Chapter 13: Their Cursed

Calder

My phone rang. “S**t, what now,” I muttered under my breath. I climbed off the bed and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. Looking at the caller ID, I saw it was my dad. This probably was not good. I looked over at Remi. “I need to take this. Stay right here, I will be just a minute,” I told her. I went over to the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway to talk to my dad.

“Alpha,” I answered the phone.

“Son,” he said. His tone was careful.

“How are you this morning?” I asked.

“Fine, fine. I was just wondering something?” he said.

“Yea, what’s up?” Maybe this did not have to do with Remi. If Gentry spilled the beans, I would kill him. I definitely didn’t want to tell my parents about this until she was more comfortable, and we had an idea about why she reacted the way she did coming over the boundary.

“Why was your brother asking about wolves that may have gone missing from our pack in the last 20-25 years?”

I swallowed. S**t. Remi had to be around 20 years old. He was trying to figure out if her parents had left the pack with her or before she was born.

“That is a good question, father. One I am sure he has the answer to,” I said trying to play dumb.

“We both know Cullen didn’t answer my question and was not going to tell me his motives,” he said. “Son, what happened in the last few days?”

I swallowed again. I was not going to be able to hide this for long. “Father, we found our mate but there are some… complications…”

“You found your mate! Why didn’t you tell your mother and me? Son, this is wonderful!” he said ecstatically. “But wait. What does this have to do with missing wolves?”

“It is a really long story, dad. If you can wait a few days, I can give you more answers…”

“Nonsense. You should come home today and bring your mate. Your mother will be over the moon,” he said happily. Although my parents recognized the need for us to spend time in the Ordinary Realm for the sake of our family’s business and pack finances, she still preferred her children home.

“That is part of the problem dad. I don’t think I can bring her beyond the boundary for the moment,” I said.

“Is she human? If she is, she has a supernatural mate and should have relatively no issue crossing the boundary with you,” he said.

“No, she is definitely a wolf. There is just more surrounding all of this,” I said. I really wanted to get back to Remi. I did not want to leave her alone too long.

“Why don’t your mother and I come to you then? You can explain everything in person, and we can meet the girl!” he said. “We can be there in less than two hours!”

“No, I-” I started to say.

“We will see you at your apartment then,” he said as he hung up on me. S**t. This is what I get for being the more approachable twin. My father tended to steam roll right over people when he was excited. How was Remi going to react to all this? She has not even come to terms with being a werewolf, let alone having a mate, and now she had to meet my parents. How was Cullen going to act about all of this in front of them? And Jaime, oh Goddess.

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. I had less than two hours with Remi before my parents arrived and I had to tell them everything. This was going to be fun. I opened the bedroom door and stepped inside. Remi looked up at me and my face must have given something away because hers dropped immediately.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hi,” she said.

“So, um, I have something to tell you. I know this isn’t fair, but I need you to not freak out…” I said. I studied her face to judge her reaction. Her eyes were wide, and I felt like she was going to break soon. I came over to the bed and sat down next to her. I grabbed her hand hoping some contact would make this a little easier for her.

“That was my dad. He is the Alpha of our pack for now, until my brother and I take over. He is coming here, today, to meet you…” Her eyes got even wider and her face paled. I squeezed her hand.

“W-why…” she stuttered. She did that every time she was nervous, and it was sort of cute. Magnus wanted to know if she would do it when he mated her. I pushed his horny thoughts away.

“Well, I may have told him that I found my mate. I was trying to put him off about explaining what is happening, but he just decided to come here,” I told her carefully.

“W-when…”

“In the next couple hours,” I said. I did not think she could get any paler. “I am so sorry…” I pulled her to my chest and held her in my arms. I could hear her heart racing. She was understandably freaking out. “Let’s go downstairs and have some proper breakfast,” I said softly.

“Okay,” she whispered. I stood up and pulled Remi to her feet. I grabbed her hand and led her downstairs to the kitchen. When we walked in, Gentry was leaning against the counter drinking coffee and looking at his phone. He looked up when we walked in.

“What is Cinderella doing here?” he linked immediately. “Jaime will be down here anytime and who knows about Cullen?”

“Remi is my mate, and I will have her here whenever I want,” I linked back. “Jaime doesn’t need to know anything right now. Plus, I never accepted her so she can butt out of it.”

Gentry rolled his eyes. “Good luck with that,” he linked. He smiled at Remi. “Good morning, Cinderella,” he said.

She gave him a confused look and he just chuckled at her. “If you guys were hoping for breakfast, you are out of luck. Jaime gave Lola the day off,” Gentry said. Of course, she did. Today of all days. I can barely cook to save my life.

“You guys don’t cook?” Remi said quietly. We both looked at her and shook our heads.

“We can manage the microwave but that is about it. That can even be dangerous. Cullen almost burnt the whole apartment down last time…” Gentry said.

Her eyes went wide as she looked between us. “So, you can’t cook at all? Who cooks for you?”

“We have Lola. She cooks for us and cleans the place,” Gentry said with a shrug.

“Oh,” she said. “Um, I can make something.” I looked down at her.

“You would?” Gentry asked excitedly.

“You don’t have to do that, Remi…” I told her.

“No, it’s okay. It might not be the best, but I can make most stuff. What would you guys like?” she said looking between us.

