Page 35 of The Wolf's Secret Twins

“Please, reconsider.”

“Nobody wants us here, Fran,” I said through tears that were caking up my throat. “It’s better for us to leave if that’s the case. There’s no use fighting so hard. I’m tired. Gods, I’m just sotired.”

Francine held my shoulders lightly. She stopped for a second when she ran her thumb over my right shoulder—where the mark was located.

“You can’t go,” she argued. “Archie loves spending time with your family.”

The tears started falling, started staining my shirt and soaking through the fabric. I was tired of fighting and crying. I was tired of this whole mess. I just wanted my kids to be safe and have a happy life. Didn’t these people want the same for their families? How could they keep being so cruel?

Francine and Elias seemed to be the only parents willing to look past the gunk and crap to see thepeoplewho existed within.

I wiped my face. “We’ll be just fine. Don’t you worry about us.”

“You can’t stop me from worrying, Virginia.”

I smiled weakly. “I’ll get back to you about the school stuff, okay?” Bold lies were needed to keep people off my trail. If too much information got out… “Just give us some time. We’ll take the week.”

Francine took a deep breath before giving me a quick nod. “There’s always a place for you here.” She looked down at the twins. “How about you come over this weekend? Archie would love to have another sleepover.”

The twins nodded and then said goodbye to Francine and Archie. It hurt to see the children upset. Even Archie seemed to be mourning the loss of us, despite me saying I would get back to his mother soon and regardless of her invitation for the twins to stay over. Maybe he secretly knew something was up. Maybe a lot of them knew more than I thought.

Regardless, I had to make the right decision. Our future depended on what I did right now. And right now, I had to protect my kids. I had to protect myself and my budding relationship with Slater. If I failed at those things, then that meant I was a failure as a mother, a mate, and a shifter.

I couldn’t risk that.

Chapter 13 - Slater

Dim lights winked through the trees, a sign of the neighborhood kids playing tag beyond the veil. A couple of parents had been out walking the dirt paths—I figured it wouldn’t look terribly unreasonable for me to be trotting in gym shorts and a t-shirt, so I kept on going, winding around the path that would take me behind the houses and eventually land me in Virginia’s yard.

Voices echoed between the bark followed by jovial bursts of laughter. Someone must have been hosting a birthday party. By the sound of it, I could have sworn I heard the twins. But as I approached the darkened porch, the solitary hammock, the screen mesh of the patio door, I sensed the twins were inside.

Either they hadn’t been invited or Virginia had kept them home. I could probably take a wild guess which of those things was true.

Part of me wanted us to suddenly be accepted. If we revealed our mating plan to the alphas, they couldn’t exactly stop us. They weren’t tyrannical leaders, and they certainly weren’t unreasonable. A little acceptance from them could go a long way with the rest of the pack. The members did tend to fall in line with the majority.

All I had to do was convince a sizable chunk that Virginia was a good woman with a strong heart and a kind soul. Her kids were much the same, and the only thing people should fear from them was their knowledge of horror and bugs. I chuckled to myself as I settled into the wicker chair near the window. From the other side of the pane came the sounds of a soap opera. Lots of sobbing and muttering.

Curiosity drew my focus to the window. I peered through the sheer curtains, utilizing my supernatural abilities to see what the family was doing. It was technically too early to waltz inside—Virginia had made it clear that the twins couldn’t know about our nightly rendezvous plans. That was fine by me. I didn’t want them to get overwhelmed too soon.

Eventually, though, they’d have to know about us. They’d probably already caught us sitting at the kitchen table. The twins were highly receptive to me, super accepting, and generally excited to see me, so I didn’t see the harm. But Virginia had insisted. I cared about her enough to respect her wishes.

Tonight, the twins were snug as bugs on the sofa. The television splashed colors across their faces, but I couldn’t see much else through the silk. Even with my fantastic sight, I wasn’t sure of too many other details like their individual expressions. Though I had to wonder why Virginia set them up in front of a cheesy soap when they probably would have preferred cartoons or video games.

That was when it hit me.

The sobbing wasn’t coming from the television. It originated from the right of my vision, just beyond where I could see, hidden by the right edge of the window. Blubbering and then more sobbing came through, piercing the tinnitus that threatened to take over once more. I plugged my finger into my ear and shook it. Once my hearing cleared, I leaned closer, noticing that Virginia was sitting at the kitchen table with her face in her hands.

Son of a—

I launched from the chair and went to the door, rapping lightly on the wood. I heard Virginia gasp. I heard the chair creak across the tile. I heard her light footsteps approach the door. She must have checked the window and noticed it was me because she would never have opened the door for anybody else without knowing who was there. As soon as she saw me, she forced a smile.

I took her hands gently. “No, ma’am. You’re not faking anything with me.”

Her lower lip trembled as I led her back to the table. I sat her down and went into the living room. “Alright, bugs. Bedtime.”

What I saw stabbed me right in the heart. Anthony and Adhara wore the same concerned expression, but Adhara’s was twisted. Her left eye was swollen shut and her cheeks were stained with tears. Christ, what the hell had happened to her?

“Anthony, get your sister an ice pack,” I instructed. I sat on the couch and checked the bruise, being careful with the puffy skin. “Does it hurt, Adhara?”

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