The Blood Moon Twins

Chapter 1 - Last Chance at Freedom

In the darkest hours of the darkest days, the Daughter of Moon and Magic and the Son of Blood and Magic would be fated together, creating the most powerful being in existence. It was a bond no one could break and one that would end up breaking the world. Destruction would rain when the two became one, and the world as we know would be lost.

-

REMY

A rough hand pressed against my mouth, pulling me out of the dead sleep. My body tensed, and my eyes flew open with panic.

“Don’t scream,” a deep voice whispered in my ear, only causing deeper panic.

I pulled at his hand, but he didn’t budge.

“Remy! Calm down. It’s just me,” he said in a harsh whisper.

My eyes focused, and I realized Caulder, my twin brother, was the one hovering over me. Anger replaced my fear. I punched his arm. “What is wrong with you? Why would you scare me like that?”

Caulder smirked. “I have a surprise for you. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I glared at my brother. “That charming smile might work on all of the girls you hook up with, but I can see the real demon in you.”

Caulder chuckled. “Well, it was a bonus that you got scared.”

I lay back down and pulled the covers up to my chin. “I’m going back to bed. It’s late.”

He pulled the blanket off me and refused to let me grab it again. “Not tonight, Rem. We are going to be eighteen soon. Tonight is the last night of being just kids, and we’re not wasting it.”

“We’ve never been just kids.” As the children of the alpha and luna of Pack Aphelion. We were expected to train at a young age and take courses to teach us how to act properly. We were doused with rules to keep us safe—not that it ever stopped Caulder from sneaking out.

“Then let’s not waste this opportunity. For once, live your life,” Caulder said. When he saw my hesitation, he added, “It’s supposed to be a full moon tomorrow. They say it’s good luck to turn eighteen under a full moon. That means nothing bad will happen tonight.”

“Who told you that? You don’t believe in good luck.” I already knew the answer to my question. While Caulder was the most popular guy in school and had a million friends, there was only one person he ever truly listened to.

“Harper,” Caulder answered. “But that doesn’t matter. This is the last chance to have some fun without any real consequences. Are you going to stay inside like a chicken, or are you going to take a chance and finally start to live your life?”

I bit my lip. Despite Caulder and I being twins, we were as different as we looked. He was the popular one who snuck out to parties all of the time. I was the one with my nose in my books, keeping perfect grades while barely having any friends. Adventure wasn’t something I ever let myself think about, but maybe Caulder was right. This was my chance to do something different.

“Fine. What did you have in mind?” I asked.

Caulder smiled in triumph. “We’re going for a run under the nearly full moon. I want you to feel what it’s like to be free before adult responsibilities fall onto us.”

My stomach tightened. I had never snuck out before. “It’s past our curfew. Mom and Dad would never let us go.”

Caulder rolled his eyes. “Hence the sneaking out. You’ve already agreed, so no turning back. Come on. Harper is already waiting for us.”

I batted at his hand as he tugged my arm. “I’m coming. Stop.” I grabbed a sweatshirt and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes and followed Caulder out of my room.

He held his finger up to his lips, reminding me to stay quiet. We would never make it out of the house if one of our parents caught us. The pack house was quiet at night, and we didn’t run into anyone as we made it to the community laundry room.

Harper was already in the room waiting for us. I was surprised to actually see her here. She was more like me, always wanting to follow the rules. She had snuck out to a few parties with Caulder in our early years in high school, but when he started hooking up with any girl who swayed her hips in his direction, Harper stopped going to parties, saying they weren’t her style.

“How did he convince you to do this?” I asked, keeping my voice in a whisper.

“He used the birthday card on me,” Harper grumbled. “You?”

“He basically told me I had no life, and this was my last chance to have fun before being an official adult,” I said.

“Why are we friends with him?” Harper asked teasingly. The three of us had grown up together, and despite our different life choices, we were best friends. Every Sunday we watched movies and ate snacks together, and we spent the majority of our free time together.

“I’m his sister, so I don’t have a choice. You must just be crazy,” I said.

“I can hear you, you know?” Caulder grumbled. He lifted the small window in the corner of the room. “Let’s go before someone finds us.”

“That’s how you’ve been sneaking out all of this time?” I asked incredulously.

Caulder put his finger up to his lips and winked. “It’s our little secret. Now hurry up. I’ll help you out.”

A wave of fear struck me again. I was actually doing this. I had never broken a single rule made by our parents during the entirety of my childhood. Now, on the eve of my eighteenth birthday, I was about to step out from under their rules made for our protection. Was I ready for this step in my new adventure?

I took a deep breath and took Caulder’s hand. His smile burned brighter as pride swelled in him. He was proud that I was sneaking out for once in my life. He lifted me up and helped me climb out the window before doing the same thing for Harper. Once we were outside of the pack house, we looked to Caulder for the next step.

He guided us through the pack and out to the forest, avoiding the patrol guards like he had done this a million times. We stayed in human form until we made it into the trees. Then Caulder tossed us burlap bags.

