Filed to story: Mated to the Alpha and His Beta Novel Free >>???
Zane and I both coughed.
“Go ds, that guy’s gonna taste terrible,” he said.
I braced myself, then raised the potion high.
“Bottom’s up.” And I swallowed it in one gulp.
that Xander–
When I walked into the kitchen the next morning to get coffee, Mason was already in there brewing some. Of course he was.
I reached for the pot with a co cked eyebrow and Mason motioned for me to go ahead.
I poured it slowly, feeling his eyes on me.
I’d avoided him since my mother had brought us outside for that little talk. To be honest, I felt ashamed.
tI’d let my temper get the best of me so quickly when I knew she was having such a hard time already. Lying on the couch last night, I’d actually convinced myself I should apologize to Mason and try to be the bigger person. Partially because I was tired of acting like some emotional idiot, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t also want Lanie to see how far I’d come when she got back.
“Look, I wanted. “But I trailed off when Mason started talking at the same time. “You first,” I said.
Hey, if Mason was going to be the first to break down and apologize, then I wouldn’t complain.
“Have you spoken to your mom since she shamed us yesterday?” he asked, smirking a little, then frowning. “I feel like a huge d ick for not thinking about what she was going through.”
“You and me both. But nah, I thought it was best to give her some space.” I shrugged. “She deserves to not deal with other people’s b ullsh it for a while.”
Mason nodded.
“Plus, if we don’t let her cool down, then she’ll rain hell down upon us, Alphas or not.” We both snorted out a small laugh. “She wasn’t Luna of the Constantine pack for nothing.”
As soon as I said that, an uneasiness crept up the back of my neck, the beginning of a realization I’d somehow ignored up until now.
100.
And then it hit me all of a sudden. I looked up at Mason and recognition seemed to dawn across his face, S hit. Mason was an Alpha now, too, and he’d fully claimed Lanie which meant….
Lanie was the new Luna.
Mason–
Lanie was my Luna, wasn’t she?
Xander and Zane had never fully claimed her, and they’d intended for Alice to be their Luna, hadn’t they?
Xander held my gaze for a moment like he was waiting for me to say what I was thinking out loud, but I knew it would only cause another fight.
Besides, we needed Lanie back here safely before we could even think about whose Luna she was and what that meant for us.
My mind wandered then to her and Zane and whatever danger they might be facing right now. I had gotten barely any time with the twins before Orion headed us off and separated us again. The thought of never seeing them again, never getting to connect with them as their father, was physically painful.
I placed a hand on my chest and rubbed absentmindedly.
“I know you’re worried about Alaina and Isaac,” Xander said, drawing my attention back to him. Had it been that obvious? “I am, too. But Zane will bring them home. He’s the only person I’d trust with my life and the lives of my pups.
I nodded. Was he actually trying to comfort me? The act of it felt kind of awkward, but I appreciated that he’d changed the subject and at least attempted to relate to me instead of arguing with me.
“Xander…” I started, then took in a deep breath. “What would you say to a truce?”
I extended my hand out for him to shake it.
He looked at my hand suspiciously, and it took everything in me not to pull it back and say “Psych.”
“We know where we stand, the rest is basically up to Lanie,” I said.
Xander took my hand and shook it briefly before dropping it. “Sure,” he mumbled 1 guess we do need to get our heads out of our as ses.”
“Speak for yourself,” I said, and we both smirked.
The air around us already felt less thick and charged with awkwardness.
Stella’s cries carried in from the living room, and we both automatically dashed in there and stood over her bassinet.
We stood frozen, each waiting for the other to scoop her up. We’d just called a truce, but how we’d actually put it into action was another story.
“Go ahead,” Xander said, waving me on. I c ocked my eyebrow but didn’t argue. I just nodded my thanks. and picked her up, rocking her gently until she quieted down.
When I turned around I caw aw that Gabriela was was watchinn us from the hallway av a wide smile on her face Lanie–
Looking in the mirror was scary.
