Accepting My Twin Mates
Chapter 72

Astennu

Our father's dour expression hadn't let up since we set foot in the training centre yard, his hands clasped tightly behind his back and surveying over the warriors assembling. During winter, we would hold sessions both outside and in. It wasn't as though a threat would come exclusively on a balmy day with perfect wind conditions. So we tried to train in as many weather conditions as possible.

aside from saying good morning with a curt nod, he hadn't said another word. We had had our share of disagreements in the past, but he hadn't been this bull-headed over his stance before. I understood he held his prejudices over rogues because of what had happened to my mother; I understood, but I didn't agree, not by a long shot. It all came down to reputation again with him; he didn’t want to admit he was wrong and have others know he surrendered. In his eyes, it was a sign of weakness. What made the tension worse between us, was the lack of a buffer. Kate wouldn't be attending training for a while and Tamlyn would be somewhere on the other side of the pack, running her trackers through their scent drills.

So here we were left, alone with our grouch of a father.

Who didn't love endless hours of awkward silence and an atmosphere so tense it could be sliced like a taut rope?

“Focus on tonight, Aasim breathed in and out, attempting some form of meditation to keep himself from bursting. “We're getting marked!’

Just the notion, the anticipation of Evie sinking her canines into my neck, marking me as hers forever and experiencing our souls entwine, permanently binding us in a way that only death could break...

“Bi sharafak (seriously, dude); Badru back-handed my chest, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Head in the game, “akh (bro). This is usually you telling me!

My head whipped up to see my father staring my way, expectant and irritated, the entire training yard of warriors quiet and waiting.

“Are you here, or are you elsewhere?” His jaw ticked and the vein on the side of his temple drummed in a matching beat. “Astennu, care to lead our warriors through their warm-ups?”

I had completely zoned out in front of everyone with a dopey smile plastered on my face, spread from ear to ear.

“My bad, my wolf pleaded guilty, raising his paws in the air. It's just... I can’t get my mind off of our mate. It feels like we need to be with her’

It's both our bad... I know what you mean.

Evie was beginning to concern me that we had returned too early. She had complained of a stomach ache that had begun this morning, waving off breakfast. My mate wasn't one to pass up on food, but she swore it was simply nerves over her impending rendezvous with my mother alone. If it continued, I didn't care how much she protested, even if I had to toss her over my shoulder like a caveman, she was going to the pack clinic.

Our warm-ups pushed on, the biting breeze losing its sting as our muscles and bodies prepared for the rigours to come. To get our blood pumping, I decided on a short but steep incline run, just for an hour or so to put our first class of elite warriors through their paces. Our father nodded his approval, bringing up the rear to our group so no one was left behind.

It was interesting to sense the faint emotions trickling through our bond with Evie. An emotion of embarrassment here and there, no doubt from her characteristic blunt and brusque manner of speaking. She was so adorably awkward in situations where she had to try and act polite and genteel, neither of which were words in her vocabulary. The odd flash of sympathy sparked in our bond, which I hoped meant our mother was opening up to our mate and vice versa.

But what I was unprepared for was a sudden burst of discomfort, a sense of vulnerability.

The unpleasantness was enough to stop me in my tracks, just as I was leaping over the craggy sharp incline of our run; Badru, too, stopped abruptly.

Something wasn't right.

Our group gathered around us in a stop, wondering why we suddenly seemed out of it and had come to a grinding halt. “Evie?’ My twin and I mind-linked in unison, but it was as though we were reaching out into a void.

I don't feel r-*

It was her. Our Evie. Only her voice was so faint, so distant and small. Yet, it hit with the force of a sledgehammer nonetheless. The sense of our bond fading, slashed my insides apart. It was the same feeling I experienced when Evie fell asleep, but in those moments she was with us, safe, warm, content and completely at ease. This, what I was feeling, was all wrong. She was falling unconscious, but against her will... she was scared...

“Qamar..” our mother's name whispered from my father's mouth. The look of abject dread and desperation on his face.

The three of us shared a look for a split-second, no words needing to pass and any animosity long forgotten.

We shifted to our identical pitch-black wolves and ran at a flat-out speed, skidding down most of the trail we had sprinted up just minutes ago. I was cursing myself for suggesting we start our session with a run. I had added at least thirty minutes from what it could have been had we stayed in the training grounds. If anything happened to my mate or my mother, because of my stupid decision... I would never forgive myself.

