The Alpha Twins' Decree

The moonlit glade was silent save for the rush of the mountain stream over polished granite stones and the ragged, heavy breathing of two colossal Alpha predators surrounding their fated prize.

Pinned against the rough, moss-dusted bark of the ancient hemlock, Freya could feel the terrifying, intoxicating heat radiating from both men like waves from a newly stoked forge. Jax’s massive, muscular body pressed flush against her front, his calloused hands gripping her slender waist with bruising, possessive intensity, his rock-hard thighs bracketing hers so closely that she could feel the heavy, iron ridge of his erection pressing against her lower belly through the layers of her wool gown.

Behind Jax, Jaden leaned in until his broad shoulder brushed his brother's back. His long, elegant fingers reached past Jax's shoulder, gently cupping the soft curve of Freya’s jawline, his thumb tenderly stroking the delicate skin beneath her ear to feel the frantic, fluttering pulse of her jugular. The dual scents of the brothers—Jax’s wild, smoky cedar and cinnamon musk, combined with Jaden’s cool, crisp winter frost and spiced dark sandalwood—engulfed Freya’s senses, sending delicious, traitorous shivers racing down her spine.

"Easy, little rabbit," Jax rumbled, his deep baritone vibrating through her chest and into her very marrow. His burning amber eyes glowed like twin coals in the silver moonlight, searching every inch of her face with ravenous, disbelieving intensity. "Look at how she trembles. Did you think we were going to tear you apart in the brush?"

"You... you are the Alphas," Freya gasped, her voice trembling as she pressed her back as flat as possible against the tree trunk. "Both of you. This is impossible. The sacred scrolls of the Moon Goddess say a female has only one fated mate. A triad bond is a myth from the First Dynasty! It hasn't happened in ten thousand years!"

"Then the goddess has smiled upon Silverpeak with a miracle," Jaden murmured smoothly, his storm-blue eyes gleaming with dark, brilliant satisfaction. His hand slid from her jaw down to the nape of her neck, his long fingers threading through the thick waves of her honey-blonde hair, tilting her head back until her violet-gray gaze met his over Jax’s broad shoulder. "My brother and I have spent seven long years wondering what kind of woman could withstand the combined will and dominance of two Alphas. We thought the goddess had forgotten us. But she was merely waiting for you to come of age. A delicate apothecary with violet eyes and a quiet fire in her soul."

Jax’s jaw tightened, the silver scar along his collarbone stark in the moonlight. For a brief, tense microsecond, the lifelong rivalry that had simmered between the twin brothers flared to the surface. Since boyhood, Jaxson and Jaden had competed for everything—first in the sparring pits, then in the hunt, then in the command of the mountain battalions.

"I scented her first at the ceremonial dais, Jaden," Jax growled low in his chest, his inner beast baring its teeth in primal territorial challenge. "Her jasmine scent hit my nostrils while you were still raising your wine goblet."

Jaden did not back down an inch. A cold, challenging smirk touched his aristocratic, chiseled lips. "You leaped forward like a wild boar, Jax, crashing through the brush without thought. But I anticipated her flight path through the hemlocks and cut off her escape at the stream. Scenting means nothing if the prey eludes your grasp."

The two six-foot-four titans glared at each other bare inches above Freya's head. The air in the glade grew heavy, charged with suffocating Alpha dominance that made the pine needles on the branches above shudder. The raw physical power radiating between them was immense; if these two giants collided in anger, they would tear the forest to splinters.

"Stop it!" Freya cried out, her small, slender hands coming up to push with all her might against Jax’s rock-hard chest. "Stop it right now!"

Both Alphas froze, looking down at her in surprise.

"I am not a prize deer to be divided between hunters!" Freya said, her voice ringing clear and steady in the moonlit glade, her violet-gray eyes flashing with fierce, indignant pride. "I am Freya Campbell. I am an apothecary who has tended to the sick and wounded of this pack since I was fifteen years old. If you two are going to fight over me like two dogs over a bone, if you are going to use me to fuel your petty childhood rivalry, then kill me now or let me walk away! I will not be the wedge that tears Silverpeak apart!"

A profound, stunned silence descended over the glade.

Neither Jax nor Jaden had ever had a wolf speak to them with such fearless defiance. Their warriors bowed in fear; their elders spoke with calculated deference. But this slender, gentle apothecary girl was standing before them with her chin raised, holding both sovereign warlords accountable with nothing more than her courage and her moral conviction.

A slow, devastating grin broke across Jax’s rugged, scarred face. His amber eyes burned with a mixture of dark amusement and profound, breathtaking adoration. "Fierce little thing. I like claws on a mate."

Jaden let out a soft, appreciative chuckle, his storm-blue eyes softening with genuine reverence. He leaned down, his warm lips brushing the shell of Freya’s ear, his breath warm against her cold skin. "She is right, brother. We do not fight over what the heavens have bestowed upon us both. Silverpeak has two kings. And now, Silverpeak will have one queen to rule our hearts."

Jax looked at Jaden, the dangerous competitive edge dissolving into an iron, unbreakable bond of shared purpose. For seven years, they had governed as co-rulers because their combined strength was invincible. Now, the Moon Goddess had completed their circle.

"Agreed," Jax rumbled, his voice dropping into a solemn, sacred vow. "No rivalry. No jealousy. We share her love, we share her bed, and we slaughter anyone who dares to threaten a hair on her head."

Before Freya could formulate another protest, Jax slipped one massive arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her effortlessly into his arms like she weighed no more than a feather. Freya gasped, her arms instinctively flying up to clutch his broad shoulders, feeling the hard, corded muscles rippling beneath his tactical bear-fur armor.

"Put me down, Jaxson!" she demanded, her cheeks burning with furious scarlet blush. "I have two working legs! I can walk!"

"You're not walking a single step, sweet girl," Jax chuckled, his deep chest rumbling against hers as he tucked her securely into his warmth. "You ran two miles through the freezing timber in thin slippers. Your toes are ice-cold, and your gown is damp with dew. You belong in our arms now, and that's where you're staying."

Jaden stepped up beside them. With smooth, practiced elegance, he unclasped his heavy charcoal wool cloak lined with white ermine fur and draped it tenderly over Freya’s trembling shoulders, tucking the plush fabric around her neck to seal out the freezing mountain draft. His knuckles lightly brushed her flushed cheek, lingering with tender worship.

"Where are you taking me?" Freya asked, her voice muffled against the soft ermine fur.

"Home," Jaden replied softly, his storm-blue eyes glowing with quiet possessiveness in the moonlight. "To the High Peak Manor. Where our Luna belongs."

As Jax carried her through the hemlocks with Jaden walking at their side, guarding every flank, they passed the outer sentry posts along the mountain trail. Seasoned warrior guards stepped out of the shadows, their eyes widening in shock as they saw the twin Alphas walking in perfect, unified harmony, carrying the quiet apothecary girl wrapped in Jaden’s royal cloak. The sentinels bowed their heads in immediate, instinctive deference, murmuring prayers of awe.

Word of the triad bond was already spreading across the valley like wildfire. But cradled against Jax’s thundering heartbeat, with Jaden’s warm hand resting protectively over hers, Freya felt an unexpected, terrifying peace settling deep into her bones. The wild, untamed Alphas of Silverpeak were terrifying to the rest of the world, but here, in the circle of their warmth, she was untouchable.