Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Lanie

Running with two babies strapped to my chest and feet four sizes bigger than | was used to was harder than I’d thought it would be. | caught myself as | stumbled, muttering a curse, and my heart pounded at the

thought of what would happen if | dropped the twins.

My shoulder hit the wall, and | spun in a half-circle. Alaina shifted against my chest, letting out a mu ffled

yelp.

“Shh, shh,” | soothed. If she started crying, this was going to get that much harder.

Light shone into the corridor that didn’t look like it came from overhead fluorescents, and when | turned

the corner, | let out a small yelp of my own at the sight of a door to the outside. | mumbled more thanks to all

the g ods above. Nobody was standing guard. | ran for it. | was never going to make it through the front door without getting caught.

| wasn’t going to get out this door, either.

Just as | passed one of the many closed doors lining the corridor, one flew open. A guard came out, looking as startled as | felt when | screamed. Philips’s mouth let out a high-pitched and shrill shriek that

would've had me busting into hysterical laughter under any other circumstances.

The guard reeled back for a moment before getting himself under control. “The f uck?”

“Out of my way!” | shouted with as much authority as | could. “There’s been a breach in security! You gotta get...f uck!”

| kicked the door shut in his face. From behind it came a shout, but | didn’t stop. | kept running toward thé

door, and freedom. Behind me, | heard half a dozen voices and the heavy clomp of boots as more guards spilled out of the doorway. Shouting like thunder. The floor, rumbling.

“They found me,” | sent to Zane. “Where are you? | need you!”

| did my best to send him a m ental picture of where I'd be exiting the building, but | couldn’t tell if he would understand. Against my chest, the babies screamed and wriggled in the sling. My arms ached from holding them both up, my shoulder hurt from hitting it against the wall, and | was only steps ahead of the

other guards.

“Philips, what the f uck are you doing?”

“Breach!” | shouted over my shoulder. “The coup! They're coming! You need to get to the armory!”

| had no f ucking clue what | was saying, but the raised voices told me they were all confused. When | was just a few feet from the door, alarms started drowning out the screaming infants.

My heart seized. Sheer terror threatened to overtake me, but there was no way | was going to let any one of those mot herf u ckers catch me and take away the twins again. I’d fight them all to death if | had to.

1/2

| didn’t have time to think about that feeling, because the guards behind me weren't going to stop. Wheezing, doing my best to haul Philips’s big body, | kept heading for that door.

“Zane, please! I’m almost to the door! Where are you?”

“...edge of the fence...cut a hole...”

His voice broke up but gave me fresh determination. flew out the door, banging it open so hard it

bounced off the wall and came back, almost knocking me over, | sta ggered, holding the babies tight with one

arm while the other grabbed the railing to the short flight of concrete steps.

From behind me, a voice shouted, “No, idiot! Don’t shoot him! he’s got those kids with him!”

| didn’t dare close my eyes, even though | wanted to freeze, tense with expecting to feel a bullet between

my shoulder blades. | leaped off the steps, hitting the pavement beyond and rolling my ankle. | went to one

knee, shredding Philips’s uniform pants, but | kept the babies safe against me.Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

I could see the fence in the distance. There were a few vehicles between me and it. The alarms blared.

Other doors were opening with more guards appearing.

I

All | could do was run as fast as | could. My legs pumped. My breath seared my throat, sharp as thorns, and | was sure my next step would be my last.

| had to keep my feet. Had to keep running. | had to make it to that fence.

“| see you!” Zane said through the mind link. “Keep coming, love! I’m here!”

“They're right behind me! They’re going to catch us!”

More than words came through the link. Zane’s strength, his love, support and confidence in me all urged me to run faster. | could see the hole in the fence, a familiar shape just beyond. Searchlights swept the area as | reached the chain links, and Zane’s strong hands grabbed me by the front of Philips’s jacket. He pulled me

through.

Wheezing and gasping, | almost fell, but he caught me. He would always catch me, | thought a little deliriously as Zane stepped between me and the fence.

He held up a leather pouch and tugged open the top. He pulled out a handful of dust and blew it into the

air all around us.

The babies went instantly, eerily silent.

Everything. | realized, was quiet.

“What the f uck?” | managed to say as four guards made it to the fence and pushed through the hole...and kept on running right past us as though we didn’t even exist.

2/2