Two Mates And A Mistletoe

THREE

Evelyn was still reeling from what just happened outside. She couldn’t stop touching her lips. What the hell was that? Who kisses a stranger like that? Without a single thought.

Her heart hadn’t calmed down since. She blamed the air. Or maybe the altitude. Or maybe she was losing her mind.

She shook her head hard, muttering to herself, 'get a grip, Evelyn', and decided to go inside before she froze or embarrassed herself further. The inside of the mansion was quiet, too quiet, and she wandered around aimlessly, pretending she wasn’t lost.

At one turn, she found herself in a massive library. The shelves stretched to the ceiling, and a faint smell of paper and coffee lingered. She blinked, thinking maybe she’d stepped into a movie set.

Then she saw him.

Sitting there on a chair, legs crossed, glasses on, reading like he had all the time in the world.

Her heart stopped.

The same face. The same mouth.

But now, neat hair, dressed properly, calm and focused. Gone was the mischievous, reckless man who’d just kissed her senseless outside.

“What…” she whispered, stepping closer. “Am I hallucinating?”

He didn’t look up. He kept reading, flipping a page slowly.

Evelyn squinted, walked up, and poked his cheek. “Are you real?”

The man blinked, lifted his head, and stared at her with confusion. “Who are you?”

She froze.

That voice was the same—but colder, sharper.

“I asked,” he said, lowering the book, “who are you?”

She stammered. “I… I said, are you real?”

He frowned, confused. “What kind of question is that?”

Her brain scrambled for an answer. “You—you look like someone I—uh—never mind. Sorry. Wrong person.”

Before she could step back, he stood up. The chair creaked. He towered over her now, his calm demeanor gone.

“Wrong person?” he repeated, eyes narrowing. “You think you can just walk into this house and start touching people?”

His tone made her step back until her back hit the wall.

Her chest rose and fell fast. “I said I was sorry.”

“Who are you?” he demanded. His eyes scanned her face, down to her neck. Then he leaned in, too close, and breathed her in—his nose brushing her skin.

Evelyn’s pulse jumped.

“What are you—hey!” she snapped, but her voice broke halfway.

She should’ve been scared. She was. But also… not. There was this strange pull again, the same one she’d felt earlier, deep and electric, like her body recognized him even though her mind didn’t.

His eyes flickered gold.

She saw it this time.

“Your eyes…” she whispered. “They just—”

“Who are you?” he repeated again, more softly now. “You’re a human. How did you get in here?”

“Human?” she echoed, confused. “What are you talking about? Of course I’m human! What else would I be?”

His eyes softened a bit. He realized she had no idea. He was supposed to keep control, to stay distant—but then his gaze caught her green eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” he said quietly, like he hadn’t meant to.

She blinked, completely thrown off. “You’re crazy handsome.”

They both froze. Neither knew who leaned in first.

The space between them vanished, and then they were kissing—soft at first, hesitant, but quickly deepening.

Her fingers clutched his shirt. His hand slid to her waist, pulling her closer. That same fire from earlier burst between them, a surge of warmth that made everything else disappear.

And then he pulled back suddenly, breathing hard, eyes wide.

“What the hell am I doing?” he muttered, packing his things in a rush.

“Wait—” she called, but he was already halfway to the door.

“I need to tell him,” he said under his breath and walked out fast.

Evelyn blinked, stunned, her heart racing again. “Tell who? I don’t even know your name!”

She ran out after him not noticing the mistletoe that reappeared above her.

She rushed out but the corridor was empty. Completely empty. It was like he’d vanished.

“What the hell,” she mumbled, looking around.

Then—

“Evelyn!”

She jumped and turned to see her mom hurrying toward her. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Come on, the feast is starting!”

Evelyn wanted to say something, anything about what just happened, but her brain was fried. So she just nodded and followed.

The main hall was grand—long tables, golden plates, candles everywhere. Hamish sat at the high table beside Evangeline, looking all regal and important.

Evelyn sat beside her mom, trying to breathe normally. Her mind was chaos. Two identical guys. Two kisses. Two gold-eyed lunatics.

Then as if the universe was trying to give her one final blow the doors opened.

Two figures walked in.

And her heart almost stopped.

The one on the left—messy hair, that cocky smirk. The one on the right—clean suit, glasses, calm and serious.

Her lips parted. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

Hamish gave them both a look. “Late, again,” he muttered.

The one with rough hair grinned. “Sorry, Father.”

The stoic one with glasses said nothing.

Evelyn's mouth was wide with shock. She had kissed two different people, in one night, two brothers.

"f**k it," She whispered to herself. "This can't possibly get worse."

They both sat down, turned their heads toward the table—and froze. Their eyes landed on her.

At the exact same time, both whispered, “Fuck.”

Evelyn could barely breathe. They were twins. Two of them.

She wanted to scream. Instead, she sat there, stiff, pretending everything was fine while her brain tried to process the impossible.

Hamish was talking, but she couldn’t hear a word. All she could see was Adrian’s faint smirk and Alric’s clenched jaw. They were looking at her—but not moving their lips—and she could hear them in her head, arguing silently. She squinted her eyes trying to see how their mouths were moving but— they weren't. So how was she able to hear their discussion?

Then Hamish stood up. She blinked back into focus as he smiled proudly.

“Everyone,” he announced. “I’d like to introduce Evelyn. Evangeline’s daughter—my daughter now as well.”

Evelyn froze at the sudden stoplight and turned to see more than a dozen pair of eyes trained on her.

“And these,” Hamish continued, motioning to his sons, “are your new brothers. Alric and Adrian.”

The hall went quiet. Evelyn’s heart dropped.

She blinked, looking at them—at both of them—and whispered under her breath, “I kissed my stepbrothers.”

Across the table, both twins muttered at the same time, “We kissed our stepsister.”

"s**t!"

"f**k!"

"God no!"