Cats and Dogs

With a deep breath, I turned the page and looked down at the first entry in my twin brother’s journal.



I didn’t know whether I wanted to cry or smile, memories came flooding back to me at every entry I read and I had no control over the flashbacks that started to play through my mind.

“Robin!” The blonde haired boy looked up from the journal he was writing in and placed his quill to the left as his little sister ran in, her hair a mess, and the long dress she was wearing covered in mud and grass stains.

“Come on, you can not sit around all day. The pack has arrived, even mother and father have agreed to a game of cricket.” Robin’s arm was soon in his sister’s grip and he found himself being pulled from his chair. “Come on!” With a sigh he replaced the cap on his ink well and allowed the girl to lead him through the small home and out into the large field behind the building.

“He lives!” Came a deep voice from their right, the moment they opened the back door. The twins looked in the direction in which the sound had originated and found their eldest brother, Jason tossing a ball back and forth with a shape shifter named Brandon.

“Yes, I thought I would indulge my family with my presence,” Robin said and walked over to where his soul mate Dianne was busy talking with his mother.

“Do not fool yourself,” called Alex, the only child of ten to be born with raven black hair. “Go back inside and write in your little diary.”It was meant to be a joke, everyone could see that, but his parents still had to yell at him.

“Watch your tongue, Alexander!” Snapped Damalis Carden, the dark haired woman would let a lot of things slide but she drew the line at letting her children fight amongst themselves.

“Sorry, mum.” Mumbled Alex and everyone laughed at the disappointed look on his face.

“Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to start the game?” asked Zach, he had just finished setting everything up and with only a few hours until night fall, he wanted to start as soon as possible.

“Fine, men against women?” asked a large werewolf by the name of Damian. This statement earned him quite a few nasty looks from the people in the field, but none of them from the women.

“Why did you go and do that for?” Asked Brandon as he turned to his pack mate with a scowl on his face. “I would have liked to win a game.” It was well known that the girl’s had yet to lose a match, Robin thought it had something to do with the fact he and his brothers were scared to harm them in fear of what their mother and sister would do.

“We can take them,” said Orrin though he knew he was lying through his teeth.

“Sure,” Blaine Carden laughed, “and I’m not afraid that your mother will kill me in my sleep.” He received a glare from his wife for that statement and he made a mental note to sleep with one eye open.

“You’re all acting like a bunch of gits,” Alaivera exclaimed and snatched the bat from her older brother Liam. “We bat first.”



Alaivera eyed the strange man that stood in her kitchen, he had long, dark hair that he had pulled back with an equally dark ribbon, bright green eyes were set deeply on his perfect face, and with the boots he was wearing the top of his head barely reached her shoulder.

This was Jason’s soul mate.

“I’m sure Jason has told you about our family, right Arthur?” Asked Blaine as he held his hand out to the much shorter man.

“Yes, though I must admit it was difficult for him to convince me of such a thing.” The family had heard the same thing many times before after the several mates that had come through this kitchen.

“We know,” said Damalis with a small smile. “Humans do not seem to take to us like wolves and vampires. Trust me; we have had a fair share of all.” Arthur tried to mask his discomfort at the subject but Jason noticed and wrapped an arm around his mate.

“Mother,” said Alaivera gently, the older woman had a knack of scaring people until they wet themselves and Alai knew when to calm her down. “It is late; we should sit down to dinner.” Blue eyes met green and for one agonizing moment, the men in the room believed they’d have to intervene.

“Correct as always darling,” said Damalis and she moved a stray hair behind her ear.



Alaivera sat in her twin’s lap, crying for the woman that she would never see again. Other than her sobs, the room was silent, her brothers and their mates trying desperately to be strong for the youngest member of their family.

“Shhh, it will be okay, Alai.” Said Robin as he rubbed his sister’s back soothingly.

“No,” she sobbed and gripped his shirt in her fist, just barely controlling her need to hit something. “She’s gone, Robin! She took her, she took her!” Everyone in the room suddenly became very uncomfortable. Alai was the only one that believed in the cat goddess and her family didn’t have the heart to tell her that.

“Alai, sweetie, you need to calm down. She would not want to see you this way.” Said Kendal’s mate Jeremy. “And there is still hope she will come home.” Alaivera turned in her brother’s lap until he faced the dark haired vampire.

“She’s gone. Do not speak of things of which you do not understand.” Her blue eyes were dead, even though her voice was thick with anger, and ice filled the veins of everyone in the room.



