Alpha's Twins Chapter 16

When I got back to the hotel, I was shocked to find a text from an unknown number waiting for me.

"I heard you went to the event. Come back to Crystal Blood Pack. Your mother and I are waiting for you."

It didn't take long to figure out who sent it.

Jeremy Pierce. My foster father.

I texted back: "How did you get my number?"

"You forget who I am. Getting your number isn't exactly rocket science, Natalia. Now quit asking questions and come home."

I stared at the message and let out a bitter laugh.

Home? What home? He adopted me but never once showed me real parental love.

He probably got my number from today's guest list. Everyone had to sign in with their contact info for security reasons.

"I'm never coming back. Just forget about me."

I hit send and tossed my phone onto the bed.

I dragged myself to the bathroom for a quick shower, then slipped into my pajamas.

When I came out, my phone screen was lighting up non-stop with notifications.

Still toweling off my hair, I grabbed my phone to check.

Social media notifications were flooding in. When I saw what people were saying about me, my stomach dropped.

Apparently, members of Crystal Blood Pack thought I was heartless for refusing to visit my foster family. The comments were brutal.

I scrolled through posts from Crystal Moon Pack members:

"What a selfish brat! Abandoning her own parents!"

"Word is she ran off with some old guy—that's why she won't come back to our pack."

"She's probably embarrassing her family on purpose."

I had no clue how they knew about the conversation between Jeremy and me. Since he never bothered looking for me after I left the pack, I figured he'd kept quiet about it.

I posted an anonymous comment: "What if she's not the bad guy here? Maybe you should try understanding her side."

A few people liked it and agreed with me, but others doubled down, calling me a disrespectful kid who abandoned her elderly parents to live it up somewhere else.

I didn't waste more time on it. Why should I care what they thought? I wasn't here to go crawling back to my old life. My foster parents had plenty of money—they'd be fine without me. Jeremy probably had some ulterior motive for reaching out. I knew him too well.

Even though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep yet. I needed to talk to my babies—they were my whole world.

I called them for a video chat.

"Hi, my babies! What are you two up to?" I asked.

Noah waved at me while Aria blew me a kiss.

"Mom, when are you coming home?" Noah asked.

"Real soon, sweetheart."

"Mom, bring me big candy!" Aria demanded.

"Of course I will. Where's Uncle William?"

William was their caretaker. We also had a couple of maids to help Aria with getting dressed and bathing. They were all my father's trusted people. He'd promised me I could count on them completely.

"He's right here." Noah pointed to his left.

William appeared on screen and bowed. "Madam Natalia, don't worry. I'm taking good care of them."

"I'll be back in a few days. Stay with them until then," I told him.

Noah pouted. "Mom, we wanna see you."

He looked so much like his father. I lived in constant fear that Adrian would somehow find out about him and Aria.

What would I do then? I couldn't lose my children. They were the only reason I kept going.

"Baby, Mom will be home soon," I promised.

We talked for an hour. They told me everything they'd done that day, and I reminded them to stick close to their grandparents. My parents adored them, and they had each other for company.

After hanging up, I was finally ready for bed.

But then someone knocked on my door.

I got up, assuming it was Atlas since his room was right next to mine.

I opened the door, starting to say, "What's up, Atla—"

I froze when I saw who was actually standing there.

Adrian.

He looked furious, those dark eyes practically burning holes through me.

"You?" I whispered.

Before I could react, he grabbed my hand, pushed me inside, and slammed the door behind him.

I was still trying to process what was happening when he pressed me against the door.

"Atlas, huh?"

His sudden move left me speechless.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you here?" I tried to push him away.

He gripped my arms tighter, keeping me pinned.

"What did you tell my father? About going to Blue Blood Pack? Why? Because of that Beta Atlas?"

His jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might crack. He looked so angry it actually scared me.

"Alpha Adrian, back off. Let me go."

"Let you go? So you can run to that Atlas guy?"

"What do you want?" I demanded.

I had no idea why he'd even come here. As far as I knew, he hated me more than anyone.

His rage didn't fade one bit.

"Are you with him now?" he asked in a low voice, like he was trying to control himself.

"Why do you car—"

"Yes or no."

I took a deep breath, considering lying to him. Maybe that was the only way to keep this man at a distance.

"Yes. I'm with Atlas," I said.

I thought he'd leave now that he had his answer.

Instead, he let out a growl that made me tremble. I'd never felt such submission to any alpha before. So why him? It made me even angrier.

"Just get out of my room. I don't want to talk to you anym—mmph!"

My eyes went wide as he grabbed the back of my neck and crushed his lips against mine.