Two Mated Alphas

Getting Ready

Wren’s POV

The Opal Moon estate was not so different from Blood Moon. An old mansion with updated interiors, while still maintaining the original character of the home.

The bedroom we were put in had a small brick fireplace and mantle, stacked with old books that looked like original copies of the classics like Pride and Prejudice and The Beautiful and Damned. In front of the fireplace were two cozy chairs and a small table. Across from the chairs was a four post king-sized bed, with a soft duvet and large pillows. Heavy rugs were overlapping on the floors, and there were velvet curtains flanking floor to ceiling windows that looked over the front of the estate. It wasn’t a bad set-up for our time here at Opal Moon. I could honestly just stay in this room if things went well with James and Alpha Sebastian. I already knew Irina loved it from the way she squealed the second she walked in the room.

She was currently with James getting ready for the bonfire tonight, and I was curious what they were talking about. As soon as I threw on a pair of jeans and was buttoning my shirt, my mate walked back into the room.

She had a sly grin on her face and rolled her eyes as she closed the door. I couldn’t help but stare at how beautiful she was.

Irina was smaller in stature, but still strong and toned. She had the same dark brown hair as James, minus the highlights that James loved sporting, and let it fall in loose curls. She and her sisters all shared the same soulful brown eyes, and they crinkled when her plump round lips spread into a smile. She had prominent freckles on her nose and cheeks, and her button nose always scrunched up when she laughed. Even after all this time, she still took my breath away.

Her eyes skimmed over my exposed chest, taking in the chest tattoo of my family crest, just over my heart. She licked her lips, but then closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I cannot have dirty thoughts right now. I need to get ready and look perfect for my first impression,” she groaned, making her way to the bathroom.

“You’re already perfect,” I grinned, following her and leaning on the doorway.

“Well, duh, but I need to be extra perfect,” she said with an eye roll.

“You can’t be nervous about meeting his pack, are you?” I asked incredulously.

She set down her hair brush and took a deep breath. She turned to me and looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I just want things to be perfect for her. She’s been through so much, and she deserves to be happy. She deserves what we have. And I really believe he’s good for her.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes.

“I don’t know if I can say I’m on board like you are just yet.”

“Oh come on, she and Mason broke up forever ago, and this is her MATE. I know you feel this weird sense of responsibility for what happened with them, but it’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s in the past, and she’s found her Goddess-given mate. You should be happy.”

Irina’s words stung. I did feel responsible for the pain Mason and James went through with their break-up. They shouldn’t have gotten as close as they did and in so deep before they turned 18. And someone should have pointed out soon after that they weren’t mates. But they were in love and happy, and who was I to tell them it wasn’t true? But James is my Alpha and I should have protected her, even if it was from herself.

Irina saw the tight way I held my jaw as I clenched my teeth and looked at the floor, and came up to caress my cheek.

“Wren. I love you and I love how much you love my sister. Give Sebastian a chance. Do what you can to make this as easy for her as possible. Because this isn’t going to be easy like it was for us,” she said gently.

I leaned into her touch and then kissed her palm.

“What would I do without you?” I wondered out loud.

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Probably be a bigger grump that’s no fun.”

“Fair,” I said with a shrug, then said “Listen, while you get ready I’m going to check on Mason. I think he needs it before tonight.”

Irina nodded her head and got to work getting ready. I left our bedroom and crossed the hallway to knock on Mason’s door.

“Mace, it’s me. Open up,” I said into the door.

The door to his room opened and he stepped aside to let me in.

“What’s up man?” He asked, closing the door behind me.

I looked around his room and it looked similar to mine and Irina’s. Large bed, huge windows overlooking the back of the estate where a large pond glimmered in the distance, and a small fireplace.

“I just wanted to come see you before the bonfire and check on you,” I said, sitting down in one of the leather chairs by the windows.

He sat down in the chair across from me and sat forward with his elbows on his knees. He took a deep inhale and looked over at me.

“I never imagined we’d be sitting here right now in Opal Moon. That’s for sure. I thought she would go through with rejecting her mate whenever she found him,” he said.

I nodded my head. If anyone would follow through on a decision like that, it would be James. She was stubborn and strong-willed, and being our Alpha was everything to her.

“I’m glad she hasn’t. Rejecting him would destroy her and everything she’s worked for. I’m not his number one fan, but Irina says we need to do whatever we can to make this easy for her. And you know Irina is never wrong,” I said with a small smile.

