Claimed By The Alpha Twins

Fractured Loyalty

KYLE:

The hallway outside Zayne’s quarters was dim, lit only by the flickering torchfire reflecting off the cold stone walls. I had just come up from the courtyard, my skin still stinging from the mountain frost after hours of standing guard outside Sara’s family home. My muscles burned, but my twin connection was humming with a strange, jagged pulse.

Zayne was in pain. I could feel it deep in my chest, a dull, throb of silver-burn pulling at my own flesh.

I pushed the heavy door open, intending to check if the bastard was still bleeding out, but the words died in my throat.

The room was bathed in the warm, amber glow of the hearth. Zayne was sitting on the edge of the bed, stripped to the waist, his broad back rigid with tension. But he wasn't alone.

Sara was sitting directly in his lap, her small hands resting flat against his bare chest, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders like silk. Her breath was coming in short, rapid gasps, her lips parted as she stared into Zayne’s eyes. The air between them was so heavy with the raw, intoxicating pull of the mate bond that it hit my lungs like smoke.

Zayne didn't say a word. His hand, bruised and stained with blood, slid up to cup the side of her neck, his thumb tracing her jawline with a fierce, desperate possessiveness. He pulled her forward, just an inch, until their lips met.

My chest constricted so hard I forgot how to breathe.

Sara didn't fight him. She didn't push him away. Her fingers tightened against his skin, her eyes fluttering shut as she leaned into the kiss, completely surrendering to the spark surging between them. Through our shared twin bond, the echo of that kiss hit me like a physical blow, a wave of searing heat, possession, and raw desire that wasn't mine, yet felt entirely like it should be.

My jaw clenched until my teeth ground together. A dark, bitter sting clawed its way up my throat.

I took a quiet step backward, easing into the shadows of the corridor, and pulled the door shut until the latch clicked silently into place.

I walked down the grand staircase, stepping out into the biting cold of the training courtyard. Snow was falling faster now, settling over the wooden posts and iron racks, but the cold did nothing to extinguish the fire burning under my skin.

I leaned my hands against the heavy wooden railing overlooking the valley, my knuckles turning white.

Lord Zayne.

That was what they called him. The council, the elders, the warriors, they all looked at Zayne as the brilliant tactician, the undisputed heir destined to rule the Bloodmoon Pack. And me? I was just the military enforcer. The junior Alpha. The lethal blade they sent out into the cold when blood needed to be spilled.

Deep down, I knew the bitter truth. If the pack was pushed to make a choice between us today, they would choose Zayne in a heartbeat.

And now, Sara was slipping toward his side, too.

I slammed my fist into the solid oak post, the wood splintering under my strength. The mate bond tied her to both of us, a rare, holy split that gave us equal claim. But if Zayne claimed her heart completely, if he made her his Luna while I stood on the sidelines playing bodyguard, my authority in this pack would shatter before it even began.

An Alpha without a Luna was just a commander waiting to be replaced. But an Alpha with a powerful, hybrid Luna beside him? That was a dynasty.

If I wanted to stand as a true equal in this pack, if I wanted to survive the storm Elder Vane and the humans were brewing, I couldn't just share Sara from a distance. I had to win her over. I had to make her see that she belonged to me just as much as she belonged to my brother.

And I wasn't going to let Zayne take her without a fight.