It wasn’t a completely civilized answer to a non-civilized problem, but they weren’t human.
They were wolves.
And they were physical.
Of course, that thought brought in another thought of just how he, Shane, and Charlotte could be physical after this, and that just brought his wolf that much closer to the edge. They were days from the full moon, and everyone was much more wolf. Even though Bram was perpetually closer to his wolf, he usually had tight control of it. His proximity to not one, but two of his mates made it a little harder for him. He knew Charlotte had been running each night, trying to work out the extra energy she had, and Shane was getting grumpier by the day.
There were other ways the three of them could work this out, but Bram knew this wasn’t the time. After the game, he promised himself. After the game, the three of them would sit down and talk. It had only been two days since Charlotte had revealed what they were, or rather, what they could be to Shane, and they hadn’t taken the time to fully explain it to the man. The responsibility lay on Charlotte’s and Bram’s shoulders since the other man hadn’t grown up with wolves and didn’t know anything about mating. They could have talked about it this morning rather than him and Charlotte playing this game while Shane watched, but Bram had needed to run off some of his excess energy.
Charlotte, he could see, needed to, as well. They always had her play wide receiver because she could run faster than most of the others if she put her mind to it. She just had to get past the wall of wolves, and Kade or Finn could throw the ball to her. Bram held back a snort. Of course, the Alpha and Heir were playing QB. As if either of them would give up control to play any other position nowadays.
As Gideon was the Talon QB, Bram figured it was an Alpha thing.
Kade was back at the den so the younger Jamenson was playing leader today and Finn called out another play. Bram rolled his shoulders and tried to get his mind in the game.
This time, it was Brandon who came at him, a small smile on his face. Bram blocked the other man from getting to Charlotte and did his best not to groan when Brandon elbowed him in the gut. These Talons weren’t playing around. Parker came around Bram to take out Walker, and Brandon slid from Bram’s grip. In fact, the other man slid right down into the mud, falling on his ass. His eyes were wide, his mouth gaping like a fish before it pressed into a thin line.
Bram pushed at the man’s shoulder. “You okay?” The play was still going on around them, and Bram had part of his attention on Charlotte as she ran toward the end zone. Leah, Ryder’s mate, was catching up to Charlotte, but Bram didn’t think the other woman would reach her. As Leah was a witch, she wasn’t as fast or strong as the wolves, but Ryder apparently hadn’t the heart to tell her to sit out. She wasn’t allowed to use her magic, but none of the wolves were allowed to tackle her either. It was a convoluted set of rules, but they knew what they were doing. The Pack had always consisted of wolves, witches, and the occasional human.
“Touchdown!” Finn yelled and did a little dance.
Bram shook his head and held out a hand to Brandon. “Finn, never do that again.”
Finn just grinned and flipped him off while his mate, Brynn, wrapped her arms around the Heir’s middle. Brandon took Bram’s offered hand and pulled himself up.
“Seriously,” Bram whispered, “you okay?”
Brandon shook himself before nodding. “Yeah, just knocked the wind out of myself.”
Bram wasn’t sure how that was physically possible, but he wasn’t going to argue. As the Omega, Brandon could feel the emotions of every Talon Pack member. For all Bram knew, something had happened along the Pack bonds that had caused Brandon to fall.
He let it slide as it wasn’t any of his business and gave the other man a chin lift before heading over to Charlotte. He grinned at her, not able to hold back any longer.
“Good job, Char.”
She smiled widely at him, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes—it never did anymore. “Thanks. I got lucky there for a minute. Leah is much faster than I thought.”
Bram reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, and they both froze. Deliberately, he finished what he was doing and let out a breath. Her hair was so freaking soft. He remembered exactly what it felt like when it was draped over his body as she rode him.
Seeming to know where his mind had wandered, Charlotte’s eyes darkened, though a slight ring of yellow appeared around the iris, telling him her wolf was out to play.
Damn it. They needed to talk, and soon.
“I think the game’s over,” another voice said from behind him, bringing Bram out of his thoughts.
He turned and moved to make room for Shane. The other man hadn’t been playing because no one was sure how strong he was yet, nor how much control he had. Shane needed a little more training and a whole lot more time with his wolf before he could even simple things like play a game of football with a bunch of werewolves.
“I guess it is,” Charlotte said as she looked around the field. Bram followed her gaze and noted that people were pairing up with mates or friends, leaving the field in gales of laughter and growls. “Did we win?” she asked.
Bram shrugged. “I think so. We’re usually better at keeping score.”
Shane let out a rough chuckle. “Yeah, you guys won, and even though you don’t kick for extra points, I’m assuming everything else is the same point system as human football?”
Bram nodded. “Yeah, same system. We used to kick for extra points but ended up losing the ball nine times out of ten because we kick it so hard. We don’t even kick off anymore.”
“I noticed that,” Shane said, a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I guess everything is a little different here.”
“It is,” Charlotte agreed. “But you’ll learn.”
Shane stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking a little more lost than he had before. Bram wanted to reach out and brush the hair from the other man’s face as he had with Charlotte, but he didn’t think any of them were ready for that yet.