“You can put your clothes in these and tie them around your ankle, so we can keep our clothes on us,” he instructed.

We all stripped, and Caulder turned away from us to stay respectful. As I finished folding my clothes and putting them into the bag, I noticed Harper staring at Caulder’s back.

“What are you doing?” I linked her privately.

She jumped, and her eyes widened. I definitely caught her checking out my brother. He was in good shape, since he had been training to become the next alpha almost his entire life. However, the idea of Harper checking him out like that weirded me out. She had claimed that Caulder was too much of a playboy to be her type.

“Nothing,” Harper returned.

“Do you like Caulder?” If there was something going on between them, I wanted to know before I became the third wheel in the group.

“Gross,” she said, a little too aggressively.

“It’s okay if you like him. You two would be a cute couple,” I said.

“Like I would go there with him,” Harper said, rolling her eyes.

“What’s taking you so long?” Caulder asked.

“Ready!” Harper and I said simultaneously.

“Okay, then let’s change into our wolf form. The patrols will be here soon, and if we don’t hurry, we’ll get caught,” he said.

We didn’t waste any more time. The three of us changed into our wolf form. Caulder’s wolf was one of beauty. He had pure white fur, which was the exact opposite of my pure black coat. We were often called yin and yang or light and dark. We balanced each other out, and my mother always said that we had to always be there for each other. Our bond was one that no one could ever take away from us.

Caulder slowed his pace as we reached the cliff that overlooked the forest. It was the best place to look over the entire pack, and with the moon shining at its brightest, it was breathtaking. I had never been out this late before, but now I understood why Caulder snuck out all of the time. Running through the trees under the moonlight made me feel freer than ever before.

We shifted back to human form, dressed, and then we plopped onto the grassy patch beneath us. Caulder lay in the middle, and he casually put his arm around Harper. My eyes lingered on them for a moment before settling in. They looked like the perfect couple with Caulder’s tall frame holding Harper close to him as if he’d do anything to protect her.

“Remind me why you two aren’t dating yet?” I asked.

“Remy,” Caulder scolded. Whenever I brought up the topic, he grew suspiciously angry with me.

“It’s not like that,” Harper added. “Besides. Tomorrow, the two of you will be eighteen. Anything with Caulder would only end in heartbreak once he finds his mate.”

I rolled my eyes. “I guess since Caulder is the slut of the group, you’re probably right.”

Caulder slugged my arm, making me cry out.

“Ow!” I rubbed my arm to remove the stinging sensation.

“Don’t be a baby. I didn’t hit you that hard,” Caulder retorted.

“Children, don’t make me take away your toys,” Harper scolded, trying to hide her laugh but unable to.

Caulder tickled Harper’s side, making her squeal and giggle. I held back my eye roll this time. They would be such a cute couple, but I doubted they would ever see the truth behind it. I let out a soft sigh and wrapped my arms around my knees. If I had someone interested in me, I wouldn’t waste that opportunity.

“Do you think we’ll find our mates tomorrow?” I asked.

Caulder and Harper stopped their tickle match and sat up to match me. “No.” Caulder’s answer was short and blunt.

“How can you be so sure?” I sighed. “I think it would be nice to find my mate tomorrow.”

“You’re more likely to find your mate at the Lycan ball. Seriously, what are the chances that our mates are already eighteen and live in our pack?”

I shrugged. “It’s still a nice thought.” It was the one thing I was looking forward to with my new adult responsibilities. Despite being the alpha’s daughter, Caulder was the one who was meant to become the future alpha, and he had all of the talent from both of our parents.

“What’s with the sudden melancholy?” Caulder asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. Caulder wouldn’t understand how I felt. He had the perfect life in almost every way. Once he found his mate, he would have everything I ever wanted.

Caulder rubbed his jaw for a moment. Then his eyes brightened. “Tonight is supposed to be about us, so let’s have some fun. He jumped to his feet, and with the flick of his wrist he created streams of light that resembled shooting stars. Another flick sent them flying over our heads. Magic flowed in our werewolf veins thanks to our mother, but Caulder had always been better at magic than me.

Normally, I would be jealous of that fact, but it was hard to be anything but in awe of the beauty he created. I could watch it all night, but then a faint scent of mint and raspberries hit my nose, and my eyes shifted away from Caulder’s magic spectacle. I stared into the distance, and for the briefest moment, I felt like someone was watching me. Then I saw a pair of glowing eyes in the distance. They were gone as quickly as they came, making me question if I even saw them in the first place.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” a strange voice said. Four men approached us from the opposite direction I was looking. Their scents hit my nose, and I cringed.

Rogues.

Caulder and Harper scrambled to their feet. Caulder stepped closer to the rogues, blocking Harper and myself from the unwanted guests. “What are you doing here on our land?”

“We’re just looking to have a little fun. I wasn’t expecting to find three pups out here so late, especially two pretty girls. What do you say, boys? Wanna have some fun?”