Twin Alphas

Chapter 33

"I already told you, burgers." Josh's voice didn't sound the same. He was short with his brother and it sounded like he was angry with him as well. Josh didn't seem like his normal, happy-go-lucky self. Aiden on the other hand seemed extra chipper. After Josh's response Aiden looked back to me and nodded.

"Burgers. Sounds good, doesn't it?" Aiden smiled and started to rest his head on my lap.

"Shouldn't you be helping him? It would be less work for him if you offered." I wasn't sure why Aiden refused to do some of the things he did, like answering the door in the morning. He blatantly refused to get up out of bed and open the door. Apparently he also refused to step foot in the kitchen while someone was cooking.

"You will learn fast that you don't let me in the kitchen when the stove is on. Josh is a much better cook than I am, and he's not even that good." I could hear a growl come from the kitchen and instantly knew it was Josh's response to Aiden's comment. "IT'S TRUE!" He hollered back. "I'll burn the house down if I step foot in that kitchen. I'm more of a survivalist, put me in the middle of nowhere and I'll make a shelter fit for a king with a water source nearby and plenty of food to catch."

"And what's Josh's specialty?" I asked, to be honest I was curious. I knew that Josh just reheated the omelets this morning so he obviously didn't cook much.

"He's got some crazy organizational skills, and he can calm a raging wolf with one glance." Aiden told me. "Oh, and he makes an amazing steak dinner... as long as it's done of the grill or an open fire." I nodded and told myself that I would have to try his steaks one day. Just as I thought that Josh came out of the kitchen with two plates in his hands and handed one to Aiden and one to me. He then quickly went back to the kitchen and came back a few seconds later with a plate for himself. Unlike Aiden however, Josh sat down on the couch across from me. I didn't say anything about the distance, but I did take notice of the broken look on his face. He didn't say anything the whole time we were eating, he didn't even look up at me. Any time I looked towards him my focus went to the four pink scratch marks on his cheek. Immediately after looking at them I felt guilty and ashamed.

"Bayne..." Aiden's voice caught my attention and pulled me out of my thoughts. "Are you done with that?" I didn't understand at first, I followed his hand down and my eyes landed on my plate. I had only eaten about half of my burger, but I wasn't hungry anymore. I nodded and handed him my plate so he could take care of it. I watched his back as he disappeared into the kitchen then looked back to Josh. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes were downcast and he was studying his hands. I could feel the hurt through our bond, but he didn't say anything. His face didn't show what he was feeling inside, and if I couldn't feel his hurt and depression I wouldn't think that there was anything wrong with him. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't know what to say, I wasn't good with this type of thing. I knew that he was hurting, I could feel it... I just had to figure out what I could say to make him feel better.

"Hey Josh... We going or what?" Daniel's voice came through living room as he came in through the back door.

"Yah I'm coming." He said. Josh got up and was at the hallway before I could get a word out. Then he turned around, faced me and the door to the kitchen. "I'm running patrols, I'll be back in time for dinner." Then he left without waiting for a response. I stared after him, almost wishing he would come back so I could try and figure out what to say to him. I've never felt like this before, I'm not even sure what to call it. Knowing that I caused him pain changed something inside of me.

"He still loves you, ya know." Aiden told me. I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't know how to respond to his comment. "We both do..." I looked up at him with unsure eyes.

"I... I don't know how you want me to respond." I told him.

"You don't need to. Just know, I love you. Nothing can change that. And Josh loves you. Nothing will change either of our feelings for you."