Too Late for Tears: the Twin Alphas' Lost Mate novel Chapter 1

Iris’s hands shook as she distributed food among her fellow prisoners. Her wolf had gone silent so long ago she’d stopped expecting an answer when she reached for her — curled too deep to feel, somewhere beneath the worst of what had been done.

By the time she allocated herself food, all that remained was a small, dried-out piece of bread. Iris did not flinch at the knowledge she would not get any more sustenance in at least two days. Not her worst day by far.

Their cell door creaked open ominously, the guard entered.When his hard and cold eyes settled on Iris, she inwardly shivered but kept her expression neutral.

“Stand,” he ordered. He didn’t wait for her to obey, simply grabbed her arm and dragged her from the cell.

“It’s your lucky day,” the guard snarled cruelly as he gave her a push on the back of the shoulder “You’ve posted bail. An Alpha is here to take you home.”

A wave of what should have been relief waved through her, but the fear of facing her traitorous family overtook her body. She did not wish to see the family who had turned her from a princess into a criminal.

Still reeling, Iris changes into the clothes and jacket she checked into the prison with. She no longer fills out the bra. She pulls on the t-shirt and cinches the now-baggy sweatpants as tightly as she can.

The sun seemed brighter outside the labor camp; it blinded her eyes before they landed on the man waiting at the gate. He had grown into the powerful presence he had emitted even in their youth. Taller, more official, in a suit Iris recognized as their father’s cherished tailor’s work.

Her brother Cedric, the family’s eldest, was the one that had proposed she take the blame for Viola’s heinous crimes.

There’s a tentative smile on his face. “It’s good to see you.”

Iris lowers her eyes. Underneath her clothes and jacket, her body is a patchwork of scars from beatings - her mind just as scarred from the trauma of Black Rock. She and Cedric are worlds apart.

Cedric watched Iris adjusting to freedom with quiet apprehension. As the family’s eldest and Moonstone Pack’s newly inherited Alpha, he’d had to reschedule his official duties to come for her personally. But he hardly recognized the girl she’d been.

The Iris he remembered would already be complaining about her three years of captivity. He waited for her to rush to him and seek comfort, as she always did. She’d always relied heavily on him.

But she stood before him now, emotionless and defiant.

Out of habit, he extended his hand to her, giving her permission to seek comfort in his embrace. Instead, she stood gaunt and shaking, purposefully avoiding the hand he reached out to welcome her with.

“To say my schedule is full is probably the understatement of the century, but I specifically cleared all my official duties to come for you.”

Oh, so she should be grateful His Highness took the time for her. Typical big-head Alpha.

A knot formed in Iris’s throat. She wanted to tell Cedric everything that had been done to her. To slap him for never visiting and hug him for finally coming to her, but she remained still, blankly blinking at the man she had once considered family.

She was once a beloved part of the Fenrir family, doted on by her brother Cedric. And then, three years ago, the Fenrir’s long-lost biological daughter, Viola, reappeared.

It’s a debt you owe, Iris.

Cedric was solemn that day, as he sat on the edge of her bed. She should, and she would take the blame for Viola’s crime.

Lips pursed, she keeps her hands clasped to her sides, observing him through hollow eyes.

“I don’t know what you hope to gain by being cold and distant,” he snaps.

“Nothing, Alpha,” she says, addressing him formally.

Cedric looks momentarily stunned, as if he’s unsure what to do or say next.

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