The Challenge Two Alphas,One Girl

Chapter 29: Maze’s Moods and Musings

Thaddeus’ POV

 I was relieved to see Maze walk into the pack house that evening. Even Cat-ur-day was happy to see him. Friday would be calmer now that he was at home so he could have his mood swings and tantrums in the safety of the pack house. Maze looked sullen and withdrawn (well, more than usual) as he walked into the common living room. I was with my six comrades and Theo. Fang was missing again. Something weird was up with him. I would figure that out after I reassured Friday.

 “Come on,” I said to Maze. He followed me up the stairs to the Alpha Floor.

 Friday was in her room. I had already helped her bathe and change into her nightgown. When Friday officially became my Luna, there would be no nightgowns. The most comfortable way to sleep was commando. Friday smiled at Maze and me. I winked at her. We sat on either side of her.

 “Thank you, Thaddeus, for checking on Maze,” she said sweetly.

 Maze was quiet. “What happened, Maze?” Asked Friday

 Maze was silent. “Please, tell me, Maze!” Friday pleaded.

 “She was really worried,” I said, disgruntled. “She deserves to know.”

 “I…” Maze paused, taking a deep breath. “I walked in on my father and your mother, Friday.”

 Friday looked confused at first but then it dawned on her. She flushed.

 “They were in a compromising position. All three of us had a serious conversation about it. My mother and her friends were right downstairs,” Maze explained.

 Maze sighed. “I’m so sorry, Maze,” said Friday.

 “Look on the bright side,” I said. “You’ll still get to be close to Friday. I’ll be her husband and you’ll be her step-brother.”

 Maze glared at me. Friday playfully swatted my arm. I flashed her a hurt look. She kissed my cheek. Maze noticed out of the corner of his eye. She kissed his cheek too.

 

 Friday’s POV

 I had started to notice a strange pattern. Every time I was around both Thaddeus and Maze, especially if I was in close proximity to both of them simultaneously, I felt a strange power within me. It was faint but it was there and the combined alpha auras seemed to trigger it. I had not told anyone about this yet, not even Maze or Thaddeus. I sighed happily, breathing in both of my mates scents.

 I was so relieved Maze was ok. He was emotionally shaken up but nothing terrible had befallen him. I wished I could snuggle up, sandwiched between the two alphas and fall asleep. I yawned. 

 “You’re sleepy. Time for bed,” Maze said sternly. His no-nonsense tone reminded me of his spankings. I smiled slyly.

 “Good night, little Luna,” said Thaddeus. 

 I wanted to kiss them both on the mouth but they might hate that. So, I leant forwards a little and pointed to my cheeks. They realised what I wanted and broke into smiles. They both leant down and kissed me on my cheeks.

 Now that’s more like it, said the strong voice, the inner me, the powerful me.

 “Good night Alphas,” I said.

 “Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Alpha?” Groaned Maze.

 “She doesn’t listen, this one,” scolded Thaddeus.

 I giggled. The Alphas caught me way off guard. Thaddeus grabbed me and pushed me gently down on the bed and started tickling me. I squealed. Maze came over and I thought he would make Thaddeus stop because it was childish but he started tickling me too. I shrieked and they laughed, tickling my sides and under my arms and my foot that was not in the cast. It was playful and more friendly than erotic but they were both my mates so my body started to react. I started to get wet down there and tingles spread all the way through me.

 “I surrender!” I declared. I did not have a white flag so I raised my white cast into the air.

 The Alphas chuckled. Suddenly they stopped laughing. I felt a little strange. Today has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions tapping into Maze’s energy. I had also had an intense sensory experience with Thaddeus. I groaned. Maze stiffened. His breathing became shallow. Thaddeus’ eyes darkened. There was a heat in my lower belly. I hugged myself tightly, curling up, bringing my knees closer to my chest. I was tremulous. What was happening to me?

 

 Fang’s POV

 The manor was ostentatiously decorated. Statues, oil paintings and ornaments lined the walls. The lighting was so dim. The place had a vacant feel to it despite being filled with artefacts and ornate furniture. Ugh, vampires. They made every house look like a cross between an art museum and an abandoned church. There was never anything normal like a television or a toaster or something. I followed what’s-her-face up a winding staircase. I was thankful the place seemed empty. I could not have even a whisper of this getting back to the Marigold pack house. Maze had his face so far up Friday’s ass these days, he did not even notice his Beta was barely around. I noticed that he was even trying to get along with Thaddeus. Was my sister a witch or something? Maybe she was a changeling baby and that’s why she never shifted? Whatever she was, she had those two alphas going crazy over her.

 Katrina Van der Windt! That was her name. She paused just outside a set of black double doors with door knockers in the mouth of onyx gargoyles. She turned to look at me. She was in a leather jumpsuit with a plunging neckline that ended just below her navel. What else would a vampire wear? 

 “This is your last chance to turn back,” she whispered, her usually cold eyes softening.

