Mated to the Alpha and His Beta

Xander

I'd been waiting here in this roadside diner for hours without a word from Lanie. Not a peep through the

mind link. It was driving me crazy. The rational part of me knew that she could handle herself. She was one of

the strongest women I'd ever met, not to mention a Luna of incomparable talents.

I

“F uck rational,” | muttered and was half out of my seat when my phone buzzed.

| grabbed it out of my pocket, already knowing it wasn’t Lanie. Zane’s text was short and to the point.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

All good?

| wanted to type a few paragraphs of my frustration back through the phone, but | settled for replying, No word yet. “More coffee, hun?” The waitress hovered a full pot over my empty mug.

My stomach was already eating itself from all the acid, so | shook my head. | checked the time. | sent out another probe through the mate bond, pushing hard this time.

Still nothing

All around me, various humans were digging into big platters of pancakes and sausage. Some were cclearly on dates, while, as the night wore on, more filed in looking to fill their bellies with carbs and fat to soak ups all the alcohol clearly running through their systems.

Maywolf paced, growling and upset at the proximity of all these humans. Most didn’t even bother to

giacce my way. Not even the single females, and that definitely wasn’t something I’d expected. | looked around.

10: 300m again, surreptitiously trying to gauge if anyone was paying any real attention to me. because | sure

cat jo ckdelt kke i was being watched.

1 Lames instructions for tonight had been very clear. She was to leave me here while s other places in the human city. She’d been forbidden to tell me the address, only that it was

rather been astunned a bar than this diner, even if the coffee was all | could drink.

Shedsuidthe name of her source went by the alias DarkLuna, which should've made me la

actully made in toore supplicious. Anyone with a screen name like that for sure sounded like the around 1moothne internet wat fresh, which meant that everything Lanie had told me about what this annoynousi unn i had said was probably true

560) f ucking 1 hated that my woman was out there trying to find ways to keep our little ones, and her safe, white! hadd1stypant as s in this ney diner booth and nurse coffee until | was sure the caffeine would guaranteed hover sieppoquin

Lanie find wanna fine bow important it was, though that | stay put. Had she known we wouldn't be able to reach each other though the mute bond? | didn’t think oo, | knew she'd kept a few secrets from me here and there, but nothing like that, moothing that would jeopardize her safety.

apart from each oththat pulled out my phone, but again, there were no messages,

This time when scanned the room, | caught a set of eyes staring. They didn’t belong to a female, though. The steely gray gaze set inthes sharp features of a tall dude hanging by the dessert case. When he saw me

looking, | figured he’d tum his antention right away to the bies and cakes spinning slowly behind the glass, but he only let a slow, wide annis pead omross his face

Then, that mo therf ucker winkkad

The only thing that kept me for jumping to my feet and crossing the entire length of the diner to get his throat in my fist, or f uck between my law, was that my Luna had made me promise | would abi de by the rules. DarkLuna had set out. Instinctivelykkethis as shole had to be the one the source had set up to keep watch

over me

So why was he making himself know??

He sauntered all the way from the otheesicide of the room, casual and cool as ice. He slid into the booth seat across from me and nodded at the watresssaofiline mug he flipped over.

“Who the f uck are you?” | managed to keppibsgow out of my voice, but the words still came out hard

and cold and bitter.

Something wasn’t right about this guy. He smiddot My nostrils flared as | drew in a breath, then

another. He wasn’t wolf. Not vamp, and not a witch...

“You wolves. So sheltered.” He shook his head and oppoedd a packet of sugar to pour into his coffee. “So

ignorant, since your Council erased your history and kept you apart from the rest of us. I'd feel sorrier for you if

you weren't all such arrogant p ricks.”

| ba sted, but his laughter shoved me back into my seat The eucleare you?”

He held out his hand. “Name’s Greyson. Dragon shiftae Andammharedodake you to your lady.”