Rejecting The Alpha Twins (Regan)

Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Xavier POV

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Thank god that Regan is okay. For a moment my heart had skipped a beat when I had seen the Alpha rogue heading directly towards her and I had cursed my stupidity at leaving Regan vulnerable like that. I had never envisioned that Regan would attempt to impale his chest with a large branch or that she would fight back and leave the way clear for me to be able to finish the bastard off, ending the threat to us and allowing us to be able to relax slightly. There were still threats in the forest and would be as we continued on our journey, but for the monent, we could afford to take a second and breathe.

My ankle throbs painfully as we walk. I can't let Regan know tha'm injured. It's only a minor injury and it won't take long before it heals. It's painful but not life-threatening. If I tell her, she's likely to think that it's her fault and I don't want her to blame herself, I can feel the bruises on my body and the scratches, the small pinpricks of pain a reminder of the battle I have just endured. All I care about is Regan's safety. I grit my te pushing onwards and it's not long until we've made it to the river, we've been able to smell. It's larger than I expected, and I bend down, ignoring the coursing pain that is flooding through my body, and begin to fill our water bottles instead, before placing them aside with the backpacks. Regan is eyeing the river with bright eyes and a tilt of her head, a look of impatience on her face.

She plunges in before I can move to stop her. The water is deep enough to cover her, and she splashes at me playfully, a wide grin on her face. "It's cold" she shouts in glee

My eyes automatically scan our surroundings, looking for any threats, my nose trying to discern any nearby stents that don't belong. No doubt somebody will come across the rogues' bodies we've left behind but since we're in neutral territory, that isn't a problem. "Come on Xavier," Regan says enthusiastically, urging me to join her with excited motions of her hands. The water is nice she promises with wide eyes.

I trudge forward slowly. The water caresses my ankle. It feels refreshing as I stand there for a moment, perfectly still. The coolness slightly numbs the pain I'm feeling in my ankle. I walk forward a few more steps, peering cautiously into the water It's clear. No signs of anything deadly that's about to leap out and kill us. In this world, you never know what you might see or find. Regan looks at me with amusement. For somebody who has been crying the last few hours, she's cheered up remarkably and it's a sight I'm glad to see. I smile, wading into the water, and then grab her, hoisting her into the air as she laughs, her legs wrapping tightly around my waist. I inhale sharply, gazing deeply into her eyes, entranced and utterly mesmerized by her. She's so beautiful. Like a gorgeous mermaid who lures sailors to their deaths. Aren't they called sirens or something like that?

"You are my everything" I whisper into her ear, as she cuddles into me, her wet hair trickling small bits of water down my bare back

You're mine. Her voice is muffled but also contains a hint of possessiveness to it.

I like it. I like that she feels this way towards me and Xander.

I hold her tight to me, fearful to let her go. She clutches at me, her nails lightly digging into my back. I close my eyes, relishing this moment, this brief interlude where there is no interruption and where it's just the two of us. I know that she's missing Xander and so am I. Xander would be waiting patiently for me to bring our mate back and would no doubt be furious when he discovered how I accidentally put her in so much danger. I would not blame him either. If the roles had been reversed I would feel the same way. "I'm sorry" Regan's voice is hushed as she apologizes to me, causing me to look at her in shock. "I'm so sorry."

Why is she apologizing? What happened is not her fault but mine. I should have worked harder to protect her. The rogues should never have been able to get their hands on her. I was the one who had failed their mate, not her. I was a poor excuse of an Alpha. I feel a tear trailing down my cheek. It's hers. I pull my head back and eye her, kissing her softly on the cheek. "Don't cry We're fine" I said "and we're going to find the coven as soon as we are finished up here. Don't cry" I pleaded.

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Chapter 73

I couldn't bear to see my mate cry. Neither could my woll. The sound caused us pain, breaking our hearts. We would do anything to make sure she never cried. All we wanted was to see smile on her beautiful face.

She sniffed and then gave me a watery smile in response. I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Much better," I said silkily, wishing I could take it further and knowing that I didn't dare to

Certainly not without Xander being here. It felt as though I would be betraying him if I were to do such a thing without him. We shared Regan as our mate, which meant we always knew what the other was doing at all times. Still, it was tempting. especially since Regan was naked and in my arms. I had to remind myself that she had just been through a lot of trauma, the cold water thankfully doing a lot to prevent a certain part of my natomy from responding to her.

She wriggled as I groaned. "Put me down, I want to wash all this ruff off" she protested and with great reluctance I put her down on her feet, watching as she began to bend down and gather water in her cupped hands, smearing it over her body and washing the blood and dirt away, to reveal her smooth and creamy complexion beneath. It wasn't long until she looked like her usual, gorgeous self. I eyed her lustfully and then resignedly began to turn away before I let my thoughts take over what we were meant to be doing

I began to do the same as Regan had, wincing as the water hit some of my open cuts and scrapes. I hissed at the pain and then forcibly continued until I was clean all over, slinking out of the water and allowing the air to dry me, before placing clothes on my body. Regan came out after me, wringing her hair and putting her clothes on with great reluctance. She looked much more cheerful as I grabbed the bags,

"I can take one." Her tone is decidedly loud

"We've been through this" I answered, refusing to even entertain the idea and ignoring the frustration on her face "I carry them.

