The Stone Twins

Chapter 6: Cassandra

I sipped on my tea and picked up a cookie off of the plate Savannah had set in front of me.

"What is taking him so long?" I wonder glancing at Savannah for an answer. She simply shrugs and goes back to washing dishes. Fletcher snorts, I glare over at him only to get an eye roll in response.

"Cass, did they even do anything to harm you? Did they ask for your consent?" Fletcher asked with a serious tone.

"No! That's what the whole problem is! They won't listen to me when I tell them to stop, I don't like it." I frowned as my mind began to drift back to that time.

"Sweetie, you have to tell them and be stern about it. Alpha males already demand what they want, and they won't stop until they get what they want. You're an alpha too which means you have just as much authority as they do." Fletcher explained as he took a seat next to me at the counter.

"Cassandra!" Cole's voice boomed through the kitchen scaring me and my cookie out of my hand and onto the floor. I frowned.

"I was gonna eat that." Cole audibly sighed.

"What are you doing back? As much as I love you, you're causing trouble for your mates. I hope this is not going to be a common thing." Cole lectures me as he stalks towards me. I notice him stop in his tracks and tense up, his eyes searching the room and landing on Savannah. Shaking his head he stops in front of me and shakes his head.

"Come on little sis, let's get you back to your mates." Cole muttered, grabbing the tea cup out of my hand and setting it on the counter.

"Thank you for looking after her, hopefully you slapped some sense into her." Cole smiled at Savannah in appreciation.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Fletcher asked as he rose from his seat.

"You're good, man. I need some alone time with my sis anyway." Cole smiled at him punching his shoulder playfully.

"Fletcher you're more than welcome to hang here with me, I'm making cookies with the pack tonight. I could always use another set of hands?" Savannah offered.

"Hell yeah, does that mean I get to eat the leftover dough?" he asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not." Savannah laughed as she began pulling out ingredients. We said our goodbyes and made our way out of her house.

As we walked to the pack house where my father's office was, the air was tense.

"Why-" I cut him off before he could begin his question. "Savannah already lectured me about it. She told me... about what could happen. The alpha, he could maybe even come again. I hate being a burden on others." I trailed off glancing down at my hands, my chest tight in worry, stress, and anxiety. It all came crashing down on me. My hands flew up to my chest, my lungs constricting refusing to take in air. I wheezed, dropping to my knees as panic filled me. My eyes flew around looking for help, Cole was next to me screaming my name but I could not hear him. My ears were ringing, my eyes blurring from my loss of oxygen and the sudden development of tears. My hands clawed at my throat pleading for oxygen, pleading for a single breath. It felt like hours had passed when four arms wrapped around me sparks igniting on my skin. I slowly began to calm down, my breathing beginning to slow and the panic that once filled me began to dissipate.

"That's it. Take deep breaths baby girl." A deep voice rumbled in my ear sending jolts of pleasure throughout my body. Cracking open my eyes I look up to see Josiah and Jeremiah with worried expressions on their faces. Josiah's hand came up a caressed my cheek, his thumb rubbing slow circles into my skin. My head leaned into his touch, the sparks soothing me and releasing me from my panic attack.

"Are you okay, love?" Jeremiah frowned his eyes searching mine for an answer. I nodded slowly although my head throbbed from the lack of oxygen.

"What happened?" Josiah growled turning his attention to Cole. "I don't know! One second she's fine, the next thing I know she's dropping to the ground and has stopped breathing." Cole ground out.

"I-I'm fine." I stutter pushing out of their arms and standing up. "You are going to see the pack doctor, then we are heading home." Josiah said, leaving no room for discussion. Jeremiah bent forward wrapping one arm under my leg and placing the other behind my back lifting me from the ground. I stayed silent as we approached the pack doctor, Josiah walked ahead of us and I couldn't help but to notice the way the muscles in his back rippled as he walked.

"I can smell you, Love. And frankly you are making it difficult for me to not take you right here and now." Jeremiah breathed against my neck placing a tender kiss that left my skin burning for more.

"Good Evening, Alphas, Cassandra." Pack doctor Jerome bowed at my mates and I as he opened one of the doors to an examination room.

"Alpha Cole had linked me the second you had stopped responding." Jeremiah set me down on the examination table taking his place to my right and Josiah to my left. They crossed their arms over their chests in sync, a giggle slipped past my lips at how similar they acted. The way they looked standing next to me made them look more like bodyguards, and less like my mates. Josiah growled and grumbled under his breath something along the lines of 'behave or else,' whereas Jeremiah gave me a warm smile that heated my core.

After getting checked up Dr. Jerome told me it was a minor panic attack, as if I hadn't already known that. "You'll need to reduce your stress levels for a couple days. Take some time off from training, relax, spend time with your mates. Your wolf seems a bit on edge so I would highly recommend that you spend the next couple of days resting." Josiah and Jeremiah nodded accepting his answer.

"Thank you Doctor." Jeremiah smiled, turning his attention to me he held out his hand. I looked at it hesitantly, I was not sure if I wanted to. Josiah rolled his eyes quickly picking me up and stalking out of the office with Jeremiah following close behind. There he goes again with that meathead attitude.

As we walked I noticed that we were heading out towards their van. "Wait! Can't I say goodbye to my family?" I asked, struggling in his hold. My back came in contact with the cool metal of the van door, my eyes looked up into Josiah's who wore an angry expression.

"Listen, mate, we have to head back to our pack. Because of the little stunt you pulled our pack is in an uproar. Not only were we dealing with rogues, but we also had to attend to an incompetent mate that doesn't know how to listen!" Tears pricked my eyes as he continued.

"Now get your ass into this van so we can go home and get back to running our pack." He growled the last bit dropping me to the ground and stalking towards the woods. A lump grew in my throat, and tears threatened to spill as I bit my lip to hold back my sobs. His words had cut through me like a knife, this is exactly what I've been afraid of. I'm messing up again, I'm causing pain for the others around me.

The ride back to the pack was quiet. Jeremiah had sat on the opposite side of the van not sparing me a single glance. The van pulled to a stop in front of the pack house and I slipped out the door before Jeremiah could say anything. It was late, it seemed as though everyone had gone to sleep by this point since no one was roaming the halls. Walking upstairs I sniff the air looking for a room that was unoccupied. Finding an empty room with nothing but a bed and dresser I walk inside locking the door behind me in the process. Looking through the dressers I grab an oversized black t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I take a quick shower allowing the warm water to soothe my aching muscles. Walking out of the bathroom I pull on the shirt and shorts before slipping into the bed and pulling the blanket above my head. Soon darkness consumed me lulling me into a deep sleep.