I woke up suddenly to people jumping on my bed. I sat up, startled by the sudden movement. Xander and Lilith were giggling with each other as they laid in my bed.
"You've been sleeping for like over twelve hours, bro!" Xander exasperated as he lounged on my bed, his combat boots resting on the bed frame.
"How did you two get in here?"
"Your mom," they both replied in unison. I wasn't sure how to feel about this, so I stared at Xander, silently asking for a better explanation.
"She fawned over us for like ten minutes. She's a hugger, like me. I also invited them to my coronation. Also told her about Ace." My eyes went wide at that last comment.
Lilith finally got out of my bed and wiped her clothes to smooth them. "Don't worry, she wasn't prying about your mate situation. Too busy gushing about Ace," Lilith explained while yanking Xander out of bed. "Anyway, your mom made us breakfast and asked us to get you!" Now it was my turn to be pulled out of bed by Lilith.
Xander threw the clothes I had left out for today at me. I was about to put them on, but Lilith simply snapped her fingers and they were already on me and my dirty ones were now in my hands. I looked at her surprised, but she shrugged. She's rarely done magic around me to the point I sometimes forget she's a witch.
Xander suddenly picked up a teddy bear that was sitting on my dresser. "Was this yours as a kid?"
"Yes." I gave him a droll stare, already knowing what he was going to do with it. He dashed downstairs, and I chased after him promptly.
"Xander! I swear to goddess!" I shouted as we ran down the stairs. Once I caught up to him in the living room, I tackled him to the couch and stole the toy back. We were both in a fit of laughter as we sprawled over the couch. We didn't even notice the people present until someone cleared their throat.
Ace was standing there with his eyebrows raised next to my dad, who was clearly amused. Xander shoved me off him, so I landed on the ground with a thump. I wasn't surprised when Xander rushed to hug his mate, despite the little audience.
"I was surprised to see Ace walking over here. I didn't realize he's Xander's mate. We are going to be losing two pack members. Whose next?" My dad laughed, but no one had a good poker face as we stared at each other, all thinking about Weston. Alpha froze, realizing our demeanor meant we knew something he didn't.
"Well... Weston found his mate..." I trailed off a bit, catching my father's attention. "Xander's Beta, Oliver, just so happens to be Weston's mate," I explained, finally standing up from the floor.
Alpha threw his hands up in defeat. "Black Hearts is stealing all of our pack warriors! This is outrageous!" He exclaimed playfully, causing Lilith to laugh with him.
We all walked into the kitchen where the smell of food was potent. Luna had practically made a feast. We all sat around the table, Ace next to Xander, Xander next to me, me next to Lilith, Lilith next to Luna, Luna next to Alpha, and Alpha next to Ace, all in a neat oval.
There were various conversations going on, mostly focused on Xander's coronation.
"So is Ace going to have a separate Luna coronation?" Luna asked as she passed Lilith some hash browns.
Ace looked a little uncomfortable, obviously still not adjusted to the idea of leading a pack, but Xander beamed at the question. "Yeah, I mean my coronation date has been set for a while, and Ace still needs time to adjust. I'll introduce him at the coronation, though!" This must've been something they discussed because Ace nodded in agreement. Luna accepted that answer and continued eating.
Alpha took time to address Lilith now. "So you are half witch, correct?" Lilith nodded, stiffening slightly, preparing for him to say something racist like I'm sure most people are. "So what's your role in the pack? I know your mom is a witch healer. Are you one too?" His honest question left Lilith looking relieved.
"Yeah! My mom's been training me for years. I've finally mastered performing general surgeries like appendectomies and polyp removals," she blabbered on, but Alpha seemed very interested. They sparked up a conversation about Lilith's studies and plan to go to medical school.
Luna was continuing to bug Ace and Xander about their relationship. "So Ace, have you told your parents about Xander? I know the situation is a little complicated, but now that Xander and Blaze are a little bit more open about it, what's happening?"
