Mason
Lanie was my Luna, wasn’t she?
Xander and Zane had never fully imed her, and they''d intended for Alice to be their Luna, hadn''t they?
Xander held my gaze for a moment like he was waiting for me to say what | was thinking out loud, but I
knew it would only cause another fight.
Besides, we needed Lanie back here safely before we could even think about whose Luna she was and
what that meant for us.
My mind wandered then to her and Zane and whatever danger they might be facing right now. | had
gotten barely any time with the twins before Orion headed us off and separated us again. The thought of never
seeing them again, never getting to connect with them as their father, was physically painful.
| ced a hand on my chest and rubbed absentmindedly.
“| know you''re worried about ina and Isaac,” Xander said, drawing my attention back to him. Had it
been that obvious? “I am, too. But Zane will bring them home. He’s the only person I’d trust with my life and
the lives of my pups.
| nodded. Was he actually trying tofort me? The act of it felt kind of awkward, but | appreciated that
he’d changed the subject and at least attempted to rte to me instead of arguing with me.
“Xander...” | started, then took in a deep breath. “What would you say to a truce?”
| extended my hand out for him to shake it.
He looked at my hand suspiciously, and it took everything in me not to pull it back and say “Psych.”
“We know where we stand, the rest is basically up to Lanie,” | said.
Xander took my hand and shook it briefly before dropping it. “Sure,” he mumbled 1 guess we do need to
get our heads out of our as ses.”
“Speak for yourself,” | said, and we both smirked.
The air around us already felt less thick and charged with awkwardness.
Ste’s cries carried in from the living room, and we both automatically dashed in there and stood over
her bass.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.
We stood frozen, each waiting for the other to scoop her up. We''d just called a truce, but how we’d
actually put it into action was another story.
“Go ahead,” Xander said, waving me on. | c ocked my eyebrow but didn’t argue. | just nodded my thanks. and picked her up,
rocking her gently until she quieted down.
When | turned around | caw
aw that Gabri was 1/2
was watchinn us from the hallway
av a wide smile on her face
Lanie
Looking in the mirror was scary.
I''d put on the guard’s uniform and was ready to head back to the facility. Zane had tied up the real guard and dosed him up with
more sleeping powder to make sure he didn’t wake up before | was out of there with
the twins.
My heart was pounding and | couldn’t get my breathing under control. Surely they would know immediately that | was a fraud and
didn’t belong there.
me.
| pulled an ID out of my pocket. “You are Sergeant Philips,” | said into the mirror to convince myself.
My voice startled me. Because....it wasn’t my voice.
| gave myself a shake, then walked out to join Zane in the living room. His nose wrinkled at the sight of
“Go ds, I''ll never get used to this,” he said.
| shrugged. “Well, hopefully | never have to do it again. Your nose wrinkled...do | still smell like me?”
He shook his head. “No, you smell and sound and look like him. It’s creepy, to say the least. But no one-
human or wolf-should be able to tell any difference.”
“Good.” | nodded. “What’s our n? We need to move quick to be sure this doesn’t wear off.”
“Okay, so I''ll follow you back through the woods to the facility and keep watch,” Zane said. “If anything goes wrong, just get out of
there as fast as you can and be waiting right outside for you.”
I
“Got it,” | said. “I just pray if anything goes wrong, it’s after | have the twins.”
Zane pursed his lips. “Let''s not even think about that. Everything is going to go to n. In and out, easy
peasy.”
| turned my eyes to the sky and prayed to the Goddess that he hadn''t just jinxed us.
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