The Women Between

Chapter 2: A Favor

The dark brown packhouse looks like a wooden mansion of four houses built together. And two extra houses look to be spread on top, making it four stories high and very wide. There are four long peaks on the roof that crisscross to look like an X with the slopes separating each one. It gave some flattened areas to walk on or hide for a secret tryst. The blue trim highlights the various colored curtains covering the windows, while at night, it will keep the darkness inside. Even the blue door will confuse anyone trying to enter this place should they have nefarious intentions. There are at least thirty of those windows with a couple of large glass doors opening to a grey-painted balcony. This place is richly done all the way to the manicured lawn and the flowerbeds under the first-floor windows. It is to have central air and air conditioning that is in working order, a black haired man thought.

This bulky man weighed the packhouse’s worth to break into it with its lavishly designed setup to keep people out. His grey eyes were roving over its beauty with too many thoughts in his head. Like, how could they become so cruel to a human while looking respectable?

That is why he is here today. He is to assess the future alpha twin to see if they will be good to their pack. The few omegas he had spotted standing in the front of the house waiting for him to exit the black SUV looked healthy and happy. They are well groomed and bruise free, but these alphas are notorious for covering up their problems.

A deep breath puffed up his broad chest and deflated it the minute he released it. It is as if he thought about what trickery he must use to find the truth.

“Your Majesty,” a grey haired man called softly from beside him.

He turned his broad, muscular body to look at this spindly looking man wearing a white tie and black suit. He wanted to point out how ridiculous it looks, but this man is ridiculous looking. His beak nose did not match his small face nor did the frown match his laughing, light blue eyes that screamed for fun. He does not know how anyone takes him seriously, until he releases his wolf. That is when his eyes turn red with the power imbued to him that transforms his long arms and legs into muscles. That is the only thing that gave him a spot on the council, he is sure.

“What, Andy?” he growled, feeling his wolf starting to edge forward.

Stop prancing in my head, Callus.

He gave his wolf no chance to respond as he pushed him back to focus on this man who had something to say. It is not important, but he does not want to be rude to anyone when he knows it counts the most. Like this pack, the Red Moon Pack, has committed a crime according to the law and has been punished. If there is even a remote chance that he can take the alphas out of play, then he will. There is too much that has seemed suspicious about them over the years before the abuse of a human hit their radar.

“Gregory,” he said, choosing to be informal with hope beating his heart that he was not going to be reprimanded. “Your wolf is flickering in your eyes.” His Majesty took a moment to breathe through the chaos his wolf was inflicting on his mind. He wants to remain focused on his task without something disrupting it, but it seems like that is not happening today. “Thank you.”

“What I was going to tell you is that I had gotten word that the young woman in question had already arrived three days ago. She is staying with her family, and so far, no one in this pack has touched her. I may be able to talk to her, again, to see if she knows anything about their… riches.”

“Let’s hope,” Gregory nodded, feeling giddy about the other reason he is here. “My brother is talking to the other packs under the guise of checking on this pack’s morality.”

“Will he join us?” Andy asked, arching a brow.

“No,” he said sharply. “He has other duties that require him elsewhere.”

“I see,” he murmured as he eyed him suspiciously. “Then, I guess searching for a mate is out of the question.”

His body tensed at the mention of a fated mate. It is more like his heart clenched with the arrow that caused it to pour out his life force. He could not let himself give in to hope anymore. It would cause it to shrivel and die. At age thirty-five, she should have appeared to them before now and become the Luna Queen, but no. There was no sign of her in every pack they were in, nor did she show at any of their adventures across the states. He has lost hope of finding the one woman that will love him for the rest of his life.

His brother still has hope and even tries to imbue some in him when he talks about what the mysterious woman looks like. That is why they had not come here two years ago, when they were informed about a problem with a teenage human girl. They were at a mating ball that had more w****s in it than mates. It disgusted him as he literally knocked a few down to stop them from rubbing his chest or other areas. He was no fool about their treachery to get him in bed to conceive their heir. That was the last one he ever attended after that.