Ace was getting a little flustered with all the questions, but Xander honestly loved talking about their relationship. "Ace told them that he found his mate, but only really said I was from the Black Hearts Pack. He didn't mention I'm going to be an Alpha or my relationship to Blazen." He paused to glance at Ace and squeeze his hand. "We are planning on going over today to explain everything." Ace nodded in agreement, blushing slightly.
Alpha paused his conversation with Lilith to interrupt. "Blazen?" He repeated curiously. My cheeks heated in embarrassment, but I wasn't sure why since it was just my name.
"That's my full name. Blaze is just a nickname," I explained quickly.
"You two have to join us for dinner!" Luna clapped excitedly, addressing the newly mates couple. "Ace, invite your family! We were going out with Weston's family, so why not bring yours too!" Ace was blushing, but Xander appeared to love the idea. Probably because he wanted to make a good impression on Ace's family.
Alpha turned to Lilith. "Invite your parents, as well. It will just be a massive family/friend dinner to acquaint all of us," he offered her. She smiled politely and nodded, but I could tell from her eyes that she was excited to be included.
"My mother has a surgery tonight, so I don't think they will be able to join, but I will ask," Lilith explained, which led to more questions from Alpha about their witch healing practice.
After breakfast finished, Ace, Xander, and Lilith helped me carry stuff to the cars. We filled Lilith's first, then mine. Luna packed more stuff than I needed, but I was thankful. Her packing everything, saved us hours of time. We finished in about an hour, leaving us plenty of time to bring everything to the new apartment. Lilith and I drove over to the other pack, leaving Xander and Ace behind to talk to Ace's family.
The pack house was busy with people going in and out, making me feel a little uncomfortable. I decided to zip up my jacket to hide most of my neck scars and wear sunglasses to cover the one across my eye. That way, I looked more like Xander and people wouldn't question me as much.
My Uncle Zach was standing out front to greet us. He engulfed me in a bear hug before insisting he will help me move everything in. We grabbed some stuff out of Lilith's car and trudged our way through the house. Many people bowed and waved hello to Alpha. Some of the younger pack members actually addressed me as Xander, but I didn't correct them, just smiled.
Now that it was day time and I was fully sober, the directions to my apartment seemed easy. Just up the elevator to the 3rd floor, make a right and walk to the end of the hallway to apartment number 302. I even had a key to the apartment, which I struggled to use at first.
"Home sweet home!" Lilith shouted when we entered. She instantly plopped all my belongings on the couch, then plopped herself down as well. "We can have sleep overs now!" She squealed, making me question if she was really my age.
Uncle Zach laughed at her, clearly used to this childish behavior. "Lilith why don't you help me take in the other stuff while Blazen unpacks. Use some of that witchy power, why don't you? What's the point of having a witch daughter if she doesn't help you lift heavy things?!" Lilith glared at her father, sticking out her tongue before disappearing from her spot. Uncle Zach rolled his eyes, then took off down the hallway after her.
For the first time, I was left alone in my new apartment. It was surreal to think that these empty rooms would soon become home to me, a feeling I've never been used to. I took a deep breath before opening one of the boxes: pots and pans. I'm not sure how my mom had all these kitchen supplies to give me, but I was thankful considering my kitchen was fairly big. I'm a decent cook as I've watched and helped Luna for years, but living at home is going to be the true test.
Lilith popped in with more stuff a few times before Uncle Zach came with one load. Lilith was taking some time to flaunt her magic in her father's face, which was honestly what he wanted because she brought everything in with minimal effort. He waved goodbye after the final load, having to leave to help with planning and preparation for the upcoming coronation.
"Want me to start helping you unpack or should I get us some food?" Lilith offered, making her preference to food very clear.
"Food, please. I'm starving and obviously I don't have anything in my own kitchen yet." Lilith clapped excitedly and instantly disappeared.
Sighing, I moved onto my bedroom. I made my bed with a fluffy black comforter Luna provided. I added my own pillows as well. Next was my clothes. I spilled them out on the bed, deciphering which ones would go in the closet and which ones will go in my drawers.
