The Legend Of The Alpha Twins

Chapter 4

Three years later...

- - - - - - - -

Xander

"King Xander, your latest reports?" King Derek, aka my uncle, asked at our quarterly meeting. We were all seated around a large round table with a black top on it, the surface so smooth and shiny I could see my reflection in it.

This time we were at his palace, we being King Derek, Queen Kelly, King Levi, and myself. I remember my father talking about how insufferable these meetings could be, but never fully understood until I had to start sitting through them myself. I had hoped it would have been more interesting too, being that I was related to two of the three at the table. But apparently not. It was all business at those meetings. Yippy.

In addition to these terribly boring meetings, we also had the council come twice a year to our own palaces to check in. Ream us out. And then one large meeting with all the alpha kings and queens. That one was new, having been established by our father in recent years. He felt it appropriate for all the leaders to come together to discuss important topics. He wasn't wrong, it was just another deadly boring meeting, just more formal than the rest.

"Nothing outside of the usual. The standard rogue attacks, a newly signed treaty with the Alpha in India and the one in Spain, oh and there have been several wild fires that have burned up some of our land. Minimal casualties." I said, staring down at the folder in front of me.

"Wildfires?" King Derek frowned. "In my kingdom, maybe, but yours? In the east? With all that snow?" He questioned.

"It's been a hot summer, global warming?" I shrugged. "The humans keep talking about it, maybe it's true."

"I have had several wildfires this year too." Levi chipped in, a frown crossing his face.

"What about you, Queen Kelly?" Uncle Derek asked.

"No wildfires in the west. Are you sure those are natural fires? If anything, Derek and I should be getting the hardest hit and we are fine." Queen Kelly said and Uncle Derek nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps it deserves a better look," Levi said, looking over to me for confirmation.

"Yeah, we can look into it." I shrugged, taking a sip of water.

"Good." Uncle Derek nodded. "Just one last thing, and I say this to help you not pressure you." He sighed. "Have either of you found your mate yet?"

"Does it look like we have?" I snipped.

"The council will be on your asses soon about picking a chosen mate." Queen Kelly said in a cool tone. "I'm sure your uncle can confirm just as much as I can how...persistant...the council can be."

"Yeah." He coughed uncomfortably. "Take some time to search for your mate, you might get lucky, and if not, prepare yourselves. Giving up your fated mate can be hard."

"Not for Levi," I said casually. I could feel his blood boiling.

"Putting the past aside, we say this because we care, don't live in a bubble and think it's not going to pop." Queen Kelly said sternly. "The council will ask you to make big decisions and no is not an answer. If you say no, they will take your crown away."

"Our father is working to remove some of those big decisions," Levi said smoothly.

"And while it is a valiant effort, he is one man against seven others. His odds of making big changes are slim. No offence. The rest are not as open-minded as he is. Prepare yourselves." She said, closing her notebook. "Are we done here?"

"Until next quarter." Uncle Derek nodded.

"Xander, can we switch hosting dates? My pup will only be a month old and I don't want to travel so soon if I don't have to." She said, resting a hand on her growing bump.

"Of course." I agreed. "Congratulations again."

"Thanks." She smiled, breezing out the door, her mate Thorin falling in step with her.

The rest of us began quietly packing up, not having much more to say. I was slinging my messenger bag over my shoulder, about to open a portal back to my kingdom, when Levi approached me.

"Tell me more about the fires in your kingdom," he said.

I could feel him trying to break the ice, but also refusing to admit he was wrong. We still saw each other, though not often. We exchanged the expected hellos and goodbyes but nothing more. No laughter, no antics, no trouble. Not like before our twenty-fifth birthday when everything blew up.

"Not much to tell. Burnt grass, trees, plants. Two small packs needed to be relocated while we replanted and rebuilt the surrounding areas."

"How many fires?"

"Three."

"How often?" Levi frowned.