We each barked our set of orders to the pack. Our father instructed the warriors behind us to follow. I sent an alert to stand- by warriors, commanding any close to the Amarin tearoom to converge and to any other pack members to stay away. All we knew was that our mate and mother were unresponsive, we had no clue what threat was lurking and the last thing we needed was pack members getting hurt trying to help. Badru ordered for patrols to remain at their posts and report anything suspect, no matter how trivial it may seem. Nothing had been reported, but it didn’t mean something had been missed.

“Tm trying to get back as quickly as I can; Tamlyn's voice cut across the racket of mind-links coming through. “But we're on the other side of the pack. We're at least an hour out, maybe more!

Just do your best, Tam; my brother answered, kicking up leaf litter and rocks as our paws connected with the flatter terrain, bolting around the outside of the training yard in the direction of the town.

The one day we needed our Gamma close by...

At the forefront, I was first to arrive, skidding to a halt at the door and my claws carving gashes into the sidewalk. My brother was behind me seconds later, followed by my father. Four warriors were already on the scene, one holding the door open for us to rush inside and instructing us upstairs. Two she-wolf warriors waited for us, one inspecting the table contents, the other holding my mother close to her.

My father shifted back, sliding to my mother's side.

“Qamar, my moon flower.” his trembling hand traced her face.

Her limbs were sluggish, her eyes were barely open and her speech slurred. If it weren't for my father holding her head up, she wouldn't have the ability. A red mark lined her wrists and a cut cable tie sat fallen by her hip. She had been bound. Another young woman I didn't recognise lay on her side in a recovery position. Her scent was simple without the werewolf musky edge, so she must have been a human pack member. A small trickle of blood seeped from her temple and a thick wooden tray lay dumped on the floor beside her.

The only person missing... Evie.

“Alphas, we don't know what happened yet other than the Luna was drugged and had her hands tied. The waitress looks to have been knocked out with a blow to the head,” the she-wolf warrior who had held my mother spoke. “There was no one else here when we arrived. We've checked the Luna and she looks uninjured, but an ambulance is on the way for her and the poor young girl, there,” she nodded down to the floor where the waitress lay. “We think it was the tea that was laced because there's only a single bite taken from the food on the table but the tea has been a fair bit drunk from it”

A cup on the table rolled on its edge, the liquid running and dripping to the wooden floor. Another cup lay in shattered pieces, knocked over by whatever had happened here.

asim let slip a small whine, sniffing over our mother and moving to wear our mate's scent was thickest on the floor. She had collapsed at this spot. Badru was sniffing furiously over by the open balcony window.

“The first group of trackers are only a few minutes out the warrior by the table informed us, pouring the tea contents into a bottle. “We're hoping they can pick up what we can't. There's no other scents around except something chemically, so we think whoever is responsible was wearing a scent cover and used it on the future Luna to hide their escape. Her scent starts to vanish by the window. We... we didn't know whether to try and follow or stay...”

The she-wolf bunched her hands, her grip tightening and loosening on the bottle in her hands, worried whether she acted suitably in the situation.

“No, you did good, Badru raised his wolf's head to settle her fears and then addressed me directly. “We need to get on the trail before we lose any more time. You heard Tam, she’s still miles out!

I nodded, turning my attention back to our father. “Stay and coordinate the others when they arrive. We're going after our mate. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

And I followed my twin, leaping out of the open window without a second thought.

The window led out onto the back of the establishment, away from any eyes of the pack, and faced part of the surrounding forest. The scent of an exhaust lingered in the air, but we were on the edge of the commercial district of the town. The smell could be from any number of cars, wafting over from patrons’ or delivery vehicles in the area. The path around the building had been shovelled for snow, as had the small parking lot, the small drive for goods deliveries and the sidewalk, meaning there were no tacks or marks to go off.

“Here!' My brother called over, his wolf nosing on the edge of the forest through the sparse trees.

I charged over, spotting what he had found. Thick and fresh tire tracks from an off-road vehicle imprinted into the snow and mud, leading eastward through the woods to avoid the roads.

We took off in tandem, Badru allowing me to take the lead as I was the fastest with the better nose. I was aware of a few warriors following, but they would soon fall behind, unable to match our speed. Neither my brother nor I were about to slow down for them, every second counted.

As I worked on following the trail, my brother sent up an alert to the eastern patrol on our borders, receiving a reply almost immediately that fresh tracks matching the ones we were following had been discovered.

“They can’t be more than a few minutes old, the patrol reported. “They lead onto the Yakama Reservation. Do you want us to follow?’