“We should find someplace quiet and talk,” Bram said after a moment. “It’s time, don’t you think?”
Shane met Bram’s gaze, warring emotions shining through so brightly that Bram couldn’t fathom what the other man could be thinking right at that moment. “Come to my place,” he said. “I don’t get many visitors.”
Bram had a feeling he didn’t get any visitors other than those who needed something from him. What would it be like to be cut off from everything you’ve known your entire life and thrust into a situation where not everyone trusted you? Hell, not everyone wanted Shane alive at all. Bram fisted his hands and forced them into the pockets of his sweats so the others couldn’t see.
“Let’s go, then.” He turned to Charlotte. “You ready?”
She licked her lips, and his dick hardened. “As I’ll ever be.”
“Well, this should be interesting,” Shane mumbled.
Interesting indeed. Just three people who had pasts so rife with confusion and angst they could barely breathe from it all, finding that they were mates but not knowing if they were a triad or just three people who could pair off. Add in the fact that one was a former human turned maybe-wolf, another a wolf with too much strength for the body it was in, and another who’d grown up chained in a basement and it made it a party.
The three of them made it to Shane’s place in silence, though it wasn’t as tense as Bram had figured it would be, considering they were about to talk about a future that might never come. Hell, maybe Bram was the tense one.
There wasn’t much in the small bungalow house Walker had scrounged up for Shane. A few older pieces of furniture but nothing personal. Hell, Shane didn’t have anything personal. He’d left it all behind when he’d come to the Talons.
Bram ran a hand over his head as he watched Charlotte look around the place, a frown on her face. Shane had his hands in his pockets, confusion and a little bit of embarrassment
evident on his face.
“Is there a place we can go to get your stuff?” Bram asked suddenly. “I mean, things that are yours that you might want?”
Charlotte smiled at him while Shane’s eyes widened. “We can get it for you,” she added in. “I mean, this is your home now. Let’s make it yours.”
Shane slid his palm over the bottom half of his face, rubbing his jaw. “There’re a few things in storage I can probably get. The things that were at the barracks weren’t really that important to me, and I don’t think I’ll be getting those back anyway.”
“Then we’ll get your stuff from storage,” Bram said simply. “Just tell us where it is.”
“Because I can’t get it myself,” Shane added, his eyes dark. “Because I can’t leave the den.”
Bram sighed, but it was Charlotte who answered. “No, you can’t. But it’s not just you, you know. A lot of people aren’t safe outside the den right now because of hate groups and people like Montag, who happen to have a lot of power behind his own version of hate. Plus, any new wolf—no matter how he or she was changed—wouldn’t be allowed to leave so close to the full moon before their first transition. It’s not practical, and it’s not just about you. I promise they aren’t singling you out, even if it feels like that. So later, we’ll get your things. I’m surprised Mitchell hasn’t asked it about it, honestly. It’s his job as Beta to make sure the day-to-day needs of the Pack members are fulfilled.”
Shane winced. “He might have mentioned it, but I blew him off.” Shane sat down on the old couch, resting his forearms on his thighs. I wasn’t in a good mood when he asked, and he hasn’t asked again.”
Bram met Charlotte’s gaze. “He’ll either find a way to get your things without your help, or he’ll show up again and ask. He always finds a way to get what he wants.”
“I’m learning that fact about a lot of the Talons now,” Shane said wryly. He paused as if trying to collect his thoughts. “I never thought I’d be here, you know. I figured I’d retire or get out when my term came up like I was planning to and learn to be a civilian. Turns out, I’m learning to be something else entirely. I didn’t like the idea of who I would have to become if I had stayed with Montag, but I’m still not sure who I am now.”
Charlotte sat down on the coffee table in front of Shane, while Bram took a seat near the other man on the couch. “There’s a lot of that going around.” She licked her lips, and Bram forced himself not to stare. It wasn’t easy when the mating urge was riding him so hard. “I’m sorry for blurting out the whole mate thing like I did.” She blew out a breath. “It’s just all so much, and I tend to either block myself from things or let it all out in unintelligible instances when I’m stressed.”
Shane smiled then, and Bram once again felt the mating urge hit him. The man was handsome, sure, but when he smiled? Yeah, Bram was going to be in trouble with these two.
“I don’t mind that you blurted it out,” Shane said. “I’d rather know why the two of you are freaking out around me and yet calming me at the same time. So I guess this is where I ask what mating is beyond the fact that wolves call their significant others mates.”
Bram shook his head. “It’s much more than a significant other.”
Charlotte looked at Bram for a moment, sheer need on her face before turning back to Shane. “It’s a bond between two wolves, but it’s not just that either. You see, within the world and over time, there are wolves, witches, and humans out there that are the, for lack of a better word, perfect match for a wolf. The moon goddess, our deity, the one who made us who we are, finds us someone who has the potential to be our soul mate, our other half. While the human part of us can reject a mating because of numerous reasons, many don’t because if fate twists just the right way, that mating could bring…happiness.” She wiped a tear, and Bram let out a small growl.
