Wolf Betrayed

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Bram shook his head. “Another story for another time,” he said with a sad smile to Shane, who once again looked interested.

  “I’m going to need to start taking notes,” Shane put in.

  “I’m sure it would help,” Charlotte said honestly.

  They were silent for a moment, each taking time to gather their thoughts.

  “I don’t know what’s coming next, but what I do know is that deep inside, my wolf wants you both,” Bram said softly. “That doesn’t mean we should jump into bed and declare our feelings for each other or create a bond, but I do want to…I don’t know, at least try to find out if this is something more than just a feeling.”

  Shane slid his hand through his hair again. Bram watched the way the other man’s muscles worked, telling himself to calm down. He could never quite calm down in Charlotte’s presence, however, and now it seemed Shane incited a similar reaction in him.

  “I don’t even know if I’m going to shift,” Shane said softly. “I don’t know what I am. Who I am.”

  “I understand,” Bram said sadly, and Charlotte kept her head down, staying silent.

  “No, I don’t think you do,” Shane whispered. “I don’t know who I am, but I do know that it’s time I start believing in something other than what I thought I was fighting for for so long. I want to believe in fate and something greater than me. And I know having the two of you around does something to me. So I have to take a chance on that. I don’t know what’s coming next, but I want to see what does…with the two of you.” He looked at Bram then before reaching out and lifting Charlotte’s chin. “Can you do that? Can you take a chance on a broken soldier who doesn’t know what’s inside him?”

  Shane’s question was so earnest that Bram reached out without thinking and put his hand on Shane’s thigh. The other man tensed before relaxing. Since Charlotte had put her hand on Bram’s wrist, the three were touching as one, and Bram’s wolf pushed at him, wanting more.

  Charlotte looked between the two men, a soft expression Bram couldn’t quite read on her face. “I think that’s your answer. Yes, I want to see what comes next. I just hope it doesn’t break us in the process.”

  The relief hit Bram hard, even if the fear ebbed with it. Yes, they’d broken once before, but he’d be damned if he’d let it happen again. Everything was changing, and Bram knew they’d have to change with it or shatter again. Forever.

  These two could be his future.

  Maybe it was time for Bram to fight for a life worth living.

  Chapter Nine

  Shane was taking notes. He figured he’d be taking notes for the next decade at this rate and never catch up. He should have understood that changing his entire life twice over would be difficult, but he hadn’t taken into account the history of a world he’d never truly been a part of.

  “You’re going to give yourself a brain aneurysm if you don’t stop and breathe,” Brandon said from his side.

  The two of them were taking a walk through the den so Shane could get acquainted with the layout as well as ask any questions he could think of. Brandon was a good listener, but more importantly, when prompted, he was a good teacher. The Brentwoods had been taking turns with Shane, showing him around the den, as well as staying at either his place or one of theirs for a meal so he would feel more included.

  They not only wanted him to learn what it meant to be wolf and Pack, but they also wanted the side benefit of others watching them. Shane hoped that if those who were wary about his presence saw him with the Alpha and his family, they might learn to trust him. Of course, trust took time, and helping them blow up one building along with the formula to create monsters wasn’t enough.

  Once he could shift—if he could shift—he’d find other ways to prove to them that he was here to stay. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he’d come to know this so quickly, as he hadn’t been in the right mind when he’d shown up at the Talon’s door, but he thought it probably had something to do with the bonds sliding through his system, anchoring him to a group of people he’d never met before.

  Though he’d trusted his team through his career as a soldier and would have died for them if the need arose, he’d never felt what he did now. It was…different.

  He stopped where he was and ran a hand over his face.

  Different was the word of the day, wasn’t it. And what a sad word it was since it couldn’t possibly encompass everything that had happened in the past weeks.

  Brandon, who had stopped walking when Shane had, merely nudged him along to a bench by a grouping of trees. The wooden seat looked like it fit perfectly with nature and not like something they’d placed without thought. He liked that about the wolves around here. They did their best not to hurt the land that fed them and always made sure it and den were taken care of.

  Shane sat down slowly with Brandon taking the seat next to him. He wasn’t truly in control right then since the full moon was the next day, and neither Bram nor Charlotte was there to help. Brandon, however, soothed him in a different way.

  “Are you working your Omega magic on me?” Shane asked, his voice a bit rough from lack of use. He’d been doing his best to listen and learn from the other man and hadn’t really spoken much that day other than to ask a question here or there.

  Brandon smiled and shrugged. “Not really. It’s sort of inherent sometimes, so my wolf is forever reaching out to each Pack member to see what it can do to help. Some have learned to erect shields over time to prevent my help unless I push them, and others are content enough that I don’t need to help at all. There are only a few instances where I’ll go out and try to do what I can with pure thought, rather than allowing my wolf to use the bonds from a distance. With you, though?” Brandon frowned. “You’re a bit different, honestly.”