I sighed and opened my bag, flipping through the papers to find the dates of the incidents. "June third...July seventeenth...August first." I listed.

Levis' face fell as he pulled out his folder and flipped to his report. "I don't think this was a wild fire..." He said, showing me his report. The same days. The same number of attacks.

"Well, today just got far more interesting."

- - - - - - - -

"Why don't you make yourself at home, have dinner with everyone and we can head out in the morning to check out the damaged areas?" Levi suggested in a dull voice as we walked from the parking lot to the front palace doors.

"Sounds fine." I nodded, waiting for him to continue with whatever it was he wanted to say outside of earshot.

He could have easily opened a portal to any part of the castle, yet he chose the parking lot. Either he didn't want me to feel welcome in his home, or he had more to say.

"Xander...." He began.

There it is.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Look about what happened-"

"Xander?!" Stella called, running towards us a moment later.

"Stella!" I smiled, catching her in my arms as she threw herself at me, nearly knocking me over. She looked just like our mom. Same blue eyes, light brown hair, same sass.

"I missed you you i***t!" She said, squeezing me harder. "You need to visit more often!"

Levi shifted uncomfortably but I ignored him.

"You can always visit me, you know." I smiled.

"I would if this knuckle head didn't need me so much." She scoffed, flicking her head in Levi's direction. "Is Hunter coming?"

"No, he is needed at home," I said.

"Two knuckle heads in this house then," She muttered. "Come on, let's get you settled in. Mom and dad will be excited to see you."

We all headed inside and were quickly flanked by family and friends wanting to see me and say hello and catch up. Levi excused himself and said he would see us at dinner.

"He knows he was wrong." Stella said quietly once the greetings had died down and she led me to a spare guest room. "He just doesn't know how to fix it. Especially since its been so long."

"An apology might be a good start," I said with a shrug. "I'm not a monster."

"No, but you have certainly made a point to not attend even half the family functions."

"Because I have my own kingdom to run, and I can't just pick up and leave every time."

"Hunter still shows up."

"Because I allow him the break. I take on his duties and pick up the slack."

Stella growled in frustration before continuing. "Look, just go easy on him, okay?"

"I'm not the one who said I never wanted to see him again," I pointed out.

Stella ignored me, shutting the door behind her on her way out. I flopped down on the bed and took a quick nap before dinner was served. Conversation was light and happy, ending in dessert and drinks. My parents were elated to have me over. It made me feel a bit guilty for not seeking them out more often as Stella had so kindly reminded me.

"How is Lorraine doing?" Levi eventually asked, all eyes and ears turning to me, hoping for any information on our youngest sibling.

"Great. She is in her final year of high school, and from what grandma and grandpa say, she is flourishing."

"She won't talk to you either?" Levi frowned, exchanging a look with our parents.

"We text, but she typically only gives short answers, so I give her space. When she is ready she will open up." I shrugged.

"I wonder what her problem is," Abby grumbled.

Our parents remained quiet, though they looked distraught over the matter. I knew my grandparents kept them in the loop, but it would never be the same as if they got to watch her grow in person.

"The girl has been able to talk to spirits for nearly her entire life. If that doesn't drive you mad, I don't know what will." I scoffed. "Plus, she never cared for the attention that came with being royal, the poor girl just wanted to be left alone. I don't blame her. Perhaps one day she will come back, but if not, we should respect her wishes. As long as she is happy, we should be too."

Silence fell over the table. Looks like I held the unpopular opinion, again.

"Xander, will you join me in my office? Go over our plans for tomorrow?" Levi said before anyone could interject.

"Lets go." I nodded, kicking back the last of my drink and exiting the dining room with him.

We walked in silence, Levi's unease driving me insane. I forgot how well we were able to sense each other, especially with how close we were physically. From several hours away, I hardly ever felt him through our twin bond, minus a few of his bigger emotional outbursts, but here and now, I felt everything. It was nauseating and comforting at the same time.