 I took a deep breath. It was too late now. “Let’s go,” I said.

 She nodded. 

 We entered a high-ceilinged study with a huge fireplace. A man in a high-backed chair faced away from us. All I could see of him was a taloned pale hand clutching a cane with a bat carved on the handle. I knew from his smell that he was a high-ranking vampire, old and powerful. The smell burned my nose. I held my breath every now and then. 

 “Father,” Katrina said.

 The man turned around. His face was sharp and angular. He was deathly pale with light grey eyes. He had platinum blond hair. He grinned with his fangs on display. 

“Beta Fang,” he said softly. “Of Marigold, welcome.” He had a deep voice and he spoke very slowly in an accent I could not quite place.

 “Thank you, Lord Ezekiel,” I said. 

 “Oh please, please, no, there’s no need for formalities,” drawled Ezekiel dramatically. “We are dear friends now, brothers even, family.” He hissed that last word, drawing it out. 

 I heard a snort of laughter. I looked across the room. A young man had just entered. I had not hear him come in. He was incredibly stealthy to be able to sneak up on a Beta in his prime. The young man was pale, tall, with a softer face than Ezekiel’s. His eyes were blue and there was a strange sadness emanating from him, a wistfulness. I knew that vampires were much more prone to melancholy than werewolves but he reminded me of those mournful ones who had lost their mates, hollow and tired. His hair was a darker shade of blond than the other two vampires, almost a warm golden colour. He locked eyes with me. I could not read his expression.

 “Is there a problem, Ezra?” Asked Ezekiel. Lord Ezekiel Victor Van Der Windt was sometimes referred to as the Vampire King. The Vampires had no official leader but he was the eldest and most powerful vampire in one of the largest remaining covens. Many vampires had left coven life to live as individuals among humans, witches and wizards and even werewolves. This was because vampire coven life was notoriously restrictive. The Vampire Council was tyrannical, deciding everything from dress codes to curfews to arranged marriages. Young vampires found it oppressive and repressive. They fled in droves over the years but Ezekiel Victor Van Der Windt had kept his coven in tact. Katrina was his daughter by marriage and Ezra was his biological son and the technical heir to the family fortune and legacy. Naturally, people often called him the Vampire Prince. 

 “Yes, brother, dear, is there a problem?” Katrina repeated.

 Katrina apparently resembled her mother, Ezekiel’s late second wife Sonia, greatly. Sonia had mysteriously disappeared when Katrina was but three. She was presumed dead. Ezekiel’s first late wife Eleanor had also mysteriously disappeared in the past when her son Ezra was a little boy. Ezekiel did not take a third wife. 

 “Yes!” Hissed Ezra to my surprise.

 “Speak it,” said Ezekiel.

 “How can we trust someone who would sell out his own family?” Spat Ezra. “Who hands over their little sister to an arch nemesis over a stupid job?”

 A growl ripped through me before I could stifle it. Being Beta was my birthright. It was not some stupid job. Vampires had no understanding of werewolf life and pack issues. I was not about to let this spoilt punk push me around. He looked like he could be snapped in half by a half-trained warrior.

 “Peace, Ezra,” said Ezekiel, holding a palm up. “Fang has his reasons and his reasons do not matter to me. It is a mutually beneficial relationship. Ahhh! Mutualism, the greatest form of symbiosis.”

 The Vampire King went on a tangent that literally no one myself and Ezra included cared about.

 “Symbiosis refers to a relationship where two different creatures interact closely. There are three kinds of symbiosis,” said Ezekiel, holding up three fingers with talons that were long and sharpened to a thin point.

 “Parasitism, where one creature, the parasite, benefits and the other creature, the host, is harmed,” said the Vampire King.

 Ezra rolled his eyes and slumped into an empty chair near the fireplace putting his head in his hands and groaning. I politely pretended to be interested. I did not come here for a biology class but if Ezekiel was going to fix my problems after Science 101 than so be it.

 “Commensalism, where one creature benefits and the other does not benefit but is not harmed!” Said Ezekiel with a flourish of his hand.

 Ezra mimicked the flourish.

 “Mutualism, where both creatures benefit,” said Ezekiel, licking his thin lips. “That’s you and me.”

 Ok, sure, whatever. “Yes, we’ll both benefit. Very interesting, Ezekiel.” I said, nodding.

 “Yes, father,” agreed Katrina softly, nodding encouragingly.

 Ezra regarded the three of us with a disgusted look. He got up and exited the room through a side door. He had been the least bit disturbed when I growled. Katrina had seemed afraid of me but her elder step-brother was arrogant.

 “Are you ready to mutually benefit, Fang, because I sure am?” Said Ezekiel, extending a spidery hand.

 Katrina smiled pointedly at me. I stepped forward and shook the vampire’s ice-cold hand.Chapter 31: Big Brother Beta

Chapter 29 - The Challenge Two Alphas,One Girl