Accepting My Twin Mates by Unwise Owl

Accepting My Twin Mates Chapter 74

Chapter 71 – Who Can Say No To Free Tea?

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JUST TO GIVE A WARNING: WHILE NOTHING IS DISCUSSED IN ANY GRAPHIC DETAIL, THERE MAY BE A SMALL PART OF THIS CHAPTER THAT SOME READERS COULD FIND TRIGGERING.

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Evgeniya

I was doing this for my mates.

These were the words that played on repeat as my personal mantra, even though I wanted to be a petty b***h and tell Luna Qamar to shove it, along with her tea.

‘Just don’t tell her to f**k off again and you’re golden,’ Evva sniggered, despite the fact she desperately wanted to.

‘As long as this tea thing isn’t a ruse to get me to reject the twins, I won’t.’

When Badru told me their mother wanted to spend time with me and ‘bond’, I almost thought he had been a nugget again and misunderstood sarcasm. That was until Astennu confirmed it and I plain wanted to believe he was just drunk. Both excuses sounded more plausible than their mother wanting to be pleasant towards me.

But, I needed to learn to bury hatchets and be amiable to those I didn’t want to. If I were to be the future Luna, there would be times I would have to plaster on a fake and cordial smile around those I would prefer to claw instead. I couldn’t risk a fight between packs, all because I couldn’t hold my tongue. And I could both see and feel what this discord with my mates’ parents was doing to Astennu and Badru. A home they grew up in now felt the furthest thing from it and, while it was inane of me to think so, I couldn’t help the pang of guilt that it was all down to me.

I wasn’t the only one doing things they didn’t want to. The twins had to lead training with their father this morning. Beta Kate was still on her leave of absence for her health. Being pregnant and dealing with the turmoil her son had left behind were taking a heavy toll on her. Leading any form of training was at the bottom of her long list of worries.

Letting go of the warmth of my mates’ hands was more difficult than I realised it was going to be. The security it provided ebbed away, giving rise to the unsettled feeling gnawing in the pit of my stomach. I had forgone breakfast this morning with the nervous stomach ache swirling around my lower abdomen.

“We’re good to meet tonight?” I upturned my eyes, meeting their midnight irises. “You don’t have any late-night patrols to do?”

“Not unless our dad’s still in a pissy mood,” Badru grumbled.

“He’ll come around,” Astennu’s brows creased in a furrowed frown. By his tone, it was evident he was hesitant to believe his own words of encouragement.

“Well,” I sucked in my lips and pressed them tightly together, set on what I wanted. “However it goes for all of us today, tonight… there’s something I want to give each of you.”

“A present?” Badru tilted his head like a pup, delightfully innocent. His twin, at least, was a little more clued in, his face morphing to an expression of raw want.

“Yeah, a present,” I shook my head, my shoulders shuddering with my held-in laughter. “One that will look very nice, right there,” I pointed to the curve of his neck where his nutmeg and cinnamon scent drew me.

Finally, with a more direct hint, the realisation dawned. He spun me around, clear off of my feet, causing my knitted dress to flare. His lips crashed to mine, sucking the breath from my lungs. Astennu quickly snatched me from his brother’s arms, kissing down my neck. His canines extended, the sharp point nicking my flesh.

“Aste!” I shrieked, pushing him back as hard as I could, though I wasn’t strong enough to escape completely. “Not here, you i***t!”

‘That would have been a fun explanation to hand to their mother,’ Evva almost wheezed. ‘Sorry we’re late. Told your baby boys we wanted to mark and they jumped our bones.’

“You can’t ever call me the impulsive one again, after that,” Badru elbowed his brother good-naturedly.

“Sorry,” Astennu flushed crimson, averting his embarrassed gaze to my hand and dusting my open palm with kisses. “Are you definitely sure?”

“I’m sure that I’m never telling either of you anything like this again when we’re outside… but yeah,” I nodded. “I’m more than sure.”

disappear into the training centre, sparing me one final

way along the wooded path, leading back into town. Luna Qamar had invited me to one of her favourite spots, a cafe called Amarin tearoom, meaning ‘Two Moons’ in Egyptian Arabic. We would be out of the pack house and on

a private tea party with the Luna than talk to my

fate in worse ways,’ Evva piped up. ‘Like saying you’d rather birth a

measure right before meeting my biggest fan,’ and all my wolf did was offer me a sarcastic salute. I think I preferred her when she was simply a shapeless figure in the back of

establishments that you would come across wandering down from the pack house. In summer, the balcony windows would be crawling with honeysuckle

moons, giving the place a soft glow and an intimate atmosphere. The mixed scents of teas, cakes and cookies roused my stomach awake and I prayed it wouldn’t announce

a couple of patrons were seated downstairs, one holding their hand up for their check. A human waitress greeted me at the door, not needing my name or who I

and silhouetted by the morning sun rising over the forest backdrop, looking the picture of elegance, sat Luna Qamar. With a graceful leg crossed over

smile, her hands bunched on her lap, making me wonder if she was

mouth shut through all of this, wolf,’ I warned, cutting Evva off before she could make any comment. ‘I mean it. Go wave

I’m glad you

bubbling up, desperately wanting to pop. But to my surprise,

the back of my chair opposite. “Who can say no to

did I have to say it like

I snapped at my wolf, her snickering echoing

the

a new record for me: inserting

wrinkles in my silver diamond-knit dress, pulling at the funnel neckline. On other women, it would have fallen below the knee, but on me, it ended mid-thigh and fitted as an empire line. My thick black tights kept my outfit on the classier side rather

like tea and any excuse to drink

throat as I sat and I seriously considered nose-diving into the snow outside to escape. Evva’s silent observations of my blundering

attempted to make

down to her full lips. Their sapphire eyes were entirely from Alpha Isaac; a long-standing family trait, it seemed, given the ancient portrait of their ancestor, Alpha

I accepted the

to it, no matter how many times I show

a Luna. Qamar was

heard footsteps ascending the stairs, the same waitress from before, walking over to us with her handheld device to take our order. The Luna

Earl Grey, please, with honey and the apple and gooseberry

knew it was the Luna’s favourite and I hoped it would help smooth the way from the awkward shit-trail I

smiled graciously. “But with a large scone and clotted cream, thank

few minutes’ wait, the scones are still cooling and I’m kinda

fine, dear. We’re in no hurry,” the Luna spared

between us, neither of us

do you hate

was no point in mincing words or dancing around the subject. So,

point,” she cleared her throat. “And

you found out about me and your

surprise. And it wasn’t exactly unveiled privately… I

you pay for my piano lessons? You might say you don’t hate me, but you certainly don’t like me. So why did you spend money on

simply but honestly. “And it’s an excellent attribute for a young she-wolf to have, especially

her eyes, it was probably so that I’d leave the pack, and quickly too. “Well, you

took a deep breath to bite back my resentfulness wanting to

pack like this,” the hurt seeped into my tone. “Being treated as a rogue, something I had no control