Chapter 419


    Mason


    | grunted as | hefted the weights and then set them down. Over the past few days, all the work Xander and | had been doing had


    been set aside. Useless.


    Unnecessary. That put us right back where we''d been before...and for me, that was bored out of my f ucking mind.


    Sure, danger loomed on the h orizon, but when hadn''t it? It felt like I''d spent my entire life waiting for something to happen, being


    held back from what | knew wasing. | was f ucking sick of it.


    Working out helped to keep the frustration at bay, but | could only


    refused to do a single more thing other than copse.


    I


    for so long before my body


    only ceilin


    So, that’s what | did, in a big, sweaty heap on the mats. | stared at the and listened to the heave and grunt of everyone else


    working out around me.


    Xander kicked my foot. “Bro. You ready to head back to the apartment?”


    “Yeah. Let''s go.” | let him help me up.


    We by pas sed the gym shower and headed for home.


    We didn’t talk on the way back. There didn’t seem to be much to say.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    If | was wrung out from the past couple of hours, my brother had to be twice as tired, both in his body and his mind. After all, it


    was his mother who''d turned out to be a spy for the High Council. Worse, she somehow was totally unaware of it, which meant


    that none of us could let her know that we did.


    This was all kinds of f ucked.


    I''d been doing my best not to give any hints, but it had been da mned hard over the past week not to question Gabri about her


    every move. She hadn’t seemed to be acting suspiciously, but she did seem quieter than usual. She’d had a nice little party for


    Ste tomemorate all the birthdays she’d missed, but that was thest time she’d really spent time with us.


    | could tell it was weighing on her son, even if he wasn’t sharing anything with the rest of us. Xander was trying too hard to be


    strong. I’d thought about asking Ste to work on him, but Lanie had guessed my n and talked me out of it. She told me we


    needed to respect Xander’s distance from us so he could manage his


    own emotions.


    | knew she was right...all the same, I''d spent my life resenting my brother and a lot less time wanting the best for him. | hated


    doing anything, or rather, not doing something that | felt could help him.


    He put a hand on my arm before we went through the front door to our ce. “Listen. Lknow we''re not


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    Chapter 419


    supposed to be bothering with any of the security s hit anymore, but it doesn’t feel right to wait around with our thumbs up our as


    s es. You feel the same way, right? It’s not just me.”


    “Nah. I’m bored as f uck, man.” | lowered my voice.


    Since learning about the spiders and the High


    Council’s ability to see through Gabri’s eyes, | was trying to be careful about what | said out loud.


    “We''re Alphas,” Xander said. “We''re not meant for all this waiting and watching bu Ils hit.”


    |ughed and lightly punched his shoulder. “We could go for a run. Colt’s still pretty tired from thest time, but I’m sure | could


    convince him...”


    The door to our apartment opened to reveal our Luna.


    “What are you two doing standing out here?”


    Over her shoulder, | spotted Zane. Both of them had wide grins and the giddy attitude of kids waiting to open their New Moon


    Festival gifts. When Xander and | went into the living room, he stopped so short | nearly


    ran into him.


    “What''s all this?” he said with a low, amused chuckle


    | looked at the table, set with a fancy cloth and dishes.


    Candles. “It''s the middle of the day.”


    “We have the ce to ourselves until after dinner,” Lanie said as she came toward us.


    She wore a sheer nightgown that clung to her curves.


    It showed off the dusky hints of her


    nipples and the shadowy thatch


    between her thighs. Her curls were


    piled high with a few hanging down


    to tempt me into thinking what it


    would be like to spiral them around


    my


    fingers.


    “Do you like what you see?” Lanie asked.


    My co ck certainly did. It was already thickening.


    When | watched Zanee up


    behind her and kiss her shoulder,


    bared by the neckline of the


    nightgown,


    got even harder.


    “| figured you two would be all


    tuckered out,” Xander said around a


    growl, “| sensed you were making


    love


    earlier.”


    “Lucky for you,” Zane said, gesturing at his first Alpha. “We’re ready for more.”