Chapter 27

SOMA:

Staying annoyed with him is not enough to express how I am really feeling now. Especially after he just walked out on me all of a sudden with the claim that he was not doing that. I don’t care whatever his reason for leaving might be, but he shouldn’t have done that while we were in a middle of a conversation. But were we?

I’m so mad at him right now. So mad that I could hit him right in the guts if the need be.

Wasn’t venting my frustration on him about his cowardice enough to let him know I was displeased with him? Or did he just choose not to get the memo? And I so much hate speculations about something going on around me. More reason I face my problems onward.

Staring at where he occupied not too long ago felt like I was staring at a blank space. Who would come now and see me doing this and still think I’m sane? They sure wouldn’t know what I’m going through.

“It’s so good to have you in our pack once again, Alpha Soma.”

I turn around startled by the sudden intrusion to my thoughts. And there he was — the freak I’ve been avoiding since I arrived today. None other than Leonard. And to sum up his freaky attitude, he just had to be a creep in approaching me.

“Can you do me a favor and not do that again...” I tell him, moments after getting my heartbeat regulated. Bloody creep still has a smirk on his face despite knowing he just got me all worked up. Wish I could mar his face to take that smirk off him.

I just realized how vulnerable I’ve become since I started feeling the strange pull. Little things get me startled and I hate it. It’s indirectly turning me into an emotional weakling.

A sigh, and I have to ask, “How long have you been standing there?” because funny enough, I did not perceive his scent or even get a twitch in my senses that someone was standing behind me. I think I should be bothered about that.

“Long enough to know you didn’t realize I was right behind you,” was his response, and by putting two and two together, it makes me realize he could have been the reason Luis had to run off like that.

“I had my mind preoccupied,” I say in my defense. “But you... You think it’s cool to be sneaking up on someone like that?”

“I didn’t sneak up on you. You just weren’t active enough to realize the happenings around you,”

“Whatever,” I mutter, and then try to calculate how I would move away from this path so I could round the corner to go back to where I came from.

“So, did you come back because you missed me?”

“Wait, what? Miss who? You?”

I can’t help but give him a once-over after analyzing that I heard his question right. Why the hell would he think I would miss me? On what basis?

“Yeah, me,” he says. The confidence he oozes out has me questioning myself mentally about where he got it from. Wonder what’s getting his hopes high that would make him have the slightest idea that I even thought about him for once. Yeah, I did think about him, though, but it was just to see how I would avoid him by any means.

“Did I even think about you for once? Nah. I only came back here because of my sister and not because I missed you,”

He suddenly narrows his eyes at me. “You sure there isn’t something else you came here for?”

Now what he is talking about? “I would be lying if I say I understand what you’re talking about,” I tell him instantly.

“Well, it’s nothing,” and his creepy smirk is back. “So why is your sister here? Or should I rather ask why you brought her here?”

“I didn’t bring her here. She wanted to be here herself so I chose to tag along. According to her, she wanted a little bit of sightseeing, mostly feeling the Dark Moon pack has something to offer.”

“And her instincts led her right because there really is something to offer in this pack. A whole lot,”

“Hmph,” I hum, “I realized already.”

“So where are you heading to now?” he asks, taking his hand up to the shoulder region of his fancy robe and sort of smoothening it. I still have a lot of difficulties choosing which pack’s robe is better between the Dark Moon pack and mine.

“Back to my sister and Hailey. Pretty sure they will be expecting me now,”

“Aren’t you supposed to be free at the moment?”

“Uhm, yes, why?”

“We could grab an ice tea together, you know. Something for a little bit of cool off,”

Well, well, well. A request for a date came out too soon. At just the third meeting, huhn? The dude couldn’t even take his time.

I give him a weird look and then start to walk past him. I then say, “Nice try, but I’m not interested,”

Immediately he turns around to follow me. ‘Trying to shake off the bug but it wouldn’t let me be’ was the correct term I could use to describe this situation.

“Why not?” he quizzes.

“Because I do not want to have a drink with you even if it’s just ice tea.”

“It’s just a simple request. Why take it as something so personal?”

“It has to be, sorry. And it’s because I have issues trusting you.”

“Do you have issues trusting me or you have trust issues in general?”

“It’s you I don’t trust, Leonard. Has me thinking you would end up spiking the drinks if I were to adhere to your request. Don’t want no man pulling off my dress without my consent,”

And here I go again with the attitude of not caring about my words but just spouting them as they come to mind. The reason I’ve had issues with a lot of people over the years.

“You’ve got a lot of bad thoughts going on in that head of yours. What makes you think I’ll do such? I’m a decent man. If I weren’t, I’m sure Tyrone would have never made me his beta.

“Have you thought about the baby brother factor? He could have simply considered that knowing you would get pissed if you didn’t get something,”

“Tyrone is not my elder brother. He is my twin.”

I had to stop immediately. “Did I hear you right? You are Tyrone’s twin brother?” I ask, surprise flashing on my face. I just hope my voice was kept low enough to disable others from hearing what I just said as we were now close to the training ground.

“Yeah, you did. And that’s the truth,”

“How can you be his twin brother? No one ever told me that.”

“Not a lot of people know about us. So when people call me his baby brother and all that, I do not argue because I have little energy to go about explaining my identity. You’ll probably be the first I’m telling,”

I’m blank on how I should genuinely react to this. Feels weird, and at the same time surprising. Wouldn’t have expected to hear anything like that. Never. Mark is in for a treat when I see him.

“So you were cool with your twin being the alpha and not you?”

“Tyrone has always had more of the charisma of a leader than me. So when it was time to vie for the position of alpha, I willingly gave up the position for him. And in return, he made me his beta despite the condemnation from others because they thought it was inappropriate for brothers to hold both positions of alpha and beta.”

“Wow, what a beautiful brotherhood story,” his expression shows that what I just said was the weirdest thing to say in such a serious condition. And it wasn’t that I was trying to be funny or anything. “I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I just don’t know how to react to this development,”

“Well, it’s act—”

“Soma, there you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you,”

I turn my head just at the same time as Leonard does to see Hailey and Cassie approaching us. I seem to have forgotten that it was somewhere around here that I left them to catch up with Luis.

“Sorry that I had to run off without telling you guys,” I say to them, looking particularly at my sister to see her staring at me weirdly. Her brows were raised questioningly.

‘Who is this?’ Cassie’s voice gets in my head and I could decipher the inquisitiveness from her tone even if it wasn’t her natural voice.

‘Leonard. He’s the beta and the alpha’s brother. I might have mentioned him to you casually already,’

‘What are you doing with him?’

‘Ran into him here. But it’s not him I came to see’

“Is it Leonard you came to see? You should have told us and we would not have bothered to look around for you,” Hailey, already standing right in front of Leonard and me, says.

“Uhm, maybe,” I announce, almost gulping down a lump in my throat because I was telling a lie right in front of the victim. I hope Leonard wouldn’t react negatively to it because I can’t even look him in the eye now.

“So what are you guys talking about? Or is there something going on here that I do not know of?”

“Oh no, nothing is going on,” I quickly decline. “Leonard was just telling me about...” I quickly look in Leonard’s direction to see if he was comfortable with me talking about what he just told me. He gave me the go-ahead with a brief nod. I continue, “He was telling me about Tyrone being his twin and not his elder brother. I would never have guessed that in a million years.”

“Oh, that. I was surprised as you are now when I first found out about this as well. At that time I just got mated to They never made anyone realize they were actually twins. If they were identical, it would have been a giveaway,”

“Yeah. So, Leonard, that’s my sister, Cassie. And no, she’s not my twin...”