Mated to the Alpha and His Beta (Lanie Stanton) novel Chapter 201

Chapter 201
Xander
me
I ran to my mother, but just as quickly as she’d fallen, she got
back up and waved me away.
“I’m fine,” she said irritatedly, but I could tell that she wasn’t. “Let’s just finish figuring out the plan.”
I nodded but kept my eye on her.
“So Xander and Mason are staying behind…together?” Lanie asked warily, glancing between the two of us.
I could tell she thought that was a terrible idea, but to be honest, so did I.
“Is that wise, considering the whole Alpha thing?” Zane asked.
I shot him an annoyed look. Way to remind me that my ba stard brother might steal my title away from
The last thing I wanted to do while Zane and Lanie were off rescuing the twins was argue with Mason
over who was the bigger, badder wolf.
It was me. duh.
“I just don’t want you two fighting over Stella.” Lanie crossed her arms. “Or worse, ignoring her while you
compare d ick sizes,” she mumbled.
Rhiannon barked out a laugh, and I shot her a death glare. I’d always appreciated that Lanie had a mouth
on her, but no one else was allowed to give us s hit like that.
“Til behave if Xander does,” Mason said.
I rolled my eyes. “Right back at ya, bud.”
“They’ll both behave,” Gabriela said. “I’ll make sure of it. I’ll stay here with them and help with Stella.”
She wrung her hands and looked down at the ground. She looked meeker and more unsure than I was
used to her being. “I’m certainly not going back to Constantine….where else would I be?”
Her voice cracked, and she spun around, planting one hand on the wall to steady herself.
I was ready this time, and grabbed her shoulders, helping to hold her up. She placed a shaking hand on her head and her eyes fluttered closed.
“What is it, Ma?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“I think Gabriela is mourning,” Lanie said in a small, sad voice.
S hit. Of course she was. My father was a s hitty person and an even shi ttier mate, but he was her mate
And when mates died, she wolves felt it. Especially Lunas.
I’d heard it described in school once. It was supposedly like having your body ripped in half, a pain that
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And on top of that, my mother had lost her pack to the Council and my father’s evil plan. The whole pack was on lockdown without an Alpha, Beta, or Luna, and if any of us tried to return, we’d be imprisoned at best, and killed at worst.
But here I was
worrying about what kind of arguments Mason and I would get into while Lanie was gone,
A sting of guilt pierced through me as I walked my mother over to the couch and sat her down gently.
Lanie threw a blanket over her.
“You’re right,” I said to Lanie. “I hadn’t even stopped to think about all the s hit she’s been through with my
father.”
Lanie grabbed my arm and squeezed it. “It’s okay. You can be there for her now,” she told me through our mind link.
Her words sent a comforting flush of warmth through my body. I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye. I saw Zane nod, too.
Mason was watching us closely. He still didn’t know we could communicate like this again, and now was certainly not the time to tell him.
But my chest swelled with a hint of satisfaction.
Lanie and I had a secret, and Mason would never get to share it.
Zane
“I feel much better about leaving Xander and Mason together now,” Lanie said as we threw our stuff into the car a while later. We’d already said our goodbyes. “At least they won’t be alone.”
“So do I,” I agreed.
Gabriela was in intense emotional pain from Orion’s death-I had faith that Xander wouldn’t do anything that would make her life harder right now.
He could be a stubborn pain in the a ss, but picking a fight with Mason wasn’t worth causing his mother. even more pain and frustration.
To be honest, I really hoped Xander and Mason used this time alone to come to some sort of agreement on the whole both-being-true-Alpha thing.
Because that was kind of a walk in the park compared to what lay ahead with Lanie, Stella, and the twins.
Goddess only knew how we’d handle those issues once we were all back together…
“I think I’m ready to go,” Lanie said, taking one last look at the bags in the trunk before slamming it shut. She glanced toward the house, taking in a deep breath, then letting it out slowly.
“She’ll be okay, Lanie,” I told her. I knew she was f ucking terrified to leave Stella alone, and I didn’t blame
her. I felt extremely protective of Stella, and I’d only recently learned she was mine. But Stella and Lanie had
never been apart from each other.
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I climbed in after her and gave her leg a squeeze before peeling away.
I was sad and scared, too, leaving them behind and thinking about the task ahead of us.
But I couldn’t lie, a small part of me was grateful for this chance to be alone with Lanie, to finally have her
all to myself.