The Alpha Twins and their Runaway Witch

28

Alex and August were in the middle of their stealth mission to deal with an unforeseen intruder in their rented house. They were remembering all their hand signals, working seamlessly as a team without communicating in a way that could be overheard. Both pleased at how well everything was being executed. Proud of their training, feeling like they had everything under control.

Until the side door they had been heading towards flew open revealing Cassi holding an overfull wine glass, while at just the same time, Lumi tapped Alex on the shoulder. A sharp squawking sound of surprise escaped Alex's mouth. Making his three siblings all laugh. Though August needed to put his hand on his chest to remind his heart to slow down. Alex eventually joined in as his heart rate too returned to normal. "You could have let us know you would be stopping by." Alex accused his sisters, Lumi having moved to join Cassi at the door.

"No time, get inside losers, we brought dinner." Cassi commanded, Lumi following her inside, leaving Alex and August to jump to follow them. Cassi and Lumi had set the table and did indeed have the promised dinner waiting for their arrival. The smells of comforting Italian food and warm bread filling the home.

Cassi made the brothers stop and wash their hands before letting them join her and Lumi at the table. Worse than mom. Alex of course played up how grumpy he was to have his sisters drop in for an unannounced visit, which almost certainly meant that they already knew more about their mate situation than the twins themselves right now.

August however was so glad to see his sisters, glad to have help. Smiling after he washed his hands, looking at his two very different sisters. Cassi looked like she had walked off a runway in a striking royal blue designer pant suit with gold embellishments. Wearing enough jewelry that only idiots wouldn't be able to tell she was a dragon flaunting herself. Her long blonde hair twisted into a tight chignon at the back of her head.

Meanwhile beside her, Lumi's vibrant copper hair was free, unstyled and flowing down over her shoulders and back. Wearing leggings, fuzzy socks and an oversized sweater with embroidered tiny rainbows all over it. No jewellery, no makeup nothing but herself. "Sebastian says hi." Lumi told her brothers. Alex grumbled something incoherent as he already started to eat.

Alex and August were quiet. The silence stretching between the siblings. Since no one was moving to step up and act as incident commander, the duty fell on Cassi's shoulder. "Since neither of you are saying anything, let me spell out what I, I mean we already know." August and Alex pretended to focus on their plates, Cassi was way worse than mom at bossing them around and making both the twins feel like they were still foolish children.

Cassi was indeed, enjoying herself. "One, you called Penny to hide what you are doing from mom. Two. You called me to ask for a realtor recommendation. Three. You had a very good night with one of Marisol's plants in this same city and four, are sticking around. Which you have never done before, Lumi says." So far all information that they twins obviously knew, and assumed Cassi and Lumi already knew as well.

Lumi spoke next, "Five, an unregistered demon has put a protection ward around an entire city block here, tonight." Cassi nodded at her sister, the ward was new news to Alex and August, but they already both had a sinking feeling that they knew exactly where the ward had been set up, and who exactly it was meant to protect and who it was meant to keep out.

August felt as his brother grew angry again at learning that there was now likely a ward keeping them away from their mate. August was more focused on the fact that it wasn't a registered demon. "Do you know what kind of demon it is?" August asked, Lumi said unregistered, that could mean a lot of different things.

"Marisol has nothing in the files I have access to about a wild demon in this city, which could mean a truly wild unknown demon, or one who has behaved and not caused trouble in the city and any records kept for only the top of the top to know about." Cassi told August. Meaning she didn't have any more information. Except Cassi normally would look much more frustrated at not having information she wanted. She practically set something on fire anytime she realized something she wanted to know was beyond her clearance level.

Lumi was the one who had the inside information, "Sebastion knows him, his name is Binh, and he is a Baku." Lumi said. "His kind feed on nightmares." She elaborated. "Nightmares that are based on reality taste the best Sebastian said, he also warned that if Binh is showing any interest in your mates then something really bad had to have happened to them." Leaving everyone at the table stunned into silence. August hated that his worst fears were confirmed. Lumi never, ever lied.

The silence stretched as forks clinked or scraped over plates. "Mate." Alex growled ending the second silent period in their dinner.

"There is only one girl, and we both believe her to be our mate." August added to clarify for their sisters.

Cassi burst out laughing. Gulping down the last of her wine. "Thanks for the excellent dinner conversation boys, our advice is to try and make nice with the demon, he likes rules and order." Lumi nodded her agreement, finishing the last of her own meal.

"Sebastian said Binh is good, strongly moral. Abide by his terms and he wont stand in the way of a mate bond." Lumi added, fidding her fingers and thumbs for a second. "He wont make it easy for you though, not if he likes her nightmares." She added.

Cassi pushed back from the table, Lumi looked at Alex and August. "If she has attracted the attention of a nightmare eating dreaming, move carefully. He has magic, can see her nightmares, knows her better than either of you do right now." Alex bristled at her words, still struggling that he was going to share a mate with his brother, and that there was now a demon he also had to contend with.

August let his brother stew in his thoughts. Thanking their sisters for dinner and the extra information. Promising Lumi that he would make sure they were both careful. Whispering that he would manage their grumpy brother.

"I'm not grumpy!" Alex yelled from the table, sounding very grumpy. His mood not improved as his sisters and August collectively laughed at his expense, again before Lumi made a gateway and returned Cassi to her own penthouse, and Lumi to wherever it was Lumi and Sebastion were currently residing. The two moved around so much it hard to keep track, especially when Lumi could appear anywhere she desired now.

Alone, with the leftovers and cleaning still left to be handled. August and Alex worked together quietly and efficiently to clean their kitchen and dining room until it looked as though their sisters had never been here. Both needing the time to consider what they now knew about their mate. She looked scrawny and frail, got scared easily, and had some kind of dark event in her past. So dark that she had attracted a demon who wanted to feed on her dark nightmares.

Alex was of course in his own head and how this news affected him, and August. August was thinking about her. What her past could hold. He had been sheltered, Alex too. Pandora and Lumi had not been as lucky, August's mind flooded with never ending nightmare scenarios that would have caused his mate to now look so frail. What could be in her nightmares that was real and dark enough to bring a demon to her.

He had seen too many slasher movies, too many true crime movies and documentaries. Knew too much about the evil that had gone after two of his sisters and what had happened to Pandora. Lumi had never once spoken of what had happened to her. He had seen her when she had been brought home, covered in dark magic painted onto her skin. The haunted look she had in her eyes. August hated seeing his favourite sister that broken. Lumi had been gone less than a single day and so much had happened to her that it had changed her. Something of that magnitude could be in his mate's past.