The Alphas' Impossible Mate

Chapter 1

Riley

The first thing I register is the laughter. It’s sharp and condescending, echoing off the rows of dull gray lockers that line the hallway. The second thing is the sharp pain radiating from my tailbone. My books are scattered across the linoleum floor, a tragic paper explosion marking my official welcome to Silvermoon Creek High.

“Looks like we’ve got a stray,” a voice says, smooth and deep like aged whiskey.

I look up. And up. Two figures block the fluorescent lights, casting me in shadow. They are identical. Same jet black hair that falls perfectly over their foreheads, same sharp jawlines, same broad shoulders that strain the fabric of their simple gray t-shirts. But their eyes are different. The one on the right has eyes the color of a summer sky, amused and mocking. The one on the left has eyes like storm clouds, intense and angry.

“She smells new,” Storm Cloud says, his voice a low growl. His gaze sweeps over me, dismissive and cold. He makes no move to help.

“She smells like… vanilla and something else,” Summer Sky muses, a smirk playing on his lips. He crouches down, not to help, but to get a better look at me, like I’m a curious bug he found on the pavement. “Like trouble.”

My cheeks burn with humiliation. This is exactly what my mom promised wouldn’t happen. ‘A fresh start, Riley,’ she’d said, her voice bright with a hope I couldn’t feel. ‘No one knows us there. We can just be normal.’ Normal. I haven’t felt normal since Dad died, since our old life was ripped away and we were forced to run to this speck on the map, my mom’s forgotten hometown.

“Are you going to help me or just stare?” I snap, my voice coming out shakier than I want. I start gathering my books, my hands fumbling with the slick covers.

Storm Cloud scoffs. “Why would we help you? You’re the one who can’t walk straight.”

“Jonah, be nice,” a sickly sweet voice chides. A girl steps into my line of sight, placing a perfectly manicured hand on Jonah’s arm. She’s beautiful in a way that seems almost weaponized. Flowing blonde hair, a cheerleader’s perfect figure, and eyes that assess and dismiss me in a single glance. “The poor thing is probably just overwhelmed. Our little town can be a lot for outsiders.”

She smiles down at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She is a predator circling. Her gaze flicks between the two brothers, a clear and possessive warning in the gesture.

“Thanks, Bianca, but I can handle it,” I say, pushing myself up to my feet. I stand a full head shorter than the twins, but I force myself to meet their stares. First Jonah’s, the angry one. A jolt, like touching a live wire, sparks through me. It’s unpleasant but electrifying. Then I meet the eyes of the other one. The one Bianca isn’t touching.

His blue eyes are less hostile, more curious. As our gazes lock, a strange warmth spreads through my chest, unexpected and deeply confusing. It feels like stepping into a patch of sunlight on a cold day. For a second, his smirk falters.

“Well, look at that,” he says softly, his voice losing some of its mocking edge. “She has claws.”

“Don’t encourage her, Caleb,” Bianca says, her voice tight. She steps between us, a deliberate block. “She’s not worth the attention.”

Caleb. Jonah. The names click into place. The golden boys. The future Alphas. My mom had given me a hurried, whispered warning this morning. ‘Stay away from the Blackwood family, Riley. Especially the twins. They run this town.’ Looks like I’ve failed spectacularly within the first ten minutes.

“I’m not trying to get anyone’s attention,” I say, clutching my books to my chest like a shield. “I’m just trying to get to class.”

“Class can wait,” Jonah says, taking a step forward. The crowd that had been shuffling past us has now formed a silent circle, watching the show. He moves with a predatory grace that makes the hairs on my arms stand up. “You’re in our way.”

“This is a public hallway,” I counter, my heart starting to pound a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Dad’s voice echoes in my head. Never let them see you bleed, Ellie-Bell. Never let them know they got to you.

“Everything in this town is ours,” Jonah growls, his voice dropping so low it’s almost a vibration. He’s close now. So close I can smell him. It’s an intoxicating mix of pine needles after a rainstorm and something wild and musky that makes my head spin. It’s overwhelming. It’s terrifying. It’s… wonderful. My body’s reaction is a betrayal.

