Thorin
“Theo will sh.it a brick when he realizes.” Tane laughs.
While pulling pranks is our specialty, I was a little worried when Tane decided we should mess with Theo’s gender reveal. But the idea was too good to pass up. We might well end up losing our balls for upsetting Harmony. But it’s just a little fun, and we’ll fix things almost instantly. Almost.
“Yeah, but the look on his face will be priceless,” I smirk and high-five my identical twin.
We look around the room at the faces of many here to celebrate with Theo and Harmony. This is all overkill, but Isla has always been the over-the-top type.
The room is decorated with all sorts of weird baby sh.it of pink and blue. There are cards on a table at the far end of the room. Isla set it up with two ballot boxes, one pink and one blue. Everyone has to write their name and whether they think the baby will be a boy or a girl. At the end of the party, one name will be chosen from the correct box, and the winner will receive a prize of a weekend away.
There are different colored balloons all over the room, banners, and cupcakes – blue and pink, of course. There’s a bar and tables and tables of food.
Every woman is dressed in her finest, each man in a suit, and kids are dressed like little princes and princesses. A bit much if you ask me.
But what would I know about stuff like this?
The giant black balloon in front of the French doors catches my eye, making me smirk. Not long now.
Dad’s parents arrived ten minutes ago, and already they seem enamored with Lyric. Lyric is smiling, but it’s easy to see she’s uncomfortable. I’ve got to admit, Lyric looks stunning. Her hair is fashioned in a bun at the back of her neck, and the long, silk-black dress she’s wearing matches her hair color. Harmony is dressed the same as Lyric but in white.
It makes me chuckle because Tane and I always dress the same. Most people can’t tell us apart, aside from family, but even they struggle sometimes. It’s easy to tell Lyric and Harmony apart because of their hair color; even if featurewise, they are identical. “What the hell is he doing here?”
I look over to where Tane is nodding. Great, Aidan Harrington is all we need. The King of Vampires, dressed in his finest, is now standing with Thane. They’re having a hushed conversation, and the Goddess only knows what they’re up to now. Thane and Aidan have been friends since Thane was a kid. There’s an understanding between our kingdoms. They help us; we help them. I don’t much care for him myself, but I know not to make enemies.
“Thane must have invited him.” I shrug like it’s nothing because it isn’t, not to me, anyway.
I close my eyes when the scent of tulips hits my nose. That smell has assaulted our senses at every party over the last six months. Ours because The Moon Goddess saw fit to give Tane and me the same mate. I don’t know what Selene is playing at doing something so dumb.
It’s rare for twins to share the same mate. Though it usually only happens with identical twins, two males could end up with one female and two females with one male. It has something to do with the egg splitting to make two babies, sharing one soul. Tane and I discussed what sharing a mate and everything involved would mean. It’s not like we haven’t shared a woman before, a woman we both fell in love with and wanted as our mate.
Charlie was everything to us from the moment we met her at six years old. At sixteen, the three of us entered into a secret relationship. We were each other’s first everything; all we cared about was being together. But two years ago, Charlie’s brother, our resident demon, found out about the three of us and sent Charlie away.
It’s been hell without her, and Tane and I have struggled with this whole mate thing. We decided that Charlie wasn’t coming back to us, and we should give our mate a chance. The only problem with that is not having a damn clue who she is. Now and then, Tane and I will scent her, but we never find her. At every party, we go around, checking every woman, but ours is never around. She hides from us, and it’s clear that she doesn’t want to be with us because she knows we’re her mates.
As much as we’d like to, we can’t force her, but she could at least face us and reject us instead of leaving us hanging like this. It’s time we spoke to Thane and asked for his help. This cannot go on, and he must know which families bring young women with them. He’ll help us narrow it down; he’ll help us find her so we can put an end to this sh.it
“She’s here.”
“I know, Tane. But we can’t do anything about it now; Theo and Harmony are about to pop the balloon.”
“Not sure I’m up for this prank now.”
I nod because I know how Tane feels. Knowing our mate is out there and avoiding us for the umpteenth time has taken the fun out of the joke.
“We’d like to thank everyone for coming today. It means a lot to both myself and my beautiful mate.”
Theo smiles at Harmony, and she looks up and smiles back.
Ugh, nauseating!
“I think we’ve waited long enough to find out what this little bundle will be.” Theo lays his hand on Harmony’s swollen stomach.
Standing on either side of the balloon, Theo hands Harmony a pin. The excited smile on Harmony’s face will be wiped off any moment now.
“Three,” Everyone yells in unison, excitement in the air. “Two, one!” Harmony pops the balloon, and confetti litters the air.
The cheers began turning into gasps, and Harmony’s tear-filled eyes look around the room. Theo has a face like thunder, and I press my hand to my mouth so as not to laugh out loud.
“What does green mean, Mommy?”
“Erm…”
“A sea monster!”
“Tristan!” Mom snaps.
“You two!” All eyes shoot to Tane and me. “What the hell do you think you’re playing at?”
“Why are you blaming us?” I move my finger between Tane and myself.
“Yeah,” Tane folds his arms across his chest. “This is something Tristan and Starr would do.”
