Pucked By The Wrong Twin: The Alpha’s Scandal

MAEVE "Maeve, look out!" Talia's shout comes from right behind me, but I'm already pushing my room door open, and by the time it registers, it's too late. The first thing I hear is a sharp 'thwack' sound, then something cold and sticky rains down over my head. I look down to see slime. Actual, filthy green slime, dripping down my arms and pooling at my feet. My mouth twitches and Talia steps around me, walking into the room, eyes wide. "Oh my God, Maeve, are you okay?" Before I can answer, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Shane: Got you! Happy April Fool's, President. Consider that your official welcome to the semester. ;) The audacity of that angel emoji. Here's the thing about my boyfriend, Shane Irving, and me: every April Fool's, we have our annual campus prank war. It started three years ago when we just began dating in our first year of university. He was new to the hockey team and he had just pissed me off after an argument. The next day happened to be April Fool's so I decided it was perfect to get even. I replaced his protein shake with chocolate milk and watched him chug it in front of the whole team before a morning skate, knowing fully well he's severely lactose intolerant. Shane retaliated by replacing every one of my campaign posters on campus with the same photo of me asleep in the library, complete with the slogan: Vote for Maeve. She'll nap through your problems. Since then it's escalated annually into something that probably violates at least two campus conduct policies. This year, I had plans. Good ones. "Do you want me to stay, help you clean up?" Talia asks, eyeing the slime already dripping onto the carpet. "No, I'm fine," I say, peeling my ruined shirt away from my skin. "Go get ready. We've got the student body meeting in forty minutes." She hesitates at the door, clearly unconvinced, but nods and slips out anyway. The second she's gone, I grab my phone and text back, thumbs jabbing at the screen. Me: You got lucky cause I was distracted this time. Clock's running, Irving. I'm coming for you. Shane: Gosh...I'm terrified. Me: You should be. He sends back a string of laughing emojis and I let him have it. He'll stop laughing tonight. I wash myself off, change my shirt, and spend the next twenty minutes wiping sticky slime off the floor. Soon, Shane sends another text. Shane: I wish you were coming to the game today, babe. The rink's going to feel empty without my lucky charm in the stands. You sure you really can't come? I stare at the text and let out a sigh. Shane has a match today, one that could take the team to the quarterfinals, which means he's been up since six and probably won't surface until after the game. I'd go watch, but between the board meeting I have today and the media club deadline, there's no way I make it to the rink on time. But this is how it's always been between us. I'm the student body and media club president at Creekvalley University while he's Shane Irving—Alpha heir and Captain of the Silverfangs. Our schedules never line up, but somehow we make it work. We love each other way too much not to. I text him back after a minute. Me: No. I have a lot to do today. But I'll see you at the after party yeah? Shane: Yeah, of course. Love you babe. I text back: Love you too. Make sure to win. I put my phone face down and get back to work. He'll win. He always does. That's both the best and most annoying thing about him. — By the time evening hits, the entire dormitory erupts. It doesn't take a genius to know that we've won. Silverfangs advance to the quarterfinals. CVU loses its mind. I hear shouting from two floors down and there are collective celebratory howls from wolves around the block as we all get ready for the after party. In the next twenty minutes, I and my best friend, Ashley Wilde, both get ready and we sneak out of the dorm through the fire exit. It's past ten p.m, which means it's actually against school rules to be out this late so we try our best to not get caught. Shane is parked at the east gate, as expected. I see his car before I see him, and when he steps out and leans against the hood with that stupid grin already in place, my chest lightly flutters. I can't help but to still feel butterflies anytime I'm near him. I walk up and kiss him before he can say anything clever. He laughs into it, hands catching my waist, still smelling faintly of the rink— cold air with a bit of sweat. I pull back and look at him. "Quarter finals," I say. "You won." "Told you." "No, I told you to win. Those are different things." He grins. "You're impossible." "Hey, you got me with slime," I remind him. "I'm allowed." Ashley appears at the side of his car and opens the back door. "If you two are done smooching, let's get a move on. Some of us are single and would like to reach the alcohol before we lose our buzz." Shane laughs and we get in. I take the passenger seat, he takes the wheel, and for the fifteen-minute drive to the estate I am, against all odds, genuinely content. Shane's hand finds mine at the gear shift without either of us thinking about it. We glance at each other a second after and both let out a warm smile. This feels right, and this is why tonight is so important. My big plan to end our prank wars for the day wasn't just about the victory attached to it. It was about what it meant for us... what it meant for me. The setup is simple enough. I had purchased a dried vial of Feral Nightroot from the pharmacy two nights ago. Nightroot is a potent aphrodisiac that was meant to heighten a wolf's sense of pleasure. Basically, I was going to slip it into Shane's drink and it would make him extremely turned on. Then, I'd send him a text to meet up to 'relieve' his urges and we would end the night in the most exciting way. To anyone, it would seem like such a harmless prank, no big deal, but to me it was. That's because for almost two years, Shane has waited for me to be ready. We hadn't done more than kissing and showing mild levels of affection ever since, well... that night I was traumatized by another wolf. Shane has been patient with me ever since, through therapy and through my constant fears of getting intimate again. Now I'm better than how I was back then and tonight isn't just about giving Shane something he'd been asking for. It's about proving to myself that the worst day of my life didn't get to decide every day after it. We arrive at the Irving Lakefront Estate, also known as the Glass House, just in time for the party to begin. I've been here a couple times with Shane but I still can't get over just how beautiful the architecture of the estate is. It's built primarily of floor-to-ceiling reinforced glass, glowing like a lantern against the black water of the lake. As we step out of the car, everyone's eyes instantly dart in our direction. There is no confusing the kind of influence Shane Irving has amongst CVU students. "Captain! Incredible game!" "Shane! Man of the hour!" I feel the familiar, bittersweet sting as I walk half a step behind him. To them, I'm the accessory. The clever Omega wolf who managed to get the Alpha's heir. I keep my expression neutral, the perfect, supportive partner, while my mind is busy calculating the exact trajectory to the kitchen. "Let's get drinks," I mutter to Shane, leaning into his side as we step into the upstairs living room. Shane nods and I quickly make a beeline for the kitchen, snag us two cups of punch before I break open the vial, and slip every drop of Nightroot into his cup. I manage through the crowded room and spot him and Ashley at the far corner of the living room. "Here you go." I hand him his cup with a smile. He smiles back at me but looks down at his cup suspiciously, "This is poisoned, isn't it?" I let out a laugh and take a swig at my cup before turning back to him, "Oh, you insult me, Irving. You really think my last hit of the day would be so simple?" He laughs again but this time takes a long sip of his drink, "You can never be too sure." I watch as he finishes his cup and a small smile tugs at my lips. The Nightroot will take about an hour to fully hit his system. I have time. Ashley tugs at my elbow a moment after, "Come on Mae, they're starting a game in the east wing. Let's go." I nod and let her pull me away as Shane turns, already speaking to some of his guys from the hockey team. Tonight, I'm going to give him the time of his life. I can't wait to have him desperate for me. I want him pinned down, stripped of his Alpha arrogance, and entirely mine. I feel a rush of triumph just thinking about how tonight will end.