As I was folding my clothes away, I got a whiff of a new scent. A new person I didn't recognize was near. I opened the bedroom door to reveal a tall, very muscular, guy standing in the middle of my living room, glaring around. He definitely was higher ranking because his aura was strong. Not as dominant as an alpha, but he definitely could be of beta or delta blood. He stood tall, only maybe an inch taller than me, with his light brown, messy hair adding another inch. His skin was littered with freckles, making him appear a little less harmless than I'm sure he is.
"Uh, hello?" I offered, breaking the man from his trance, capturing my eyes with his dark brown ones.
He cocked his head, sniffing the air to smell my scent. I pushed up my sunglasses and tugged my jacket to make sure it was covering all my scars.
"Who are you? Are you one of Lilith's new tricks?" He accused, standing on the balls of his toes as if he was going to pounce.
I snorted at that. "I haven't known Lilith for too long, but I wouldn't put it past her to pull witchy tricks on the pack." I shrugged, walking around towards the kitchen. My heart was racing as my wolf felt threatened, but I tried to appear relaxed.
"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?" He was growling now, making me actually laugh. He was trying to dominate me. An alpha. So I laughed. This didn't settle well with him, so he pounced. I side stepped out of the way of his attack, only angering his more.
"What's my identity to you, huh?" Normally, I'm not this playful, but today I was feeling ballsy.
He held his head up high as he stalked around me. "It matters when you are posing as my Alpha. I'm the Delta of this pack." That caught me off guard. The delta? Did Xander not tell his third in command about me. This moment of weakness allowed the man to pin me against the refrigerator. My head hit back, most likely denting it. "I'll ask you again, who are you?"
I rolled my eyes, continuing to give him sass. "If you're the Delta, why hasn't Xander trusted you enough to tell you about his twin brother?" The man froze, his eyes widening. His body was flushed against mine as he decided whether or not I was telling the truth. His eyes were searching my face for answers, but my expression was blank.
"Geez, Blaze! I know you are hung up about your mate rejection, but you have only been here a couple of hours and you are already getting hot and bothered with Hayden!" Oliver's voice sounded almost angelic, despite his gross words, because he was saving me from this mess.
The man, apparently named Hayden, gave me one last curious glare before releasing me. "You know him?"
Oliver gave his a droll stare before answering. "Yeah, this is Blaze, Xander's older brother. Twin if you couldn't tell, you idiot." Oliver walked over to me and ruffled my hair. I only raised my eyebrow at him, not sure why the gesture was necessary. "You'd know this if you weren't off touring the world!" Hayden gave Oliver a sharp stare but didn't say anything. That made Oliver very content.
I stood in the same spot as Oliver walked around the apartment, as if he was examining to see if it was good enough. However, Hayden's eyes were glued on me as if I was a dangerous threat.
"So you are really Blazen? Xander's twin we all thought died," Hayden suddenly asked, still studying me. I simply nodded, not feeling like talking at this moment. Hayden turned to Oliver who was still snooping around. "Xander told me about Ace and Weston, but neglected to tell me about this dude."
Oliver shrugged, as if he really didn't care whether or not someone told Hayden about me. They had a weird dynamic of a relationship that I didn't understand but also didn't question.
"The real question here is why Blaze let you pin him down?" My face was emotionless, as always, while I studied Oliver to figure out why he knew that.
Hayden scoffed, folding his arms against his chest. "Let me? I actually have skill, you know?" He was obviously offended by this, but Oliver didn't react, only gave him a droll stare.
"Blaze kills rogues in his human form and has the scars to prove it. If he didn't want to be pinned down, he wouldn't be." I was a little surprised that he knew about me killing rogues in my human form, but then again, Weston loves to blabber on.
I walked out of the kitchen and picked up a new box, both of them watching me closely, waiting for an answer. "I was being sassy, I deserved it." I shrugged, taking hold of my bathroom supplies to walk them to the bathroom.
