Rejecting the Alpha Twins

Chapter 71

Xavier POV

I didn’t expect the rogue to be so good when it came to fighting against me. I’m somewhat impressed despite the situation I’m currently in. However, the rogue isn’t faring well. I’ve alreally bested him several times. He’s in infinitely worse shape, blood pouring from his mouth and nose as he continues to glower at me. So far, his friends have restrained from joining in the fight, but who knows how long they’ll prevent themselves frein interfering. Rogues are slippery and conniving bastards after all. They can’t be trusted to keep their word. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, watching as Jet becomes hesitant to fight me. Now he knows the true extent of my prowess he’s not certain that he can beat me.

“Well,” I snapped “you wanted to fight to the death if I recall? Or have you changed your mind?” I snarled

“Wow, Jet. You’re getting your ass beat good” another rogue mocked his friend, causing Jet’s eyes to blaze with anger av he turned his head and faced him

“Shut up” Jet roared at him. “T’d like to see you do any better” he added in a hiss

I didn’t care if they continued to argue with one another. The more they did, the more time the wolfsbane had to leave my system. They had evidently forgotten all about that. This was to my advantage. I needed the time and could afford the delays. I could already feel some of my strength returning to me. It was taking everything in me not to rush to Regan’s side as the dirty rogue beside her continued to touch and hold her, forcing me to rein in my anger. He would be one of the first to die. I promised myself, staring hard at Jet as I challenged him to continue fighting.

Jei let out a snarl and lunged without thinking about it. Big mistake. He left himself wide open in his anger. My feet moved, almost dancing on the ground and I slid aside, punching him hard in the stomach and listening to the sound of his strangled voice as he choked. I followed it up with a hard kick to the throat and then gripped him around the neck, squeezing hard as his eyes bulged in panic.I had him right where I wanted him and it had been easier than I had thought it would be. I smirked, enjoying the look of terror on his face. He didn’t look so arrogant now,

“Help me he coughed to his friends, clawing futilely at my hands

Any moment now he could shift unless my grip was so tight it prevented it.

I glared at them. They looked hesitantly at each other. Jet stared at them incredulously. My fingers tightened around his windpipe, intentionally cutting off his oxygen supply. I wanted him to feel the air slowly leaving his lungs.

“Help me he wheezed.

“Let him go” the rogue holding Regan speaks, his voice curt.

I curse under my breath but know that I would never put Regangin danger by refusing to do as they ask.

her

The other rogues nod relieved they don’t have to help by physically defending their friend. I feel frustration simmering inside me. I turn, keeping a wary eye on the other rogues. He stands, holding Regan by the throat as she stares at me, mouth opening, unable to utter a sound. I dropped jet to the ground, and he began to cough, clutching his throat. The rogue doesn’t let go of Regan and I watch as her lips turn blue. Rage kindles inside of me. I had kept my part of the bargain, why hadn’t he done the same?

“Let her go.” My tone is dripping with venom. This man would die by my hand, for daring to touch my mate and make her kneel earlier.

The other rogue shakes his head. I clench my hands into fists. For the first time, my wolf begins to whisper inside my mind as it comes back to life, his anger also coming to the fore. The wolfsbane has worked its way out of my system completely. I stare at Regan, trying to communicate with her silently as she stares at me with wide eyes and a terrified expression on her face. I try to tell her to remain calm and not to be afraid. I was about to save us both.

Ishifted. The rogues are not expecting it. The wolfsbane has left any system earlier than they envisioned thanks to exposing

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Chapter 71

myself to it so often in training. I lunge at the one holding Regan and he drops her in sheer panic as he sees me coming towards him. I clamp my jaws around his neck and take him ond before he can shift, leaving three in the clearing and the Alpha of the group still unaccounted for. Regan grips her neck as I turn, standing protectively in front of her. Nobody is going to get near her, not again. I would not fail her a second time. These bastards were going to hell and I was going to be the one to send them there. Three rogue wolves stand there with gleaming eyes. I lunge at them. This time I’m going on the offensive. I slash one, jump over the other, and pin the third to free, viciously tearing out its throat. I move, turning back around. One is close to Regan who is backing away, I jump back in front of her, the other two rogues circling Damn. If they attack together, there is a chance they will take harm, Regan. I have to act and act swiftly.

