Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Zane

Time slowed as the powder I'd bartered with Rhiannon for covered all of us in a fine cloud that smelled a bit like lavender. Me, Lanie, the babies. She turned wide eyes on me as the guards ran past us without even a glance, even when one of the babies sneezed loudly.NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.

Rapidly, Lanie morphed back to herself. No lie, it was a f ucking relief to be looking at the woman | loved instead of that giant goon whose form she’d taken, but | didn’t have time to take her in my arms and kiss her the way | wanted to.

“We're invisible,” | said. “Shielded, too, somehow, Rhiannon gave me a powder. They can’t see us or hear

us. | guess it also took away your transmogrification.”

One of the twins let out a whimper, and Lanie kissed its head tenderly and murmured soothing words. Watching her this way, so maternal, stirred something low in my gut. The uniform that had fit Philips s was way too big on her, and her sleeves hung past her wrists as she cradled both babies.

More guards ran past us, shouting. | gestured for Lanie to come closer to me, and until they'd all passed us.

a stood in one place

“Let me take one,” | told her finally when we had a chance to take a breath. We couldn't stay there, but for

the moment, all the guards were gone.

Carefully, we managed to get Isaac out of the sling and bundle him in the oversized guard’s jacket. | was. able to make a kind of baby sling out of it, but carrying both babies was going to get old fast, especially for

Lanie, who already looked wiped out.

“We need to get into those trees and walk back to Stillwood,” | told her, pointing.

She nodded and followed me. After a minute, she said, “You do realize how much easier all this would’ve been if you’d p oofed us into being invisible in the first place, don’t you?”

“We couldn't take the risk of it not working right, or wearing off before you found the twins.” | hated lying to her, but the truth about how I got the powder was not something | could get into right then. It was a story

and a confession...for another time, when we weren't running for our lives.

Her voice was h oa rse. I’m so tired, and my entire body hurts like I’ve been run over by a truck. | almost

didn’t make it.”

We'd gone enough into the woods that | thought we could take a break for a few minutes. Careful of the infants between us, | gathered her in my arms and held her close. She shook, but fought a little to get away

from me

“There’s something you're not telling me,” she accused.

| had to send up thanks to the go ds that | had a mate who knew me so well, even though right now that was a real disadvantage. She was right. There was a whole bunch of s hit | wasn’t telling her. | hoped I’d never

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All | could do was pull her close again. | let her breathing match mine, slowing, as the babies quieted in

the circle of our embrace.

Finally, she looked up at me with tears streaking her cheeks. 1 was so scared, Zane. | didn’t think | was going to get out there. All | could think about was how | was going to fail...you, and Xander, a-and.”

“| knew you'd never fail.” | tipped her chin up to kiss her lips. “And | was about to let my wolf go in for you

when you came storming out of that place.”

“They're going to come after us,” she said. “Even though | looked like Philips, they’re going to figure out who took the babies, and they'll come after us. Even to Stillwood, assuming we even make it there on foot with

two infants who need to be fed, changed...

Lanie’s voice rasped to silence, but then she straightened up and cleared her throat. “What are we going

to do?”

Ss

“First, we're going to get to Stillwood. We have the twins. That's the most important thing right now. And

that, love, is all because of you.” | took a couple of steps back from her to let my wolf come forward and scent the air. “I’m not sensing any guards on our tail.”

“That’s probably a bad thing,” she said. “If they’re not following us, that means they think they know where

we're headed.”

Pride flooded me, so fierce it took my breath away. This was my Luna. Bold, brave, smart, competent.

Thinking on her feet. Exhausted, but not willing to give up the fight.

The truth was, without that powder from Rhiannon, I'd have lost her and the twins back at the fence. I'd made the deal with her because | was willing to promise anything to make sure | had a way to keep Lanie safe

if things went south.

| only hoped Lanie would never have to find out what I’d agreed to do.

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