“Not in this district,” Gregory snorted. “She would most likely be someone who is in on the scheme to make the pack a profit.”

It was a good lie, except if he does find her, it will hurt her chances with the council. She may be limited in her powers when it comes to her ruling by their side. Both he and his twin brother agreed their mate or mates would be a part of their life. She will be crowned, marked and mated in some order that makes them all happy. She will be the most treasured woman in all the world, and if anyone who hurts her, they will die screaming in agony with their hands. Their mate will find their love has no bounds.

We’re ready when you are, Your Majesty.

His beta mind-linked him when security was in place, and all was safe to exit the vehicle. It was the same at every location he went, where he had to wait patiently for them to conclude the same thing- everything was safe. He did not like it on some days, like today, but it is a necessary inconvenience.

He nodded to the men sitting in the front seats with a firm frown on his face. It is his usual way of greeting any alpha. It ensures that no one believes he hands out favoritism. He is sure that he lost the ability to truly smile after he turned twenty-five. The smiles and laughter that he gives others now feel hollow and empty of his emotions. Sometimes, he would like to tell them to shut up and leave him alone, except that is unseemly for a king. He always must show his best foot forward, like now, as his door opens and he steps onto the gravel driveway.

Gregory breathed in deeply as he fixed his black suit jacket over his white button-up shirt. It is when he smelled it- chocolate and daffodils. His hand hoovered over his chest readying to smooth down his blue tie, feeling his wolf lurch forward. His eyes became a blazing orange-red color with his fangs cutting his lip, showing the only signs that his beast was ready to take control. Pain seared into his body from his bones to his skin. Fear started to fill him as the thirst and hunger for this scent wrapped around his mind, screaming for it. The scent of his mate.

Never in his life did he ever lose control over Callus. He has never clawed or bit anyone before, but right now, that smell has him ready to take a bite.

Mate is here!

“Your Majesty?” a graying brown haired man asked, who was his third beta.

Gregory knows that he is blocking this man from closing the door, but if he moves forward, then he is going to shift. He cannot let that happen. His pride is on the line. He cannot lose himself now that he has gained a very good reputation for being the better brother. His twin is the playboy that seems to do whatever he feels is the right thing to do at the moment, which is the complete opposite of him. That is how they have been since birth.

Thomas, I need you now. Mate is in the Red Moon Pack.

Are you sure?

Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m about ready to shift if I move another inch forward. So, yes! I am damned well sure she is here.

I’m on my way, Brother.

Quickly, he leaped back into the SUV, grabbing the door and slamming it shut, taking in deep breathes. The vehicle is rocking with force and his beast is growling at him for retreating instead of moving forward like he was supposed to do. The claws raking across his mind hurts like hell, but he is not willing to submit to its will. The sweat was pouring down his face from the pressure to get Callus under control. His heart was beating so fast that he thought he was going to have a heart attack. This is too much with his mind in chaos. The people whispering outside about his behavior are not even bothering him. He can barely hear what they are saying over the roars and growls in his head. His emotions were going in every direction, but the right way to let him safely walk into this pack. His need for that smell to calm him down from the turmoil is driving him insane.

“Your Majesty!” a red haired man called as he hopped in the front seat.

His brown eyes showed worry, where his lean face was hardened to hide it. There is sweat dripping down it from today’s heat that should be mild, but it is starting to feel like summer. This man did not seem to mind with his tanned skin getting tanner and dampness showing on his pale blue button-up shirt. He has no tie or even a suit jacket to look official, which is not a problem since he is working in security. It still did not mean that his beta would not do his first duty, that is, to ensure the well-being of the alpha.

“What is wrong?” he asked sharply. The man’s eyes are traveling over his tense body, sitting with his back pressed against the seat and his hands digging into the door. His claws kept lengthening and shortening as he breathed in and out, trying to keep the shift from happening. “We all felt the surge of power coming from you.”

