Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Lanie

My eyes were grainy with exhaustion, but my heart raced. | hadn’t slept at all. At this point, | was running. on caffeine and adrenaline.

“| think | have a solution.” | dug enthusiastically into a bowl of pasta with meat sauce Gabriela had insisted on putting in front of me before | started talking. The moment | took the first bite, my hunger roared into life so strong there wasn’t any way to stop myself from gobbling up half the bowl.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

| looked up to see everyone staring at me.

Mason looked impressed. Zane, amused. Xander looked pi ssed off, which was no surprise, since feeling his Alpha energy and anger since I'd shut the door on him. Gabriela, on the other hand, looked.

satisfied.

“You're burning energy twice as fast right now,” she said with a glare at Xander when he acted as thoug he meant to say something to me. “You hush and let her fill her belly. Whatever Lanie has to tell us can certainly wait a few more minutes while she fuels herself,

Atush of giddiness overtook me at the way the big Alpha was put in his place so thoroughly by his

mother. | reached to pat his hand, though, | didn’t want him to be angry and upset.

| took another bite and chewed more slowly this time. The flavors of meat and sauce burst on my tongue, and | felt new life surging through me. When | held up my hand, wiggling my fingers, the glow around them spread out in wispy waves of shining glitter.

“Incandescent,” Mason murmured. “Goddess, Lanie. You're almost on fire.”

“How long have you been shining that strongly?” Zane pushed a basket of garlic bread toward me, and | eagerly tore off a hunk of it with my teeth.

| had to finish chewing and swallowed before | could answer, | shook my head. My hunger was slowly

sating, but | could still feel the energy coursing through me. Burning.

“I'm not sure. | wasn’t paying attention. | was just working on a solution...” Another wave of hunger roared through me, and | dug back into the pasta.

“You all might as well eat, too,” Gabriela ordered. “She’s going to be a while.”

Xander shot her a look. “You know what’s going on with her?”

” told you. She has to fuel herself. She’s burning an immense amount of energy. Lanie, my girl, you'll learn how to adjust yourself and control all of this, but for right now, you feed yourself as much as you need.” Gabriela looked proud.

“I've never been this hungry,” | admitted. “Maybe

when | was pregnant, eating for two...

All three men stopped and stared at me.

Went wide,

“Im not pregnant,” | told them all. “Just starving.”

“Not pregnant with a baby, no. But you are creating something. Growing it,” Gabriela said as she thickly buttered a bite-sized piece of bread and tucked it neatly between her lips. “One of the advantages of that Luna gift is being able to eat basically most anything you want. But you won’t always feel like you need to.”

As the men dished up bowls of pasta and sauce and started eating, | was finally able to ease off a little bit. | wiped my mouth with a napkin and took a long, grateful drink of water, followed by a few sips of the good red wine Gabriela had set out for us, too. | was glad she’d poured wine. It felt like we were going to have a reason to toast. | sipped again, feeling the wine’s warmth flood through me. The shine hadn't abated, even if my hunger had softened.

“How long was | in there?” | realized I'd lost track of time.

“Just overnight. Almost twenty-four hours,” Xander sounded gruff as he drank some wine.

Now that | was out of the room, he was feeling relieved.

“| still owe you some time with just us,” | whispered through the link. “I just needed some time alone. It

had nothing to do with not wanting to be with you, my love.”

“When? | need you. Want you.” Not only Xander, but Hunter’s voice reached me.

Lily stirred. My wolf had been so patient, but now she huffed out a growl that | almost made out loud.

“Want you. Running.”

“Hello,” Zane said, waving his hand in front of Xander’s face. “When the two of you are ready to share with

the rest of the class...?”

“Sorry,” | said quickly. | eyed another piece of garlic bread with longing, but forced myself to take a deep breath, instead, | couldn’t stop the big grin spreading over my face, “I think I’ve found a way to get Zane out of

the promise he made.”