The Legend Of The Alpha Twins

Chapter 3

Xander

Brittany gasped and fell to the floor, already begging for forgiveness. Levi had a murderous look in his eyes, aimed at me as I began sitting up, trying to keep the contents of my stomach down as I did so.

"It's not what you think-" Was all I could manage before he came at me full force.

He shifted midstride, giving me no choice but to do the same. Our bodies clashed, our wolves snarling and fighting and now falling out of the wolf-sided hole in my room. This was gonna suck. We landed with a hard thud, and my wolf, Ashton, took the liberty of vomiting while Levis wolf, Landon, got back on his feet and shook off the impact. I could hear a few screams in the background, yelling too, but wasn't able to make it out between Levis' punches and my own nausea.

I didn't bother to fight back, only defend. Levi was obviously pissed beyond reason, and I don't think I could land a punch right now if I wanted to anyway. Eventually, our dad and uncle Derek broke us apart. I shifted and vomited again, grateful for the intervention.

"What the hell is going on?" Our father roared as I assessed the damage. Busted lip, clawed up torso. Damaged ego, probably some alcohol poisoning. Otherwise okay.

"Calm down Levi-" Uncle Derek growled, dragging him further back.

Levi shifted, a wild look still in his eyes. He lunged for me again before our father turned his attention solely to him.

"He took her from me!" He yelled.

"It's not what you think-" I began.

"I never want to see him again!" He roared. "I refuse to rule with him!"

Those words made all others fall silent. He wasn't even going to let me explain? He didn't trust me enough and know me well enough to know I would never have laid a hand on her? He was so eager to ruin our bond with our mate and let me just sit by and take it. Fine. He wanted to act that way, then fine.

"I will take the Eastern kingdom." I spat, blood coating my spit. "You'll never have to see me here again."

"Why don't you both take some time, cool off and tomorrow we can discuss it." Our dad interjected.

Levi finally calmed down enough that our uncle felt comfortable enough to let him go. He shifted and ran into the nearby forest. It was then that I saw dozens of eyes watching our every move. I made my way inside, not wanting to cause any more of a scene, and began packing then and there.

"Dude, are you alright?" Hunter asked. "I only caught part of what happened...did Brittany try to force herself on you?"

"Yes," I said, yanking my clothes off the hangers.

"Shit...I can talk to Levi, help straighten things out."

"Don't bother. I am leaving." I announced. "I will be taking over the eastern kingdom by myself."

"Xander-"

"I would like you to be my Beta, if you would like," I added.

"Me? Really?" He smiled, but frowned soon after. "I would love to, but I don't want to leave on bad terms." He said.

"Fine, come when you are ready then, the offer will stand." I said, zipping up my bag.

"I will finish packing your things and take them with me when I come." Hunter said.

"Thanks." I grumbled, opening a portal and vanishing to the eastern kingdom. Far away from home, far away from him and his stupid chosen mate.

"Former chosen mate if he is smart," Ashton growled.

I made myself comfortable in one of the spare guest rooms, and even found a maid around my age who was more than willing to offer herself to me that night. I needed to blow off some steam, so I took her up on the offer and then slept in until noon the next day, woken by my grandparents, Sylvia and Andrew, who have been helping run the eastern kingdom while my dad juggles his other duties.

"Xander! What a pleasant surprise, what brings you here?" My grandmother, Sylvia, asked.

"I thought you and Levi were staying in the northern kingdom after the party?" My grandfather asked.

That's right, they left early. They missed the whole blow up, and from the sounds of it, no one called them to tell them what happened.

"Levi and I are not speaking," I announced, getting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom. "I will be taking over the eastern kingdom alone."

"Oh dear...why...why don't I go check on lunch and then we can talk?" My grandmother nodded, a sad look crossing her features.

"Was it worth it?" My grandfather asked.

"You can ask him that." I said, turning on the hot water to the shower.

- - - - - - - -

"Tomateo soup and grilled cheese, to sooth the soul." My grandmother said, taking a seat across from me.

My grandfather sat at the head of the table and we ate in silence. That is until we got word that my parents and Hunter had arrived. That didn't take long at all.

"Xander, a word?" My mom asked, her eyes red and puffy.

I excused myself from the table, leaving my half-eaten lunch behind, and she and my father whisked me away into an empty room. I had a feeling this conversation might draw some lines in the sand. But they did bring Hunter, so perhaps they were just saying goodbye.

"What happened?" My mom asked, the first to break the silence.

"Brittany came up to my room and tried to f**k me. I turned her away. Levi flipped. End of story." I said flatly.

Silence.

My mom cracked first, cupping my face and pulling me in for a sympathetic hug. My dad looked uncomfortable, not having much to say about it.

"I'm sorry that happened." She said softly. "Are you alright?" She asked, taking a closer look at my busted lip.

"Fine." I admitted.

And it was the truth. Why would I want to rule with someone like Levi who thinks so little of me, to punch first and ask questions later? That wasn't like him, ever. Except when it came to Brittany, apparently. I wish he felt like that about our fated mate.

"Levi is hurting right now..." My mom began, but stopped.

"Poor thing." I said dryly, pushing away from my mom.

"We know this is a touchy subject, and we will support you both with whatever decision you make, but we want to know it was made with a clear head, not in anger or grief." My dad said.