“Jonah,” Caleb says, a note of warning in his tone. He hasn’t moved, but his blue eyes are locked on his brother.

Jonah ignores him. He plants a hand on the locker next to my head, trapping me. The metallic clang echoes in the sudden silence. “We haven’t seen you around here before. Where did you crawl out from?”

“A city,” I say, my voice clipped. “You’ve probably never heard of it. It has more than one traffic light.”

A ripple of nervous laughter goes through the watching students. Jonah’s storm cloud eyes darken. His jaw clenches.

“You have a mouth on you,” he says, leaning in closer. His breath ghosts across my cheek. “I don’t like it.”

“That sounds like a personal problem,” I shoot back, the words leaving my mouth before I can stop them. Fear is a cold knot in my stomach, but anger is a fire spreading through my veins. They think they can intimidate me, treat me like dirt on their shoe. I’ve faced worse things than a high school bully with an ego problem.

Bianca lets out a scandalized gasp. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

“Does it matter?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Jonah.

“It should,” Caleb says, his voice now devoid of its earlier amusement. He takes a step forward, flanking my other side. Now I’m truly caged, a wall of arrogant, handsome muscle on either side of me. His scent is different from his brother’s. Just as strong, but it’s ozone and sunlight, the smell of the air after a summer storm. The confusing warmth from before intensifies, a comforting hum beneath the terror. How can one person make me feel both things at once?

“We decide who belongs in Silvermoon Creek,” Caleb continues, his voice calm and dangerously quiet. “And who doesn’t.”

“And you’ve decided I don’t belong?” I ask, my voice surprisingly steady. “All that in the five minutes since you tripped me in the hallway? You must be incredibly perceptive.”

Caleb’s blue eyes widen slightly. Jonah actually takes a half step back, his expression shifting from anger to genuine surprise. They weren’t expecting this. They were expecting me to cry, to apologize, to shrink. My defiance has thrown them completely off balance.

It’s a small victory, but it tastes sweet. I see the flicker of something new in their eyes. It’s not just arrogance or anger anymore. It’s interest. A flicker of respect, maybe. Or maybe just the surprise of a predator whose prey has just bared its teeth.

“I didn’t trip you,” Caleb says, and he sounds almost… sincere. “He did.” He jerks his head toward Jonah.

Jonah just smirks, a flash of white teeth in the dim hallway. “Prove it.”

“Enough,” Bianca snaps, clearly furious that the attention is no longer on her. She grabs Caleb’s arm, her red nails digging into his bicep. “Let’s go. She’s a nobody. Let her get lost on her way to whatever loser class she has.”

Caleb doesn’t move. His gaze is still locked with mine. That warmth is still there, a confusing pull that makes me want to lean into it even as every rational part of my brain is screaming at me to run. My wolf, a part of me I barely understand, that my mom has told me to suppress at all costs, feels… intrigued. It’s a dangerous feeling.

The late bell shrieks, a piercing sound that finally breaks the tension. The circle of students scatters, not wanting to be caught.

Jonah pushes off the locker, but he doesn’t leave. He just watches me, his expression unreadable now. Caleb gently removes Bianca’s hand from his arm.

“What’s your name?” Caleb asks, his voice low, meant only for me.

I hesitate for a beat too long. Giving them my name feels like giving them a piece of myself, a weapon they could use against me.

“Riley,” I finally say, lifting my chin. “Riley Anders.”

A strange look passes between the brothers. A silent communication that I am not privy to. They share a glance that is over in a fraction of a second, but it’s charged with something I can’t name.

“Riley,” Caleb repeats, testing the sound of it. A slow smile spreads across his face, and this time, it reaches his eyes. It transforms his entire face, making him devastatingly handsome. “Welcome to Silvermoon Creek.”

He says it like a promise and a threat all at once. Then, he turns, and with one last unreadable look from Jonah and a venomous glare from Bianca, they walk away, the crowd parting for them like the Red Sea.

