Lanie


    “No,” | said at once. “Her baby will be half wolf. She wouldn''t do that. She''ll be its mother! And mothers...


    don''t...”


    | had to get up and run to the sink to ssh my face with cold water at the thought of any mother using her child, its blood, for


    any reasons, much less as part of a war.


    she?”


    “She wouldn''t use her baby to make a spell,” | muttered into my wet hands, my voice mu ffled. “How coul”


    “Because she’s a witch, and you can’t f ucking trust any of them,” Xander gritted out.


    “Awitch who already said she didn’t want to take sides,” Zane pointed out.


    “Sure. She won''t take sides.” Gabri’sughter sounded like coins rattling in a jar, breaking the ss. “How easy was it for


    Lanie to convince her otherwise? And she agreed to help Zane in exchange for getting something she wanted. She''ll do


    whatever it takes to get whatever she wants, and it looks like Zane’s going to


    hand it right to her.”


    “| didn’t know she could do anything like that,” Zane said, his tone rocky and rough.


    Mason spoke up. “It sounds like nobody really knows s hit about anything.


    I


    man.


    Zane turned on his heel and left the kitchen. When | tried to go after him, Xander’s firm grip on my wrist


    held me back.


    “Let him go for now,” he said. “I know him better than any of you, and he needs to get his head on straight


    about all of this.”


    His mother shook her head. “Unfortunately, if in fact he did make a vow to her, it’s not as easy as breaking a promise. Before


    Rhiannon would''ve agreed to give him anything, she’d have done some kind of binding to him. Whether he knew it or not at the


    time, whatever Zane promised her is now bound by deep magic. To break


    that vow...”


    When she didn’t finish, | sshed my face again and then took a long, deep drink.


    Xander handed me a dishtowel to dry my face, and then pulled me close. He kissed my damp forehead, and | let myself lean


    against him, taking strength. Alpha and Luna, two sides to a coin, thepletion of a puzzle with two pieces. We were not the


    only two in the room, but in that moment, we might as well have been.


    “| need you,” he growled through the mind link. “You and me, my Luna. We need to run and hunt. | just


    need some time with you, and only you.”


    “Soon. | promise. | want that, too.”


    Not for the first time, | had to ask myself exactly how all of this was supposed to work. A Luna to an Alpha, mated to him and his


    Beta, and also another Alpha. Would we ever have the chance to just settle in?


    “How can we stop another war?” | couldn’t stop mysel


    Xander’s brood, strong chest for a second until he captured my wrists and held me close. | stopped strugglingProperty ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Gabri didn’t move from her spot at the table. “None of us can stop a war. The best we can do is get ready for it. Find out what


    we can.”


    “We can’t let her have a hybrid baby.” Xander’s tone was no-nonsense andmanding, and it sent a thrill of pride all through


    me.


    His mother sighed. “I already told you, Zane is likely bound to that promise. He won''t be able to break it without dire


    consequences, probably physical. Certainly irreversible.”


    “He can’t guarantee he''ll impregnate her!” Mason took a step away from the counter to face Gabri. “Asking him to vow that, no


    matter the spell that binds him, can’t be legit. | don’t care what magic she use Bodies don’t work that way. He can’t promise to


    actually make a baby”


    “He can’t refuse to try,” Gabri shot back at him. “And so long as he’s trying to, I''ll guess there’s a ver good chance he will


    seed.”


    All of this was worse even than I''d imagined. | sent my mind to touch Zane’s. His pain and shame and anger were overwhelming,


    even through the link. He needed us.


    “Come back to us, love,” | urged.


    Xander approached his mother. “So, what are we supposed to do? If he tells her he’s going back on his word, what will happen?


    She''ll cut off his d ick, or what?”


    “Binding spells are personalized. | can’t say what it is she’d do, only that | know Rhiannon, and she’d have


    made it foolproof.”


    “Could another witch help?” | asked.


    She shook her head. “That is a box of trouble | have no intentions of opening, Lanie. Involving another of


    her kind would backfire”


    “So what do we do?” Mason asked.


    Gabri stood up from the table. “I need to think about this and do some research. I’ll have to let you know what | find out. In the


    meantime, let’s just hope she’s not ovting for at least a week or two.”