“What is it?” Shane asked, looking between the two of them. “What am I missing?” The other man reached out hesitantly and wiped another tear from Charlotte’s face. With any other man, Bram would have torn the limb from its socket for that touch alone, but with Shane, Bram couldn’t help but be pleased.
That’s when Bram knew the truth.
They were a triad. A potential for something far greater than themselves. If it had been either or, he’d have felt more at war, torn between the two of them and would have demanded a choice. Instead, he wanted both. And maybe, just maybe, fate would let him have it.
“Bram and I…” Charlotte began and shook her head.
“Charlotte and I have been best friends since we were children, and she came to the Redwoods.”
Shane frowned. “You weren’t always a Redwood?”
Charlotte let out a short laugh. “One long story at a time, okay?”
Shane ran a hand through his hair. “I’m thinking I could spend years learning new things about the two of you and these Packs and never quite catch up.”
“True,” Bram said, “but I’m forever learning new things, too. It keeps things interesting when we’re so long-lived.”
Shane’s eyes widened. “Fuck,” he whispered. “I…I never really thought of that.”
Charlotte reached out and gripped Shane’s knee. The other man licked his lips as he looked between the two of them. “One long story at a time,” she repeated. “Bram and I are friends and have been for years. You see, sometimes, the mating urge, that feeling you have in your heart and within your wolf that tells you that this other person could be your mate and everything you could ever need, takes a while to show up. We’d known each other since we were children, but our wolves waited until we were old enough to possibly handle the complex emotions that came with mating.”
Shane looked between the two of them. “So you’re mates, then.” Disappointment clouded his features. “Then how do I fit in?”
Bram shook his head. “That’s just it. We tried.” His voice was deep, hollow. Charlotte didn’t make a sound, and he knew she was hiding her emotions once again.
“It didn’t work,” Charlotte put in, her voice equally hollow. “To create a mating bond, you have to bond not only the human but also the wolf.”
Bram continued, “Sex bonds the humans. Or rather, the exchange of fluids so those not ready for that step wear a condom. A mating mark, a bite on the fleshy part where the shoulder meets the neck, bonds the wolf.”
Charlotte ran a hand over her neck, an unconscious gesture that had both men staring with avid hunger.
“And you tried both?” Shane asked, his voice almost a growl. “And the bond didn’t work?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No. I thought…I thought the moon goddess had forsaken me.”
Bram let out a curse. “And you thought it was only your fault, then? Hell, Charlotte, it could have been any number of things. I hate that you constantly blame yourself for everything.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s a discussion for another time.”
“A discussion I’d like to have, as well,” Shane added in, and Bram liked the man all the more for it. “So you’re saying that the two of you couldn’t create a bond, and yet I’m your mate, too?” He shook his head. “Now that’s not a sentence I thought I’d ever say.”
“There’s a lot of things you’re probably going to say now that you never thought you would before,” Bram added wryly.
Shane snorted. “True.”
“Anyway,” Charlotte put in, “we don’t know if that’s the case. I mean, what if the bond doesn’t work again?” Pain entered her gaze, and she blinked it away.
Damn it, Charlotte. Damn it.
“I think it didn’t work the way it should have with us because we weren’t complete. We didn’t have our third.”
Shane let out a breath. “And that would be me.” He met their gazes one by one. “You’re saying I’m both your mates. Not just with Charlotte, but with Bram, too.”
Bram met the other man’s gaze. “And is that going to be a problem?” Bram had always be
en bisexual, but that didn’t mean Shane was.
Shane frowned. “I’m attracted to both of you. With my previous employment, I was never in a serious relationship that lasted long enough to count, but I’ve been with both men and women. That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“You’re talking about the fact that we’re talking about three people in one relationship,” Charlotte said. “In other Packs, there are triads.” She looked over at Bram. “I looked it up.” She met Shane’s gaze again. “And my aunt and uncles are in a triad. Their bond is actually called the trinity bond, and it’s a little different because it came from the moon goddess herself and was used to defeat a demon.”
Shane’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping. “I take it that’s one of those stories you’re going to have to elaborate on later.”
“We’ll fill you in on everything,” Bram said. “But for now, we’ll focus on mating. A mating bond is different than the bond you hold with your Alpha or with the Heir and Beta. It’s different than the Pack bonds that create the internal structure of a Pack. They’re something that is unique to each mating pair or triad. I’ve heard some bonds allow each wolf to find the other no matter how far apart they are. Some can even communicate telepathically across the connection.”
Shane’s eyes widened. “No shit?”
“No shit,” Charlotte said with a small smile. “My parents have one like that actually. They don’t use it too often in public or even at home when my sisters and I are around, but they still use it.”
“I guess it would be weird for your parents to have a full-on conversation in their heads with you in the room,” Shane said dryly.
Charlotte shrugged. “If us kids were in trouble, I guess it was helpful to make sure they were on the same page, but yeah, their bond is only for them so they use those special gifts like that on their own. Mating bonds are only for the pair or triad. They’re sacred and special. Once they’re made, you can’t break them.” She paused. “Well, I’ve heard of one being broken, but it almost killed those involved, and it almost created a war.”
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