MATED TO THE ALPHA AND HIS BETA - Season 5 Episode 7

Lanie My heart stopped when Stella revealed that she’d had to grow up so fast because there was danger. To my surprise, Xander laughed out loud. Considering how upset he’d been moments ago, this guffaw sounded strange. “Danger has been on its way for a’long da mned time daughter,” he said with a shake of his head. “I know that. But until now, all of you have been able to handle whatever came along.” Stella’s smile was crooked. “You didn’t need help from me.” “And now we do?” Zane asked. Stella looked at him. “It felt right, Papa. That’s the best way for me to explain it. Mother was too worried about me to really pay attention to herself. It made her keep secrets from you. I couldn’t be the reason for that.” Another rush of guilt tangled all around my heart. “You can’t blame yourself for anything I chose to do, Stella. I was the one who decided not to tell my mates what I was discovering. Even though I had my reasons, it wasn’t right, but it also wasn’t your fault.” My daughter’s eyes-so much like Malachi’s-shone vividly green. I saw no sign of a wolf inside them, and a pang twisted inside me. As a Celestial, Stella was in fact everything. Why, then, did she have no wolf? It seemed like the part of her I could most identify with was missing.

Then again, I’d spent so much time lately focused on the parts of me that were not wolf… From low inside me, Lily whined. I imagined her rough tongue lapping at my face, something that, of course, could never happen since we would never occupy the same space at the same time. I could become her, and she was always a part of me.

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“I’m not sure I’m getting this. You can do and be everything?” Zane asked slowly, his brow knitting. “And you’ve always been able to?” “She can choose her gifts,” I told him when at first Stella didn’t reply. “So you can shift into a dragon?” Zane asked. Stella nodded. “If I choose. Or a wolf. I can run as fast as a vampire and compel others with a vampire’s charm. I can cast spells and make potions like the witches.” “And you can see the future,” I said as I ran through everything I’d read in that book. Xander let out a grumble. “Nobody can do that. The future isn’t written in stone. Every choice we make shapes it.” 1/2 Chapter 407 “True, Daddy. But Mother is also correct. I can see into the future. I can peel away time like the layers of an onion and see….well, all the possibilities. It’s so overwhelming, though.” Stella drew in a hitching little breath. Xander went to her at once. He might be fighting his own rollercoaster of emotions, but I was so proud to see my mate being such a good father. He put his arm around her shoulders until she leaned against him. He kissed the top of her head. “We’re here to help you,” he said. Stella clung to him, pressing her face against his stomach. Her voice was mu ffled. “All the voices. All the visions. It takes such effort to sort through it all. When I was small, I didn’t have to. My mind simply wasn’t big enough for it. I could pretend not to understand what I was capable of, but that time is past. I have to step up. I just don’t know what to tell you all about the High Council.”

Mason shot a look at me, then at Zane and Xander. “What about them?” “They’re coming for us. It’s been their plan for a long time. And I know you already know that,” Stella said before any of us could interrupt. “But they keep changing the plans. Every time I thought I had something concrete to warn you about, they’d change it again. Until they make a full plan and put it into action, I simply can’t get a full read.” “So, we’ll just have to be ready for whatever those as sholes decide to throw at us,” Xander said grimly. “I knew something like this was coming ever since we saw those pictures of Aldon.” Stella nodded. “He’s still in the gray for me. He hasn’t yet decided the role he wants to play. His future is fuzzy. When I look at him, it’s like he’s a stone on the bottom of a pond. I can see him, but he’s distorted. I think he could turn on you, Daddy, if the right opportunity presents itself. Don’t trust him.” “I never would,” Xander said. “Don’t even talk to him for now. It’s too soon. If you do, it could prompt him to make his choice,” Stella said. “And so far, there’s no guarantee that it will be the one that doesn’t lead to utter destruction.”