Mated to the Alpha and His Beta (Lanie Stanton) novel Chapter 109

Chapter 109
Mason
The last thing I wanted to do was leave Katie.
I was dying to strip down and join her, to make her come again and again, but we’d have more time for that later.
Right now, I needed to figure out where I stood with Xander and Zane.
We sat around the fire in the library sipping the strongest Moondust Whiskey I’d ever had in my life.
I had to turn away after the first taste so they wouldn’t see me wince.
“Did I make a mistake bringing you here?” Xander asked
I wanted to tell him that the mistake had been mine, that I never should’ve brought Katie with me if I’d known he and Zane were gonna go all territorial.
But then we’d just end up right back where we’d started…having a useless fight.
And now that I wasn’t on neutral territory, a fight was the stupidest thing I could start.
I
“Look, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to take you down, Xander,” I dived right in.
The alcohol warmed my body and loosened my tongue.
That was probably why they’d offered it to me.
Xander and Zane exchanged knowing glances.
“I was jealous that Alice didn’t choose me over you. It felt like you stole everything from me, and I wanted to take something back for once.”
I had nothing to lose by admitting this to Xander, and it wasn’t news to him anyway. Whatever jealousy I’d felt, he’d experienced it too in some way.
The difference was that he’d won the Alpha title and Alice in the end.
But it didn’t sting quite the same way now that I had Katie. Keeping her close and keeping her and Stella safe…it made me reconsider my strategy.
The night of the regional gathering when I started mobilizing those guards, I’d only been thinking about myself. I’d wanted revenge on Xander and Orion, I wanted to take it all for myself.
But in the last few weeks, I thought more and more about how Katie and Stella would fit into that plan. If I went all rogue Alpha and burned sh it down, they’d get caught in the flames, too.
And I’d never forgive myself for that.
“I appreciate your honesty,” Xander said. “But if we team up to confront my father….what’s to stop you from
1/2
They stood side-by-side, their gazes burning as harshly as the fire.
It was crazy how they moved so identically sometimes, almost like they were one entity. I’d heard that about Alphas and Betas, but living in rogue territory, I never witnessed it myself.
I could see then the power they might have over someone like Alice. She was always easily distracted by the shiniest thing.
And seeing them both standing in front of me, huge and unflinching, they did seem pretty d amn shiny.
A sick wave of jealousy washed over me at the idea of their shine catching Katie’s eye, too.
All the more reason to stake my claim on her….
“Everything’s different since I met Katie,” I admitted. “I’m not going to do anything that will put her or Stella in danger,”
Zane’s eyes narrowed like he was scanning me with a truth laser.
“When did you meet Katie?” he asked. “You must’ve had the pup right away…”
I knew what he was suggesting.
There wouldn’t have been much time between my last night with Alice and when I’d gotten Katie pregnant.
They were trying to catch me in a lie, maybe chip away at my connection with Katie.
“It happened fast for us,” I said simply. “I was drawn to her the night we met, and we haven’t been apart since.”
I took another sip of the whiskey. It was getting easier to swallow now.
“Meeting her helped me get over the pain of Alice leaving me. She helped me see what I really wanted.
I
And then I didn’t resent you as much as I used to.”
Xander gave a grunt of acknowledgment, but there was still distrust in his eyes.
Suddenly there was a brief, sharp rap at the door.
Without waiting for an answer, an older man stepped through.
A man I hadn’t seen in months.
Orion.
“Hello, son,” he said. “We need to talk.”
212