I’m left alone in the now empty hallway, my back pressed against the cold metal of the lockers. My legs feel like jelly. My breath is coming in ragged gasps. I can still feel the ghost of their presence, still smell the intoxicating scent of pine and sunlight.

My mom was wrong. This isn’t a fresh start.

It’s a hunting ground. And I just painted a target on my back.

Chapter 2

Riley

The rest of the day is a study in social leprosy. In every class, the seat next to me remains empty. Whispers follow me like a cloud of gnats, just quiet enough that I can’t make out the words but loud enough to know I’m the subject. Girls I’ve never seen before give me looks that could curdle milk. The boys either ignore me completely or watch me with a predatory curiosity that’s just as unsettling. The Blackwood twins have marked me. I am contaminated goods.

By lunch, my stomach is a tight knot of dread. I don't want to face the entire school in one room, but skipping a meal on my first day feels like admitting defeat. I grab a tray of something that might be chili and find the only empty table, tucked away in a corner by the rattling vending machines.

“Is this seat taken?”

A small, hesitant voice makes me look up. A girl with wide, nervous brown eyes and a cascade of dark, curly hair stands there, clutching her tray like a lifeline. She’s not one of the polished, perfect predators I’ve seen all morning. Her clothes are simple, her face open and kind.

I’m so surprised I can only shake my head. “No. It’s all yours.”

She slides into the seat opposite me with a relieved sigh. “I’m Maya. You’re Riley, right? The new girl?”

“Is it that obvious?” I ask, managing a weak smile.

“A little,” she admits, picking at her salad. “It’s just… word gets around fast here.”

“Let me guess. The word is that I have a death wish and enjoy antagonizing future Alphas.”

Maya’s eyes go even wider. She leans forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “You really shouldn’t have done that, Riley. You have no idea.”

“Done what? Refused to let them treat me like gum on their shoe?”

“You talked back to Jonah. And Bianca was right there.” She shudders. “You might as well have painted a bullseye on your forehead. Bianca doesn't let anyone get that close to them.”

“I wasn’t trying to get close to them. I was trying to get to my locker.” I push my chili around with a spoon, my appetite gone. “What’s her deal, anyway? Does she own them?”

“She might as well,” Maya says, her gaze darting around the cafeteria nervously. “Her father is Elder Marcus. He’s the most powerful member of the pack council. Everyone just assumes she and one of the twins will be a Mated pair. She’s been staking her claim for years.”

Mated pair. The words sound foreign, ancient. My mom used to talk about it, back when she still talked about our heritage. A bond forged by the Moon Goddess herself. It sounds like a life sentence.

“So she gets to decide who they talk to?”

“She tries. Especially with new people. She likes the order of things. You’re a disruption.” Maya takes a small bite of a carrot stick. “Just… be careful. The pack has a very clear hierarchy. Omegas, Betas, Alphas. The Blackwood family is at the top. Crossing them has consequences.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I say, and I mean it. It’s the first genuinely kind thing anyone has said to me all day. “It’s nice to meet someone who isn’t looking at me like I’m a science experiment gone wrong.”

“I know what it’s like to be on the outside,” she says softly. “My family isn’t high ranking. We keep our heads down.”

Her eyes flick over my shoulder and her friendly expression dissolves into one of pure panic. “Oh no.”

I turn my head. Bianca is walking toward our table. She’s flanked by two other cheerleader types who look like less impressive copies of her. She’s not looking at me. She’s looking at Maya.

“Maya,” Bianca says, her voice dripping with condescension. “I’m surprised to see you slumming it over here. Did you get lost on your way to the loser’s section?”

Maya shrinks in her seat. “Hi, Bianca. I was just…”

“You were just what?” Bianca interrupts, her eyes finally flicking to me, cold and hard. “Consorting with the enemy?”

“She’s not the enemy,” I say, my voice firm. I stand up, putting myself between Bianca and Maya. “She’s my friend. We’re having lunch.”

Bianca lets out a laugh that’s more like a sneer. “Friend? You’ve been here for four hours. You don’t have friends. You have a reputation. And it’s not a good one.”