"I'm not angry, my eyes have just been opened. Levi said he wanted to rule his own kingdom and I couldn't agree more."

"Alright." He said, nodding to my mom. "We can swear you in next week. If you haven't already, think of who you would like to serve with you."

"Hunter will be my beta." I began. "Ben will be my gamma, and Isaac my Delta."

Ben was my cousin, his parents, my uncle Jackson and aunt Ella. Isaac was the son of my father's Delta, William and his wife Rachel. Both have trained since they were little to serve the crown in any way we would allow. I had no doubt that they would fit in just fine.

"Levi would like Isaac to be his gamma..." My dad said.

"Fine. Then I chose Joy."

Joy was the firstborn of my uncle Jackson and aunt Ella. She expressed interest in being a lower-standing nobility several years back. Hopefully, she would still feel the same way, and be okay with working with her brother every day.

"Alright. I will speak with them." My dad nodded.

I knew Levi would pick Stella, and probably Owen. He and Stella were close, and Owen, who was the son of Lauren and Justin, our aunt Ella's sister, was close to Levi too. Speaking of close siblings...

"You should let Lorraine live in my kingdom, have grandpa and grandma watch over her. She is dying for a fresh start," I added.

"Oh...well that is a matter for us to discuss with her another time-"

"Why wait? She is miserable and thinking of running. Winter break is coming up, it would be the perfect time to transfer her." I said plainly.

Lorraine had come to me on more than one occasion, venting about how much she hated being looked at as a royal. She hated the expectations, the gawking, the jealousy, the fake friends and people who would try to date her just so they could try to nail a princess. She wanted out. And I couldn't blame her. I told her I would support her when and if she ever wanted a change, and since she finally had the nerve to go off on our parents last night, I took that as my opportunity to fulfill my word.

"She wants out that bad?" My mom asked, her lip quivering.

"Yes, for years now. Let her go somewhere else where no one knows her. Where she can grow up like a normal teen like she so desperately wants to."

"But she isn't normal!" My mom choked out.

"No, which is why I think she wants some normalcy in her life. Being a royal is not easy." I shrugged. "Let alone a royal that talks to the dead half the day."

"We will consider your offer." My dad said quietly. "We will see you next week, we have other fires to put out."

"See you then."

My mom gave me another hug before pulling away. "Happy Birthday Xander." She said, handing me a wrapped gift.

"Thanks." I sighed, almost forgetting today was my twenty-fifth birthday. What a pity.

- - - - - - - -

Levi

"You know it wasn't his fault," Stella said, again, as she helped me move into my new office.

Since things blew up between Xander and I, a lot has changed. Brittany and I broke up that night, and Xander left for the eastern kingdom. Hunter went with him, along with Ben, his mate Ivy, and Joy, and after careful consideration, Lorraine, who was only fifteen, joined another pack in the eastern kingdom under our grandparents' supervision.

Our parents and the former leaders moved out of their floors onto the first floor, leaving it open for my new leaders to take over. Stella, my beta, Isaac my gamma, and Owen my delta. It was a lot of change, but it felt good...mostly. Xander and I have not said a word to each other since the incident, minus when we attended each others ceremony and signed alliance treaties. He delivered his proposition to me at my ceremony, and I signed it and handed it back to him at his.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said, organizing some books on my bookshelf.

"You know you look like a d**k though." She blatantly stated. "Hunter said Xander was completely wasted and heard him telling Brittanty to leave. It's like you are punishing him for being a victim."

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" I said, shooting her a glare that told her to leave.

"Fine, fine." She put her hands up in surrender and walked out.

I knew she was right. And I didn't mean to blame him, but I still did. He could have any woman he wanted, any time, any place. And yet somehow mine, the only one off limits, is in his bed on the night of our engagement. Brittany said she thought we would be a two for one deal and figured why not smooth things over that way. It was a weak excuse. Although she wasn't necessarily wrong in her thinking, she was wrong about how she approached the situation.

Twins usually share a mate. So her engagement with me might have brought upon that thinking, though Xander made it very clear that he did not like Brittany. As my girlfriend, as my potential mate, as my Luna and queen. He did not like it one bit. He feared that it would interfere with his own mate bond and relationship. I think the moon goddess has a mate for each of us, so strongly in fact that I was willing to pursue someone without worry. Xander feels the opposite. He thinks we will have one shared mate. No one can say for certain, and its been seven years and we have not found her...or them. Whichever it might be.

I was convinced that Brittany was my mate, until I turned eighteen and it was confirmed that she wasn't. After a lot of thinking, I went to Xander first, and told him I would wait to make her mine, out of respect for him on the off chance that we shared a mate and my marking her ruined his chances, though I highly doubted it. He was completely unsupportive the entire time. He gave her side eyes and made snarky comments, if not just getting in my face and blowing up over it. So, as much as he is a victim in all of this, I felt like he was partially responsible, he wanted my relationship to end, and he got his way.

I was loyal to one woman for nearly a decade, when he would f**k anything with a pulse. It didn't seem right. He makes me so angry sometimes. I would like to work things out with him one day, but I am far too upset at the moment to humor him. He didn't even stick around, he didn't ask if I was okay. I was in love with her, and now she is gone, and I feel empty inside. Or maybe that was how he felt, it was hard to tell the difference between his feelings and mine sometimes. A downfall of being a twin apparently. One day I will probably crack, but not for a while. Not for a very long while.