TWO//...Be our Mate.

I was beyond appalled. 

What were the princes of the entire clan doing at my door at midnight?! 

Oh this was bad. 

This was very bad. 

Had they found out about my intentions? Hell, I had only told Gisele that and that was barely a few hours ago. 

There was no way word could have reached the palace-

Oh wait, who was I kidding? I was dealing with werewolves. 

I slapped a hand down my face, dragging it down, trying to breathe through the haze of confusion and fear that surrounded me. Just play it cool, Ava. There's no need to fear. 

"Miss Lopez?" The deep silvery voice that had spoken earlier, called again. "Quite a number of people would think it rude and offensive to keep a prince waiting outside in the blistering cold." 

My eyes widened. He was right. 

And besides, I thought staring at my door, considering the reputation of the twin Alpha Princes, I doubted the frail thing had a chance of protecting me from them. 

Taking a deep breath, I reached for the doorknob and turned it. The door creaked with an ominous sound as it opened and for a long while, all I could hear was the sound of my harsh breathing. 

My eyes fell on a bare muscular chest and my lips dried at the sight. Ripped bronzed skin gleamed under the moonlight, and like a fool I was mesmerized. For a second, only a second, I allowed myself to dream about leaning on that chest, safe and sound. 

"Adam, I told you to wear a shirt you bastard," A voice I hadn't heard earlier scoffed, waking me out of my shameless ogling. "Now she's drooling all over the front porch!"

My eyes drifted up at the remark to meet twin blue eyes staring down at me in amusement.

Two men stood on the porch in all their magnificence. Their height spanned well over six feet. Adam, the shirtless male, grinned down at me rather wolfishly. His hair, dark as night, was long and tousled, falling over his face. 

He had a twig between his lips that he played with as his eyes scrutinized me. 

"Pardon my Brother, Miss Lopez," His brother, who thankfully had a shirt on, said with a smile. "He is a bit too eager. I am Antonio-"

"Who the hell are you calling eager? You made us run all the way here." Adam snarled, his blue eyes tearing away from me to glare at his brother. 

I shuddered, looking at Antonio as well. It was quite obvious that they were twins. They had similar blue eyes and black, soft looking hair. However while Adam looked mischievous with lines crinkled around the corner of his eyes, Antonio looked more... Soulful. He had a sunken gaze that made him look wider beyond the playful grin that graced his lips. 

And my, what fine lips they were. 

"How long do we have to keep waiting outside?" Adam asked gruffly, pulling out the twig from between his lips. "Are you going to let us in, Miss Lopez?" 

What the hell was wrong with me? Just how long had I stayed there staring at them like a complete idiot?

"I am deeply sorry, your Highnesses," I said hurriedly, bowing my head in curtsy and stepping aside. "Please come in." 

"Bout time," Adam said, the playful smile back on his lips as they walked past me into the house. He let out a long whistle when he stepped in, taking in the condition of the living room. 

Shame coursed through my veins but I stamped it down, keeping my head bowed. If they were looking for a place to stay, then they had come to the wrong place. 

"H-How may I be of assistance?" 

"Straight to the point eh?" Antonio asked, walking towards Diane's cane chair, the only furniture in the room. I watched his shirt ripple as he tried to sit on it. "This is weird looking furniture." 

Adam walked towards him, head cocked to the side as he studied the piece of wood. 

"Y-Your highnesses," I stuttered, feeling irritated at the way they tinkered with the chair. "Surely, you didn't come all the way here for a scrap of wood." 

They stopped to look at me, eyes flashing in surprise. 

Ah crap, they must have heard the irritation in my voice. I closed my eyes, expecting a harsh remark or worse, a lash but all I got in return was laughter. 

"She certainly has bite, doesn't she, brother?" Antonio asked, abandoning the chair and stalked towards me. I stepped back instinctively and heard Adam snort. Riveting my eyes to him, I saw that he had managed to sit on the chair, a childish triumphant grin on his face. 