“Don’t blame us,” Starr scoffs. “Even we’re not this cruel. Gotta say, boys, this was evil.” Evil?
For the love of…
“Fine,” I roll my eyes. “It was us, but it was a joke.”
“Well, it’s not very fuc.king funny!” Lyric’s Alpha tone ripples through me, causing Tane and me to bear our necks in submission. “This moment meant everything to my sister, and you ruined it with your selfish games!” Everyone in the room has their necks bared, even my parents and grandparents, all but Thane. Yeah, this woman is more powerful than any of us imagined.
“Let me tell you something,” Lyric comes closer, and I feel Tane stiffen beside me. “You ever pull something this stupid again, and I’ll tear your balls from your bodies and feed them to you!” Fu.ck, she’s mental!
“Where’s the real balloon? And don’t even think about lying to me because you’ll regret it, you little sh. it’s!”
Little sh.it’s?
We’re older than she is!
“Closet.”
“Fetch it, Thorin, and hurry up!”
“Yes, my Queen.”
I knew everyone would be annoyed, but damn. I thought Lyric was going to take my head off!
I bring the balloon back from the closest in the hallway and hand it to Theo. He snarls at me while Harmony sniffs. I get the joke wasn’t funny, but damn, all the tears are a bit over the top. ‘She’s pregnant, your moron! I told you not to do this and that no one would find it funny. But you never listen.’
‘Shut up, Decker!’
My Lycan scoffs but stops talking. Good. Like Tane’s Lycan, Dolton; Decker is an as.hole!
“I swear, if we burst this one and yellow confetti pops out…”
“It won’t.” Tane rolls his eyes.
Harmony pops the balloon without warning, screaming in excitement when blue confetti fills the room. Theo scoops her up in his arms, and everyone cheers. A little boy. Nice.
I tip my head at Tane. He nods and follows me out of the room. We make our way to the courtyard because I need some air. I’m not bothered by how people reacted. Tane and I are used to disapproving looks and head shaking. But I can’t breathe in that room. The smell of our mate, not knowing who she is, and being confused over Charlie is making me crazy. Charlie is the real reason we haven’t pushed hard enough to find out who our mate is, and maybe that wasn’t fair to our mate. But it’s not like she’s sought us out. “I wonder why she hides from us?” Tane sits on the fountain’s edge while I lean against the nearest tree.
“I don’t know, Tane.”
“Maybe she thought you wouldn’t want her.”
Our heads snap up, and our eyes lock on the girl biting her lower lip. She’s dressed in black, a dress to her knees with long sleeves. Her long blonde hair is in a French twist, and she is utterly beautiful.
“Charlie.”
Our little demon girl is standing right in front of us, and she is our mate!
How did we not know this?
Why has her scent changed?
Did Luke keep her from us?
Luke is Charlie’s big brother. Demons are not good people, but Luke is not what people think he is. Sure, the man is evil, but he was raised with Lycans and is loyal to Thane. He’s an asset to the Royal Pack and has never given anyone any cause to think otherwise. Just how long has Charlie been back?
Why did she hide from us?
We were in love; I thought that meant something!
“It’s good to see you.”
“You’ve been hiding from us. Why?”
I lay my hand on Tane’s chest as he steps forward. “Easy, brother.”
Tane is the hot-headed, quick-to-his-temper one. I’m more laid back and use my head.
“It wasn’t my intention, Tane. Luke kept a barrier up so you couldn’t find me. I begged him to drop it the moment I came home and sensed you were my mate’s. But Luke wouldn’t budge; he was worried you’d reject me. It didn’t matter how many times I told him how much we loved each other, regardless of the mate bond. He was trying to protect me, I guess.
“But in doing so, Luke accidentally made me question everything. I was taught how to control my demon when he sent me away. I did well, and Luke allowed me to come home six months ago. Then he kept telling me how I had to be careful, that it didn’t matter if you were my mates; Thane wouldn’t allow us to be together. I’m a demon; who could honestly want me?
“Even though I was terrified of rejection, I watched the two of you from afar. I soon realized that you could smell my scent, and it confused me because Luke said you wouldn’t and that my scent had changed. But I couldn’t keep away from you; I just wanted to be near you. Tonight, I couldn’t fight the need any longer.”
“Charlie,” I sigh. “Have we ever given you the idea we think any less of you because we’re not the same?”
Charlie shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Thorin. I didn’t know what to do, and I’m so scared that I’ve lost the two of you.”
‘She’s ours, Tane. Our wish came true; the Goddess finally answered our prayer!’
‘I know. Goddess, I can’t believe it, Thorin. Little Charlie is our mate!
I chuckle, and we make our way over to Charlie, engulfing her in our arms. She clings to us, sniffing back tears.
“You are ours, Charlie. You have always been ours. Are we yours?”
She nods against my chest. “Since the moment I met you. I love you both so much. I always have.”
I close my eyes and breathe deeply. “We love you too.”
‘Thane isn’t going to like this, Thorin.’
‘I don’t care what Thane thinks. Charlie is ours, and I, for one, won’t give her up. Thane will just have to get used to it.
‘And if he forces us to give her up?’
‘Then we take her and leave.
Nothing and no one will tear us apart; I’ll make sure of that!
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