Remi

Calder and Gentry could not decide on what they wanted and told me to cook whatever. The fridge was packed with food. I decided to make some French toast, sausages, and sliced fruit. It did not take too long to do in their large kitchen once I found all the utensils and pans that I needed. Calder came in and washed dishes as I was cooking.

Once everything was finished, I put everything on three plates for us. I made mine about half the size of theirs; I was simply too nervous to eat much right now. I grabbed all three plates and went into the dining room where Gentry and Calder were sitting. They were whispering when I walked in. They stopped and both smiled at me. Their eyes went large when they looked at the plates I set down on the table.

“Goddess, Cinderella. This smells fantastic. You made all this?” Gentry said.

I nodded at him. “Yea, it isn’t much though,” I told him. I sat down next to Calder and Gentry was across from us.

Gentry dug in and moaned in delight. “Cinderella, you’re going to have to cook more often. This is awesome,” he said with his mouth full. I giggled a little. Calder smiled as he took a bite.

“Wow,” he said. “How did you learn to cook so well?” he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I always helped my mom when I was young, and I have been cooking for myself for 4 years now so I learned to make a bunch of different things.”

“Wait, how old are you?” Gentry said.

I paused for a second. “What is the waitress from the diner doing here?” said someone before I could respond. A part of me was relieved that the conversation was interrupted. We turned to see Jaime standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Cullen walked in behind her. He locked eyes with me for a moment before I quickly stared down at my plate.

“What does it matter to you?” Gentry said.

“She is my guest,” Calder said. His hand found mine under the table.

“Calder, one day, you will give up this game and accept me,” Jaime said. What were they talking about? I didn’t look up, but I felt Cullen’s eyes still on me.

“Think what you like Jaime. I already made myself clear on this,” Calder said. “Cullen, Mom and Dad will be here in an hour. Dad wants to speak with us.”

“Fine,” he said.

“Did you guys order enough breakfast for us at least?” Jaime said. Her voice was kind of mean.

“We didn’t order anything,” Gentry said in a bragging voice.

“None of you can cook so I know you’re lying,” she said.

“Nope. The waitress made it, and you were mean to her so you can’t have any,” Gentry said. He was clearly mocking her.

I looked up at Gentry and Calder. “I can make some more. It’s no problem I promise,” I said quietly.

“Aw, come on, Cinderella. You’re ruining this for me!” Gentry whined. “Quit being so nice!”

“I really don’t mind…” I said.

“We’ll manage,” Jaime said. I wonder if she did not like me, but I couldn’t imagine why. She left the room, and we all went back to eating. Gentry finished quickly. He leaned back and stretched.

“Cinderella, you make some mean French toast,” he said happily.

“Why do you call me Cinderella?” I asked him.

He laughed. Calder shot him a look. “No reason, just a nickname,” he said. I have a feeling there was some other reason.

When we finished eating, Calder left to go change his clothes. Gentry and I took the plates to the kitchen and cleaned everything up. When we were finished, Calder came back into the kitchen. He told us his parents would be arriving in the next ten minutes. I immediately got nervous.

Gentry left us to go greet them. “So, do you have any questions before they get here?”

“Um, what does Alpha mean? You said that is what your dad is, and you and Cullen will be?” I asked.

“Alpha is the leader of a pack. Wolves are pack animals and werewolves are very much the same. We live in packs and operate together. The Alpha is the one in charge of everyone. Since Cullen and I are twins, we will share the title when it is our turn to take over,” he explained.

“When is that?” I asked.

“When I find my Luna,” he said with a smile. I cocked my head in confusion. He laughed. “Luna is the mate of the Alpha. They help the Alpha run the pack. They are sort of like a mother figure while the Alpha is a father figure,” he clarified.

“Oh,” I said. Then it hit me. I must have made a weird face because Calder laughed again.

“Yes, Remi. As my mate, you will be Luna one day. But we have time before all that happens,” he said. What is happening with my life right now?

Calder grabbed my hand and led us into the living room. Amidst all this craziness, it did give me butterflies every time Calder grabbed my hand. Cullen was sitting on the couch reading something on a smart tablet. He did not even bother to look up as we entered. Calder and I sat down on the couch. He did not let go of my hand.

“Don’t be nervous,” he said quietly to me. I gave him a tight smile. Jaime entered the living room and sat down next to Cullen. Then we heard the elevator entrance to the apartment open. Jaime jumped up and hurried towards the entrance.

“Alpha Cassius, Luna Nicole, it’s so wonderful to see you,” we heard her say.

“Yes, hello, dear. Where are my sons?” said a woman’s voice. She sounded like she did not care about Jaime at all.

“We’re in here mother,” Calder called standing up. He pulled me up with him as Gentry, Jaime, and two others entered the living room. Cullen sighed and set his tablet down before standing up as well.

“My boys! Oh Goddess, Calder is this the girl?” the woman said. “Darling she is gorgeous. Look at her, I could die,” she exclaimed as she approached us.

“Mother, can you calm down just a tad?” Calder said nervously.

“But darling, why? You finally found her! Of course, I am excited! You now have your mate!” she said. Calder’s eyes went wide. Cullen narrowed his eyes and let out an irritated sigh.

“What is going on here?” Jaime said.