"She's perfect," He murmured,playing with the twig between his lips, his watchful blue eyes fixed on me.

"Perfect for what?" I asked, looking between both brothers. "What is going on?" 

"Well," Antonio said, stopping when he was mere millimeters away. "A certain little birdie told us you seek the blue morning rose," 

My breath snagged. Not because he knew about the blue morning rose, but because his hands reached for a strand of my hair that had come undone from the messy bun I had on, twirling it with his finger. 

"Yes... I-I was. It's for my sister-" 

"Oh we know," Adam said, waving his hand dismissively. "We are well aware of the details, Ava." 

I swallowed at the way he called my name. Deep, dark and silvery. I tried hard to ignore the tingling in my belly. 

"So we decided," Antonio continued, leaning closer. He left the strand of hair, to cup my jaw, tilting my head up so I could only look at him. A jolt spread through my body as I watched his eyes darken. "We will give you all the blue morning roses in the world, but we'll need something in return." 

"What?" My voice came out in a breathless moan. It was shameless, I knew that. But hell I couldn't help it. His hands on my skin did crazy things to me. Hot, crazy things. 

"You'll be our mate," Adam said, suddenly sounding closer. He had left the chair and was behind his brother, eyes dark as he stared at me. "Fuck, she's perfect. Look at those fuck me eyes," 

What? 

I blinked, their words dawning on me. Be their mate? I laughed, a short sad sound that rattled my bones. 

"Is this some kind of joke? I hadn't expected that royalty would stoop so low to mock a lowly peasant," I hissed and tried to step away from them. 

Antonio's hold on me was steady however. 

"I assure you," he said with a smile that looked genuine. "That I have no time for pranks. And I certainly wouldn't have traveled ten villages for it." 

"I- I don't understand," I muttered. 

"I don't get what's hard to understand," Adam grumbled irritably. "You'll get the roses you need to cure your sister, in return you become bound to us. You become our mate. You're human but I am certain you understand the concept of mating, no?"

"I'm not stupid!" I snapped. 

"I'm counting on that," Adam replied with a grin. "So what will it be Ava?" 

"I can't," I replied, shaking my head. I had already been rejected twice. If there was anything I had learnt in the last five years, it was that dallying with werewolves would only bring me pain. And I was tired of that. "There has to be another way. Please your Highnesses. I need the roses for Diane." 

Antonio stared at me for a while before releasing his hold on me. Overwhelmed,I fell to my knees. 

"I'll advise that you think about it properly. We'll be at the village inn till noon tomorrow. Meet us there when you make your decision." 

And as quickly as they had dropped into my life, they were gone, leaving me on my knees in the living room, confused and ashamed. 

****

"Diane!" 

She wasn't waking up. 

I stared in fear at my sister's still body, my heart thumping wildly. It was barely morning, the sky was still a deep blue, littered with a million stars. After thinking over the Alpha Prince's proposal and deciding I was better off without them, I'd gone to check on Diane, only to see she wasn't breathing. 

"Diane, Diane, please wake up." I begged, shaking her shoulders violently. "Diane!" 

I had to get help. I couldn't let her die! She could not leave me, not now. Grabbing my cloak, I tore through the front door, racing down the hill to get Gisele. 

Hang on Diane, Hang on, please. 

Thirty minutes later, I stood by the door, watching Gisele attend to her. 

"The sickness is spreading," Gisele said, after checking her pulse. "She's alive, but barely there Ava. I'm afraid she may not last till the end of the week." 

"But she was fine... She was fine yesterday, Gisele," I sobbed. 

"I'm sorry Ava," She replied, leaving Gisele's side to pull me in for a hug. I buried my face deeper into her arms. Desperate times called for desperate measures, did it not? 

"Will the blue morning rose cure it all?" I asked. 

"Ava, it's almost impossible to get-"

"Will it work?" I demanded, pulling away from her. 

"Yes," Gisele replied, "It will." 

I nodded, held my cloak around me and turned around. "Please look after Diane, I'll be back soon."