“How dare you say such a thing!” yelled Liam. He and his younger sister were alone in the parlor and Alai had just said she did not trust Luke, her brother’s mate.

“I can not help the way I feel,” argued Alai. “He does not seem have pure intentions like the others do. Liam, I only have your best interests at heart and I do not feel as though Lucas does as well.” There wasn’t a single instance that dictated Alaivera’s reasoning, she just didn’t trust the human turned cougar shifter.

“He loves me!” Liam insisted. “I thought my family would appreciate that, but instead you are nothing but suspicious of him.” Alai felt as though her brother had stabbed her through the middle, she had never tried to hurt him, but yet he was purposely doing just that.

“Liam-“ started Alaivera but was cut off before she had the chance to continue.

“Save it, I am leaving. Luke has a house in London that we can stay in.” The man reached for the door leading outside but froze when he heard his little sister’s voice.

“I love you, Liam.” The shifter sighed and without turning around repeated the words.

“I love you too, Alai,” then he was gone, leaving Alaivera alone in the small room.



Alaivera sat at the dinning room table, her hands curling around each other again and again. Her father and brothers had left hours ago and had yet to return. She knew they hardly ever came back on time, but that didn’t make her any less nervous.

There was suddenly three loud knocks from her front door and she was glade for the distraction. Alai quickly stood up and practically ran to the door, hoping it was a member of her family, though she knew they wouldn’t have bothered with knocking.

“Brandon,” she said sadly when the door opened to reveal the blonde man. “What are you doing here? I thought father said he and the boys were going to stop by your house?” He didn’t say anything and simply pushed past her into the house.

“They never arrived,” said Brandon as he started to pace back and forth across the kitchen. “I think something happened.” Those words had barely left his mouth before Alaivera had him by the arm and was pulling him out of the house and toward the forest that made up most of their property.

It only took an hour of searching through the dense forest before they found something, well, Brandon found something.

“Alai!” He called and within seconds, she was beside him. Looking over his shoulder in order to see the item in his hands. “It’s Alexander’s hat.” Said Brandon and he held it out for her to inspect. “He probably dropped it before he shifted.” Alaivera took the cloth head covering with shaking hands, she knew her brother, he wouldn’t have left it in the dirt.

“No,” she whispered and fell to her knees before Brandon could catch her. “No,” she repeated as tears started running down her cheeks.

“Alai, we will find them.” Said Brandon and kneeled down beside his crying friend. “Come on, we need to keep looking.” Alai shook her head and tackled Brandon before burying her head in his neck and continuing to sob.

“Alex would have picked it up before shifting, he would not have left it on the ground. Mum gave it to him.” Cried Alai and she gripped Brandon’s neck tighter, not caring that she was cutting off his air supply.

“You do not know that,” Brandon whispered. “We can still find them.” Alai sobbed harder and lifted her head just enough to look into Brandon’s green eyes.

“No, we can not. Brandon, they are gone. They are all gone.”

I shut the journal and placed it gently on my desk. I still had a lot more reading to do, but I had friends downstairs that I had left with Brandon. This could end very badly.

With one last look at the book, I wiped the few tears that had built up in the corners of my eyes and made my way downstairs where I was immediately assaulted with the sound of laughter.

“I tell you, their relationship must have been having problems, why else would imprinted gay twins want to sleep with Alai?” Said Brandon’s voice and I could practically feel my anger pouring out my ears.

“Brandon!” I screamed as I ran into my living room to find the red head sitting with Leah and everyone else leaning in his directions in order to make sure they didn’t miss a thing.

“What have you been telling them?!” I knew it had to be bad by the way no one would look me in the eye. Mark my words, I will kill Brandon and it will be a slow, painful death.

“Just about your many adventures,” replied Brandon with a huge, fake smile on his face. “You know, adventures.” Yep, he’s going to die.

“Maybe I should tell Leah about yours,” I threatened and it took all my will power not to laugh when his eyes suddenly widened in fear.

“No it’s okay, you don’t have to do that.” He said and I had the urge to drag this on just to mess with him, but before I could open my mouth to say something, a loud scream swept through the room.

“Wow, Jake has quite a set of lungs doesn’t he?” I asked, knowing that the sound was coming from at least a mile away.

“That’s all you have to say?” asked Sam. “He’s apparently in pain and you’re complimenting his lung capacity?” Wow, big word. Sorry, that’s off topic.

“Hey, she’s not forcing him to stay away. He left under his own power and he can come back the same way.” Said Brandon and I decided that since he stuck up for me that I wouldn’t kill him… today.