” Uncle Henry shrugs. “Just came out to watch training for a little bit.” He nods at me, “So, Amber-“

“I don’t know yet,” I interrupt him.

“I need to know your decision today,” He laughs.

“Ms. Payne, why don’t you spar with Deacon today,” Curtis speaks up.

I look at my cousin with a grin. We have sparred before, and I have even beaten him a few times. “Sure.”

“Really, Curt?” He complains.

“What’s wrong, Deac?” I laugh. “Afraid I’ll win again.”

“Don’t showboat, Amber,” Uncle Henry interjects. “Just beat the crap out of my son.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Deacon snorts.

I walk out onto the field with my cousin on my heels. The scent coming from him has Lilith pacing in my head, and I have to work hard to ignore her. “Why is that scent so strong on you? Did you rub yourself all over the other alphas?”

Deacon laughs again, “I just sparred with them, Amber.”

“But you showered afterward?” I ask.

“Yeah,” He shakes his head.

“Weird,” I say and put my stance up. ‘Come on, Lilith. I need you to concentrate. Our mate isn’t here. We just need to beat Deacon.’

She whimpers, ‘I need my mate.’

‘I get that, but I need you to switch gears and help me beat Deacon,’ I tell her.

She makes a noise but stops pacing and growls.

“You swing first,” Deacon says.

I glance at my uncle and see that Beta Burt and Dad have joined him on the sidelines.

“Come on, Amber,” Dad shouts. “Beat Deacon.”

I ball up my fists and launch myself at Deacon. He sidesteps, and I stumble slightly but quickly turn and punch him square in the jaw. He groans on impact and lobs a punch into my abdomen.

“Hitting hard today, huh, Amber?” He smiles.

“Shut up, Deacon,” I snarl and lunge at him again. I throw another punch and hit the air as he dodges and catches me on the side of my head. I growl, and we grapple for a few minutes punching back and forth until I lay him on his back.

A small crowd gathers around as we spar, and I hear cheers as Deacon springs to his feet. He launches at me, and we grunt and groan, kicking and punching until we are both on our knees.

“Okay, you can stop,” Curtis steps in. “Good job, Amber.”

Deacon helps me to my feet and slaps my back, “It’s too bad you didn’t pass the test, Amber. You would have made a good Elite warrior,” He smiles.

I sigh, “Thanks, Deac.”

We walk towards our Dads.

“You did good, Amber,” Dad touches my shoulder.

“Not good enough,” I say while looking at my uncle.

“You know what you must do to try out for the Elite Squad again,” Uncle Henry looks me in the eye. “In the meantime, join Dylan’s squad until you can test again.”

“Fine,” I sigh. “I’ll join Dylan’s squad.”

“Good,” Uncle Henry grins. “Meet up with them tonight around five.” He turns his attention to Deacon, “Come on, son. I have to make a phone call to Victor Brooks.”

“Again?” Deacon complains.

“Yes, son,” Uncle Henry laughs. “He is on the verge of signing the deal. You are going to be alpha in a few weeks, and I need you to get to know his sons, Skylar and Tyler-“

Those names make me shudder, and I let out a little whimper. The men all stop and look at me.

“Are you okay?” Dad asks.

“I am going to hit the showers now,” I mutter and walk in the opposite direction.

Lilith paces as I walk. ‘Mates.’

“Mates?” I ask out loud.

“Mates?” Kaylee walks up to me. “What, mates?” My cousin grins at me.

“Huh?” I shake my head. “Was I talking out loud again?

“Yeah,” Kaylee laughs. “So, what mates are you talking about?”

“Nevermind,” I mumble as we stop in front of my house. “I’m going to take a shower. Want to come to hang out in the recreation room later?”

“No,” Kaylee grins. “Who’s mates are you talking about? Yours?” She teases.

“Kaylee,” I groan. “No, I don’t have mates.”

“Somewhere you do,” She pushes. “Anyways, I am going shopping with the girls. Why don’t you come with us.”

“No,” I shake my head, “I’ll see you later.”

“Fine,” Kaylee breathes out.

I walk into my house, and it’s quiet. Everyone seems to be out, and I am relieved as I stomp up the stairs and slink into my bathroom. The hot shower feels good on my bruised body. Deacon had gotten me good on the shoulder, and a gnarly bruise lingered. I lean against the shower wall and close my eyes.

The silver wolves run back and forth in my mind causing Lilith to whimper. ‘Run with mates,’ She mutters.

I open my eyes and finish my shower. After drying off, I throw on a pair of jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt. I head downstairs and flop on the couch and turn on the TV.

‘We’ll find them soon,’ Lilith speaks up.

‘Who?’ I say as I settle on watching SpongeBob Squarepants.

‘Our mates,’ She responds.

‘You know I am just going to reject him, right?’ I tell her.

‘I won’t let you,’ She growls.

‘Lilith, you know why,’ I argue.

‘And it’s a dumb reason. Giving up on your fate is not the right path,’ Lilith muses.

‘I don’t want some stupid man to mess up my life like Gabriel messed up Regina’s life,’ I explain. ‘Regina was going to be a doctor, and now all she does is breed.’

Lilith says nothing else and retreats into the back of my mind.

I spend a few hours sitting on the couch alone in the house. Dylan walks in with Nina and Luke. He sets my nephew down.

“Amb,” My nephew mumbles and shuffles over to me.

I pull him onto my lap and wrap my arms around him, “I’m watching SpongeBob.”

“Sponge,” Luke giggles.

“So, Uncle Henry said you are joining my squad,” Dylan sits on the couch beside me and pulls Nina onto his lap.

I cringe as she kisses his cheek.

“Oh, quit with that look,” Dylan teases and kisses Nina’s nose.

“Yeah, I am joining your squad,” I respond while bouncing Luke on my knee.

“Maybe you can take over for me after I become Gamma,” Dylan suggests.

We watch TV for a few hours before I go with Dylan to meet with his squad. There are ten guys and one woman in his group. They are all decent fighters, but it’s a third-tier squad.

“Amber,” Dylan claps his hand, “Welcome to the Gamma Squad.”