Mated to the Alpha and His Beta (Lanie Stanton) novel Chapter 223

Chapter 223
Xander
“The f uck was that all about?” My brother put Isaac up to his shoulder and rubbed the pup’s back soothingly to quiet him.
My brother. When had I started thinking of Mason in that way, instead of a rival and an enemy?
Our eyes met across the room, and he gave me a single firm nod. We’d made a truce, but it had becom more than that after last night. I could see my mother looking at each of us, one and the other, but all she was give a faint smile.
I didn’t have time to ponder this new stage of things right now, though. My wolf was tense and agitated, ready to stalk and pounce, but when he tried to reach Zane’s beast, both of us got…nothing.
“The witch is blocking him,” I said grimly, heading for the door to go after them.
Lanie’s hand on my arm stopped me. Her touch was gentle, but her voice was firm. Her Luna energy shot electric sparkles from the shaft of my d ick all the way up to the base of my skull. When I growled, she simply gave her head two small shakes.
“Zane can handle Rhiannon. She’s not going to hurt him,” Lanie said.
“Even if she t
tried,” my mother added, “Zane could certainly take her down.”
I shifted baby Alaina into the crook of my elbow and brought Lanie’s fingertips to my lips for a kiss. “I’m not worried about her hurting him, love. I want to know what the hell she wants from him. Why does she think she can waltz the f uck in here demanding anything of him?”
More than that..why did he go with her?
Lanie shifted Stella in her other arm and cupped my cheek for a second before pulling her hand away. With the babies getting so big, she needed both arms to hold her daughter.
Alaina wriggled in my arm and let out a hungry little wail. That set off the other two, and soon enough, all of us were tending the infants, hurrying to feed them before the three started really howling.
“Life is different once you’ve had pups,” my mother said with a knowing grin as she held out her hands to take the baby I’d been holding. “It’s never going to be the same. Just wait until your Luna breeds again. When you have a pack of your own, you’re going to feel like these three little ones were a run in the meadow”
Lanie let out a small, embarrassed chuckle, but her eyes glowed when she met mine. “I’m looking forward
to it…eventually.”
“Now is not the time,” Lanie murmured in my head in response to my wolf’s happy yip at the thought of
having more pups.
I knew she was right, and I knew my responsibility was in helping to take care of my children, but there were enough adults in the cottage to handle that right now. I couldn’t stop myself from stalking along the
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“Zane. Everything cool?”
Again, no answer. My Wolf huffed, pacing. Something wasn’t right about all of this, and no matter what Lanie said, I didn’t trust that witch. Not even if my mother did.
“Bro. I’ve got my ears wide open, and I’m not getting anything from him. Are you?”
The intrusion of Mason’s voice through the mind link surprised but didn’t startle me. I was careful not to react in a way that would alert Lanie that he was able to reach me without her as a conduit. I knew we were linked, but it still felt weird as f uck to have another dude in my head.
“No. I reached for him, but he didn’t respond.”
“I thought maybe it was just because it was me, trying. But he should definitely be able to hear you:
In the kitchen, Mason was also keeping his cool as he burped Isaac while standing at the sink and looking out the window.
on?”
“I thought I saw them heading for the treeline,” Mason added through the link. “What the f uck is going
The Luna light surrounding my mate had gone soft, like a twist of sunlight through the shadows of a forest. Now it faintly surged, and I felt tendrils of her Luna energy entwining with my Alpha power. When my brother stood up straight, his eyes going to her, I could tell he was feeling the same.
I waited for jealousy to assault me, but I only felt a sense of calm and peace, followed quickly by a tremor of unease that had nothing to do with the connection between my mate and my brother. Lanie had been trying
to link with Zane, too, and by the look on her face, she hadn’t been able to reach him, either.
That’s when I knew. The witch wasn’t blocking Zane from connecting to us.
Zane was blocking all three of us on purpose.