  Just what he wanted to hear. That word, different, again. Shane ran his hand over his knee, annoyed with himself for hating that word. The wolves didn’t have to take him in or even like him. They didn’t owe him anything. And it would do him well to remember that.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re not like other wolves, Shane.” The other man winced. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

  Shane waved him off. “It’s the truth, though. And we don’t even know if I’m going to change at all. Could be, come the full moon, I’ll die because I can’t shift, and all of this worry will be for nothing.”

  The Omega pressed his lips together. “Shane, that’s not what I meant, and you know we’re not going to let that happen. Somehow, we’re going to find a way to make this work if it doesn’t happen the way it should. As for what I meant in the first place? Each wolf in this Pack is different. We aren’t a damn hive mind. If there is something deep inside hurting another person, it’s my job to try and fix it. With you, it’s like you have a natural shield. It could go away once you shift, or it could get stronger. I don’t know, but we’re going to figure it out, damn it.”

  Shane didn’t say anything in answer to that and wasn’t sure there was anything he could say that would matter. He wouldn’t know what the future would bring until the next night when the moon shone high in the sky and his wolf, if he indeed had one, felt the urge to shift.

  “Do shifters always have to wait for the full moon for their first shift?” he asked after a moment. They’d been sitting without speaking, listening to the world around them. He could hear other Pack members talking to one another as they went about their day, as well as animals in the forest who felt safe for the moment from the predators living in their midst.

  “Not at all. For those born from shifters, they can transition at any time after age two, though I know a few who shifted a during their first year.” Brandon smiled then. “Startled their parents, that’s for sure. The first shift for a child can come during a time of great emotion, or for those like Brie, when they feel like it’s time.” The other man met Shane’s eyes. “According to her parents, one day she was toddling around, feeling like she needed to scratch her
skin, and decided it was time to be a wolf.”

  “And now she’s your Alpha’s mate,” Shane added.

  “Yep, and my sister-in-law. I never would have picked a woman like her for my brother, and I’m glad I was wrong. Hell, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Gideon and our Pack.”

  Shane smiled then. “And now she’s going to have a pup of her own.” One day, he’d get used to calling children “pups” interchangeably. At least, he hoped.

  “It’s our first baby,” Brandon said softly. “I mean, the family’s first, you know? And because Brie is a submissive wolf, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”

  “You mean because the eldest child eventually becomes the Heir of the Pack when they’re ready?”

  “It doesn’t always work out that way, but yes. Finn actually became the Heir at a young age because their former Alpha, Finn’s grandfather, was killed during the Central war.”

  Shane flipped through his notes. “I don’t know a lot about that time period. I was only a child then, and the humans didn’t know you guys existed. It’s still strange to think that all of you were fully adults at that time, too.”

  Brandon looked over at him, a strange expression on his face. “Not all of us. Charlotte and Bram are around your age, so they’d have been kids, too. Brie as well for that matter. Once we hit adulthood, you kind of forget that some of us have hit a century of living and still haven’t lived.”

  Before Shane could ask the other man what he’d exactly meant by that, the Omega stood up and rubbed his chest bone.

  “Hell, I need to go.” He met Shane’s eyes. “One of the elders needs me. Are you okay going home by yourself? I can drop you off on my way.”

  It wasn’t a long walk, and though you could drive place to place, most walked to preserve the den’s natural landscape. However, that wasn’t what Shane was talking about. The others were not only worried about retaliation from Montag but also about threats within the Pack regarding Shane’s existence. Just because they’d destroyed the samples, didn’t mean it was over. Shane himself was proof that there was something out there that could change the ways of the wolves forever. And not everyone wanted him to live to become more than he already was.

  Shane shook his head. “Go. Someone needs you more than I do. I’ll go straight home.” And didn’t that grate on him. He didn’t have a babysitter so he had to go home and wait.

  Brandon took off with a nod, leaving Shane alone. He sat there a few more moments, taking in the sounds around him. He’d never really paid attention to nature as he had been recently. Was it because of his wolf, or because he had the time to do so now? He wasn’t sure, but like with everything else lately, it was a change.

  Deciding it was time to head home, he stood up but not before he heard the sounds of crunching leaves behind him. He turned, but he wasn’t fast enough. Someone took out his feet while another punched him square in the face. He rocked back, the pain shooting up his face and down his spine like sharp blades sliding into his skin. Whoever it was had used the full power of their wolf. Shane wasn’t wolf yet, despite how his body had changed. He was no match for these three on his own, but he’d be damned if he went out without a fight.

  He punched back, getting one man in the shoulder. Shane grunted, knowing he’d probably just broken a few fingers. Hell, these guys were like solid steel, and there was no way he’d live through this without a miracle.

  They got him down on the ground and on his back. Someone held his legs, while another had his arms, and the third punched him over and over. Shane yelled out but choked on his own blood.

  “If you’re dead, we’re safe,” the man on top of him grunted. “If you’re dead, they can’t kill us.”

  Shane didn’t think that was the case at all as nothing could ever be that simple, but he didn’t say anything. Couldn’t. He tried to fight them off, but nothing worked.

  He was dying.

  This wasn’t how he wanted to die, but hell, he’d already been close to the brink far too many times recently. But before he could take his last breath and keep fighting, the heavy weight on top of him was taken away.