“You’re right. I just don’t know what I expected to feel with this. Being here, it feels weird. My skin feels like it’s tingling and Jax is on edge. You know how close he was with Ember, so I guess he’s just struggling to get used to the idea too?”

I nodded my head. Even their wolves, Jax and Ember, felt a connection with one another.

“Let’s take tonight, and give him a chance. Let’s put the Alpha meeting and her being our Alpha out of our minds, and let’s get to know the mate of our friend,” I said, feeling the words taste sour in my mouth.

Mason snorted at the expression on my face. “It’s so easy to forget she’s normal. You just look at her and all you see is Alpha.”

“I know,” I murmured, “she really is something special. Let’s just hope he realizes that too.”

“He better,” Mason muttered.

“I’m glad you’re taking this better than before. At the hotel, you seemed on edge.”

“I saw her smile the next morning, I guess after she talked to Alpha Easton and her sister. I haven’t seen James like that in years.”

I nodded my head, knowing exactly the moment he was talking about. It was when we were sitting together at breakfast, before she slipped away to follow after Alpha Sebastian. When she saw him, her eyes lit up and she practically skipped after him. Irina and their father telling her about the ritual gave her hope.

“You’ll find that too,” I said, patting him on the shoulder.

Before he could respond there was a soft knock at the door. The smell of roses told me it was James. She poked her head in the door and smiled.

“Ready to go party?” She asked with a grin.

“Yes Alpha” I said with a wink. Her grin widened and we all stepped out of Mason’s room. Irina was waiting for me in black jeans and a grey sweater, with black boots and her hair down and falling in shiny curls. She smiled and laced her fingers with mine, and we followed our Alpha to the party.

———

Sebastian’s POV

I took one last look at myself in the mirror before heading out the door. I had styled my hair like normal, and wore a soft long sleeved shirt and jeans, with brown boots. I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt to show off the tattoo sleeve that snaked across my chest and down to my right wrist.

My heart thudded in my throat as I made my way down the two flights of steps to the guest floor to meet James. I walked up to her door and stood there for a few seconds before knocking.

I poked my head in the door and my eyes immediately went to a pile of clothes that exploded out of her suitcase. On top of that pile was a black lace thong that immediately got my c**k rock hard. My mind started conjuring images of James’ sexy ass in that thong, how I would push away the lace to reveal her slick folds, wet and ready for me…

I could feel my cheeks heat as I banish the thought, remembering what I said to her earlier about giving her time.

“Hey, I was heading down and was wondering if you were, um, ready or not” I said.

Her eyes twinkled as she let out a small giggle and walked towards me.

“Sure thing. Just let me go check on the others and we can all head down” she said, her body brushing close to mine.

We walked down the carpeted hall to the other guest rooms and knocked on her Beta’s door, then her Gamma’s. They came out quickly, and I led them out to the back lawn.

My palms itched to grab James’ hands, and I let my fingers brush her wrist. Sparks erupted where we touched, and when I looked over to her my breath caught in my throat.

James’ had a look of awe on her face as she took in the back lawn of the Opal Moon estate. My mother had gone all out as usual in making this bonfire a celebration. Pups were laughing, people were already dancing and eating, and there was a steady hum from my pack chatting. James’ dark eyes softened and a small smile settled on her perfect lips. The light from the setting sun made her eyes glow a soft amber color, and her hair was shining with gold and copper. I wanted more than anything to kiss her in that moment.

Her sister and Beta disappeared, heading straight for the food table. Her Gamma was standing on the other side of her, body rigid. Dude couldn’t enjoy a party? I scoffed to myself.

James seemed to sense the tension rolling off her Gamma and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. My temper flared seeing the tender movement, but was quickly squashed when he took off like a bullet into the crowd that was my pack.

I tensed as he aggressively made his way through the people. He then stopped when he reached Ali, one of my warriors. The two of them looked like they only saw one another, and I knew that look on Ali’s face: that was her mate.

I laughed and looked at James, ready to point out the irony of her Gamma mated to one of my strongest female warriors. But when I saw James’ face, I stopped. It looked like someone had punched her in the gut.

I saw her mouth something to herself as she clutched her stomach and backed away and into the house.

I stood there looking between where she had been standing, and where her Gamma was now. It was then that things began to fall into place: how he hugged her after the meeting, the way he protected her when I was around, the fact that he always seemed to have a problem with me. As the realization dawned on me, my blood began to boil and Alaric thrashed in my head, his claws ripping out of my knuckles.