The Alpha Twins' Deadly Mistake

Chapter 1 Bleeding for the Stepsister

The rogue’s claws ripped through my coat and opened a hot line across my five-month pregnant belly.

I folded over my belly and screamed. One hand sank into the snow while the other covered the torn cloth.

Inside me, both pups kicked hard enough to hurt. Their fear traveled through our small bond and left me shaking harder than the cold did.

*Caleb! Connor! Please, I’m in the North Woods! They’re everywhere!*

That was my thirteenth call through our mind-link. The first twelve had met a blank wall.

Each time, I had sent Caleb and Connor my location and the sound of the rogues around me. I was their true mate, the pack’s Healer, and I was carrying their heirs. Neither Alpha answered.

The rogue Alpha lowered his head. His breath clouded over my face. Then the link opened, and relief hit so fast that my elbows nearly gave way.

*They’re here. They’ll save us.*

Caleb’s voice cut in.

“Aria, stop it. Chloe is trying to rest. She needs absolute quiet.”

For a second, I forgot the wolves around me. Chloe. Again.

*Caleb, I’m bleeding. They’re going to kill the babies!*

The link stayed open just long enough for me to hear Connor sigh. “Enough with the drama. Stop making things up for attention. We’re busy.”

The connection snapped.

I threw myself against it and found nothing. No trace of Caleb’s pine scent, no warmth from Connor, no weak opening where I could force one last warning through.

Snow pressed into my palms. The rogues tightened their circle.

Fangs closed on my shoulder, and the trees went black.

Antiseptic stung my nose when I woke. A monitor beside the bed picked up two fast heartbeats.

My pups were alive.

I lay in the pack infirmary with my shoulder wrapped and my belly aching beneath a thin blanket. I kept one hand over it until both pups moved.

The door opened. Caleb and Connor walked in smelling of pine and Chloe’s heavy jasmine perfume.

Neither came near the bed.

“She’s awake,” Caleb said to our head healer, Elara.

Elara’s hand tightened around my chart. “Alpha, she’s lost a lot of blood. The pups are stable for now.”

Caleb waved her quiet. “Chloe went into shock when she heard about the ‘attack.’ Her blood condition is acting up. She needs a transfusion now.”

I gripped the blanket. Chloe and I were the only wolves in the pack with that blood type.

“You can’t,” I whispered, my voice a raw croak. “The babies might not survive it.”

Caleb looked at me at last. “A little blood won’t kill you. You’re a Healing Wolf. You’ll recover.”

He turned to Elara. Alpha power thickened every word. “Draw it. Now.”

Elara went pale. She still reached for a syringe. A direct Alpha order gave her no choice, and Caleb stood close enough to make sure she obeyed.

“No.”

I pushed myself up and covered my belly with both arms. “Caleb, they’re your children. Don’t do this.”

I turned to Connor. He had always been the gentler brother. He had once promised to protect all three of us. “Connor, please. Don’t let him.”

His gaze dropped to the blood seeping through the bandage on my stomach. “Caleb, she’s still bleeding.”

I loosened my grip on the blanket.

From the hallway came a weak whimper. “Connor? I’m so cold.”

Chloe’s voice.

Connor’s jaw tightened. He looked away. “Just make it quick.”

Elara came closer with the needle. I kicked free of the sheet. “I hate you. You can’t do this!”

Connor caught me before I could get off the bed.

He pinned my wrist to the mattress. Those hands had once rested on my belly while he waited for the pups to kick. Now his thumb ground into my pulse.

I twisted hard enough to reopen the cuts on my shoulder. Connor shifted his weight and held me down with one forearm. He kept his face turned away from the heart monitor.

“Aria.”

He stared at the wall above my head. “Don’t use the babies to blackmail us.”

Elara slid the needle into my vein. Blood ran through the tube while I watched the numbers on the dual heart-rate monitor fall.