The Twin Alphas Broken Mate

A Change of Mind

*Hope POV*

Once the twins left my room, I slumped to the floor. Holly ran to my side, because she thought something was wrong.

“Hope? Do I need to call them back? Are you hurt?” she asked with concern. I laughed and shook my head, and told her that I was fine. I was just relieved that they had left.

“I’m good, Holly. I’m just glad they are gone. I am so stressed out when they are around. Especially Noah. I don’t know what is happening. One minute he hates my guts, and well, this happens. Then, the next minute he is caring for me and wants to do it. It makes my head spin, and keeps my anxiety in full freak out mode,” I explained.

She sat beside me, and took my hand. I leaned my head against her shoulder, and before I could stop them, tears started to fall.

“Oh sweety. Let it out. I know you think no one cares, but that’s not true. Juliet cares, and I definitely care. You think you are alone, you’re not,” she said softly.

I wiped my tears, and tried to process what she was saying. I was thankful to have her in my life, but without my family, I was alone. She and Juliet had their own lives to live. They couldn’t be with me like I wanted them to. However, for now, I would accept what she was saying.

“Thank you. As much as I want to believe that, it’s still not the same. I miss them. I miss them so much. As much as I want to be angry with Jon, I can’t be. I just wish they were here, and things were different,” I sobbed.

She let me cry for just a little bit, and then told me that we needed to get me in that bath or shower. The time for sulking was over, and it was time to get myself together.

“Bath or shower? I know there is some amazing smelling bubble bath in there that I would kill to soak in,” she smiled.

I tried to get her to go first, and soak in the tub, but she refused. She said that all she needed was to climb in and one of the twins returned to find her there. She was trying to stay on their good side.

I decided on the bath. It just sounded good. However, I wasn’t as big of a fan of the bubble bath scent as she was. It smelled like a caramel sugar cookie, and that just wasn’t my thing.

“Is this the only scent? I don’t like it,” I complained. She laughed, and then opened the cabinet. There was a whole closet of candles, bath oils, soaps, body wash, shampoos, and so much more. They had even stocked my favorite smells.

I ultimately chose my favorite, Candied Cranberry.

Holly started the bath, and got things ready for me. She even turned on my favorite music.

“You take all the time you need, and if you need me, all you have to do is yell. I’m going to do some school work while you're soaking. Nick said dinner would be here at six, so you have just a little over an hour,” she smiled.

She closed the door, and I took off my robe to climb in. Instead of my thoughts going back to the past, they drifted to the future. Far enough for me to think about what I was going to do the day I turned eighteen. Three more months to go.

I had options. More than I thought I would have once I thought about it.

I could always go back to my family home. The twins said they had kept it for me. I had friends at another pack in Georgia that I could go to, or I could go away to somewhere new and live among the humans.

All three were an option, but the more I thought about any of them, my thoughts seemed to be including the twins. The two people that I shouldn’t be thinking about in any capacity.

The water started to get cold, so I tried to climb out of the tub on my own. The pain in my ribs had other plans, so I had to call for Holly.

The bruises that still littered my body were yellowing, but it still took her by surprise.

“Hope? Uh, sweetie, is that from the attack too?” she asked. I nodded slowly, and tried to cover myself, and reached for the robe she had in her hands.

After I covered myself, she helped me into the bedroom, and when I sat on the bed, she started to pat dry my hair.

“It is. It doesn’t hurt anymore. My ribs and pelvis don’t hurt as bad either unless there is pressure applied. He feels really bad about it all,” I finally replied. The look of disgust on Holly’s face said that she didn’t buy the fact that Noah felt badly.

“Do you genuinely feel he holds guilt for this, or is that what he says, and have you chosen to just believe it? Hope, alphas or not, you do not have to just accept what they say,” she said.

That was a great question. Did I truly believe him, or is it what I wanted to believe just to get through this? I think I truly believed him. When he sat at my bed and apologized, I could feel his guilt when I placed my hand on his.

“It’s genuine. I don’t know how, but I know he is telling me the truth. There are a lot of weird things happening between the twins and I, and I’m not sure how to feel about them,” I replied.

I told her I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Everything with Noah was over, and all I wanted to do was move on.

After she dried and brushed my hair, I went into the closet to find something to wear. When I flipped on the light, I nearly fell to the ground. It was completely stocked, just like they had said. I had never had this many clothes, and in this closet was something for just about every occasion.

I began to open the drawers just to see what was inside. I finally found some pajama pants and a T-shirt, and put them on before leaving the closet.

When I rejoined Holly, our dinner had arrived, and she had already set us up at the little dining table. She had my favorite movie ready to play. She was really making this scary time much better for me.

“How did you know that Coraline was one of my favorites?” I asked. She laughed and said that I talked in my sleep in great detail once about the movie.

“You talk in your sleep. When you start, it’s pretty easy to make it into a conversation. I know that this isn’t your absolute favorite, that is The Breakfast Club because you think Judd Nelson was “hot in the 80s”, and your favorite song in the whole wide world is Tangerine by Led Zeppelin. There’s more, but that’s a good example,” she smiled.

The palm of my hand met my face, and I had to laugh. Jon used to say that I talked in my sleep, but I never believed him. I guess he wasn’t lying after all.

The thought of Jon brought my mood down again. When was this going to stop? I would always mourn my family, but I needed to focus on the good times. Not everything else.

“If I can get the twins to agree, do you think we could go for a walk tomorrow? The fresh air felt so good earlier, and I think it would do me some good,” I asked.

“I bet if you told them that we were going to do school work they would allow it. You are going to take them up on that offer, right?” she asked.

I wanted to. I wanted it more than anything. I had initially said that I didn’t want it, because I didn’t think it would matter. However, now, I think it’s something that can only help me in the long run.