“No, keep the borders secure; my twin instructed, knowing the best way to proceed in an emergency. “We're on our way to your location

Time simultaneously halted and sped around me. My running seemed never-ending, yet everything was growing more distant. Aasim was solely focused on two things: willing our bond to awaken with Evie and Evva, and chanting to himself we were going to reach them in time.

I knew, deep down, none of it would happen. A sick and gut-wrenching despair was firmly beginning to root itself in the pit of my stomach.

The patrol came into view, but we didn't slow down, hurtling past. They hadn't tried to stop us, so we knew they had nothing more to share. The dense overhang of evergreen firs around would dampen and mask most sounds and the perpetrator's exit had been timed perfectly between the gaps in the patrol groups. Whoever did this, had knowledge of our routes, schedules and terrain.

While our schedules had been changed by my own hand since he was thrown from our pack... there was one name that rang in my head incessantly, and from his growing wrathful disquiet, the same name was repeating in Badru's.

If Finley had any hand in this, there wouldn't be much left of him to bury.

Normally, our pack would require permission from the wiccan Elder before setting foot on their land, as a sign of respect. But with our future Delta, Elan, being part of the Family, we had been granted permission to enter as we needed.

Whoever the driver of the vehicle was would meet no resistance on these lands. The wiccan Family here were out-and-out pacifist. They didn't have patrols or guards or warriors. Their focus was tending their land, preserving the nature that flourished around them. Notions of violence and war were a world away from their gentle and soft-hearted natures.

My brother's wolf began to lag behind the further we ran, my wolf pulling ahead on every bound of our stride. I was first to stumble onto the quiet road that intersected the forest, mud overspilling on the tarmac where the vehicle had slid onto its surface. Just ahead of us was a dilapidated shack, half caved in and on its way to being reclaimed by nature. The only standing structure was a rotten lean-to, its door hanging haphazardly open. Outside and skidded to a halt sat a vehicle, the driver's door and trunk wide open and a faint dinging of an alarm ringing from the console inside.

We shifted as we neared, yanking the nearest door open on the backseat.

“Evie!” I hollered, my voice echoing along the natural tunnel that the trees created along the road

She was nowhere to be seen, not an ounce of her scent present. A couple of strands of long blonde hair were in the base of the trunk, caught in the felt fibres. She had been in this.

“EVIEV" Badru yelled out into the open, hoping against the odds she would answer.

I kept calling through our mind-link. Aasim, too, attempted every way he could to reach Ewa. No answer came.

“Ru, this is one of ours. It's a pack off-roader” I stepped back from the vehicle, recognising it from one of the fleet.

Did this mean someone from inside our pack was the perpetrator, or someone outside knew where to look?

If this was our poor excuse of a former Beta, he'll have more than his fingers missing by the time 'm done with him; my wolf roared, his snarls rumbling my chest.

“Aste, over here," Badru waved me open, standing from his crouched position by the tumbledown hovel. “They switched transport.”

Where he indicated, another set of tire tracks took off from the lean-to, the dirt following the tires path onto the snow- covered road.

“Come on, this way," I shifted mid-gait, with a renewed hope that we just might save our mate.

But, my hopes were dashed as the tracks vanished along with other vehicles’ amidst the snow. And farther along, the road ended at a junction of another; one leading north-east, the other leading south-east. Neither gave any sign of the direction due to the mingling tread imprints.

We were so close yet we couldn't be any further away.

I shifted back to human form once more, wanting to call out Evie's name, just for the belief that somehow I would hear her reply. Yet no sound would move past my lips, my voice caught in my throat like a vice, as though clawed fingers were crushing my chords shut.

This was all my fault, the thought beat in my temples with my pulse and I fell to my knees, not knowing what to do.

If we had been closer, we could have made it to her in time. Instead, my leadership had led us further away from where I should have been, near my mate where my bond was demanding me be. Now, we had lost her, and my brother had to pay the price for my stupidity.

And Konstantin?

In all of this, I was only just now thinking of him.

How could I face him after this?

He trusted me with his most precious gift, and I had lost her.

“Aste?” My brother's hand gripped my shoulder.

No matter how I tried to get my mouth to work, it wouldn't. My voice was too far claimed with self-loathing.

He dropped down beside me, forcing me to look at him and pressing his forehead to mine in solidarity.

“This isn't on you, it isn't” his grip shook me with emphasis on each syllable. “So don't start blaming yourself. We need to regroup because otherwise, we're chasing our tails-"

“Get back here, now; our father's voice boomed, interrupting our self-pitying. “The lycan is gone, so are his things! Konstantin was missing?

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