Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Lanie

We pulled up to a run-down motel off the mountain road a couple of hours later.

Night had fallen by now, and some gruff-looking men were camped out outside of a room, in the dark. | was suddenly glad Stella wasn’t with us.

chain-smoking

“We're in human territory now,” Zane said, turning off the car. “We're less likely to be recognized at a place

like this.”

“Yeah, less likely to be recognized. ..but more likely to be killed in our sleep,” | said.

Zane snorted out a laugh. “I'd like to see those guys even try to lay a hand on you,” he said, nodding to the smoking men. “TIl f uck ’em up so quick, they won't know what hit them.”

It was my turn to laugh.

“Hey now,” Zane said, looking affronted. “You don’t think | can take them?”

| raised my eyebrow at him. “Chill out, big man. | know you can.”

We both sat there in silence for a second, looking at each other and smirking. It felt nice to be here with Zane just laughing and giving each other s hit. Being alone with him reminded me how easy things alwaysNôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

were between us.

“I'll be right back with the room key,” he said, and | watched him run into the office

| thought about staying in the car until he came back, but it seemed like a silly thing to do when | could be unloading. He wouldn't be that long anyway.

| popped the trunk and leaned in, pulling out our bags.

“What brings you here, little lady?” | heard a throaty voice say behind me.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. | turned around slowly, and one of the smoking men was

sauntering up to me.

“Just need a place to stay.” | said firmly, shutting the trunk and walking toward the office.

S hit. Zane and | had literally just joked about this, but suddenly the idea of these men coming any closer

wasn't the least bit funny.

But as soon as | started moving, | was suddenly surrounded. All the men who'd been sitting in the shadows were standing ina circle around me and for a moment, | thought they might be wolves, the way they were circling me like prey.

Did they recognize us after all? Were they going to take me away to the facility and trap me there, too?

| took a deep breath in. No wolf scent.

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Could |, though? Sure, | was a wolf with wolf strength, but | rarely had to use it in a fight. Plus, | could only compel them one at a time, | might not be able to stop all three of them quickly enough if they decided to

charge at me.

| glanced toward the office.

“Your boyfriend can’t help you now,” one of the men said. “There’s three of us and one of him, anyway.”

| stood there frozen like an idiot. What the hell was wrong with me? These were dirty human men, and I'd just helped a vampire kill a f ucking Alpha. But my hands were shaking so hard | struggled to hold onto our

bags.

“Don't think of running, either,” another one of the men said. “You wouldn't get too far.”

They all took another step forward, and it was like my mind was shutting down. | wanted to move or call

out to Zane, but | couldn’t.

“Come with us little lady,” the first guy said, nodding toward the room they were sitting outside of. “Or we'll make you

“| don’t like those options,” Zane said, stomping up behind the men. Before they could move, he had one of the guys by the neck. Then Zane yanked up the guy’s wrist with his left hand. It snapped like a tiny twig.

He groaned in pain and fell to the ground.

“Hey, hey, we don’t want any trouble,” the first guy sald, holding up his hands and backing up.

“That’s what | thought,” Zane said, taking me by the elbow and leading me back to the car.

We climbed in and he pulled away again.

I

“I'm sorry | didn’t call out to you, | couldn't... | started to say, but Zane interrupted me.

“| shouldn't have left you alone. We'll find another place.” His face was stony and he was quiet the rest of

the ride.

Alittle while later, we were throwing our bags down in another run-down motel room and collapsing on the bed, fully clothed. No way was | crawling under those musty-a ss sheets.

Zane’s nose wrinkled, and | could tell he was thinking the same thing. At times like these, | wished my

wolf senses weren't so heightened.

| turned away from Zane and my stomach suddenly swooped with fear. How the hell was | supposed to sleep tonight knowing we had to wake up in the morning and stake out the hybrid testing facility?

Especially since I'd just choked up around some weak, dirty humans? The guards at the facility were

much stronger and scarier.

And if we didn’t successfully knock out a guard and make it into the facility tomorrow, then that was one more day the twins were trapped there with goddess knows what happening to them.

Awave of nausea passed over me. This was so much pressure, and so much could go wrong.

| felt Zane move closer to me and place a reassuring hand on the dip of my waist. He could probably 2/3

Any other night in any other place, this might've been romantic, s exy even. But not tonight.

Tonight, we didn’t move or even speak. a fitful sleep.

ne just held me until | drifted off into