From the corner of my eye, I see the twins at their table across the room. The jocks’ table. The royalty table. Jonah is watching us, a cruel smirk on his face, enjoying the show. Caleb is looking down at his food, his expression unreadable, but his shoulders are tense.

“Leave her alone, Bianca,” I say, keeping my voice low. The entire cafeteria has gone quiet now. Everyone is watching.

“Or what?” Bianca challenges, taking a step closer. “You’ll insult me with your big city words? You don’t have any power here, stray. You’re nothing.”

One of her lackeys, a girl with a vapid smile, comes up beside her. She’s holding a carton of chocolate milk. I know what’s going to happen a second before it does.

Bianca gives a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.

The girl pretends to trip, lurching forward, the milk carton aimed directly at my chest.

Time seems to slow down. I brace for the cold, sticky impact, the public humiliation, the laughter that will follow. This is it. My official coronation as the school pariah.

But it doesn’t happen.

A foot shoots out from under the table next to us. It’s a blur of motion. It catches the tripping girl’s ankle. She doesn’t fall forward onto me. She yelps, pinwheeling her arms, and crashes sideways into a different table entirely. The milk carton flies from her hand and explodes against the wall, a Jackson Pollock of brown liquid.

Silence.

Then a low chuckle. I look over. A guy I don’t know is pulling his foot back under the table, trying and failing to look innocent.

“Sorry,” he says, not looking sorry at all. “My leg cramped up.”

But my eyes are drawn past him, back to the twins’ table. Caleb is looking directly at me. His face is a mask of indifference, but just before he looks away, he gives the tiniest, almost invisible lift of his chin. A nod. A signal. Not to me. To the guy who tripped the girl.

My breath catches in my throat. Did he just… help me?

Bianca’s face is a thundercloud of fury. Her plan has been ruined. She was supposed to humiliate me, and instead her own minion is on the floor covered in her own spilled lunch. The quiet of the cafeteria begins to break, first with a few snickers, then with outright laughter.

“This isn’t over,” she hisses at me, her voice a venomous promise. She turns on her heel and storms away, her cronies scrambling after her.

Maya lets out a shaky breath beside me. “I thought I was going to die.”

“You and me both,” I murmur, my gaze still fixed on Caleb. He’s talking to his brother now, laughing at something Jonah said, as if nothing happened. As if he didn’t just subtly intervene and save me from a social catastrophe.

Why? Why would he do that? After this morning, after the way he looked at me, the way he cornered me. It makes no sense. Jonah wants me gone. Bianca wants me destroyed. And Caleb… I have no idea what Caleb wants.

I sit back down, my legs trembling slightly. I look at Maya, who is staring at me with a mixture of terror and awe.

“Nobody stands up to Bianca like that,” she whispers. “Nobody.”

“I’m starting to see that wasn’t my smartest move.”

“No,” Maya says, a small, genuine smile finally returning to her face. “It probably wasn’t. But it was pretty amazing to watch.”

The warning bell rings, jarring us both. We gather our things in silence. As I throw away my uneaten lunch, I can’t help but glance back at the Alphas’ table one last time.

Jonah’s stormy eyes meet mine across the room. They’re filled with annoyance, but also a flicker of that same grudging respect I saw in the hallway. My stomach does a nervous flip.

Then my eyes find Caleb. He isn’t looking at me. He’s laughing with his friends. But I can’t shake the feeling. That confusing warmth in my chest flares up again, a dangerous, hopeful little flame.

One brother seems to hate me on principle. The other… the other is an enigma. He’s a threat and, impossibly, a shield, all wrapped in the same infuriatingly handsome package.

I walk to my next class with my new and only friend, feeling more isolated and confused than ever. This town is a puzzle, and I’m starting to think the Blackwood twins are the most complicated pieces of all.

Chapter 3

Jonah

Her scent clings to me.

It’s been hours since the confrontation in the hallway, but the smell of vanilla and something wild, something I can’t name, is still stuck in the back of my throat. It’s a goddamn infection. My wolf has been pacing inside me ever since, a restless beast rattling the bars of its cage. It wants to find the source of that scent. It wants to claim it.

