Chapter 181: Chapter 180

Xander When | saw Mason holding the twins, | knew it was over.

Zane looked at me with this accusatory, Hold-you-sa expression. Now Mason knew our secret. And we were going to pay for it | looked at Lanie, but she avoided my gaze, a seething look on her face. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. She was telling me not to use the mind link, and she was obviously furious that we’d kept this secret, too.

Shi t. What the hell was | supposed to say?

“You know how you bonded with Stella before you knew who her fathers were?” | finally said. “The same thing happened with us and the twins.”

Zane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was a weak argument. He knew it, | knew it, Mason knew it. But it was all | had.

Mason’s face was a cold, stony mask. He marched over to the makeshift curtain and gently laid the twins back down.

When he turned to face us again, his wolf was dancing dangerously close to the surface, and his chest was heaving with the effort of holding him back.

“And Lanie, she did the same thing, too,” | said, trying to grab at anything | could to distract Mason, to take the heat off Zane and me. Lanie jerked her head up, her face reddening angrily.

“Don't f ucking drag her into this,” Mason roared.

| looked at Zane, my jaw clenched firmly. | jerked my head toward Mason. It was Zane’s job to back me up, whether he liked it or not.

“Lanie knew she was pregnant with our pup when she did the spell,” Zane said reluctantly. “But she still did it. Knowing that it meant we'd never get to see our child again.”

Lanie narrowed her eyes at us. “What the hell does that have to do with keeping the twins a secret from Mason?! | did the spell to protect myself and my child, a child | didn’t think you even wanted!”

her?

She marched over to Mason and stood beside him. Did the time we just spent together mean nothing to “And besides,” Mason snapped. “You're really going to keep my pups away from me as punishment for what you think Lanie did to you? Do you really think that makes any f ucking sense?!”

He put his arm around Lanie protectively and pulled her closer it was all | could do not to run at him and tackle him to the ground. He needed to shut up, he was turning Lanie against us. Of course, he didn’t understand why we’d kept this from him. He wanted to see us as evil “Look,” | finally said. “Whether or not these twins were ours, we of you finding out and running back off to rogue territory with these perfect little pups that we'd already fallen in love with...it was devastating.”

“So what, you u were just going to keep this a secret forever?” Mason demanded. “I loved Alice.” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. “And these babies are all | have left of her. They’re mine, and | won’t let you take what's mine again.”

| knew it. | f ucking knew he’d go there.

My whole body was shaking now, and | didn’t know what I’d say next. This wasn’t about some vendetta | had against him. | loved these babies, and | couldn't give them up to a wolf | still didn’t trust.

Zane could sense that | was about to blow, so he stepped in, trying to be the voice of reason.

“You want to stay with Stella, we want to stay with the twins. I’m sure we can work something out,” Zane suggested.

“Correction,” Mason said. “We could have worked something out. If you hadn’t f ucking lied to me. But that ship has sailed”

Lanie Mason stormed out of the cabin, and | followed him into the night, the door e behind me.

1 can’t f ucking believe them,” he said, his voice shaking with anger and hurt. “My own f ucking pups they kept them away from me this whole time.”

| rested my hand on his shoulder while he breathed raggedly. I'd never seen him this upset.

“We can’t trust these people, Lanie,” he said, looking up at me. There was a renewed fierceness in his eyes. “We can’t stay here.”

“What are you suggesting?” | asked incredulously.

“We take the babies. And we run back to Stillwood.”

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