Her Desired Alphas
Marabella has lived with a curse her entire life. Born as a Gemini twin, she was considered a bad omen. Always living in the shadow of her twin. Marabella is believed to be tainted by the mark of death, everyone in her pack fears her. After the rejection of her mate, she learns that there are more secrets out there than just hers. Kyan and his best friend Jonah have a dark secret of their own. One that pulls Marabella between the two men. All of that changes when her darkness turns out not to be a curse, but a blessing. When she finally gives in and confronts her demons she learns that they were never really hers at all. That the curse that follows her might just be the key to setting them all free. “Everyone has skeletons in their closet, you just need to choose which ones you can live with, which ones will haunt you a little less…”
Katya
5 years later
A high-pitched scream makes my gaze snap up from washing the dishes to look out the kitchen window. Today, the weather is pleasant. The sun is out and is accompanied by a cool breeze. The season change from the cooler months now is finally starting to show.
Marley and Alicia are out in the back garden, playing with the twins. Eziah, my social butterfly, squirts Marley with his water gun. Her scream of excitement and alarm rings out loudly as she runs away.
The twins are six now and couldn’t be more opposite to each other. Kids at school always surround Eziah. Marabella, however, is socially awkward, and more comfortable spending time alone and away from others. Despite that, she does her best to fit in and make a few friends.
Marabella has always been a constant worry for me. She is quiet and shy. Usually, she is reluctant to socialize. So, when she picked a friend to come over here, I felt the excitement bubble up inside me as it has never before.
Since the girls are here, I hope she will open up a little more and try to find time to play.
So, today, I have invited their friends over to play, since this has been a rather rough week for them.
Well, for all of us, really. We had another rogue attack. This has been the fourth in the last two weeks, and tension has been running high. To the point where even the little ones are noticing the pack’s fear and picking up on our stress. And all I can do is hope things get better going forward.
Watching Eziah chase the girls, I chuckle to myself. A faint smile spreads across my lips as I watch Eziah corner Alicia and Marley to squirt them relentlessly. He has a cheeky grin on his face. He is clearly enjoying this.
As I look around, a frown slips onto my face when I don’t spot Marabella straight away. Leaning forward, I peer out the window and finally find her.
She is sitting in the sandpit, playing with her bucket and spade. Her dark hair is falling in front of her face, and suddenly she tosses both items across the sandpit. My brows furrow as I watch her intently. She looks over her shoulder at the other children.
A small smile tugs at her lips and she quickly slips her gloves off and begins molding the sand, which soon begins to take the form of a castle. My brows pinch as she glances around nervously, as if she is worried about being caught having them off.
When I hear the doorbell ring loudly, I turn away from Marabella and glance over my shoulder.
Turning the tap off, I quickly dry my hands on a tea towel, then head out of the kitchen to answer the door. My face splits into a grin when I see Jasmine standing on the doorstep.
“Why didn’t you just let yourself in?” I ask her with a smile.
Jasmine and I are still close despite how many years have passed, but something has been off with her lately. Sure, we have had a few big fights over the years, but we always get over things quickly for the sake of the kids. Saying that, however, our kids are also the reason we have fought in the past.
She and her mate had been having issues, and I know some are regarding Marabella and her being around Marley. I understand her mate’s concerns, but I also feel like it is a little unreasonable. So hearing that, it hurts me as well.
Marabella is just a child. She isn’t dangerous to anyone, not intentionally, anyway. All I want is for her to be able to be a child and spend time around others like other kids are able to. It isn’t always the case, though. Most parents fear for the children when it comes to Marabella playing with them.
“The lock must have clicked; I tried to open it,” Jasmine answers, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
Oh probably, come on through, the kids are out back having fun.” I lead the way back to the kitchen and turn the kettle on. “Coffee?” I ask her.
“Yes, please, I need one after the day I have had,” she says, peering out the sliding doors at the kids.
“Wait, is that Alicia?” Jasmine asks, stepping closer to the glass sliding doors as she peers out, and I glance out the window while filling the kettle up.
“Yeah, I invited her over, so Marabella has someone to play with.”
“So they are friends now? That’s good then, I guess. After everything, I was worried about Marabella.” Jasmine says, sounding a little confused as she takes a seat at the kitchen table.
“What do you mean by now? Those two have always been friends.” I reply, slightly confused. Marabella herself told me Alicia is her friend, and so did Eziah.
Jasmine’s brows crease as she moves closer to the counter. “Oh, sorry, I’m honestly surprised. Maybe Marley got it wrong.” She says, yet she looks genuinely confused.
I stop making the coffee to give her my full attention. “What do you mean?” I turn towards her now, feeling even more confused. Am I missing something? Both Marabella and Eziah claim Alicia is her friend.
“Oh, it’s nothing. She is a good kid. She even came over the other day, but Marley said that Alicia always picks on Marabella at school and that it happens pretty often,” Jasmine tells me.
Our eyes meet and I ponder over what she said. Come to think of it, Alicia has spent most of the day playing with Eziah and not Marabella, but kids fight and make up all the time.
“Maybe Marabella forgot to tell me they argued,” I mutter, trying to recall if she has ever said anything about issues regarding the girl.
I will have to ask her about it later. I’m unable to hide the worry that is filling me up inside. Until I speak to her, I know this will continue to bother me.
I pour the coffee and milk into the mugs when suddenly Jasmine shrieks, alarming me. She jumps up and nearly knocks the dining table chair over as she rushes out of the sliding doors.
Concerned, I quickly place the milk carton down and rush to the doors, following her out to see what happened. None of the kids are crying. I spot Jasmine running toward the sandpit. “Marley!”