The Twins

CHAPTER 1 NAOMI“You’re late,” my older sister, Adelyne, said. She was bouncing on her toes, her arms crossed, trying to keep warm. Her black Adidas gym bag was draped over her shoulder. “They’re waiting.” I shuffled through my gym bag and suitcase in the trunk of my car, taking out one of the items and stuffing it deep in my suitcase. Adelyne wrinkled her nose at me and gazed at the clothes that were now hiding the second vibrator that I had bought this week. “That’s why you were late?” I zipped up the suitcase and pulled it out of the trunk. “Yes.” Her cheeks flushed, but mine didn’t. There was no use in trying to hide it. I wasn’t embarrassed. I—voluntarily—hadn’t been touched by a man in weeks since Oliver, so I needed it. “What’s the rush, anyway?” I asked, throwing my backpack around my shoulders and maneuvering my suitcase onto the cracked concrete. Adelyne smiled wickedly at me, her dark brown locks blowing against the hood of her forest-green Columbia coat. I rolled my eyes. “Not this again. Addie, I already told you that I’m not interested.” After I shut the trunk, she tugged on my arm. “Come on, Naomi. I know you’ll love them!” The bright red lights of Bainundo Martial Arts glowed against the dark backdrop of the night sky. The large glass windows were already foggy, yet I could see the inside was crowded with unfamiliar bodies. The forest that surrounded us was eerily quiet. “I highly doubt that.” Men around here didn’t know anything about pleasing a woman, and this woman had goddamn needs. “Besides, you have terrible taste.” I wrinkled my nose. “I mean, Derek?” She growled at me. “Hey, he’s my mate.” I raised a brow as we walked toward Bainundo. “No, you were his mate. Not the other way around.” I bumped my shoulder into hers. “Remember that you were human, like me, before he marked you.” “You’re just jealous.” Jealous. She knew that I wasn’t ever jealous of her being a werewolf. I was strong and smart as a human—that was why the Shadowcrown Pack had hired me. With two alphas who had both been bred for war since they were pups, the Shadowcrown Pack was already one of the strongest packs in this region. But they wanted to strengthen their weakest ties. A war was brewing, and even the strongest pack needed to be ready. Being the only human who trained with the Lycans—the best of the best werewolf warriors around—I had learned from the inside out what a strong pack was comprised of, and so I dedicated myself to helping packs. Addie opened the door and grabbed my suitcase, pulling it in with her. Unlike the stench of body odor, which hit me like a wall, the chatter from within the room came out in waves. We walked around people, trying to find her mate. “Give them a chance.” She leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, “They’re twins.” “So, you get embarrassed when I tell you that I masturbate, but you’re fine with pushing me to get f****d by twins?” Derek suddenly appeared in front of us, brow raised. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. TMI, Naomi.” Addie kissed his lips and wrapped her arm around his. “I’m trying to convince her that she’ll like them.” Derek raised his eyebrows suggestively at me, and I shook my head. Men. Goddamn men. Had one thing on their mind all damn day, and so did I. I shifted from foot to foot and surveyed the room. It was filled with Lycans and werewolves. Some were wrestling, throwing each other onto the mat with a loud slam. Others were boxing, their fists colliding with each other’s faces. And from all the way across the room, two wolves were staring right at me. Two pairs of hazel eyes. Dark brown hair. Arms covered in tattoos. After taking a few moments to recover, I smiled in their direction. One of them smirked back at me, his dark hair falling onto his forehead slightly. The other didn’t smile. Instead, he tightened his jaw, his eyes glowing gold. Addie nudged me. “Told you.” “Watch my stuff.” I placed my backpack on the ground next to my suitcase. “I’m going to use the bathroom.” “Use the bathroom,” Derek commented. Again, Addie’s cheeks flushed. Before she could scold me for what I was about to do—touch myself because I hadn’t in nearly two weeks, and they were much hotter than I’d expected—I stepped through the crowd. Over everyone’s chatter, I heard her say, “You’ll thank me later!” I glanced over my shoulder at the twins. They were both still watching me but had stopped talking to the woman they were chatting with. The one who had clenched his jaw at me leaned over to his brother and whispered something. He nodded. Then, as if in sync, they disappeared into the crowd. I continued to the bathroom, glancing back every so often to see their golden eyes staring back at me—closer each time. My stomach tingled. When I finally pushed through the crowd, I glanced back once more. I bumped into someone’s chest, my hands feeling the thick muscle under his shirt. I looked up at one of the twins and swallowed hard. His eyes glowed gold, and he growled lowly. The other brushed his fingers against my hips from behind. “Where do you think you’re going, Little One?”