Undercover Mate For The Alpha Twins

Pretty Little Secrets

_Lyric’s POV_

I had just ended my call, some poor thing begging for my attention again, when I saw him walking toward the front doors from the east wing. Except… he wasn’t a he. At least, not to my trained eyes.

I smirked and leaned against the banister, still twirling my helmet in one hand. The moment our eyes met, she froze. I caught the way her mouth parted, like someone just yanked the floor from under her. Poor thing looked like she saw a ghost. Or worse, me.

“Pretty little thing,” I muttered to myself, lips pulled up.

“Do I know you?”

She blinked, then quickly cleared her throat like she’d swallowed a frog, and answered in the gruffest, most painful-sounding man-voice I’d ever heard. “Uhm—uh… Hey.”

I almost burst out laughing. Goddess, this was gold.

That voice was a lie, and she knew I knew. Or maybe not.

She glanced away, avoiding my eyes. I tilted my head, watching her fidget. Her frame was small, too light for the kind of heavy-duty work Warren usually assigned to people, and she clearly looked like she’d been working all morning. She definitely wasn’t a maid since she wore men’s clothing.

Her shoulders weren’t right. And the way she reacted to me? Nah. No guy looks at another guy like that unless he’s questioning his entire existence.

So she was pretending. Interesting.

And judging by the panic behind those wide eyes, she’d already met Cyric. Which meant he didn’t know who she was or he might as well kick her out or lock her up. She was undercover. But why?

I crossed my arms and raised a brow. “Heading somewhere, Mister?”

She stiffened like I slapped her. “Town,” she croaked, still trying with the man's voice. It cracked halfway, and I bit back a grin.

“Town, huh?” I echoed, pushing off the rail and strolling over further. “Well, that’s perfect. I was just about to take a ride.”

She blinked up at me, dumbfounded.

I jerked my head toward my bike parked out front. “I’ll take you.”

“I—uh—I can take an uber,” she said, backing up a step.

I chuckled, stepping closer, crowding her space just a bit, enough to fluster her but not scare her. “You could. But I insist. Town’s too far, you’ll pay a lot of money.”

Before she could argue again, I reached out and caught her wrist gently, tugging her along like we were old friends.

She stumbled a bit, then followed, confused, panicking, and probably wondering how the hell she got into this mess.

I smirked to myself.

A female, hiding in plain sight, working in the Blackthorn packhouse?

Someone up top either didn’t know—or didn’t care.

Either way, I was going to find out.

And maybe have some fun while I was at it.

…..

_Kaelith’s POV_

I was shocked.

The man I’d been thinking about nonstop for the past two days… was standing right in front of me. Talking and actually smiling.

And oh goddess, that smile.

I’d imagined it. Wondered what it would look like on his face, this grumpy, fierce man with tattoos crawling up his neck. I always pictured his smile to be cocky.

It was worse and far better than I imagined.

It made my knees weak.

And yet, somehow, I kept it together. I played along with the “guy” act.

He offered me a ride to town like it was the most normal thing.

And then touched me. Grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with this reckless confidence that had me wondering—

Is he… gay?

Because no straight man I’ve ever known acted that warm toward another guy. Especially not someone like him, dangerously attractive, muscular, and covered in tattoos, bad-boy energy leaking out of every pore.

I was confused, flustered and giddy.

After he dropped me off and roared away on his stupidly sexy bike, I stared at the road like an i***t, then floated through the town to get what I needed. I finally bought a cheap phone. My hands were shaking when I held it. Not because of the phone, but because of him.

When I returned to the packhouse, the feeling still hadn’t left. My chest was tight and my face hurt from smiling. My stomach kept doing this annoying flip every time I remembered how close we were on that bike.

He didn’t know who I really was. Or maybe he did.

That thought made me even more nervous.

I spent the rest of the day pretending to be busy, lying low, and avoiding everyone. I snuck out of the boys’ quarters and found a quiet spot at the edge of the backyard under one old tree to sit and rest for a while.

And maybe a little space to freak out.

I sat there, hugging my knees and staring at the stars, waiting patiently.

Waiting for midnight.

The moment I turned twenty.

When the clock eventually struck twelve, I held my breath.

My twentieth birthday. The moment every wolf waited for. The moment my own wolf would finally awaken. I could feel the atmosphere shift, feel something powerful stir deep within me.

I waited. One second. Two.

I closed my eyes and called, “Hello?”

But nothing.

I waited longer, my heart thudding against my ribs. I sat perfectly still, waiting patiently.

Then….

“Hmm.” A voice, soft and knowing, curled through my mind.

I blinked, breath catching. “Wolf?”

“I’m here,” she said, her voice rich and pwerful. “You’re stronger than I presumed.”

A shiver ran through me as a smile made its way to my face. “Oh my goddess… you’re real.”

“Of course I’m real.”

I couldn’t help the tears that pricked my eyes. I smiled so hard it hurt. “I’m so happy to meet you. What’s your name?”

There was a pause and a flicker of amusement.

“Eira,” she said. “I’ve been waiting.”

Eira. My wolf. I had her.

I hugged myself tightly, overwhelmed with warmth and giddy joy. But just as quickly, it was cut short. Because that was when it hit me.

The Smell.

Wild and all-consuming. Like spice and smoke and rain. A perfect, primal pull.

Mate.

No.

No, no, no, no.

I stumbled to my feet, heart hammering in panic. “I’m not ready. I can't, I'm not, I’m dressed like a guy, how am I supposed to, what if..?”

“He’s close,” Eira said, calm but firm. “We’re going to him.”

I shook my head, even as my feet moved. “No, please, what if there are people around? What if he doesn’t understand? I’ve been pretending to be a man for two days, and I stink like paint and sawdust!”

But it didn’t matter.

The smell called to me, yanked at my insides like a hook lodged in my chest. My wolf pushed harder. I crept through the mansion, careful to stay quiet, following the trail like a spell-struck fool.

It led me to the main mansion’s courtyard door.

I pressed my hand against it, chest rising and falling in shaky breaths.

I couldn’t do this.

But I had to.

I opened the door.

Two figures stood inside, mid-conversation. Both tall, broad-shouldered, and ridiculously gorgeous. One had tattoos crawling up his neck. The other had a jagged scar slashing across his face. Both turned to look at me at the exact same time and time stopped.

No.

I had thought it was him, the oneI've been thinking about. But It wasn’t him.

It was actually….. them.

Two.

There were two of them.

Oh goddess… they were twins. Which means, they were the Alpha twins!

I gasped. “Mate…” before I could hold myself back.

The scarred twin blinked in shock. “What?” Then his face twisted. “Mate?!”

He took a step forward, eyes flaring with confusion and disgust. “This must be a joke. The moon goddess must be mad.” He pointed at me, voice rising. “A man? As our mate?! What a pathetic joke!”