Chapter 177: Chapter 176

Mason

When I turned the corner into the hallway, I almost had to laugh.

There were Lanie and Xander again, panting heavily, pressed up against each other, and about two seconds away from kissing.

“How many times is this going to happen before I have to kill you?” I said in a rough, manic voice that barely sounded like my

own.

I hadn't intended to threaten him like that, but as soon as I’d scented Lanie, a smell even sweeter and headier than usual, it was

like some macho di ck part of my brain lit up.

“Whoa, what is this?” Zane said, walking up to us. He was holding the twins and giving Xander a furious. look. “Is this why you

asked me to look after Issac and Alaina? So you could have Lanie to yourself?”

He growled at Xander, and Xander growled back, his wolf flashing in his eyes. Since when were they fighting again?

Lanie shook her head and pushed Xander off of her.

“I can’t take this anymore!” she cried, backing away from us. “We're all acting crazy, and I know why?”

We all looked at her expectantly.

“I'm in heat again,” she said, wrapping her towel tighter around herself. As soon as she said it, it all made sense. Realization

spread across Xander’s and Zane’s faces, too.

That’s why her scent was especially irresistible. That's why it was turning all of us into actual animals.

“If we don’t take care of this tension,” she said, “then you're literally going to rip each other’s heads off.”

I didn’t disagree with her. We were all fighting tooth and nail to get our wolves to shut the f uck up and

chill out right now.

“It's better for all of us and the babies if we can just get it out of our systems and move on,” she said.

Wait...get it out of our systems? As in Xander and Zane, too? They both exchanged curious, excited

glances.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

I hoped to the go ds that it wasn’t what I was thinking.

“I'm saying we need to set some ground rules.”

A few minutes later, Lanie and I were sitting on the couch while Xander and Zane lounged on the floor in

front of us

We kept our voices low so as not to wake the babies

“Think of it like a contract,” Lanie said. “Mason is my mate, full stop. He’s my partner, the one I want to be with, and I will always

choose him first. But I'll still have sex with Xander and Zane.”

White-hot fury churned thick and fast through my bloodstream, and it was all I could do not to yell my

protests.

Sex with her original mates? It sounded like my worst fears come true. What if she realized she loved them more than me? What

if they formed a kind of bond could never understand?

I would never say this out loud, though. I wouldn’t give Xander and Zane the satisfaction.

I

“Just sex, nothing more,” she continued. “No love, no babies, no claiming. Sex, plain and simple. Whenever tensions get high,

we use this contract to burn off steam and keep the peace.”

I tried not to look at Xander and Zane’s smug, eager faces. They were as sholes every step of the way, and they still got what

they wanted. Typical.

“How long is this contract good for?” Zane asked. He took the words right out of my mouth.

“At least for as long as we live under one roof,” Lanie said. “We can’t have anyone punching each other or

running off into the forest again.”

She shot Xander and me pointed looks. We both dropped our heads so our irritation didn’t show

“Especially now that my scent is like a f ucking magnet for every man in a five-mile radius,” she said worriedly. “You lead anyone

anywhere close to this place, and I will be found.”

S hit, she was right. It was more important than ever that we kept things locked down here.

“And remember that this has nothing to do with feelings,” Lanie said firmly, addressing Xander and Zane. She was laying down

the law, but it kind of sounded like she was trying to convince herself at the same time.

Or maybe I was being paranoid.

“This thing you're both feeling for me is pure animal magnetism,” she said to them. “You’re my mates in some way, too. It’s

understandable that you want to impregnate me and vice versa. But that’s all it is.”

The three of us sat silently. I could tell Xander and Zane were waiting for my response. They were getting

such a f u cking kick out of this.

“Mason,” Lanie said, turning to me and taking my hand. “Malachi told you to ask me what I wanted for a change. Well, this is

what I want.”

I couldn't argue with that. And if this is what would keep Lanie and Stella safe, then I guess I couldn't

argue with that, either.

“Fine,” I said curtly, pulling my hand away. Lanie looked stung, but I couldn’t pretend like I was okay with this. I would go along

with it, but it was far from okay.

“When does this little contract take effect?” Xander asked slyly

Lanie sighed deeply.