Mated to the Alpha and His Beta (Lanie Stanton) novel Chapter 388

Chapter 388
Lanie
Zane had returned from his brief, private conversation with Greyson looking a little strange. When he pulled me into his arms for a kiss, though, I accepted it gratefully. We kissed and hugged every single day, but I was really needing the comfort of his embrace right now. With our other two mates away, it was just the two
of us.
I was surprised at how nice that felt. With Zane, I never felt like I had to fight to prove my strength. He was always there to support me. Oh, sure, Xander and Mason loved me, and I loved them. But they were Alphas, and they would probably always balk a little bit when they had to let me be as strong as I knew I could be.
Not that I felt very strong right now. Tucked up in Zane’s arms, I looked down at the children eating so happily. Alaina and Isaac had grown even more and could use silverware like they’d been doing it for years. Stella daintily separated her vegetables from her meat and the Applesauce in small containers. It would be easy to convince myself nothing could disrupt this happy little scene.
Zane tipped my chin up for another kiss. “Hungry?”
“Not really. I’d love that glass of wine though. We can let them eat while we sit on the couch.”
“They’ll make a mess,” he said with a laugh.
“And we’ll clean it up,” I told him. “Together. Isn’t that what you and I do?”
He stared at me for a long moment before a slow smile quirked the corners of his lips. “Yes. That’s exactly
what we do. You go sit, love. I’ll bring the wine.”
I settled into the comfortable couch with a sigh. My mind was still whirling with the book I’d found, what
I’d learned, and all the empty places ready to be filled with what I still did not know. I took the glass my mate
handed me and took a long, slow, and grateful sip.
I sighed. “This is good. Brightsky sure has the best of everything.”
“Yeah.” Zane’s voice lacked enthusiasm.
I scooted closer to put my legs on his lap. I put my head on his shoulder for a few seconds, careful not to
spill the wine. “You don’t like it here.”
“I like it here. I just…” he trailed off and rested his head on mine.
Both of us were keeping our voices low, mindful of the children not so far away. I knew I should tell him that I suspected Stella could hear us even if we whispered.
quiet.
Maybe even if we simply thought to each other. But in that moment, all I wanted to do was enjoy the
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Chapter 388
The silence between the strike of lightning and the crash of thunder.
“Greyson said something to me that’s been on my mind,” Zane said.
i moved so I could look at him. “What was it?”
Zane frowned and swirled his wine around in the glass before taking a sip. He swallowed and licked his
lips, not looking at me. “I’m not sure how I feel about it, that’s all.”
“Zane,” I said quietly. Gently. “What did Greyson say?”
“We were talking about Charlotte. And you. Being hybrids. What that all meant, what I should be ready to
do to support you.”
I waited, but he didn’t say more. “And? That makes you nervous? I know it was hard seeing me do that test
my grandfather wanted. But-”
“No, Greyson said he was cool with it. If he is, I have to be, right?” Zane chuckled and shook his head. His
smile twisted as he cut me a sideways glance. “He warned me there’d be a lot of surprises. And I have to agree
with that. Since the moment the council gave you to me…to us…Lanie, everything about you has been one
surprise after another.”
We both laughed at that.
“It’s true,” I admitted. “I’m surprised you haven’t all run away screaming. Thank you for loving me even
though I’m the reason your entire life is in a shambles.”
Zane’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t say that. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I hesitated, thinking of Alice. “You didn’t always feel that way.”
“I do now, and that’s what matters. Lanie, I love you more than I thought would be possible. I would do
anything for you, anything to make you happy. To serve you.” Zane cleared his throat. “I mean that.”
I studied him as a pulse of Beta energy nudged at me.
“I love you, too. But I think I’m not quite catching your meaning.”
“The other day, when you were in charge…you know.”
He laughed self-consciously.
Heat flooded me, hard and fierce. “Ohhh.”
I put a hand to my cheek, feeling the blush rising. I cast a glance at the children, still eating. Okay, so they
were playing with their pizza a bit. I’d deal with them in a minute.
“I think I know what you mean,” I said and let my gaze pin his. “And, just so we’re clear…I liked that, too. A
lot.”
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