Part I here

Alice strolled across the porch and pretended not to see the twins talking with Sundance. What she was banking on was that they would see her. To this end she had opted for a rather snug pair of denims that hugged the curves of hips to good affect and left about six inches of calf bare above her espadrilles. Her blouse too was provocatively tight, and knotted below her breast to expose her midriff. Augusta had seen her once and had glared, but so far that had been the only sign that anyone had noticed.

One day soon she all this would be over and she would run for the hills, but it troubled her that that hoped for day was so tinged with regret. Leaving the beast behind and the whole supernatural mess should not trouble her so. Then she glanced at the twins again. Adam so hard and cool, John so warm and jovial, her heart quickened. Maybe it was just a crush, she lied, but one she would regret not acting on forever. It was time to stop being a passive observer and to make a play.

Across the compound John hardly heard a word Sundance was saying. Instead he watched Alice pretending not to cast calculated glances in his direction and decided it was now or never.

“Excuse me,” he cut in, “I have to…” he lamely pointed to a point halfway towards Alice and made to go.

Sundance frowned, but Adam studiously failed to react as he watched his brother walk away.

“That woman is going to get somebody killed,” the Navajo remarked drily.

“Yep,” Adam said in an easy voice, but he was longing to chase his brother.

Across the yard John sped up to close with the lawyer. “Hold up,” he called.

Alice’s heart lurched, but she played it cool. “John,” she said with a casual smile as she turned.

“Look I…” Now John was standing there he didn’t know what to say. “You and me…”

Alice met his eyes and almost melted. No time for weakness, she chided herself. “You and me? What do you mean? Oh… that, so sweet; trying to be bold too, just like your big brother,” Alice made a theatrical wince.

John shut his mouth and tried to read her.

“Adam already… well he said…” she shrugged, “It is no big deal.” Then she tore herself away, may be with just a small part of her heart tearing too, like some massive emotional Elastoplast.

“Hey,” John snarled, “What did Adam say?”

Alice swung about and her mouth smiled. It was a courtroom trick. “Ask him,” she said and wheeled away.

“Alice,” John called, he took two hesitant steps forward like a teenager seeing his holiday love driven away by her dad.

This time she didn’t look back and decided that was the hardest thing she had ever done.

*

“What the fuck did you say to Alice?” John growled as he rounded on his brother.

Adam scrunched up his face in supressed rage; he felt the wolf straining at its bounds. “Nothing you don’t know about,” Adam said in a long slow breath, just like a grown-up indulging a child.

“Liar,” John spat.

The chain snapped a little and the beast hung by a thread. “What your mouth little brother,” Adam hissed.

“I’m your fucking twin, your handful of minutes head start don’t buy you shit with me,” John snarled. “What the fuck did you say to Alice?”

“What do you think I said?” Adam tried to sound curious, but his tone was wrong.

“Just what I figured,” John sucked air through his nose. Then he lunged.

Almost 200 kilos of meat slammed into a head on crash with a smack heard in town. Every wolf on the ranch jerked alert at the sudden stench of testosterone-fuelled adrenaline.

Sundance swung about and decided not to get between the two would-be alpha males. Maybe even Jared could not have stopped this confrontation. The crowd gathered quickly around the two cloth=shred half-wolves incredibly locked between man and beast. Few had ever seen such a thing; some didn’t even know it was possible.

“I challenge you for my woman,” an inhuman voice growled from one of them.

“Shit,” Sundance said in awe. This was bad. “She is a human, she can be neither of yours,” he yelled. His heart was torn between their magnificence and his love for the two boys he had help raise.

Across the yard Alice stood transfixed. A small part of her brain screamed that this was wrong, that she had overplayed her hand. The rest of her was a slave to the raging pulse that intimately flooded within her. “Oh my God, oh my god, oh my God,” she frantically muttered under her breath.

One beast slammed a great fist at the other only to have it caught and used as a lever to swing him around, then as one twisted free the other jumped back into a crouch.

“I am going to kill you,” said the crouching beast man. Only from his rags could Alice tell it was John.

“You can try,” Adam roared.

“No,” she mouthed. “I didn’t mean…” but the last was left unsaid and would have been unheard in any case.

The second collision happened fast as they danced away and back in a claw-slashing conflict they were both left almost naked.

Alice couldn’t breathe.

There was blood and rage and even Alice could smell the hormones. She had had a bitch once. The thought came unbidden and she blushed to the point of nausea.

“Enough,” said a voice. It was calm and authoritative.

Garrick stood in the yard and glared.

Adam stood up straight and now apart from his eyes, he looked normal.

Still half beast, John crouched ready to leap.

“I said enough, son,” Garrick spoke softly.

“What did you say to Alice?” John rasped. His eyes never left his brother.

Adam relaxed, the beast now tamed. “Nothing,” he sighed and then taking a gentle step forward said again more earnestly, “nothing, I swear.”

“John, I lied,” Alice called over. Her voice was choked and mumbled. But all heard.

John pulled back from the rage and finally looked at her. “I love you,” he said in a boyish confused voice. His sense of betrayal was a mask on his face.

“I know,” Alice replied, tears pooling at her eyes and then she looked at Adam, “I love you both.”

Adam took two steps forward and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. He held it there until John looked at him. Then he said, “Alice, go to your room.”

Alice felt sick.

“It is alright Alice,” John groaned as he sagged a little and leaned on his twin.

Adam looked over at the woman they both loved and held her with eyes of pure ice.

“Your room, now,” he bellowed.

Alice fled

To be continued…