The urge is so primal, so demanding, it makes me sick. I’ve never felt this lack of control. Not once. Power is control. It’s the first lesson our father ever taught us. And this girl, this stray, has shattered it in a single morning.

I see her across the cafeteria. She’s sitting with Maya, one of the pack’s meekest members. It’s a predictable pairing. The outcast and the omega. My lip curls. She thinks she’s found an ally, a safe harbor. She has no idea what she’s stepped into.

Then Bianca makes her move. Of course she does. She glides across the room like a shark that smells blood, her two little pilot fish trailing in her wake. It’s pathetic. All posturing and petty games. A true Alpha doesn’t need to orchestrate social humiliation. They command respect through presence alone. Bianca has always mistaken fear for respect.

My brother, Caleb, shifts beside me. He sets his fork down with a quiet click. He’s watching too. His whole body is a straight line of tension. I can feel the conflict rolling off him, the same infuriating conflict churning in my own gut.

“She’s making a scene,” he says, his voice low.

“Let her,” I say, taking a bite of my steak. It tastes like ash. “The stray needs to learn her place.”

But even as I say it, the words feel wrong. My wolf snarls in disagreement. It doesn't want her put in her place. It wants her protected. It wants to tear Bianca apart for even looking at her. The violent possessiveness of the thought shocks me. I shove it down, burying it deep.

I watch as Riley stands. She’s small, almost fragile next to Bianca’s practiced confidence. But she doesn’t shrink. She puts her body between Bianca and Maya. A shield. My wolf howls in approval. It’s the stupidest, most reckless thing she could do. And it’s magnificent.

Bianca gives the signal. The little clone with the milk carton moves. Predictable. Boring. I’m about to look away, disgusted by the whole childish display, when I see it.

A foot.

It slides out from a nearby table, a quick, deliberate motion that sends the milk girl flying sideways. The carton explodes against the wall. The cafeteria erupts. Caleb doesn’t even flinch. He just looks at Riley, a flicker of something in his eyes before he schools his expression back to indifference. He gives the guy at the other table the barest hint of a nod.

My jaw clenches. Fury, hot and sharp, lances through me. He interfered. He protected her. He undermined our authority and made Bianca look like a fool, all for a girl we just met. A nobody.

“What was that?” I growl, my voice dangerously quiet.

“What was what?” Caleb asks, picking up his fork again. He cuts a piece of his own steak with surgical precision. The picture of calm. It makes me want to flip the table.

“You know what. Your little puppet show.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says, not looking at me. “Seems like Bianca’s friend is just clumsy.”

He’s a good liar. Always has been. He can mask his scent, control his heartbeat, make his face a perfect blank slate. It’s his strength. Right now, it feels like a betrayal.

Across the room, Riley is looking at our table. Her gaze sweeps past me, landing on Caleb. I see the confusion in her eyes, the dawning awareness. She knows. She knows he did it. And I see that flicker of warmth she directs at him. The same warmth I felt from her in the hallway. Directed at him. Not at me.

My wolf rears up, snarling with a jealousy so fierce it takes my breath away.

I stand abruptly, the legs of my chair scraping against the floor. “I’m done.”

I stalk out of the cafeteria without a backward glance. I need to hit something. Hard.

The weight room in our house is my sanctuary. It smells of iron and sweat, honest smells that cut through the lingering ghost of vanilla. I load the bar with more weight than I should, the cold steel a welcome shock to my system. I need the burn. I need the pain to crowd out everything else.

One rep. The image of her defiant eyes in the hallway flashes behind my eyelids.

Two reps. Her scent, a phantom on the air.

Three reps. The way she looked at Caleb.

“You’re going to tear a muscle.”

Caleb’s voice cuts through the haze of my anger. He’s leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking infuriatingly calm. He’s changed into workout clothes, but he looks like he just stepped out of a magazine. Not a drop of sweat on him.

“Leave me alone,” I grunt, pushing the bar up again. My muscles scream in protest.

“You’re angry.”

“Brilliant observation,” I snap, letting the weight crash back onto the rack. I sit up, my chest heaving. “What do you want, Caleb?”

