Mated to the Alpha and His Beta (Lanie Stanton) novel Chapter 437

Chapter 437
Zane

Discovering that the High Council had lied to us all for decades about the existence of other supernaturals had been shocking. Learning that the world was also full of monsters just about laid me out flat. I still couldn’t believe it, not even after riding on the back of a giant freaking worm miles underground.

The Slitherkin weren’t really worms. Not snakes, either. They were something totally unique, a hive mind race that grew as big as blue whales but that somehow had managed to escape the eyes of the world. There weren’t even any rumors about them. No sightings.

“They’re not Bigfoot, Papa,” Stella said in a low voice as I leaned against the wall of the tunnel in which we’d be spending the night. She must have read my thoughts. She laughed and leaned against me. “The Slitherkin are real.”

“So long as they’ve decided we aren’t the enemy,” I told her. “Those things have massive teeth.”

“Sure, to bore through rock and dirt. Not to eat wolves.” She laughed again.

She sounded tired.

“We should get some rest. You hardly slept at all last night, and I know how hard it must have been to wrangle those things all day.” I nodded toward the empty end of the tunnel. The Slitherkin that had helped us were gone, at least for now.

Stella yawned, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “They have so many voices, speaking all at once. They’re easily distracted. And, they don’t like being so close to the surface, so we’re lucky they consented to taking us anywhere.”

“It was fast, I’ll give them that.” Xander handed her the last half of a peanut butter sandwich.

“And safe from the High Council seeing us,” Lanie added.

The High Council had no idea the Slitherkin even existed. It seemed like a sweet irony. The creatures that helped us were hidden from the council by its own ignorance. If only they hadn’t been so determined to hide away and keep the real knowledge of the world hidden from us, they might have learned so much. Instead, they’d chosen to stagnate.

Unfortunately for us, the wriggly monsters weren’t able to take us all around the world. Their habit was relatively small, especially since they’d been avoiding the enclave for years. They’d been able to get us closer to the ocean, though. We had a few miles’ walk tomorrow on the surface, and then we’d be at the water.

From there, Stella had promised us a boat ride.

We weren’t going to build a fire in the tunnel. The smoke could easily collect against the stone walls and ceiling and end up suffocating us. Instead, we huddled into a group.

“At least it’s warm,” Lanie murmured, resting her head on my shoulder. “Okay, warm is an overstatement. It’s not freezing.”