Mated to the Alpha and His Beta (Lanie Stanton) novel Chapter 284

Chapter 284
Lanie
When the rush of adrenaline flooded me, I immediately sensed my mates’ attention.
At once, I closed down my entire body with everything I had.
I focused hard, shielding, blocking, whatever I could. I did not want any of my mates feeling the exhilaration and terror rushing through me. The two here at home would rush in, breaking down the door if they had to. And Mason would probably drive so fast to get home he’d risk wrecking his car.
And…I didn’t need any of them. My pounding heart and panting breaths were fear, sure, but I wasn’t in any real danger. Plus, I wanted to handle this on my own first, the best I could.
“Love?” Zane’s voice drifted to me through the veil I’d hung between all of us.
“Lanie, I’m coming in,” Xander thought to me.
“No, my loves, I’m fine. I promise you, I need some more time alone. Don’t come in.”
I waited, holding my breath and forcing myself to calm down. I looked at the door, expecting it to fly open.
After half a minute, Xander’s voice came to me. “If you need us, we’re right outside. If we don’t hear from
you in thirty minutes, we’re coming through that door whether you like it or not.”
I sighed but also laughed softly. I thought back, “I need at least an hour.”
“Fine.”
I could tell he wasn’t happy about it, but I was also glad my mates were willing to let me do w
Taking a few deep breaths and sending up some grateful prayers to the Goddess, along with a p additional guidance, I turned back to my laptop.
The white words Do You Seek The Truth? blinked slowly on the black background. Beneath them was solid white rectangle.
Cautiously, I moved the cursor inside it and typed my reply.
YES
Nothing happened for a few seconds as I waited, tension coiling inside and all around me.
I became aware of my Luna glow pulsing, and I eased it back. It was hard enough to keep my mates from sensing my anxiety. I definitely didn’t want them seeing anything through the window or under the door, especially since they were right outside. Probably listening in.
As I calmed myself, the screen slowly faded into pale gray, then changed to white. A single word centered
on the screen, this time with a blinking black rectangle below it.
ENTER
1/3
I clicked the rectangle. A wry chuckle trickled out of me at all the drama, but I couldn’t deny that I was intrigued. Was it a way to chase off people who didn’t want to make the effort, or was there something more
to it?
A popup warned me that I was being tracked by DARK WEB HACKERS who were going to drain my bank accounts, steal my identity, steal my mates, and sleep with my mother.
It was all very threatening, but I ignored it. There wasn’t anything on this old laptop that I cared about, and the Goddess had guided me on exactly how to set everything up so when I logged onto the dark web, nothing could be traced to me.
After a few seconds in which I did nothing but wait, another popup followed it.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. THE BACK BUTTON IS YOUR FRIEND. LEAVE NOW, AND YOU WILL BE SPARED.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I murmured, leaning closer to the screen to see if I could discern any kind of pattern or links on the page, maybe white text on the white background or something like that.
That was it!
DO
YOU
SEEK
THE TRUTH?
This time, I giggled aloud and clicked the pale box below the almost invisible words. The screen chan
changed again, this time to a swirling pattern of stars with a full moon glowing in the top corner. More words appeared scrolling down the screen so fast I had to read quickly or else I’d miss them.
ARE YOU A LUNA?
I didn’t see a place to type anything, but a small microphone icon blinked beneath the words, and I took a
chance.
“Yes,” I whispered.
I hadn’t given any permissions to access my microphone, but it seemed the site was able to hear me,
because the next question zoomed onto the screen like a movie title.
ARE YOU STRONGER THAN A LUNA IS SUPPOSED TO BE?
“Yes. I think so.”
ARE YOU STRONGER THAN YOUR ALPHA?
“No…I’m not sure. Maybe.””
The screen went dark again. I waited, holding my breath, for another question to blink onto the screen.
ARE YOU, OR DO YOU BELIEVE YOU MIGHT BE, A HYBRID?
There was only one way for me t to answer that question and I leaned in close to whisper the words to the 2/3
“Yes.”
A new word appeared, blinking slowly.
ENTER
So, I clicked it.
3/3