Chapter 281: Chapter 280

Chapter 280 Mason | did my best to keep my voice level, but it still came out hard as iron, cold as ice.

“Be very, very f ucking careful if you intend to keep going in that direction,” | told him. “I do not want to drag you out of here and throw down in the street, but | will.”

Asher rocked his chair back. | knew he could tell | was dead serious. A begrudging look of respect crossed his face, and finally, he gave a small, firm nod.

“Okay, so you really did manage to find your way to brotherly bliss. And get yourself a brand-new Beta, too. Forgive me if I’m not quite as overjoyed as you are about it.” He dug back into the platter of wings.

“| never wante wanted to choose someone over you, Asher. But when Malachi killed Orion, he passed his Alpha powers along to me, meaning that Xander and | both hold them.”

Asher gave his head a stubborn shake. “That’s not how it works.”

“Apparently, it does. Orion gave Xander, his acknowledged son, the role of Alpha, along with his powers, when he decided it was time. But according to Gabriela...Xander’s mother,” | reminded Asher quickly, “every Alpha holds on to some residual power, even if they choose to step down and hand over the pack to a successor. They keep it until they die, when it gets passed along to the next Alpha in line. He’d chosen Xander, but it turned out that I'm the firstborn.”.

“So....you are the true Alpha!” Asher cried in triumph, smacking a fist against the table. “You could just take him down!”

“Yeah, sure, if he hadn’t already granted the title and his powers to Xander. Me getting them didn’t strip them away from someone who already had them. Besides, man...| don’t want to.”

Asher stared at me for a long, silent moment. “I just don’t understand what happened. For so many years, all you talked about was getting revenge on your deadbeat dad. You hated your brother. And now you share a mate with him. Which is f ucked up, by the way”

“Yes, it’s f ucked up.” | nodded. “Is it something we can change? No. So we decided it was better to find a way to work together.

And all those years of me hating my brother for something our father did? | had to let it go. It was like a poison inside me. | hope you can let it go, too.”

Asher sucked hot sauce off his fingers while looking me right in the eyes. “I don’t know if | can. How does any of this even work? Because it all still sounds like b ullsh it to me.”

“| wish | could tell you,” | answered honestly, hoping he’d be able to sense my genuine sincerity, even if he wasn’t close enough to be my Beta anymore. “We really just don’t know. We're trying to find out, but in the meantime-

When Asher attacked me verbally, my wolf had reacted. | must've sent out some Alpha surge, because | felt Zane in my head.

Carefully, | made sure to put up my shields. | knew he was just doing what a good Beta but Lalan didak jum tad de pah that in Ankara faanA 1/2 “F uck, you're linking with them right now, aren’t you?” Asher demanded, jabbing a finger at me.” Lanie, but the other two also?”

“Not just “Yes. The four of us mind link. All together, and one-on-one. | think it’s because of the joint powers between me and Xander.”

“And that’s why Zane is your Beta, too, huh?”

Asher hung his head again, both his hands flat on the table. When he looked up, | hated the expression twisted across his face.

“We've been through some serious s hit, dude, but | never in a million moons thought we’d ever be sitting across from each other talking about how you picked another Beta over me. F uck. | can handle Lanie not choosing me. If | were her, I’d do the same.

But you...”

| reached across the table to tighten my fingers around his wrist for a few seconds before he pulled away “None of this means we can't be friends. We can still work together.”

“You want me to what? Join you? Become part of Constantine pack?”

Was that what | wanted? Xander’d had a point about trusting Asher around Lanie. | didn’t think my best friend...former best friend, | guess, would ever try to get between me and my mate. On the other hand, he clearly never believed he wouldn’t become my Beta.

People had done worse things for better reasons.

“It's something we could talk about,” | told him evenly. “You'd have to swear fealty, of course. But you’re a good man, Asher.

What do you say?”