Page 5 of Alpha’s Twins (Alpha Kings Island #3)

Sitting with my back against the slightly rough wood of the cabin wall, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to steady my breathing.

The sun is coming up, and I was so damn close to escaping.

Ever since he brought me back here and watched from the tree line as I climbed back through my cabin window, I’ve been torturing myself.

I should have tried again, but I just knew he was watching.

Besides, I didn’t want to admit it, but when he’d found me on the trail, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or where I was going.

Everything happened so quickly after Nolan arrived at the store that I barely had time to help Hannah arrange the next shipment.

She’s going to try to keep the store going, but realistically, I don’t see how that will work without me.

Despite everything, Hannah seemed thrilled that I’m going to be mates with an alpha.

It doesn’t appear to matter to anyone what I want.

The thought that an alpha may want me seems too good to be true—except it’s not.

I don’t want to be traded off as part of some deal and lose my store, the only thing that has ever been truly mine or brought me any kind of respect or happiness.

Besides, Aiden doesn’t want me. He doesn’t even know who I am.

He agreed to all this as some kind of pact, and he clearly doesn’t know what I look like, because he just assumed I was running away from Nolan last night.

I groan, letting my head fall back. I didn’t tell him who I was, and now he’s going to think I’m a complete idiot when I have to see him today.

I couldn’t tell him, though. I saw the look of shock on his face when he realized how small I am.

It’s the same one all shifters get when they take in my short, fat frame.

I just couldn’t handle facing his disappointment right then and there.

Not that this is going to be any better.

I’d half hoped that perhaps female shifters on the island might look a little different, but all the ones I’ve seen so far are strong, tall, and beautiful.

I know exactly how this is going to go for me.

It doesn’t help that Aiden is also extremely good-looking.

I suspected he was from all the gossip I’ve heard over the years about the alphas on the island, but nothing could have prepared me for seeing him.

I knew someone was following me, but my senses aren’t as strong as other shifters, and it wasn’t until he stepped out onto the trail that I realized just how vulnerable I had been sneaking out.

Aiden is huge, almost twice my height, and has unruly dark brown hair.

Even in the darkness, I could see his tanned skin and muscular frame.

He had obviously been out running, as he said, because his T-shirt and shorts clung to his ripped body in a way that demanded attention.

I may be completely inexperienced, but I’m not dead inside—he’s hot, which is a complete nightmare, because I am objectively not hot.

I can hear people are already up downstairs, and I know it won’t be long until someone comes to tell me to get ready.

This alliance is a big deal to Nolan. He’s tried to play off that it’s a symbol of support for the island after the monster, Malik, attacked them, but our pack suffered enormous financial losses when trade faltered.

Hannah and Roy were open about how desperately the pack needed Roy’s freight to keep running.

Our coast was also flooded with strange rogues and mercenaries, all trying to go to the island, clearly believing that Malik would take control because he was growing stronger and stronger.

I’m not sure if they were paid to go or simply following Malik, like some kind of cult, but I know Roy lost ships, and many other businesses were vandalized or had things stolen.

The island may have had to deal with Malik, but our coastal pack suffered the fallout, too.

This deal is important to Nolan and the rest of the pack, including Roy and Hannah.

And as tempted as I am to climb out of the window again and run, the truth is I have nowhere to go, anyway.

Even if I could get off the island now, I doubt I’d be welcome back in my pack, at my store…

I’ve always known that my place in the pack is conditional.

Firstly, it relied upon me being as small and grateful as possible so that my uncle and the pack would care for me out of pity.

Later, my success with the store brought in money for the pack.

And now, this is simply the latest condition.

A knock at the door startles me, and I scramble to my feet as the door opens.

I already know it will be Nicola, one of Nolan’s cousins, who has travelled over with us under the guise of keeping me company, but I can tell the last thing she wants is to have to talk to me.

I don’t want her to find me sitting on the floor, which would give her another reason to look at me with even more disgust than she usually does.

“There you are,” she says breezily. “Big day. Nolan told me to come check on you. I’m surprised you’re not already dressed, with an alpha waiting for you.”

She keeps mentioning that Aiden is an alpha, and I suspect she might be a bit jealous about that.

She’s engaged to one of Nolan’s betas. He seems nice, though; you’d think she’d be happy with that.

Someone who genuinely wants her and a place at the heart of her pack, not traded off over shipping routes to an alpha who will probably reject me the moment he knows I’m his bride.

I’m practically poised for public humiliation—one I’m sure Nicola fully expects, too, given the thinly-veiled amusement on her face.

Over the years, I have perfected staying as neutral as possible around pack members like Nicola.

It also helps that we’re the same age and I’ve been dealing with her ever since our school days.

As Hannah pointed out, perhaps moving to a dangerous island filled with monsters, rogues, and warring witches won’t be as bad as dealing with some members of Nolan’s pack.

I straighten my spine and smile, nodding to the dress hanging on the closet door. “I was just about to get ready.”

She turns to look at the dress and scoffs lightly, “ That’s what you’re wearing?”

To her credit, she tries to recover slightly when I’m too stunned to reply. “I’m sure it will do.” She chuckles. “Besides, it’s not a real mating ceremony, is it? More of an inter-pack meeting. It’s a nice color, anyway.”

Her words cut more than I’d like to admit, especially after meeting Aiden, but I brush them aside, nodding. “Well, exactly,” I laugh, “I don’t want to look too keen.”

