Filed to story: Mated to the Alpha and His Beta Novel Free >>
Her expression remained confused as she looked from me back to Xander.
So that’s a thing, I guess? I asked Xander.
He nodded his head slightly, then turned back to the High Elder “High Elder, why are you here? To flex your power by intimidating a she-wolf who’s never bothered you? Or was there a real reason?
His pale face reddened.
You’ve made your point, Xander, I wamed him.
“I’m here because this is all highly unusual. A pair of shifters haven’t taken a second mate since…” He halted abruptly. Since when?
Aldon wouldn’t say what the loophole was for and now and now the High Elder refused to say when it was last used These as s holes were definitely hiding something.
“As I said, this is a rare situation. And we need to discuss how this is going to work.”
I could feel the heat of Xander’s irritation burning off of him.
“With all due respect,” he said through clenched teeth, “we’ve got it under control. Lanie was insufficient, so Alice stepped in to give us what we needed. The mating was successful, what else is there to say?”
Except it wasn’t, was it?
If it was, our minds would be linked, and we wouldn’t be hearing Lanie’s thoughts But Xander couldn’t admit that our plan had gone awry.
The Council was already breathing down our necks, we didn’t need them thinking we couldn’t handle ourselves.
“I know Elder Aldon has expressed some hesitancy about your double mating the High Elder continued, “but I think this could open a lot of doors for our kind.”
Xander’s gaze locked on mine.
He was confused. So was I.
Aldon stepped forward, finally speaking. “We think this kind of mating could be part of all of our future ceremonies.”
I suddenly sensed a hum vibrating around Lanie that I was surprised to immediately recognize as anger.
stretch.
used to this kind of connection with Xander, but with a she-wolf I hadn’t even properly claimed? It seemed like a “But because this is new for all of us,” Aldon continued, “we need to be close by for any necessary damage control. Which means we are going to be very involved in the process.”
me?
Lanie rushed forward.
“The process of what?” she demanded, her eyes wild. “Are you going to sit there in the corner watching while my mates f u ck I took her gently by the arm. “Not now, Lanie.”
“See?” The High Elder waved his hand at Lanie. “This is why you need our supervision. You have a sister don’t you, Lanie? Selena, isn’t it?” Lanie tensed next to me, and I scented the now too-familiar smell of her fear.
“It would be a shame if something were to happen to her because you couldn’t comply”
Lanie bit down hard on her lip, but I could tell it was shaking.
My stomach twisted into knots.
“Your threats aren’t necessary” Xander growled, clearly feeling heated, too. “Tell us what this is about. Why have your changed the rules?
“It’s simple,” the High Elder said. “We want our Alphas and Betas to have more offspring and therefore a higher likelihood of producing stronger wolves.
More offspring? Did that mean?
Lanie’s mouth hung open.
Xander’s breathing was getting heavy.
“Alice is expected to provide pups to Xander and Zane.” The High Elder turned to Lanie, and I swore his lips curled into a smile. “But so are you, Lanie.”
Lanie
After the High Elder left, I collapsed in my room, feeling totally wrung dry.
My brain was spinning with a million thoughts and questions.
It sucked being a she-wolf No one told me anything except where I should be and what I should be doing. Braden was the only person who’d told me anything useful lately, and even he hadn’t given me many details.
And what the f uck was all that about Alphas and Betas taking two mates? Now every she-wolf can feel like sl oppy seconds all the time!
H ooray for us.
And I didn’t miss that the High Elder had almost let something slip about a time when this had happened before.
Between that and my conversation with Braden, I was sure something was off about the Council, the Elders, all of it. These old guys were keeping secrets, and I needed to know why.
Was all this connected to the things they’d hidden about the Great Wars?
The things Braden was revealing to me painfully slowly?
Before I could thought-spiral anymore, Mindy burst into my room and I sat up so fast my head spun.
“Bitc h, can’t you knock?! I thought you were another one of those scary elders,”
I clutched my chest, feeling my heart banging hard against it.
“Sorry.” She winced. “Wow, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “Rough day.”
She shut my door and came and sat next to me on my bed.
“I heard a High Elder came for you today.” She laid back, propping her head up on her elbow. “What the hell did he want?” “You’re not going to f u cking believe this, but the High Elder said I had to produce pups, too. Even though Alice is Xander and Zane’s true mate.”
I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed my eyes.
“How humiliating is that? I feel like their f u cking sex doll or something.”
“Well…” she said sheepishly. “At least the sex was good?”
I groaned. “Mindy! You know they’re in love with Alice. They went out of their way to make her their second mate. Obviously they didn’t agree…”
The look of pity she gave me made me want to rage.
“They’re hiding s hit from us, Mindy. All the things they told us about the Great Wars growing up was a lie.”
She held her hand up. “Wait, wait, wait.. since when were we LEIKFY
“The shifters aren’t the only ones who fought in the wars. There are other creatures out there, and Braden sald-”
I cut myself off abruptly and swallowed hard, praying she didn’t hear me.
“Ummm, who the hell is Braden?”
F uck “Just a guy I met when I was running through the woods burning off some steam the other day.”
I tried to sound casual, but the stinging heat climbing up my face said otherwise.
Mindy hit me hard on the arm.
“Ow!”
“Don’t ‘ow me! You slept with him, didn’t you?”
I shook my head emphatically. “Hell no!”
That was the truth.
Now, if she asked me whether I wanted to sleep with him…that might be a different answer.
“Is he an Alpha? What pack does he belong to?”
I knew she was only looking out for me, but I really wished she’d shut the f uck up.
“I’m honestly not sure. I didn’t ask.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?