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When Ismena heard the news about Alphose and Kassandra, she left the Tower and went back to Eline's house to be with her best friend.

Sandra cried on her shoulders, dreading every hour that passed, every ticking of the clock because it was a reminder that Josiah was already on his way to Naturiah to claim her.

She told Ismena that she didn't wanna do it.

She just wants to go back to the human world.

It's better to go home to live the rest of her life alone than to be with a man who isn't her Alphose.

Although it killed Ismena to do it, she talked her out of it.

How will she live the rest of her life knowing that she could have met her soulmate?

She could have been with him, but she gave up on it?

She talked her into giving Josiah a chance.

After all, who knows? It might be the best decision she has ever made in her life, right?

The Alpha King, on the other hand, could only pat his best friend's shoulder, commending him for doing the right thing even when the 'right thing' hurts. By the time Josiah arrived in Alphose's home—a huge villa that was once his home too—the tense atmosphere couldn't be disguised.

Both brothers greeted each other awkwardly.

They weren't identical twins, but no one would mistake that they were brothers—their stature and physiques were very identical.

The only difference is their facial features.

They are both handsome men, but Josiah's face looks like it was carved out of granite.

Hard, wearing a blank expression and eyes that were as cold as ice.

Tears filled Sandra's eyes. Alphose was wrong, she doesn't feel any single attraction upon looking at the scary man; instead, she just wants to run away from him. This man eluded a strange, intimating power just by doing nothing but standing. She felt like a sheep to the slaughter.

She watched him greet the Alpha King, who was also with them, greeted Ismena as well, then his eyes landed on her. His eyes took in every part of her from head to toe.

His appraisal left her cold. She wanted to shrink away from his gaze. Although he inclined his head respectfully, she couldn't dissipate the feeling to flee.

He struck his hand out to her, "I'm Josiah," his voice was as deep and rich as his twin brother's.

"Kassandra," she whispered, placing her hand in his. If he noticed how shaky her hand was, he didn't show it. Instead, he brought the soft, feminine hand to his lip, placing the barest of kisses on it.

Drawing the encounter out will be agony for them all and they know it. So, Josiah simply urged Kassandra to her feet and led her to the nearest bedroom. The door closed behind them.

Alphose seated there, his body tensed with fury, rage, pain, and agony. So much agony.

Wolfariane’s cougar was very attuned to his, so the Alpha King sensed everything he was feeling. Wolfaraine could only stare at his friend with pity. He couldn't imagine being in a situation where he had to watch another man take Ismena away, unable to do anything .

In the bedroom, Kassandra pressed herself to the wall as soon as the door closed, and Josiah was forced to let go of her hand.

"You love my brother, don't you?" He asked bluntly.

The out-of-the-blue, unexpected question surprised her. She answered anyway, nodding her head once.

"I love him so much." She admitted bravely, defiantly.

The big man's expression did not change at all. "Between the two of us, he is the better one, the kinder one, and the blinder one." He said instead.

"I don't u-understand what you mean."

"We'll see."

He was close to her in the next second, and a flicker of green appeared in his cold, gray eyes. Before she could process anything, he bent her head to the side, exposing her neck, and licked a spot where her neck met her collarbone.

Whatever she was opening her mouth to say died in her throat, her body went stiff, and a soft cry emerged from her throat. But it wasn't a cry of pleasure. It was discomfort.

She struggled in his arms, but he easily held her still and licked that spot again. Sandra cried out, louder this time, from pain. Her insides felt like it's been lit on fire, and not in a good way.

When he repeated it the third time, the fire worsened so much that she threw her head back and screamed. Her body shook in his unrelenting hold, tears running down her cheeks.

That scream awakened something inside Alphose, something feral and deadly. He sprang up from his chair, threw his head back, and roared in fury.

"Alphose, wait...!" Before Wolfaraine could try to hold him, he shifted into his animal form, ran to the closed door, and began throwing himself on the heavy metal door, which was purposely designed in such a way that no changeling could break through it.

Behind the door, Josiah inhaled deeply, smirked in satisfaction, and stepped away from her. "My job here is done."

Immediately he let her go, and the fires receded into a dull ache. She stood there, shivering in the aftermath.

"W-What did you do to me?" She stammered.

"Nothing, Miss Kassandra; I only forced your dormant hormones to come alive. My 'attempted claim' on you forced your body to wake and take on your mate's scent." He smiled a little, "Now, you practically stink of him."

Sandra doesn't understand. "Him?" She asked, confused.

"The Steele trying to break down that door, ma'am. You are his mate. There was a time you were very sick, right? To the extent you thought you might die, right?"

Sandra doesn't need to think hard about that. "Yes, when I was very young, I suffered pneumonia."