I’d put on the guard’s uniform and was ready to head back to the facility. Zane had tied up the real guard and dosed him up with more sleeping powder to make sure he didn’t wake up before I was out of there with the twins.
My heart was pounding and I couldn’t get my breathing under control. Surely they would know immediately that I was a fraud and didn’t belong there.
me.
I pulled an ID out of my pocket. “You are Sergeant Philips,” I said into the mirror to convince myself.
My voice startled me. Because….it wasn’t my voice.
I gave myself a shake, then walked out to join Zane in the living room. His nose wrinkled at the sight of “Go ds, I’ll never get used to this,” he said.
I shrugged. “Well, hopefully I never have to do it again. Your nose wrinkled…do I still smell like me?”
He shook his head. “No, you smell and sound and look like him. It’s creepy, to say the least. But no one-
human or wolf-should be able to tell any difference.”
“Good.” I nodded. “What’s our plan? We need to move quick to be sure this doesn’t wear off.”
“Okay, so I’ll follow you back through the woods to the facility and keep watch,” Zane said. “If anything goes wrong, just get out of there as fast as you can and be waiting right outside for you.”
“Got it,” I said. “I just pray if anything goes wrong, it’s after I have the twins.”
Zane pursed his lips. “Let’s not even think about that. Everything is going to go to plan. In and out, easy peasy.”
I turned my eyes to the sky and prayed to the Goddess that he hadn’t just jinxed us.
Lanie–
It was easier to get inside than I’d thought it would be. Apparently, nobody looks twice at someone who seems to be exactly what he’s supposed to be. I just kept my head down and my voice gruff and no-nonsense.
I was inside.
Too bad wearing this guy’s face didn’t also transfer all of his memories to me. I had no idea where to go, so I just started walking. There were a few signs, but nothing that screamed “here’s the room where we keep babies.”
The scent of coffee had me salivating, and I paused outside a room with an open door. The coffee scent was even stronger in there. It wouldn’t be where the twins were being held, but I needed an excuse to linger while I figured it out.
I helped myself to a paper cup of coffee, marveling at the size of my hands. Looking like Philips was one thing, but I also had to move inside his body, operating it like a puppet. This was nothing like when I shifted and Lily took control of our consciousness.
S$ hit. It hadn’t occurred to me that I actually had a d ick now. I shifted from foot to foot at the thought.
“Ants in your pants?” The voice came from behind me as the person pushed past to get at the coffee maker. The man looked about Philips’s age. My age, I reminded myself. “Where the hell have you been?”
I cleared my throat. “Apologies. sir, I needed caffeine. Bad night’s sleep.”
I kept my voice low and rough. I had no idea about what the patches on his uniform meant, but I’d added the “sir” just in case he was higher ranking than Philips. It seemed I’d made the right choice, because the guy -his name badge said Franklin, poured himself some coffee and lifted his cup in my direction.
“Yeah, that’s going around. You gotta cover Smith’s post today.” Franklin sipped, wincing. “Coffee’s s hit today. Anyway, Smith was called away to provide protection to the High Council. So you’re covering”
The question blurted out of me before I could stop myself. “Why does the High Council need more protection?”
Sh it. Had I just given myself away? Would Philips have dared to ask Franklin a question like that? I braced myself, but Franklin didn’t seem too put out.
He shrugged, dumped the coffee down the sink, and tossed the cup into the trash. “Your guess is as good as mine. I heard something about a vampire coup, killing all the Alphas. Something like that.”
He sounded totally unconcerned, but ice flashed through my entire body. Well, Philips’s body. My back snapped up straight, shoulders squaring. My guts tumbled and twisted.
Fortunately for me, Franklin had bent to look in the fridge, his top half hidden behind the open door. I didn’t call out the lie, obviously, and by the time he closed the door to show off the bottle of iced tea in one hand, I’d managed to compose myself.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?