Regan however has already moved backwards and is gripping a large branch in her hands, awkwardly standing and brandishing it. It’s all the distraction that I need. I tackle one, slashing with my claws and furiously cutting across its midsection as it howls. Its guts begin to fall but of its stomach and I move, darting quickly back as Regan weakly attempts to thwart the rogue who is snapping its jaws at her and attempting to bite her. I land on top of him and pin him to the dirt with my strength. Regan hits him hard on the head, surprising me. The rogue is momentarily stunned and dazed. I use the opportunity to grab him by the neck and pull at it with my powerful jaws. The rogue’s neck is severed from its spinal cord, 1 drop its head to the ground with a heavy thud. It’s dead. Good riddance. I climb off and then glance at the other rogue. still alive but barely with its guts continuing to fall out. It will be dead momentarily which means that all of them but one is gone now. I’m unnerved. All the rogues but the Alpha are dead. Where is the leader, the Alpha? Had he abandoned his pack, his comrades! I stand guard, protectively in front of Regan, even as she lets out a sob and sinks onto her knees, looking at the bodies littered on the ground. I don’t want to let my guard down.

She grabs my fur and begins to sniff. My eyes scan our surroundings. It’s going to take a while to get us back on track. It looks as though we continued in the direction of our destination so that’s lucky. I would have to confirm though. My ears prick up. I can hear heavy footsteps or paws thudding along the ground. A wolf slinks out of the shadows, its yellow eyes blazing. The infamous missing Alpha. The last of the rogues and this pack. Regan’s hand drops from my fur. I tense as the Alpha slowly walks

blazing. The into the clearing, its head turning as it takes in the dead bodies of its comrades. It’s angry. It sniffs, h

eyes narrowing as it looks at me. His wolf is black, the correct color of an Alpha wolf. He paws the ground, a challenge to fight. It regards me steadily as I njove slowly away from Regan

We move. There is a head–on collision as Regan lets out a gasp. It’s like hitting a truck directly head–on. I grit my teeth and push back, jumping lightly backward, I don’t have time to regroup before the other alpha leaps towards me, only just missing me by inches as I dart to the side. He’s fast and incredibly agile. Not surprising given the type of wolf he is. I slash. getting him across the face and he lets out a furious snarl. So far he’s managed to dodge all my attacks but that one. This isn’t going to be an easy fight. The other Alpha’s eyes are gleaming as he looks at me. He tackles me and we wrestle across

back the floor as Regan lets out a shriek, my claws managing to slash across his chest before I’m able to move safely back. However, the other alpha has also managed to get a good slash in and I can feel blood trickling along my

The other alpha runs towards me. I turn at the last moment unexpectedly and kick out hard. I send him flying into the tree, his body hitting it with a thud. He falls, looking half stunned. Unfortunately, it hasn’t done much damage, and he gets back to his feet. I snarl. He jumps and I do the same, meeting him in mid–air, making quick work of my claws in an attempt to get him across the chest. My claws barely graze him. I landed smoothly on the other side. The other alpha, Damien lets out a rear. My blood curdles as I see him head directly towards Regan who I have left unprotected. I move but already I can tell that I’m going to be too late. Regan’s eyes widen as she stands there, the only thing in her hand the branch she’s holding which is somewhat sharp on one end…

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12:48 Sat, Jan 11

Chapter 72

Regan POV

I stared transfixed, watching the two fight. Xavier is losing a lot blood, but so is the other Alpha and rogue, Damien. My grip tightens on the branch I’m holding, although it’s of little use to me as a weapon. I still can’t shift, my body continues to be weakened by the wolfsbane they forcibly injected me with earlier. I’m shocked that Xavier has not only managed to shift but is also able to fight in his condition. That shows just how strong a wolf and alpha that he is. I’m impressed despite my concern for him, my mouth going dry as I watch the two wolves going at each other with all that they have. Fear strikes my heart. I can’t bear to lose my mate. If he dies. I don’t want to contemplate such a horrible thing. The pain itself of losing a mate…it’s indescribable. I can feel myself on the verge of tears again, feeling helpless and even useless. I wish there was something I could do to help him. Some way to feel useful. He’s already dealt with the other rogues, so part of me suspects that he’s tired, although he doesn’t appear to show it as they fight

Then it happens. As Xavier lands on his feet, the other wolf, Damien takes the opportunity to lunge towards me while Xavier is turning. My eyes widen in shock. Even as I look towards Xavier, I know instinctively that he’s not going to be able to make it in time to save me. He’s too far away. I can’t rely on him and will have to do something if I don’t want to die. My hand clenches around the branch, holding it tighter as my knuckles turn white. The wolf is leaping high in the air. Something comes over me. A certain recklessness or maybe anger at the way I’ve been treated. Instead of attempting to run, which I know will only end in my death, I fling myself down onto the floor and raise the branch into the air, shoving the sharp end hard into the other Alpha’s chest, as hard as I possibly can, screaming out loud with rage and fury. My scream is loud enough to shake the leaves from the nearby trees and make them flutter to the ground. I can feel my heart beating loudly as 1 stare up, unable to believe what I’ve just done, in disbelief, even as I struggle to comprehend what to do next.