He nodded knowingly, "Whatever drugs humans used to cure you suppressed your hormones that made you a potential mate.

So deeply suppressed that they wouldn't have stirred if you hadn't met your lifemate, my twin brother, and I wouldn't have been able to awake them if I didn't push as hard as I did. I'm sorry for hurting you, lass."

The man wasn't as bad as she thought he was, Sandra thought, and some of her fears dissolved. Instead, joy began spreading through her, "So, does it mean I s-smell like him now? M-My Alphose? "

"Yes, you do. You smell like him so much." Another loud bang at the door jolted Sandra. Josiah simply looked at the door.

"Your mate might kill me if he breaks in." He said without feeling like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Almost immediately, the metal door broke down completely, and a very huge, angry-looking cougar stormed into the room. Kassandra sprang into action before her brain could even process what she was doing, throwing herself between her mate and his twin brother with her arms spread wide.

"He didn't hurt me, Alphose! Please, stop. He didn't hurt me!" She cried.

"Mine...!" The cougar snarled, glaring at the male behind Kassandra.

"Yours, brother." Josiah raised his hands, palm out, in surrender, "She is yours. I'm not going to take your woman from you. I will never do that, brother."

Wolfaraine inhaled the air, and his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He turned to the raging cougar, "You have to shift back again and smell your mate, dear friend. She has your scent."

But he could see the cougar wasn't hearing a word he was saying. Without wasting time, he shifted to his own cougar form and growled at Alphose.

Only then did the raging cougar calm down. The King Cougar bumped head with the Cougar Leader, making another growling sound. The Cougar Leader shifted back to its male form. Alphose stood up immediately and closed the distance between him and Kassandra.

He inhaled deeply, and his eyes widened in disbelief. He inhaled again .

Sandra simply wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning from ear to ear, "Believe it, baby, I'm yours."

"You're mine, you're mine," Alphose mumbled over and over again. The more he said it, the more he believed it until a huge grin filled with relief transformed his face, "By Gods, she's mine!"

"I'm yours," Sandra was crying aloud, relief spreading through her like wildfire. Ismena was grinning like her best friend. She walked into her mate's arms while watching the new couples. Wolfaraine, already back in his mortal form, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"I think there's some kind of lovesickness in the air around here. Gotta have to take my leave before I catch the disease." Josiah snorted, but his eyes had gone warm as he watched the happiness in his twin's eyes. He'd never seen his brother so happy before.

"You will find your own woman someday, Josiah. You just wait for it." The Alpha King teased the male.

"I know you mean well, Alpha King, but I feel like you just placed some kind of curse on me," he actually shivered, revulsed at the thought of a mate, "I'll have to reject that curse. I don't think I wanna go all lovey-dovey for some woman out there."

What Josiah wasn't saying is; he doesn't think his mate is out there.

He'd searched everywhere for her those first few years he escaped to the human world because he dreaded being alone, but he never found her.

And he got used to being alone. Now, he is mated to his work, and he loves it.

His days of looking for his mate were over.

He'd come here today because he got curious after his brother called him. Just one look at her, he knew she wasn't his. He expected to feel anything; anger, disappointment, jealousy—anything at all but as always, he felt nothing. All his emotions died over the years until nothing remained.

Both couples' engaged in an exciting conversation helped him to sneak out unnoticed. He was already out of the front gate when he heard the familiar voice call his name.

"Josiah?"

He stopped reluctantly and faced his twin brother, who was suddenly looking so uncertain, "Can't you...uhm...maybe stay the night? It's late already. You can go tomorrow."

"I think it'll be better if I leave today, brother. Congratulations on your new mate. I am happy for you. I know how much you've longed for her, even when we were young." Josiah said, truthfully. "It's good to see you happy."

"Are you happy, Jose?" He asked, unable to help himself. His brother worries him.

"I'm good, Alph. Always."

The same robotic response all the time. Alphose would be happier if his brother stayed the night but knowing Josiah, trying to change his mind is like pulling teeth. Kassandra's arm around his waist erased the sadness. He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

"Would you visit again?" He asked, "Just anytime you want...anytime you can, try to come around."

Josiah only nodded, "Goodbye, Brother."

Kassandra surprised them when she ran towards Josiah and barreled into him in a fierce embrace.

"Thank you so much." She whispered against him.

Her action took Josiah by surprise. He stood there stiff and awkward for a few seconds, not knowing what to do with the emotional woman. But she didn't let go, saying thank you over and over again.

Finally, Josiah relaxed and returned the hug. To her ear, he whispered, "You are a good woman, Kassandra. Take care of my brother, okay?"

"I will, I promise." She vowed.