At that, she bursts out laughing. “I wouldn’t worry on that front, he’s a total babe. I doubt he’ll be hassling you.”

It’s a sucker blow and she knows it, her smirk in place as she breezes back out of the room, leaving me staring at the dress, determined not to cry.

I will not cry. She’s right, after all. This is more of an inter-pack thing, and it’s not really about me.

I’m sure he won’t care what I look like, anyway; he’ll probably never even speak to me after today.

That is what I tell myself as I get dressed, do my hair, and makeup.

The silence in the small room is deafening.

I wish Hannah and Roy could have come, at least, but there was no time.

The flowers were due to go out, and the next event is only days away.

I don’t see how the store can run without me, but at least Hannah can complete that order before closing the doors.

The thought of all our hard work just ending like this breaks my heart. There is nothing for me here.

I step out into the hallway, but the weight of my lack of choices suddenly feels overwhelming, and I stop at the top of the stairs to try and steady myself. It’s then that I hear the laughter and voices downstairs more clearly.

“It’s a win-win. We won’t be responsible for a shifter without a wolf anymore, and the trade terms are better than before,” Nolan chuckles. It’s nothing I didn’t already know. I’m literally the only one in our pack without a wolf, and the pack doesn’t like it when people’s faces don’t fit.

I hear a woman’s voice and quickly realize it’s Nicola. “She’s going to bust out of that dress. Are you sure he won’t back out when he sees her?”

There’s more laughter, and I don’t need to look to know it’s at my expense.

I should have known better than to think I could ever build something within the pack and be free of their ridicule.

I'm still the same shifter without a wolf, only now I’ll be shackled to an alpha who doesn’t even want me and will probably reject me as soon as he has a good look at me.

It’s hard to feel anything other than shame when I know they’re right.

The pit in my stomach only grows as we head to the ceremony.

I make a point of wearing my neutral mask so well that hardly anyone even bothers to speak to me.

My pack, people I have known all my life, are about to discard me on this dangerous island, and they barely have two words to say to me.

For a while, I fooled myself into thinking that I was earning their respect with my store.

Now I see I was merely earning their temporary tolerance.

It’s only as we walk into the clearing where the ceremony is being held that the sheer scale of it hits me.

The island really has gone all out. Everywhere I look, there are colorful banners and flags, people milling about, gawking at us as we approach the center.

I tug at the front of my dress, suddenly very aware of how revealing it is.

Unfortunately, everything I wear seems to only highlight the size of my chest, so Nicola was partly right about me busting out of it.

I look around and don’t see Aiden, but so many unfamiliar faces stare back at me that it makes me want to disappear.

I feel dazed as we move through the crowd, and I try to keep my head down.

Nolan appears to be lapping up the attention, though, as he greets some of the island’s betas like long-lost friends.

Nolan can really turn on the charm when he wants to.

When we finally reach the front, I’m surprised to see so many witches. We don’t really mix on the mainland, but there seems to be a lot here. I don’t have time to think much about it as Nolan suddenly squeezes my arm a little too tightly and leans in close.

“Just get this done, Serena. This is as good as it gets for you,” he whispers as Nicola hands me a bunch of wilting flowers, and they leave me standing there alone at the end of the aisle, with everyone looking on.

I stare at the sad-looking flowers as the wind whips gently around me and try to steady my breathing.

A sound from the side of the stage draws my attention, and a strange feeling of warmth washes over me as Aiden steps up, making eye contact with me.

I brace myself for his reaction, an outright rejection or some kind of comment about last night.

Instead, he holds my gaze and smirks slightly.

It’s not entirely unkind, perhaps just a sign of recognition.

He turns to Nolan, and I wonder if he’s going to tell him about last night after all, but instead they simply shake hands, and he steps toward me.

“Well, Serena?” he says quietly. “Nice to meet you, officially.”

His eyes sparkle with amusement, and it only makes him look more attractive. I feel like my brain is going to short-circuit as I struggle to find a response. Instead of waiting, he simply takes my hand and signals for the officiant to begin. He obviously wants to get this over with, too.

The ceremony itself is simple but quite sweet—or at least it would have been under different circumstances.

I slip into autopilot, pointedly ignoring the way goosebumps rush along my fingers every time Aiden has to take my hand.

I refuse to let anyone see how much he affects me, and I don't want to give them any more reason to make fun of me. He looks so handsome, it’s almost painful to look at him. We must look ridiculous together.

I grip the tightly bound stems of the bouquet as the witch reads an incantation of some kind, focusing on the familiar buzz of energy from the flowers.

Something tangible I can hold on to. When Aiden is told to take my hand again, his practically engulfs mine, and I cannot ignore the strange sensation that overcomes me at the contact.

I try to stuff it down again, and this time, the energy seems to flow directly into the bouquet as the flowers bloom between us, soft leaves and delicate pink flowers growing and cascading to the floor.

My cheeks burn bright red, and the crowd gasps in awe.

Dimly in the background, I hear Nolan explain that I have a gift with flowers and how pretty it is.

I steal a cautious glance at Aiden and find him staring at me with something completely unreadable behind his handsome face.

I wonder if it’s the witch’s incantation or simply Aiden’s imposing presence, but I feel the whole world suddenly tilt, and I have to steady myself by holding his hand, the flowering bouquet between us.

I try to rein in the flowers as they trail along the floor, but I fear there will be no reining in my emotions where Aiden is concerned.