“I want to know what your problem is.” He walks into the room, his movements smooth and controlled. Everything about him is controlled.

“My problem? My problem is that my brother has gone soft. Undermining Bianca in front of the entire school? Siding with a complete stranger? What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that public humiliation is a weak tactic. It makes us look like bullies, not Alphas,” he says, his voice even. “It was a strategic move to maintain a certain image.”

“Image?” I scoff, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from my face. “Don’t give me that strategic crap. You did it for her.”

The name hangs in the air between us, unspoken but deafening. Riley.

Caleb’s jaw tightens. It’s the first crack in his perfect composure. “This has nothing to do with her. It has to do with your recklessness. You cornered her in the hall like a common thug. You put us on display. I was just cleaning up your mess.”

“My mess?” I take a step toward him, my fists clenching at my sides. “I was establishing dominance. Something you’ve clearly forgotten how to do. She disrespected us. She needed to be reminded of her place.”

“And what place is that, Jonah?” he challenges, his blue eyes turning hard as ice. “Beneath our boot? Is that the kind of leader you want to be? One that rules by fear alone?”

“It works.”

“It’s shortsighted. And it’s not what Father taught us.”

“Don’t you dare bring him into this.” We’re circling each other now, two predators in a cage. The air is thick with ozone, with the promise of violence. “This isn’t about Father. This is about you. You’ve been off since she arrived. I can smell it on you. You reek of it.”

“Reek of what?” he asks, his voice dangerously low.

“Confusion. Weakness. You look at her and your wolf rolls over like a submissive pup.” The accusation is ugly, and I know it. But I can’t stop myself.

Caleb stops circling. He looks at me, and for a second, the mask is gone. I see a flash of raw fury in his eyes that matches my own. “You should look in a mirror before you talk about submissive pups, brother. Your wolf has been howling since the moment she walked through the school doors. You can barely keep it on its leash. Don’t pretend your aggression is about dominance. It’s about panic. She unnerves you because you can’t control the way you feel.”

His words hit their mark. It’s true. Every last one of them. And hearing it from him, from my calm and collected twin, is like a lit match on gasoline.

“You don’t know anything about what I feel,” I snarl, shoving him hard in the chest.

He stumbles back a step, surprised by the physical contact. Then his own anger flares. He shoves me back, harder. “I know you’re letting some girl we don’t even know tear a rift between us. I know you’d rather start a fight with me than admit what’s really going on.”

“Nothing is going on!” I roar, the sound echoing off the walls. “She’s a stray. A distraction. And you’re a fool if you think she’s anything more.”

“Then why can’t you stop thinking about her?” he shoots back, his voice rising for the first time. “Why does her scent drive you crazy? It’s the same for me, Jonah! Admit it!”

Silence. We stand there, chests heaving, the truth finally laid bare. It’s a relief and a torment all at once. We are both caught in the same invisible trap. This shared, inexplicable fascination.

I can’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing. My pride won’t let me.

“Stay away from her,” I say, my voice a low command. It’s not about pack politics anymore. It’s not about dominance. It’s a raw, possessive instinct I can’t explain.

Caleb’s eyes narrow. “You don’t give me orders.”

“I’m telling you, Caleb. For your own good. She’s trouble. And I will deal with her.”

“Deal with her how? By scaring her out of town? Is that your grand plan?” he scoffs.

“Whatever it takes,” I say, the words feeling like a vow.

He just shakes his head, a look of profound disappointment on his face. “You’re wrong about this. You’re wrong about her.”

He turns and walks away, leaving me alone in the oppressive silence of the weight room. His final words hang in the air, a challenge I can’t ignore.

My anger cools, leaving behind a cold, heavy dread. He’s right. About all of it. The girl is an intrusion, an unwanted complication that has turned my world, and my bond with my brother, upside down in less than a day.

I sink down onto the bench, the weight of it all pressing down on me, heavier than any iron bar. One thing is clear. This isn’t just about a new girl anymore.

This is a war. And the first battle line has just been drawn right through my own house.