The other alpha was not expecting me to make such a daring move. To my surprise, the branch impales his chest, and I roll out from underneath him as he falls to the ground, my breathing heavy, blood splattered all over my body from the rogue, Alpha’s wound. The other wolf is not dead, but I have given Xavier all the time that he’s needed. He springs past me and clamps his jaws down onto Damien’s neck. I hear the sickening track as Xavier kills the Alpha rogue behind me. I turn away shivering violently, trying not to look around at all the dead wolves we’ve left in our wake. Part of me feels guilty even though I know that we needed to in order to survive. Still, taking another life is never easy. All of the rogues, including their leader are now gone. I feel overwhelmed a mixture of emotions running through me. The sound of shifting distracts me from my thoughts and I glance up over my shoulder to see Xavier striding towards me with purposeful steps, a strange glint in his eye. He looks angry. Why? Have I done something to upset him?

He grabs me, picking me up as I shriek and then embracing me tightly, muzzling my neck and holding me as I sob into his shoulder, giving vent to the tears of relief I’ve been trying to hold back for his sake.

“I thought you were dead for sure” he growled, his voice catching slightly. “I’m sorry, I failed to protect you” he added apologetically “It will never happen again, Regan”

It’s fiot his fault. If anything it’s mine. I’m the reason we ended up here in the first place. I should have been more careful, and more aware of the dangers in the woods. I shake my head a Xavier denying his words. He has nothing to be sorry for

“You saved me” I corrected him, my voice barely above a whisper. “If it wasn’t for you..” I trailed off unable to complete the

sentence.

He understood. We both did. If Xavier had been defeated. It didn’t bear mentioning what the consequences would have been. I was grateful instead, pressing my body against him, feeling my body tremble as he ran his hands up and down my arms, looking me over for any injuries I might have sustained. His touch is gentle, and tender. I swallow hard, feeling nothing but love for him. For him and for his brother. I was lucky to have them as my mates. I knew that now.

You’re hurt” I touch his shoulder, my eyes taking in all the bruises and claw marks over his body as I saw them up close

They look so angry against his flesh. I bite my lip, feeling nauseous

“I’ll live” he counters back, stubbornly refusing to let me look him over, his own eyes narrowing as he dares to glare at me. “You got lucky shoving that stick into his chest.”

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Chapter 72

pressed my forehead against his chest and then peered around the grounds, spotting both of our bags underneath a nearby tree, It was a miracle that

them

treating me as though I’m made of some sort of delicate china. It’s nice but also slightly exasperating. Instead of voicing that however, I watch as he jog over to the bags and brings them back, dropping them roughly at my feet. Slowly I bend over and

looks disappointed by that statement. “I wouldn’t have minded”

elbow, giggling. How could he act so immature at a time like this? Then again, it was proving to be beneficial as I glanced up and then gave a loud groan. There was no way I was putting clean clothes on a dirty

think I can put these clothes on while

me as though he understood. He too. was covered in dirt, blood, and who knew what else

over and over again until I felt clean all over again. I shuddered and Xavier nodded, grabbing some clothes out of his bag and then hoisting both bags over

said, holding my

about to fall over and you’re still weakened by the wolfsbane”

masculinity thing? Like he had to prove something to me? “So are you,”

one of which was an Alpha. Does it look as though I’m still under the influence of wolfsbane?” he asked patiently and with a

was

my mouth and then shut it. My lips flattened and then pouted at him for good measure. “Fine. If you’re so smart then point to a river”

“There’s one about a mile from

You should easily be able to pick up the

about a mile up ahead. I could smell and hear the water as it trickled downstream.

going in the right direction?” I asked my

our way. We had lost valuable time already. I wasn’t about to waste anymore. We still had to make our

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“I think we are. If you look at our tracks” he knelt down and showed me. “It looks as though we continued south. We were headed that way anyway. The rogues might

Chapter 73

Xavier POV

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branch or that she would fight back and leave the way clear for me to be able to finish the bastard off, ending the threat to us and allowing us to be able to relax slightly. There were still threats in the forest and would be as we continued on our journey, but for the monent, we could afford to take

let Regan know tha’m injured. It’s only a minor injury and it won’t take long before it heals. It’s painful but not life–threatening. If I tell her, she’s likely to think that it’s her fault and I don’t want her to blame herself, I can feel the bruises on my body and the scratches, the small pinpricks of pain a reminder of the battle I have just endured. All I care about is Regan’s safety. I grit my te pushing onwards and it’s not long until we’ve made it to the river, we’ve been able to smell. It’s larger than I expected, and I bend down, ignoring the coursing pain that is flooding through my body, and begin to fill our water bottles instead, before placing them aside with the backpacks. Regan is eyeing the river with bright

her, and she splashes at me playfully, a wide grin

threats, my nose trying to discern any nearby stents that don’t belong. No doubt somebody will come across the rogues‘ bodies we’ve left behind but since we’re in neutral territory,