"Is it weird? Having dad's old office?" I asked, breaking the ice.

"At first, yeah." He laughed. "I had to kick him out a few times too, he kept showing up out of habit and would stick around for a while."

"I had to do the same with grandpa, until he and grandma and Lorraine moved to another pack, that is."

More silence.

"I'm sorry for snapping on you that day." Levi said quietly, not meeting my eyes. "You didn't deserve that."

I nodded, mulling over his words. "What's done is done, let's just move forward."

Levi agreed, though it looked like he wanted to say or ask something more. Or perhaps he expected me to apologize for something. Though there wasn't anything I was sorry about.

"We can set out tomorrow morning and visit the sights, see if there are any clues. If we are quick enough, we can portal over to your kingdom and visit your offended sights as well."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. "Mine are all in fields, it will make for a nice evening drive in the countryside."

"Drive?" Levi scoffed. "Not portal?"

"Yes, drive. I like to feel the wind in my face." I smirked.

"Just like a pup still." Levi shook his head.

We sat and talked for a while longer, both business and personal. It eased the tension we had between us and by breakfast the next morning, we were thick as thieves again. Talking and laughing, harassing Stella, who promised to make us suffer for it later, which we would, no doubt. I had imagined things going far less smoothly, it was nice to have my brother back.

- - - - - - - -

Levi

Xander and I pulled out of the driveway early the next morning. Things between us were starting to feel normal again, much to my relief. I was a bit worried when he insisted that we drive and enjoy the view. I worried that it would be an awkward drive. But it wasn't and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was so used to just using a portal to get anywhere far, driving became, well, a novelty. My mother scolded me often for using my powers so much for such small things. She would always tell all of us kids that we might not have powers to rely on one day, so don't get too comfortable. She was lighthearted enough about it, not giving any indication that she had a vision to back up her worry, so we took it with a grain of salt.

"Woah..." Xander said, looking out his window at the burnt area we were approaching.

"It looks worse up close," I sighed.

"Unfortunately, I know all too well, that doesn't make it any easier though." Xander sighed.

We spent several hours checking out my three offended areas, searching for something, anything, that might give us a clue as to what really happened. We found dead animals, dead trees, but still there was some new grass peering through the dead blades, the earth taking back what belonged to it.

Besides that, no clue, no lead, no nothing. We returned back home and from there it didn't take us long to portal over to Xanders' palace, have a quick lunch with Hunter and our cousins, and then set back out again to search his lands for any clues. There was nothing at the first location, or at the second one, but our luck seemed to turn around when we reached the third location, which was once a vineyard, according to Xander. They were going to start tending to the land soon, but Xander put a halt to it until we had a chance to investigate.

We walked through the dead land, searching high and low for anything out of place. It was the largest area of all six, taking much longer than we would have liked to search, the sun setting only making our job that much harder. I was beginning to feel like a video game character as I was nearing the end of my line when something shiny caught my eye.

"Hey Xander, I might have something." I said, squinting as I approached the shiny item.

"What is it?" He asked, falling in step with me.

"It looks like..." I squinted, my jaw falling slack when I got close enough, the light no longer blinding me.

"Is that a dragon scale?" Xander asked, finishing my thought.

"I think so." I said, picking up the hard as steel dark burgundy-colored scale. It was heavy, really heavy.

"We have a dragon problem? I thought they were extinct?" Xander asked.

"So did I...but I guess not." I mulled over. "Or perhaps this is from another wild beast. Perhaps we should have a professional take a look at it..."

"I'll make a call, see if there is someone nearby who can give us some insight." Xander said, pulling out his phone and walking a few feet away.

Was it really possible to have a fire-breathing dragon on our soil? We were always taught that they were extinct...did someone wake a dragon?

"Seems like a horrid thing to do." My wolf, Landon, said.

"Whoever did this is going to be in some serious trouble. If not by us, then the council."