Two Mates And A Mistletoe

FOUR

The world snapped back into sound and motion, but Evelyn felt stuck in a trance. Brothers. They were her brothers. Across the table, Adrian looked like he’d been slapped. Alric looked like he was planning a murder. Her own brain had short-circuited.

'What a weird little human' a voice, sharp and clear as glass, cut through her panic. Look at her, frozen like a statue.

Evelyn’s head jerked up. Alric was calmly sipping his water, his mouth firmly closed.

'Her nose is kind of strange, isn’t it?' The same mental voice—definitely Alric’s—commented.

Without thinking, Evelyn scrunched her nose and touched it.

'Oh, please', a second, more mischievous voice—Adrian’s—chimed in. 'Look at that frizzy hair. Did she get caught in a storm?'

Her hands flew to her hair, trying to smooth it down. This was insane. How the hell were dey speaking so clearly? And it's was like no one could hear them. How was that possible?

'But her eyes are… pretty', Alric’s thought came, quieter, almost reluctant.

Adrian’s mental voice was a smirk.' Yeah, well, her lips are definitely soft and pink.'

A furious blush exploded across Evelyn’s cheeks. One moment she was frowning, the next she was fighting a smile, her face a chaotic mess of emotions.

“Evelyn?” Her mom, leaned in. “Honey, are you okay? Your face is all red. You’re frowning, and now you’re smiling… are you feeling sick?”

“Jet lag!” Evelyn blurted out, forcing a laugh. “And I'm just a bit nauseous. I think I just need to lie down.”

Hamish clapped his hands together. “Of course! I haven’t shown you your room yet.” He turned to his sons, who were pointedly looking anywhere but at Evelyn. “Adrian, Alric. You’re done eating. Take your sister to her room.”

“I don’t need help—” Evelyn started.

“I have experiments,” Alric said flatly.

“Training,” Adrian grunted at the same time.

“Enough!” Hamish’s voice brooked no argument. “Take her to her room. It’s number 51. Now.”

The boys slumped in resignation grumbling as they stood up. Evelyn, however, registered the number clearly.

They stood and walked out of the hall without a backward glance. They slowed down and waited for her to walk in front of them before moving again. As they trailed behind her, she shuffled her feet uncomfortably feeling their oppressive energy like a physical force at her back. The hallway was silent. She spun around, ready to demand they stop looming, but the corridor was empty.

“What the—?”

“Lost already, Step sis?”

She jumped. Both of them were now in front of her, having moved with unnatural silence. They advanced, and she instinctively stepped back until her shoulders hit the cool wall. They didn't touch her, but they pinned her in place with their intense, hazel-eyed glares.

“Who are you?” Alric demanded, his voice low. “Are you a witch?”

'She has to be a witch', Adrian’s voice buzzed in her head. 'How else could I be feeling this pull?'

“She can’t be a witch,” Alric snapped, his mouth not moving for that part. “Her mother is human. You know that.”

“Can you shut up?” Evelyn burst out, clutching her head. “Your voices are so loud!”

Both twins froze.

“We just spoke a few words out loud,” Adrian said, his eyes narrowing.

“No! Since dinner! You keep talking about my nose and my hair and my— everything! I don’t know how you’re talking with your mouths full and no one else hears you, but it’s driving me crazy!”

Alric and Adrian exchanged a look of pure shock.

“How are you tapping into our mind link?” Alric breathed, his composure finally cracking.

Adrian whirled on his brother. “You’re the smart one! How is this possible?”

'She’s human! She can’t do this!' Alric’s frantic thought echoed in the shared space.

“I don’t know what’s going on!” Evelyn cried, her frustration boiling over. “First, a giant wolf tackles me! Your dad says your family supposedly ‘train wolves’! Then he calls my mom his ‘Luna’! Now you’re talking about a ‘mind link’! What is all this? It’s freaking me out!”

The twins leaned into each other, their heads almost touching as they started whispering furiously.

Curiosity overriding fear, Evelyn tried to squeeze between them to hear. “What are you saying?”

They stopped whispering and straightened up. The movement left her perfectly sandwiched between their broad chests, trapped.

Adrian looked down at her, his signature smirk returning. “If you wanted to be in the middle of us, Stepsis, you could have just asked.”

She gasped realizing exactly what she had done and tried to shove her way out, but Alric’s hands landed on her waist, stilling her and pulling her flush against his chest. Her back was now firmly against him.

“Stop moving,” Alric whispered, his breath warm against her ear.

She tried squirming once more and felt something hard and solid press against her lower back. She froze completely, her eyes wide.

“She looks like a scared little rabbit,” Adrian observed, then threw his head back and laughed.

"Like the white ones I use for my experiments." Alric said in a low voice.

'The fuck.' Evelyn thought and used all her strength to push away from the two boys and plant herself at a safe distance.

“I can’t deal with this.” Adrian scoffed, turned and strode down the hall, disappearing around a corner.

Alric nodded at her. “Follow me.”

He walked stiffly, and she trailed behind. After a few turns, he paused. “What was the room number again?”

“Fifty-one,” she said.

He sighed, a sound of deep exasperation. “Of course. He put you right in the middle of us.”

She didn’t understand until they stopped in front of a ornate door. Alric gestured to the door on the immediate right. “That’s my room.” He pointed to the identical door on the left. “That’s Adrian’s. You’re in the middle.”

He opened the door to her room. It was beautiful, like a princess’s room from a storybook. Everything was a swirl of pink and white, frilly and delicate, looking like it was designed for a ten-year-old.

Evelyn was completely awed, rushing into the room and looking like a kid lost in a candy store.

“My father always wanted a daughter,” Alric explained, watching her run a hand over the silky bedspread. “He was stuck with us. It stressed him out. He personally designed this for his new princess.”

Evelyn turned and found him looking at her with a strangely doting gaze. It made her blush. “It’s… really beautiful.”

Alric walked up to her, his expression turning serious. “Listen. Everything that happened today—the mind link, the kiss you had with me—you can’t tell anyone.”

Evelyn’s mouth opened. But I also kissed Adrian!

“Don’t say anything,” Alric cut her off, as if reading her mind. “Not a word. My father will explain everything to you and your mother later. But until the three of us figure this out, you stay silent. Understood?”

She nodded, still confused. “Okay.”

“Goodnight. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be… really, really stressful.” He turned and walked out.

She closed the door, but he was still there, just standing in the hallway, staring at her door. When he saw her peeking, a static charge seemed to crackle between them. He moved in a blur, his hands cupping her face, and kissed her, deep and desperate. Evelyn's body went lax as she melted into the kiss that felt like forever.

Then he abruptly pulled away, running his hands through his perfectly gelled hair in frustration before storming into his room and slamming the door.

Evelyn, red in the face and flustered , s**t her door quickly and slumped against the doorframe, sliding to the floor, her head in her hands. What was she going to do? She just kissed both of her new brothers. Both of them. And now she had this sinking feeling that she was going to somehow ruin her mom's happiness.

After a while of self loathing and deep contemplation, she freshened up, put on her nightdress, and was finally about to crawl into the ridiculously frilly bed when a sharp knock echoed through the room.

She grumbled to herself as she waddled and opened the door.

Adrian stood there, his expression grim. He barged in, despite her shouts of disapproval locked the door behind him, and said, “We need to talk.”