enthusiastically, urging me to join her with excited motions

as I stand there for a moment, perfectly still. The coolness slightly numbs the pain I’m feeling in my ankle. I walk forward a few more steps, peering cautiously into the water It’s clear. No signs of anything deadly that’s about to leap out and kill us. In this world, you never know what you might see or find. Regan looks at me with amusement. For somebody who has been crying the last few hours, she’s cheered up remarkably and it’s a sight I’m glad to see. I smile, wading into the water, and then grab her, hoisting her into the air

into me, her wet hair trickling small bits

Her voice is muffled but also contains a hint of possessiveness

like it. I like that she feels this way towards

back. I close my eyes, relishing this moment, this brief interlude where there is no interruption and where it’s just the two of us. I know that she’s missing Xander and so am I. Xander would be waiting patiently

me, causing me to look

protect her. The rogues should never have been able to get their hands on her. I

cheek. It’s hers. I pull my head back and eye her, kissing her softly on the cheek. “Don’t cry We’re fine” I said “and we’re going to find the coven as soon as we

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our hearts. We would do anything to make

gave me a watery smile in response. I chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Much better,” I said silkily, wishing I could take it further and knowing that

such a thing without him. We shared Regan as our mate, which meant we always knew what the other was doing at all times. Still, it was tempting. especially since Regan was naked and in my arms. I had to remind myself that she had just been through a lot of

down on her feet, watching as she began to bend down and gather water in her cupped hands, smearing it over her body and washing the blood and dirt away, to reveal her smooth and creamy complexion beneath. It wasn’t long until she looked like her usual, gorgeous self. I eyed her lustfully and then resignedly began to turn away

clean all over, slinking out of the water and allowing the air

Her tone is decidedly

this” I answered, refusing to even entertain the idea

of man would let a woman carry

slight limp” she protested, pushing her hair back from her face and raking

bad,” I said with nonchalaner, “my

a lot better than before. Another hour or so and it would be painless.

and then

but there was also one other problem. I glanced up at the sky which was still clear and frowned. It might not be dark yet and it might not be getting cloudy, but my instincts were never wrong. We needed to find some sort of

at Regan. “We need to find some shelter and have something to eat.” My stomach

I’d lose my mind or not and then glanced up at the sky questioningly, a frown on her face.

feel the moisture in the air, the change in the wind, even as slight as it was I looked at Regan knowingly. She

it’s going to rain, and you’ll be glad we’ve found shelter. Let’s see if we can find a cave or something” I suggested

pointed out, sounding slightly hysterical at the thought “like bears and other

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almost adorable how frightened she sounded of those innocent creatures when we had just faced several rogues which I thought were much

of bears.” I said with a shrug and, striding away as she hurried to catch up with me. “Besides, they’ll only be defending their territory. It’s

I silently thought inside my mind, or other shifters, or even humans. Animals were simple

in contact with Xander? Let him know what happened?

That

he could know what a failure I was? I could feel my chest tightening as I forced myself to look Regan in the eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was inform Xander of whin our mate had just endured because of me. He

we’re fine” I said smoothly, dismissing her and hoping she would simply forget about

she had seen a ghost, or something. I

see something? Is it a bear?” I asked, feeling

anything. Not only that, but my ears weren’t picking up any noises besides the usual birds and small critters. No rogues. No other shifters nearby. Had she imagined something? Had her experience or trauma resulted in her seeing something

pale thought I saw something she admitted, looking down

what?” I asked puzzled, still glancing

Nothing unusual at any

have put that expression on her face and have her body shaking so violently with feart

impossible” her voice shoChapter 74

Xander POV

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Malcolm is at godsend, doing everything as instructed. He’s not a spy, I’ve cormed that myself, and now I have one more ally which is desperately needed while Xavier and Regan are gone. So far Isabelle and Heather are too self–involved to notice their disappearance

interupts me and I look up from the desk, feeling worn and tired as he

less than a day and already. I miss him and Regan. I hate being separated from my mate and

I grab the paper and begin to peruse it, my eyes widening in shock. “She’s not only changed it but she’s also decreased the mumber of men patrolling

was also pissing me off. The thought of killing Heather and her daughter had crossed my mind several times today, only to be dismissed. The last thing we needed was the elders to come

narrowing his eyes and folding his arms across his chest “What do we do? If we argue, she insists she’s responsible for the payment to the warriors and that

her the power and responsibility of the finances again” I muttered “although from the looks of it the first time it wasn’t forged. I know

times myself in school in order to get away with

Xavier had been right. Malcolm was the perfect choice as Beta. He was proving to be invaluable already, despite how short a time he had been in the role. I was already comfortable trusting him and that spoke a lot about his

though I’m going to be patrolling the perimeters for the next few days until Xavier and Regan are back,” I

to ensure the safety of the pack I couldn’t allow it to be attacked because of Heather’s

some friends who would be willing to do the same. They might not be as experienced in the way of fighting but they can at