Between Witches and Wolves

Chapter 2: Alexander “Alex”

Alex

Wind rushes by my ears, paws pounding the dirt beneath me, the smell of fresh rain still lingering in the air.

Man, I love it out here.

The forest always feels like home, especially in my wolf form. My wolf, Void, loves to be set free to run aimlessly throughout the night. His pitch-black coat makes him blend nicely into the darkness.

Suddenly, Void growls as he hears howling in the distance, but quickly stops when he recognizes the sound.

It’s just my brother.

He must be letting his wolf, Ash, stretch his legs as well. Funny, even though we are twins, we rarely have the same idea at the same time.

We start making our way toward Ash. Void seems excited and ready to play. I remind him that we are supposed to be hunting at some point tonight. He huffs at me and continues running in Ash’s direction.

As the river comes into view, Void sees a flash of gray on the other bank dart into the woods.

So that’s how you want to play this?

I can feel a smile tug at my mouth even in my wolf form. If he wants to try and get the drop on us, he is going to have to be smarter than that.

Void finds a safe spot to cross the river and quickly picks up on Ash’s scent. Slowly, we make our way into the woods, all our senses on high alert.

Suddenly, a sound behind us makes Void turn swiftly.

Nothing is there.

Before we realize it, we are tackled to the ground by a massive gray wolf with bright blue eyes.

There you are, asshole. Been waiting on you to fall into my trap forever now.

I hear Nate mind-link me, his wolf standing tall and proud.

I thought for sure you had f****d up and I would get the drop on you tonight.

Void stands and shakes. Dirt flies through the air, making Ash sneeze.

You want to go hunting with us? Need to bring some meat back to the pack.

At that mind-link, Ash starts to get excited, bouncing around like an eager puppy.

I’ll take that as a hell yes.

We make our way deeper into the forest and down the river. Eventually, Void catches the scent of a doe, and we give the signal to Ash. Without hesitation, we fall into our routine.

Nate came up with this strategy when we were still young pups. He always had a great mind for strategy and fighting.

Void follows the scent straight on while Ash loops around the opposite side to find a good spot for an ambush. Once the prey is in view and we can see Ash at the ready, Void charges toward the doe, chasing her directly toward Ash.

As soon as she is in range, Ash jumps out of the brush and pulls her to the ground.

A swift, clean kill.

Proud of their success, both wolves lift their heads and howl into the night sky.

A successful hunt indeed.

The doe is easily one hundred and sixty pounds of raw muscle. It should be able to feed the pack for the week, as long as the other shifters share properly and aren't greedy. Plus, we do have an actual hunting party out that should bring in much more game.

Void and Ash take turns carrying the carcass back to camp. I praise Void for a job well done and can feel him almost purring with pride.

I smile.

Damn wolf is so full of himself sometimes.

I wonder why?

Once safely in camp, I take over from Void, shifting back into my human form. Void settles down in my mind and drifts into a deep sleep. He must be pretty tired after running for four hours and hunting.

“Wow, boys. Awesome kill. I’ll let Seb know y’all brought back some fresh meat and get it cleaned and ready to eat.”

I see Malinda smiling and eyeing the doe. She hands me some sweatpants she keeps at the entrance. Nudity isn’t uncommon in a pack, but now that Nate and I are “of age” to be mated, Dad wants us to cover ourselves more around the females in the pack.

A sharp pain slaps my shoulder, and I turn to see Nate completely naked, still smiling from ear to ear.

“That was fun! Ash really misses hunting with Void. We’ll have to do it more often. And before you say it, yes, I know you’re busy, but you could make more time for your little brother, can’t you?” Nate asks teasingly.

“Little brother? By what? Five whole-ass minutes? That trick doesn’t work on me anymore, you know.”

I almost laugh.

Nate—or Nathaniel, as our dad loves to call him—is indeed my younger twin brother. He is the same height as me, six-foot-three, but is a bit leaner at one hundred and seventy pounds compared to my one hundred and ninety. We both have black hair, but Nate likes to keep his slightly longer than normal.

Always pisses Dad off.

We also share the same eye color, except where his have hints of gray, mine have yellow tones.

“Put these on before any of the girls see you.” Malinda throws another pair of sweats to Nate.

“Thanks,” Nate says as he puts on the pants.

“Alex, have you heard from Dad? You know he was pissed I missed the last meeting. Just wondering if he’s cooled off since then. I really would like to come back to the house, but I’d rather not catch an earful at the front door.”

I sigh.

“You should really put in more effort to be at the meetings. I’m getting tired of always trying to cover for you. But yeah, to answer your question, I think he may have cooled off enough to let you in the house.”

With that said, we both make our way toward our home.

But boy, am I wrong.

____________________

“Nathaniel Blake Lockwood! Where the hell have you been? Gone for three damn days without a word to your mother or me.”

I can hear my dad yelling at Nate before we even start up the stairs.

“And you, Alexander Rhys Lockwood, you said you were going hunting damn near six hours ago. I know it doesn’t take that damn long to find some meat.”

He huffs at me.

Damn, I really underestimated how pissed he is this time.

“Dad, please calm down. I know I should have kept in touch with you and Mom, but Ash just needed a good hike up the mountain,” Nate explains.

He should know better, though, since his “hike” made him miss a very important meeting.

“You could have waited to do that s**t until after the meeting Friday! You knew it was supposed to be important for you and your brother’s future! But no, you run away that morning and don’t say a word to anyone. I don’t even know what to do with you anymore.”

Dad lets out a long sigh, and his head falls into his hands.

“Well, just give me the summary of the meeting, then. I really am sorry, Dad.”

Nate puts on his famous please forgive me face and softens his voice. When we were kids, this usually worked on Dad.

Unfortunately for Nate, it stopped working when we turned thirteen.

“You dumb sack of s**t! Fine, you want a summary? You and your brother are twenty-five years old now, and it’s about time to start thinking about taking on a chosen mate!”

Dad’s voice echoes through the room.

Nate’s body stiffens, and his eyes take on a much sharper look.

“We’ve talked about this, Dad. I don’t want a chosen mate. I’m still young, and I may find my fated mate any day now! Why do you have to try and force Sarah on one of us?”

Now Nate is pissed.

“Sarafine is an excellent choice! She’ll make a wonderful Luna and has already agreed to marry one of you next year.”

The room falls completely silent.

Next year.

Dad is already planning on making it final next year.

As twin heirs to the pack, we have a responsibility to marry and have pups of our own. Nate hates the idea. He has always been more of a free spirit than me. He has a knack for strategy, though, and would make an amazing leader for the warriors.

But Nate is hung up on finding his fated mate.

That’s why he left for three days.

He was searching for her.

Although I’ve talked to Nate about it over and over again, I can’t seem to get it through his head.

Fated mates are a rarity.

The chances of him finding his are damn near zero.

Dad really wants one of us to marry Sarafine, or Sarah as everyone else calls her. She’s beautiful, no doubt. She has curves in all the right places, long golden-blonde hair, and deep brown eyes. She’s sweet and can be quite spicy sometimes.

But I feel like Dad wants her for Nate. Not because he thinks they would be a perfect fit or anything, but because Dad seems to think that if he can get Nate married, he will finally start taking his title seriously.

Like that would ever happen.

Oh well.

I don’t give a damn either way. If Nate finds his fated mate, I’ll marry Sarah.

Doesn’t matter to me.

I know I’ll never find a fated mate anyway.

I gave up on that dream a long time ago.