Undercover Mate For The Alpha Twins

_Kaelith’s POV_ I reeked of sweat, metal, and bills I couldn’t pay. Not the kind of smell a girl wants at nineteen. But at least it wasn’t blood. Blood meant I got into another fight with her. I dropped the wrench into my old toolbox, the sound reverberated through the garage, making me wince. The woman who raised me, though she was never really a mother, would probably come yelling soon, asking why the lights at home were still off. Like I wasn’t already working all over this town just to keep the power on in a house that never felt like mine. “I need to get out of here,” I whispered, wiping the sweat and dirt off my forehead. I turned off the lights and pushed the garage door up just enough to slide under it. The night air was cold against my sweaty shirt. I pulled my jacket up to my neck and walked quickly. The streets of Black Hollow were quiet and It made me nervous. I kept moving fast, I just wanted to get home before anyone weird noticed me. No one usually cared about a girl in dirty jeans and sneakers with holes, but when you looked broke and tired, the wrong kind of people noticed. When I got to South Clay Road, I saw the broken porch and the blinking porch light of the place I had to call home. I stepped over a smashed chair and jumped over a board I never fixed. My key barely worked in the lock. Inside, it smelled like cheap alcohol and something bad. A half-empty bottle sat on the counter and on the couch, lying like a queen in a messy castle, was her. Sable. My mom. No. Just the woman who raised me like I was a problem she never wanted. “You’re late,” she mumbled, eyes still closed. “I’m not your worker,” I muttered as I walked by her. She sat up quickly and almost knocked over the bottle. “What did you say?” I stayed quiet at first. Staying quiet was usually safer. But tonight… I didn’t feel like being safe. “I said I’m not your damn servant,” I said, loud and angry. Bad idea. She swung her hand at me, but I moved fast and ran to my room. I slammed the door and locked it with the old latch I had fixed too many times. I leaned against the door, breathing hard. When I didn’t hear her coming up the stairs, I let out a shaky breath and slid to the cold floor. This happened all the time. Sable was always ready to yell, insult me, or hit me. And I was always ready to survive. She was such an ungrateful b***h. Once, I brought home my first full paycheck, she snatched it before I could even peel off my boots, calling it ‘rent’ and laughing when I cried. Sleep didn’t come easy that night. My thoughts kept circling, trapped in a loop of escape plans and what-ifs, until exhaustion finally won. I fell asleep right there on the floor. The next morning, a knock on the door woke me up. I groaned, shielding my eyes from the sunlight streaming in through the half opened curtains. I was still laying on the floor in my dirty clothes, and the events of last night came rushing back. When the knock came again, followed by my mother's impatient voice, I was forced to get up. Sluggishly, I pulled the door open to come face to face with her now sober self. “Bold of you to sleep till this hour. It’s already 8 o clock. Get your ass ready and go to work." She grumbled before turning to leave. I eyed her, reaching out a hand to grab her weak neck and strangle her to death, but paused when she turned abruptly. Her eyes narrowed, as if guessing what I was just about to do. “What?" I asked, not even bothering to hide the irritation on my face. "That psycho best friend of yours has been standing outside for nearly five minutes. Get him to leave as fast as possible. I hate that kid." She turned and finally walked off. I groaned, realizing she left Eryx outside the door, in the cold for too long. I rushed downstairs, towards the door, and of course, he was standing there patiently with a broad smile. “Kael!" He yelped and hurriedly pulled me in for a hug, using that sick name for me again. It was manly, although I was no different than a man. “It’s Kaelith_" “I know, punk. I've missed you." He pushed me aside to step in fully. “Your mother is such a pain in the ass too." I rolled my eyes, crossing my hands over my chest. “What brings you here so early in the morning?" Eryx and I went way back, practically grew up stealing trouble together. We bonded deeply after a lot of things went by and basically can't live without each other. He was a year older than me and treated me like his little sister, which always grated on my nerves. He turned to look at me, c*****g a brow in surprise. “For someone who loves money, you sure sleep a lot. How do you intend to make more money when you wake up at 8 o'clock?” “That's because I returned late last night. I didn't even change out of my work clothes." I gestured towards the clothes I had on. "Why are you here?” I repeated. He nodded, walked over to me and grinned, showing his cute dimples. "There's a job offer for you. Since you didn't have a phone, I had to come tell you in person." At the mention of a job offer, my ears perked up in excitement. “What job? How much?" I asked shamelessly, grinning in return and grabbing his arm. He pulled out his phone and showed the advert displayed on the screen to me. “A one-month renovation opening at the Blackthorn Packhouse, with double pay and free housing!" He screamed in my face. My jaw dropped at his words. One-month renovation? Free housing? Double pay? That was my wish coming true! Working at the packhouse! I jumped in excitement, my heart racing. My mouth opened to say yes, hell yes, I’ll take anything….. But then he added, quieter this time, “Only thing is… it says males only.” “You’re joking,” I muttered, staring at his phone screen again. “Males only? Seriously? Then why didn't you take the job?” He gave me a crooked grin. “I already have a job. I'm just helping your ass. And, that’s not a problem, you know. You can always apply for the job. You've pretended to be a boy before. Took that delivery job last year, remember? You fooled everyone.” “Yeah,” I said slowly, “and I was nearly caught, Eryx. My head was almost on the chopping block. If that nosy manager had looked closer, I’d be toast.” Eryx walked over to the couch and sat down. He leaned back in the chair, arms behind his head like this was just a sunny day rather than a freezing one. “Relax. No one’s going to find out. It’s just one month. All you need to do is join the renovation team, blend in, keep your head down. STAY AWAY FROM THE ALPHA TWINS. You’re always careful. I trust you.” I raised an eyebrow. “Trust won’t save me if I get thrown into a dungeon.” I've heard so much about the Alphas. They were scary. He smirked and tapped the pay section on the screen, handing it over to me. “Then maybe this will.” I looked. And then I really looked. My mouth fell open. “Oh my goddess… that amount is illegal!” I bit my lip, hard. My fingers itched to grab the phone. I groaned and dragged my hands over my face. “Ugh. It’s so tempting.” “Come on. You already have short hair. People will believe it. You were once called Kale instead of Kaelith, remember?” I groaned louder. “Don’t remind me.” Then I blinked and suddenly laughed through the tears welling in my eyes. For the love of the goddess, I needed a lot of money to leave this place. All I wanted was just to move to somewhere faraway from my mother and start my life there by the time I turned twenty. And my twentieth birthday happened to be in four days. I might find my mate and settle down. That would be a bonus. Eryx also had plans of doing the same thing. Only difference was that he lived with sister. Talk about embarrassment. “Fine, I’ll take the job. A real job with actual money!” Eryx clapped excitedly. “That’s the spirit!” I held the phone to my chest like it was a treasure. One month. I could do this. I had to do this. It was time to earn.