"When did you get back Hayden? I thought you were supposed to be coming home in a couple of days?" I heard Oliver question, with some obvious distaste for the other boy.
"Last night. I wanted to get settled for a few days before the coronation." The coronation wasn't only for the Alpha of the pack, but also the Beta and Delta. This was a big even for Xander, Oliver, and apparently Hayden. The fact the boys weren't close to Hayden made me a little uneasy about the transfer of power, but he did seem a bit older and he was traveling, so it made sense.
I walked back in and picked up another box for my bedroom as the boys casually discussed the coronation, and thankfully, the tension died down a bit. I was barely paying attention to them when Lilith came back with food.
"Hayden? I didn't know you were back!" Lilith excitedly shouted, placing our food down before throwing her arms around the older boy. He didn't skip a beat to hug her back, which meant they were close. I wondered for a second if they were in a relationship of some sort, but considering how much Lilith comments on girls, that idea left quickly.
I pried my eyes off the pair to pick up another box to bring to my room. When I came back, the two were casually chatting with Oliver while opening the take out Lilith had brought. It was a massive amount of Chinese food, but I wasn't complaining.
"So Hayden, you've met my favorite cousin, Blaze!" She yanks me to her side and punches my cheeks. "He always has a stoic face, so you never know what he's thinking. But! We share the same dark humor!" Lilith dragged on as I opened the containers and readied the plates I had just put away.
"I knew Blaze when we were young. Thought he was dead, though." He shrugged, taking his eyes over me for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I thought you were trying to pull a gruesome prank, to be honest." He pulled his eyes away from me, now focusing on eating the food in front of him. Lilith rolled her eyes, but dropped the conversation.
I turned to Oliver who was happily eating in silence. "Are you coming to dinner with my family tonight?" Oliver perked up at the question, and unexpectedly blushed.
"Yeah... Weston told his family about me yesterday, and he said they are really excited to meet me." He paused, putting his fork down to scratch the back of his head. "I'm nervous to meet them," he confessed, biting his lip.
I managed a comforting smile, or at least I hoped it was comforting. "His parents are very nice and chill. They didn't have much planned for Weston other than him going to college and finding his mate. A Beta mate is definitely a perk in their eyes. I'd be most worried about his sister, Macey. She can be protective." He nodded slowly, trying to absorb the information I provided.
"So you know Weston?" I wasn't expecting the question from Hayden. I obviously sparked his curiosity now.
I nodded, finishing the food in my mouth before responding. "Weston is from my pack. We grew up together and he's my best friend. His sister is the soon to be delta," I explained. Puzzle pieces seemed to click together in his mind all of a sudden.
"And Ace?"
"He's from my pack too. I actually wasn't friends with Ace until recently. The whole mating bond brought us closer. Our wolves are mated but I'm not mates to him. It's complicated." I tried to keep it as simple as possible as not to confuse him.
Lilith scoffed, slamming her rice box on the counter, grabbing everyone's attention. "If only you were mates with Ace! Your mate is an asshole, and I'm glad you're rejecting each other!" Lilith was clearly angry as she threw a childish fit.
Hayden narrowed his eyes at me, anger passing through his eyes too. "You're rejecting your mate?"
His reaction was surprising, but I tried not to let it get to me. "My mate is complicated... he's my adoptive brother," I paused, looking at Hayden's face pale. He made an "o" shape with his mouth. "I refuse to reject him because a bond breaking is awful, and I wouldn't bestow that on anyone, so I gave him the choice. And his choice was pretty clear." I didn't want to talk about it because my emotions peaked through my heavily guarded expressions. Hayden caught on and instantly dropped the subject and returned to his food.
Once we finished eating, Hayden and Oliver said their goodbyes as they had coronation practice, but Lilith helped me unpack things. Once majority of my stuff was away, she dipped too to get ready for dinner.
Once everything was put away, I glanced around the apartment, and embraced the feeling of what was going to be my home.
This is what I needed. New pack. New people. New family. New life. A new start.