Undercover Mate For The Alpha Twins

Invitation

_Kaelith’s POV_

A week had passed since I’d started working at the pack house, and honestly, I was going insane from boredom. The work wasn’t bad - cleaning, organizing, helping with painting- but after hours, I had absolutely nothing to do except stare at the ceiling of my room and think about all the s**t that had gone wrong in my life lately.

“You should rest,” Eira suggested for the hundredth time today. “We need to stay low and avoid attention.”

Easy for you to say. I shot back mentally. You get to sleep whenever you want. I’m the one stuck dealing with reality.

I was washing paint buckets in the backyard when Orion, one of the kitchen staff, approached me with a grin on his face.

“Hey, Kael.” he called out, using the shortened version of my name that everyone here called me. “You got any plans tonight?”

I looked up from the buckets I was washing. “Unless staring at my wall counts as plans, then no. Why?”

“It’s worker Zachariah’s birthday today. We’re throwing him a little party over at the boys’ quarters in the east wing. You should leave your room and attend.”

I paused, considering. A party meant people, alcohol, and distractions from the constant voice in my head reminding me of my mother’s parting words. “You’re worthless, Kaelith. Don’t come crying back to me when you fail.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Eira warned sharply. “We need to keep a low profile. Parties mean attention, and attention means questions we can’t answer.”

“Come on,” I argued with my wolf. “I need alcohol. I can’t handle this stress anymore. Between Mom’s lovely farewell speech, worrying about running into the Alpha twins I haven’t seen in forever, trying to make enough money to get out of here, and pretending to be someone I’m not, I’m about to lose my mind.*

“Kael?” Orion waved a hand in front of my face. “You okay, man? You kind of zoned out there.”

I snapped back to reality and forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. Just thinking. You know what? Count me in. I could use some fun.”

His face lit up. “Awesome! Party starts around eight. Bring your appetite because Jenny’s making her famous nachos.”

“This is a bad idea,” Eira grumbled as Orion walked away.

“Probably,” I agreed. “But I’m doing it anyway.”

By the time I made it to the east wing at eight-thirty, the party was already in full swing. I could hear laughter and music coming from one of the larger rooms as I walked down the hallway. The boys’ quarters were basically a series of shared rooms where the younger male workers like me lived, and tonight, they’d transformed one of the common areas into party central.

I knocked on the door, and it swung open to reveal Orion himself, a beer in one hand and a huge grin on his face.

“Kael!” he shouted, probably louder than necessary. “You made it! Come in, come in!”

He pulled me into the room, and I was immediately hit by the smell of alcohol, nachos, and way too many people crammed into a small space. There had to be at least twenty workers here, all laughing and talking loudly over the music playing from someone’s speaker.

“Everyone!” Orion called out, getting the room’s attention. “This is Kael, the new guy.” A chorus of greetings erupted from the group, and I felt myself relaxing for the first time in days. These people seemed genuinely happy to see me, even though I’d only been working here for a week. Plus, I never actually spoke to them. Only Orion. He also owned the car I borrowed a few days ago.

“Kael!” Jenny, the middle-aged woman who worked in the laundry, rushed over with a plate of nachos. “Here, eat something. You’re too skinny.”

“Thanks,” I said, accepting the plate gratefully. The nachos smelled amazing, and I realized I’d barely eaten today.

“Drink?” Orion appeared at my elbow with a beer.

“Goddess, yes,” I said, taking it from him and immediately taking a long swig. The cold alcohol felt like heaven going down my throat.

”Pace yourself,” Eira warned.

“Don’t tell me how to live my life,” I replied, taking another drink.

“So, Kael,” said a guy I recognized from the maintenance crew, “Zachariah tells us you’re from up north?”

I nodded, having already prepared this story. “Yeah, small pack. Nothing exciting.”

“What made you come all the way down here?” asked Sarah, one of the kitchen assistants.

I shrugged, going for casual. “Needed a change of scenery. Heard good things about this pack too.”

“Good things?” Orion laughed. “Like what?

I shrugged, trying to come up with another better lie. But lies eluded me. “A lot of things.” I covered up my awkwardness with a laugh and thankfully, they bought it and laughed with me.

As the night went on, I found myself genuinely enjoying the company. These people were welcoming, funny, and refreshingly normal. No pack politics, no power struggles, just regular people having a good time.

“You know what I love about you, Kael?” Zachariah said, throwing his arm around my shoulders. We were both definitely past tipsy at this point. “You’re a pretty kid with a good heart. And man, do you work hard. I’ve seen you busting your ass these past two days.”

“Someone has to,” I replied, grinning. “Might as well be me.”

“See? Good heart.” He gestured wildly with his beer. “This guy works harder than any of us, and he’s been here seven days.”

“It’s true,” Orion agreed. “Life’s too short to work all the time. You got to have fun too.”

“Speaking of fun,” Jenny piped up from her spot on the floor, “anyone got any good stories? I’m feeling gossipy.”

“You’re getting too comfortable, Karlie.” Eira warned.

“Just for tonight.” I begged.

“You know what we need?” I said aloud suddenly, struck by inspiration as my laughter died down. “A drinking game.”

The room went quiet for a moment, then erupted in cheers.

“Now you’re talking.” Zachariah shouted. “What did you have in mind?”