Chapter 402: Chapter 402

Chapter 402

Lanie

“Lanie…”Zane’s voice met me through the mind link, but it sounded like it was coming from very far away.

I’d been concentrating so hard on figuring out Braden’s emotions and also his thoughts about why he didn’t want me to share them with Malachi, that my own mate’s link to me was stretched thin to the point of breaking. I shook my head, sta ggering back a few steps.

“What’s wrong?” Charlotte asked at once, her voice thick with concern. She put a hand on my arm.

Greyson joined her on

faint or anything like that my other side. I realized they were both ready to catch me if I fell over. I didn’t feel

faint or anything like that, but I appreciated that they were there for me in case I did.

“You okay?” Braden asked evenly as his eyes met mine.

Was he trying to send me something? The way his

couldn’t read him, though.

yes narrowed told me that maybe he was. I still “I’m fine. But Zane is calling for me. Can you all give me a minute so I can find out what he needs?”

“I’ll get you some water and a snack, Greyson offered.

Malachi snorted. “You need to build up your stamina granddaughter.”

I waved him off, something I knew would make him gnash his teeth. I wasn’t trying to get on my grandfather’s nerves or be disrespectful, but I also knew he wasn’t going to come after me for it. That was the privilege of being his blood.

“Zane?”

“Lanie, love…can you come home?”

I looked around this small training room and wrinkled my nose at how I could suddenly smell the overpowering stink of my own body odor. Charlotte pressed an opened bottle of water into my hand, while Greyson handed me an unwrapped protein bar.

hear.

Malachi and Braden were in the room’s other corner, heads bent together, murmuring words I couldn’t

“I’m kind of in the middle of something, honey. Is something wrong?” I took a long drink. My thirst and

hunger both roared to full life, and I eagerly gobbled the protein bar.

“Nothing’s wrong. But you should come home. It’s about Stella. I don’t want you to worry,” Zane thought quickly, as though he knew I’d hear that and instantly get nervous. “But this is something that would be better to share with you face to face. And you should be prepared that she looks a little different.”

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Chapter 402

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Where are Mason and Xander?”

“Still at the tech center, as far as I know. I haven’t reached out to them yet, but I will. I wanted to get in touch with you first. Are you still training with Malachi?”

“Yes.”

I looked over at my grandfather, who was still talking to Braden. The younger vampire looked a little upset, an emotion I could feel only faintly now that I wasn’t concentrating on him as hard. Out loud, I said, “I need to get home.”

Malachi turned with his hands on his hips. “Lanie, really. Your libidinous mate can wait his turn, can’t he? This is important. You don’t need to be at his beck and call.”

With a frown, tossed my empty water bottle in a trash can by the door. “That’s pretty rude of you to assume that my mate was only reaching out to me for something like that. I’m not at his beck and call.

I’m in a partnership with all three of my mates, which means when they need me for something, I’ll do my best to give it to them. Maybe that’s something you could learn, too.”

“Ouch,” Charlotte murmured with a twist of her lips and a sideways look at my grandfather.

Malachi’s eyes blazed crimson as his lips skinned back over his curving fangs. “How very dare you!”

Braden put his hand on his lover’s arm. “Malachi.

Don’t.”

Malachi shook him off and crossed the room to me in the blink of an eye. His fingers gripped into my upper arms hard enough to make me wince. He pushed his face close to mine so I could see the swirling red

spirals in his eyes.

“All of this is for your own protection,” he hissed. “Do you think I gain joy from pushing you? Do you think this is how I’d like to spend my hours?”

I didn’t flinch. By the moon, he was a drama queen.

“Grandfather, please. It’s something about my child.

I’m sure you understand why that’s more important than any of this right now.”

Instantly, he stepped away from me. The red in his eyes faded. “You should have said so in the first place.”

“I shouldn’t have had to,” I told him. “I’m a grownup, and I have a life and responsibilities that you’ve never had. You fathered a child, Malachi, but you’ve never raised one. If my mate needs me to come home because our child needs me for something, for anything, then nothing else matters to me more than that.”

“Go,” he said. “But you should know, granddaughter, that until you understand your gifts and can use them, you’ll never be able to fully protect your children.”

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