Theo’s POV
I was standing on the porch of the pack house with a h.uge smile on my face as Fang parked his car. He got out looking startled to see me. My smile widened. He was freshly showered. Interesting. He went somewhere else to shower? What smell was he trying to hide from us? I highly doubted he was cheating on Astrid. Werewolves practically never cheated on their mates. If a werewolf or she-wolf was unfaithful, it was usually because they were married to someone else who was not their mate and the mistress or mister was the fated mate the wolf was craving. Astrid and Fang were fated. I had noticed her moping around lately. She was feeling neglected by our favourite secretive Beta Fang.
“Fang, my Beta brother from another she-wolf mother!” I yelled.
Fang actually rolled his eyes at me. All the perfect brother pretentiousness had been dropped. I grinned, my eyes darkening a little. The Marigold pack had never really seen the warrior side of Thaddeus or me as he was here to woo not to fight. Fang strode up the steps, neglecting to greet me. I blocked his path. He snarled at me. I laughed.
“Whoa, easy there buddy!” I exclaimed.
Fang glared at me. “I’m not in the mood, Theo. It’s been a long day,” growled Fang.
“It has!” I agreed. “It’s been terribly long and you’ve been gone since the crack of dawn. Friday has been worried sick.”
I added that last part to jog his fake-protective big brother memory. Fang’s gaze softened. Was he faking?
“I’m sorry to have worried her. Let me pass quickly so I can go check on her,” Fang said.
“She’s with her two alphas now,” I said dismissively.
Fang narrowed his eyes. “All three of them are where exactly?”
“Upstairs in her bedroom. Heard them all laughing a little while ago,” I murmured absentmindedly. “But I’m more interested in your activities Fang. Let’s talk. Beta to Beta. Tell me about your long day.”
Fang’s POV
st! Friday, Thaddeus and Maze were up in her room laughing together? So they were all getting along suddenly or was Theo just trying to fvck with me. I was in no mood for this. The moment after I had left the Van Der Windt Manor, everything in my life suddenly got ten times more complicated.
Earlier that day (Flashback)
After I shook Lord Ezekiel Victor Van Der Windt’s hand, I breathed a sigh of relief. We negotiated the details. What was done was done. I was to benefit greatly from all of this regardless of how it played out. The vampires had offered me asylum in case I was found out and could no longer be the Marigold Beta. If I remained undiscovered (which I hoped to high heaven I would), I would continue on as the Marigold Beta but still be added to the Vampire Council payroll as an informant. I was not too thrilled about turning traitor for all to see so I hoped everything would go smoothly. I did not want to disgrace the Fenestra name. Friday had done enough damage to it with her wolf-less-ness and her fraternising with the neighbouring Alpha whom I was pretty sure she preferred over Maze. Maze was kind of an a.ssh0le sometimes to be fair but Friday should be accustomed to a.ssh0les by now. Marigold was a much tougher environment than Berryndale where she-wolves were babied and coddled.
I was leaving the Manor when Katrina pulled me aside. She opened a panel in the wall, a secret door just off to the side of the ground floor’s main entrance. She pushed me against the wall. She was pretty strong for a female vampire but I could have easily overpowered her if I was not so highly curious. I smirked wondering what this was about. Was she about to threaten me or something? To make sure I wouldn’t double DOUBLE cross them? Not quite. Her reasons were vastly different. Her cold grey eyes stared at me. She bit her l!p.
“What?!” I demanded, getting annoyed. Vampires were so melodramatic.
“Ugh, I don’t have all day, Katrina, tell me what…” I was cut off my Katrina crashing her l!ps to mine eagerly. I immediately gripped her arms and easily pushed her away from me.
I moved towards the exit of the secret side room.
“Wait!” She squealed.
“What?” I asked, pained. Vampire stench would be all over me now and I felt a sharp pang of guilt already despite not instigating that k!ss. Astrid was my fated mate. No one else really mattered to me in that way.
Updated by Jobnib.com
“I love you, Fang!” She squeaked, her eyes brimming with tears.
Oh good grief! She barely knew me. Maybe it was the Fenestra Family genes or something. Pheromones? First my sister had two tough alphas acting like school boys with crushes on Valentine’s Day and now a Vampire Princess was trying to jump my bones. I could not overtly offend her.
“Katrina, you are very pretty, ok. There are probably tons of vampires, humans and maybe even single werewolves that would be interested in you,” I tried, hoping she would calm down.
“Don’t patronise me,” she said, sniffling. “I’m not stupid. I know you have a mate…but I just want you to know I’m here for you. I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe here at Van Der Windt Manor with me ok. If anything fishy happens with your pack and your cover is blown, come straight to me ok?” She was pleading with me with her eyes.
I sighed. “Ok, Katrina. I’ll take care all right,” I said. “But I’m really not looking for a girlfriend. A wife is all I can handle right now,” I chuckled, thinking of Astrid’s reaction if she knew some vampire chick was hitting on me. It’d be a bl00d bath and Katrina reminded me of someone.
Katrina laughed sadly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have…um…jumped on you like that. I know you’re married. I’m not that way. I just…want you to be safe.”
I nodded, feeling a little bad for the girl. She was so…naive and yet she had a fierceness to her.
“I won’t let my stepfather double-cross you or anything. And watch out for my step-brother Ezra. He’s against this whole idea. He thinks you’re a j.erk for selling out your sister…but he doesn’t know you like I do,” Katrina said.
Ugh, ok.
“Ok, Katrina,” I said quickly. She moved towards me as if to h.ug me goodbye. She had already coated me with her scent. What was the use? I gave her a bear h.ug. She seemed thrilled at just that small gesture. She giggled and looked up at me, her eyes wide and hopeful. She was probably just lonely living in this house with her stepbrother and stepfather. Her mother was dead. She seemed to have no friends. She felt alone. The way she was looking at me reminded me of something.
I left hurriedly before Katrina could chain me to her bed with silver shackles or something. I was pretty sure most vamp chicks were Doms. They had that vibe. I went to my childhood home to hop in the shower. Dad was passed out drunk on the couch clutching an empty tequila bottle. I scrubbed the stench off of me. Katrina did not smell gross like the others but her scent was distinctly vampiric, the scent of a high-born. It was incriminating. I scrubbed until I was satisfied. I wrapped a towel around my wa!st. I looked in the floor-length mirror, checking every inch for any tell-tale marks. She had not scratched me or anything. Good.
“Fang, honey? Is that you?” Called a familiar voice.
“Mom?” I said. I went to my parents room and heard the master bathroom shower running.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Fang, you didn’t drop off the food, did you? Please be honest,” my mom whispered, clutching a handkerchief in her hands.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The challenge two alphas one girl