  Growls sounded around him, and the immense power of a strong wolf hit him like a bag of bricks to the chest. He tried to get up but he couldn’t, his limbs were far too weak. Instead, he opened the one eye that hadn’t swollen shut and blinked.

  Bram stood above the three attackers, blood covering his forearms but other than that, not a single scratch on him. He looked powerful and…fucking hot as hell.

  Probably not the best time to be thinking that, though.

  “What the fuck?” Brandon yelled as he ran back to Shane’s side. The Omega fell to his knees and looked down at Shane. “Holy hell. I need to call Walker. Now.”

  Bram growled from Shane’s other side, a low rumble, dangerous, deadly, and full of promise.

  “The three assholes are down for the count. I didn’t kill them, but it was close.” Bram flexed his hands, the claws Shane hadn’t noticed initially sliding back into his fingertips. Shane wanted to learn how to do that.

  He must have been wearing his thoughts on his face because both Bram and Brandon seemed to understand exactly what he was thinking.

  “You’ll learn,” Brandon said softly, though there was heat in his eyes. “I’m going to fucking kill those idiots for doing this to you.”

  “You’ll have to wait in line,” Bram bit out. Shane watched as the other man sniffed the air. Bram seemed to be really close to his wolf at the moment. “Walker and Gideon are on their way. As are a few others. I want to know what happened and why the fuck you thought it was okay to leave Shane alone like this.”

  “Not. Brandon’s. Fault.” Shane winced with each word, and Bram shot a glare at him.

  “Stop talking. You punctured your lung with a broken rib, or at least that’s how it sounds.”

  Shane lifted a lip to mock growl, but it came out more like a wheeze. He blinked a few times, the dark spots in his vision getting larger. He passed out in pain before he could thank Bram for saving his life…again.

  ****

  Charlotte was this close to punching someone in the face if she didn’t get some answers.

  “What do you mean, you left him there?” Her voice might sound calm, but she was nowhere near calm inside, and she had a feeling Brandon knew it.

  The Omega’s jaw tightened. “My elder needed me. It’s my duty to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Shane was close to his house, and should have been safe.” The Omega let out a curse. “But he wasn’t, and I want to rip the limbs off those bastards.”

  Charlotte raised a brow at the normally quiet man’s words. Well okay, then.

  Before Charlotte could say another word, Walker came out from Shane’s bedroom, exhaustion clear on his face and blood on his pants.

  Shane’s blood.

  Three wolves from the Talon Pack had tried to kill the man that could be her mate, and they’d nearly succeeded. The elder who had taken Brandon away from Shane’s side had indeed been in pain, having opened a chest he’d thought he’d lost long ago that contained memories of his long-dead mate. The three attackers had used that fact to their advantage, having waited for just the right moment. She wouldn’t know how close Shane had been to death unless Walker told her, and she wasn’t sure her wolf could take the truth.

  “Everything okay?” Bram asked by her side since she hadn’t been able to speak.

  Walker nodded slowly. “He took a beating, that’s for sure. He’s healing faster than he would have as a human, but not quite as quick as a wolf.” He met her gaze. “That’s to be expected of anyone in his position, so it’s not a reflection of how he was changed. If it continues like this after tomorrow, well, then that’s a hurdle we’ll have to jump when the time comes. I also Healed him completely.” The man gave a weary sigh, and she immediately went to his side.

  “Sit down. No wonder you look ready to keel over.” She shook her head and put her
hand on Walker’s forehead as if checking for a fever. She blushed and put her hand back down. She met Bram’s eyes over Walker’s head, thankful that her best friend hadn’t growled for her being so close to another man during the mating heat. It was a testament to how strong Bram’s will actually was that he could act so rational all the time. “I’m not a Healer, so I can’t do anything for you other than tell you to sleep after you eat. You’ve taken all your energy stores, haven’t you?” Healers only had so much energy within them to Heal their Pack. Yes, they could draw on the Alpha and the rest of the Pack in the process, but it still tired them out, and if they weren’t careful, they could kill themselves. And she could have kissed the man after she kicked him for doing so much for Shane, and hurting himself in the process.

  Walker closed his eyes, his face weary. “He needs to be fully healthy to make it tomorrow, and we both know that.” That was all he said in answer. He didn’t need to say anything else, as they all knew what was at stake at the next full moon.

  “You need to go home and sleep,” Bram said after a moment. “The hunt is tomorrow, and they’ll need you.” He paused. “We’ll need you.”

  She and Bram would be hunting with the Talons the next night to be by Shane’s side. It wasn’t unheard of for the two Packs to share full moon hunts, but this one was special.

  “I’ll take him home.” Brandon moved forward and pulled his brother, his fellow triplet, to his feet. “Come on, brother mine. I’ll make you a nice steak and tuck you in with your blankie.”

  “I’d flip you off, but damn if that doesn’t sound amazing.”

  Charlotte smiled at the two as they walked out of Shane’s home despite the brevity of the situation. “Walker will be okay. I don’t think the Brentwoods will let one of their own be in pain alone.”