It's not as though they were heavy. They barely weighed anything. Besides, what kind of man would let a woman carry the bags when I was perfectly capable?-

"Xavier, you think I don't know you've injured your leg? I can see the slight limp" she protested, pushing her hair back from her face and raking her gaze over me as I tried not to react.

"It's not that bad," I said with nonchalaner, "my wolf is already working to heal it."

It was a lot better than before. Another hour or so and it would be painless. Until then, I would deal with it.

"Still, you should be resting it," she said and then sighed dramatically as I began to stride past her.

There was no time to be resting. We had already lost valuable time as it was, having to fight those rogues and that bastard Alpha. We needed to make some time up, but there was also one other problem. I glanced up at the sky which was still clear and frowned. It might not be dark yet and it might not be getting cloudy, but my instincts were never wrong. We needed to find some sort of shelter and soon.

I glanced over my shoulder at Regan. "We need to find some shelter and have something to eat." My stomach grumbled in agreement. "Preferably something that's going to offer us protection from the rain."

For a moment Regan looked at me incredulously as though she was debating whether I'd lose my mind or not and then glanced up at the sky questioningly, a frown on her face. "The sky is clear," she said, holding her hands out and peering at me intently. "Why would we need to worry about tain?" she asked perplexed.

But I knew that rain was going to come. It was another instinct or premonition of mine. I could feel the moisture in the air, the change in the wind, even as slight as it was I looked at Regan knowingly. She had to believe me. The rain was going to be heavy and possibly even stormy.

"Trust me it's going to rain, and you'll be glad we've found shelter. Let's see if we can find a cave or something" I suggested calmly.

"Animals live in caves she pointed out, sounding slightly hysterical at the thought "like bears and other wild creatures."

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12:48 Sat, Jan 11 G

Chapter 73

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It was almost adorable how frightened she sounded of those innocent creatures when we had just faced several rogues which I thought were much more frightening.

"I'm not scared of bears." I said with a shrug and, striding away as she hurried to catch up with me. "Besides, they'll only be defending their territory. It's not as though they go looking for glas"

Not like rogues, I silently thought inside my mind, or other shifters, or even humans. Animals were simple creatures who merely defended their homes.

"Shouldn't we try and get in contact with Xander? Let him know what happened? Regan demanded, her voice rising higher.

That

Tell Xander? So that he could know what a failure I was? I could feel my chest tightening as I forced myself to look Regan in the eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was inform Xander of whin our mate had just endured because of me. He was likely to want to kill me. "So that he can worry?" I shook my head firmly. "No. He doesn't need to know Regan. He's got enough to worry about at home. Besides, we're fine" I said smoothly, dismissing her and hoping she would simply forget about it. I would tell Xander everything when we got back and beg for forgiveness then.

Regan opened her mouth and then closed it in a hurry. She looked as though she had seen a ghost, or something. I turned to her, feeling concerned. It couldn't be a rogue because there was no smell, no signs of one.

"Regan, what's wrong? Did you see something? Is it a bear?" I asked, feeling foolish.

I scammed the grounds but didn't see anything. Not only that, but my ears weren't picking up any noises besides the usual birds and small critters. No rogues. No other shifters nearby. Had she imagined something? Had her experience or trauma resulted in her seeing something that wasn't there? Regan swallowed hard. I prodded her on the shoulder, prompting her to speak to me.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, licking her lips, her complexion pale thought I saw something she admitted, looking down at the ground and shaking her head, her hair bouncing lightly on her shoulders.

"Saw what?" I asked puzzled, still glancing around in confusion.

I could see nothing. Nothing unusual at any rate. Nothing dangerous.

What could she have seen that would have put that expression on her face and have her body shaking so violently with feart She shook her head again and I felt a hint of impatience as I tried to hide it.

"It's impossible" her voice shook. "I must be imagining things. Probably because of our close call and almost dying" she added, wringing both of her hands together and looking at me with hope in her eyes

Did she want me to reassure her? Of what exactly? Unless she told me what it was she had seen, I couldn't reassure her of anything

"Spit it out Regan, what did you see?" I growled, growing exasperated by her lack of communication and preparing to shift if I needed to.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake again of leaving her vulnerable and out in the open though. I glanced in the direction she had looked and saw nothing.

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Whatever it was Regan thought she saw, we would deal with it together. Perhaps she simply needed some comfort or reassurance after everything that had happened. Maybe I just needed to treat her a little more delicately. I mused, eyeing her closely and debating inwardly with myself.

"I thought" Regan whispered, looking at me with haunted eyes. For a moment there, I could have sworn I saw my father in the trees, but he was gone before I could get a second glance."

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12:48 Sat, Jan 11 Geb.

Chapter 73

She pointed with a shaking hand.