“Mate,” Gregory whispered, still, taking in some more deep breathes. “She is here, Matt. I want all the guards posted around the area to ensure that she does not run from us. You’ll know we found her.”

He could feel the man’s eyes raking over him, again. There is a glint to them that says he is ecstatic and ready to help them reel in their little mate. His pale lips even twitched with the smile that he wanted to spread across his face. Gregory knows that this man has waited for them to find their mate for so long, but he is waiting for the downside.

“Thomas is on his way?” he asked, swallowing hard at the thought.

“I just mind-linked him,” Gregory answered through gritted teeth. “Callus wants free to find her.”

“Then, let’s focus on the things she will need,” Matt said, trying to ease the burden of controlling his beast. “You need to focus on what she may or may not need when you bring her home.”

Home… It seemed to sooth the beast into a tranquility of thoughts about what they would do with their mate. A soft look fell over his face and a growly purr sounded from him. There were just too many things and not enough time, he thought, finding the long list of things he had forgotten coming back to the surface of his mind. She will love them, he is sure, with everything that they have planned for this one woman that is to be shared by two brothers.

Twins are troubled with one mate to share from the Moon Goddess, which he finds unfair. He would like his mate all to himself, but Thomas had no problem with sharing her. That is where he knows there will be a problem with this mating. It has him more than willing to walk away. Now, however, he wanted to rush to her with the feelings that he had long ago packed away to keep him from becoming angry.

“We need… need a room ready for her and a doctor,” Gregory stated softly. “We will be… be marking her today. Then, then, there is…”

Matt pulled out his small notebook and pen from his back pocket and started to write the list. He knows this man is only doing this to ensure that he does not shift and scare his mate or kill someone for being near her. But still, he wants to grab him by the throat and throw him out of the windshield.

It was a long ten minutes of dictating notes before three SUV’s came barreling into the driveway. It made Gregory jerk around and roar out with his fangs elongated to attack whoever it was. But one look at the vehicle parked crooked in the green lawn encompassed by the gravel and he knew who it was.

“i***t,” he muttered with his head shaking.

In a flash, a blonde haired man jumped out of the passenger side of the SUV and into his looking worried. His eyes roved over him with a questioning look that made him shake his head. He is not too far gone, where he must be put down, but he does wonder how in the world they came out of the same mother. They are completely the opposite, and yet, they are identical twins.

Thomas is tall, lean, and muscular, where he is stout with a bit of height and muscles that make him look like a tank. Then, there is his brother’s blue eyes that are like the Caribbean sea with an angular face to shame Fabio of the ‘90’s. He is more Godlike than he, wondering what a woman would want from him. His brother was wearing a tanned suit and his button-shirt open at the neck, showing his devil-may-care playboy look.

Gregory knows that he is all business-looking, which only a handful of women like to see for their pleasure.

“I smell her, too, Brother,” he said excitedly, trying to ease the tension in him. It is not working with any topic regarding their mate. “How are you doing, so far since you’ve been hiding?”

“He’s still struggling,” Matt answered as his eyes hardened. “His eyes flash to his wolf on and off with his fangs poking out occasionally. I have him making a list of things for your two’s mate. I have informed the guards, too, and told them that they are to keep silent until she is found. I mind-linked the councilman and told him to give His Majesty a moment. His wolf is disturbed by something in this pack.”

“Good!” Thomas said with a nod as his hands rubbed together eagerly. “I will be by your side, Gregory. You will not embarrass yourself; I promise.”

He looked at his brother with a skeptical look, seeing that cocky grin on his face. It tells him that he is going to be in deep trouble. There is no way Thomas will let him down from this moment or let him be a civilized gentleman. It is what he has perfected over the years while serving his people. He hopes that this woman is worth all this trouble he is going through.

She will be, Callus assured him with an agitated growl.