(Alnitak)
There is just something about the new girl which has my wolf on edge from the moment my eyes landed on her.
My other half always feels an unholy kind of attraction for females because of what I am but my wolf has never shown an interest in any female, until Amaia.
She isn't our mate. I can't scent her, can't see that glow that separates a mate from others, but has me mesmerised.
Every time I carry her in my arms my wolf howls in satisfaction. My heart eases in her company like it has never done for anyone else.
I enjoy the company of females, but have always kept it to playful flirting. Unlike my brother, I want to wait for my mate.
Opening the door to our appointed dorm, I enter and find Mintaka splayed on the window side of the bed. His bent arm is behind his head, displaying all the muscles he has built.
"Pick up your lazy ass, I am taking that side," I tell him flatly. Approaching him, I drop his foot down.
He snorts, "Done playing the hero to the damsel?"
I scoff back at my brother. "She is not a damsel. Don't forget she saved your sorry ass in the pit."
"Yahh! Yahh! But I can see how you look at her, Alni. Don't go down the road I did." Lazily he straightens and sits up.
"What road?" I flop alongside him, placing both my arms behind my head.
"You know what I am talking about. Don't throw away your virginity. Wait for your mate." He almost seems regretful, his eyes find mine. I can sense his unease through the twin bond we share.
We both understand how difficult it is for us to resist temptation due to who we are. He gave in and I understand why he did. I am still fighting. But from the moment I found Amaia, I have not been sure how long I can restrain myself.
She is tempting, like the forbidden fruit, without knowing it. Beautiful beyond anyone I have ever seen, at least for me.
"What if we don't have mates or a mate? It's been three years since I turned 18 and I haven't found her. What if we are cursed like our elder brother?" My concerns come tumbling out of my mouth, and Mintaka also drops himself beside me.
"Then we take on chosen mates but that always comes with its risks. You already know what I have done. The regret kills me inside and yet I live with it every day." Pain radiates in his voice and my heart hurts for my brother.
He had been lively like me, but the choice he had made after his loss, changed him. Now he is just a shell of the person he used to be. And there is nothing I can do.
"Everyone makes mistakes, Taka. You were hurting and she used you. It's not too long to correct it." I say, staring at the white ceiling. "You didn't know."
"Either way, I am fucked. The lust runs in my veins. Sometimes I hate who I am. My wolf is lost somewhere in my head, he only woefully howls whenever I have sex, but he refuses to surface," he confides in me again. The dark reality that plagues my brother which only I am aware of.
I sigh but understand what my brother is going through. It's guilt mostly. It's killing him slowly and yet he won't stop. Like the moth to the fire. He continues down this path but at least not with her.
"And there is no guarantee. One day, our chosen mates can leave us too, if they find their real mates," he continues in his deep, solemn voice.
"That's true but we are not giving up. Not today, not ever. There has to be someone for us too. I am tired of flirting, I want a taste, the real taste of a woman." I straighten up and get out of bed.
Mintaka shakes his head and follows me. "And you will get addicted, just like me. Don't say I didn't warn you." He slides his hair back from his face and heads to the cupboard to extract his uniform.
"I won't. Let's get to this orientation. I want to see her again." I follow behind my brother, opening the other frame of the cabinet and getting my uniform.
Mintaka has already arranged all of my stuff neatly there. He is a neat freak, unlike me. I hardly organise.
"There is a spark inside her. That's for sure," Mintaka says, closing his side of the door. "A feeling that there is more to her."
Dumbfounded, I stare at my brother. "You feel it too?"
"I don't know what I feel but she is hiding something, that much I can tell you." Mintaka takes out his uniform and is about to head to the bathroom when there is a knock on our door.
I proceed to open it, only to find the dictator as we love calling him, standing in our doorway.
Grim and annoying, the man never smiles. He is miserable all the time. I understand he never found his mate, but Jamina is the kindest and sweetest girl, and she worships him.
"Both of you, I need a word before you head down for orientation." Alnilam advances inside and closes the door behind him.
"What now? Some new rules?" Mintaka asks, leaning against the cupboard with annoyance visible on his face.
Alnilam pins him with a serious stare which makes Mintaka just shake his head. Both of them have never seen eye to eye, leaving me as a mediator between the two.
"Sometimes you need to be serious. This is life and both of you have turned 21. You are not kids, so start acting like it."
"How? By sulking all day like you? Or never smiling?" Mintaka shoots back, making me take a deep breath. This is going to be one difficult conversation.
"Shut up. I don't care about your damn smiles. Do what you want." Alnilam's sharp eyes leave Mintaka and focus on me.
"I am just here to warn both of you to stay away from Amaia Zhāng. She is trouble and sleeps with men for personal gains. I can already see her getting close to both of you. Don't fall for her traps and save yourself for your mates."
A bucket of cold water seems to have been dumped on me by his words. The one girl I have come to admire, Alnilam, has to come and destroy it.
Mintaka snorts loudly and bends over laughing, holding his stomach. I know he is laughing at my expense.
"Told you, she is hiding something," he amusedly barks.
"What are you talking about? What proof do you have for saying something like that about her?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
"I found her in the arms of Huradis, with his tongue down her throat and moans escaping her. She was willing to sleep with him just to get to the academy. I can bet anything that's how she operates."
Alnilam's words have my head dizzying. Sleeping around for personal gains just disgusts me.
Seeing the smile wiped off my face and observing my silence, Alnilam steps forward and places his hands on my shoulders.
"Alnitak, you have a heart of gold and I know you only see the best in others." He presses down. "That's why she is singling you out. Fainting whenever you are near, trying to act cute. Don't fall for her tricks because I don't want you to get hurt."
He points at my heart with his other finger. "Guard your heart and your soul for your mate."
I close my eyes to let Alnilam's words sink in but am reminded of the promise I have made to her. My wolf painfully howls inside me, not agreeing to what has been said about her.
Burying whatever I am feeling, I just give Alnilam a quick nod but somehow my heart doesn't agree with what has been revealed.
Only time will tell what the truth is.