“Sorry, I was detained,” Kade said as he walked into the room. He took a seat in one of the high-backed chairs in the living room, his wolf’s presence soothing and commanding at the same time. While Bram was a dominant wolf—much more than he let on—he was nothing compared to Kade, or even Gideon, the Alpha of the Talons. There was a dominant wolf, and then there was an Alpha. Bram’s wolf didn’t want to fight against them for hierarchy; instead, it wanted to fight alongside them and protect them, unlike how he needed to keep the submissives safe. The fact that his wolf had those dual needs was what had led him to be an enforcer rather than being in another field within the den. While he could never fully relax around Kade as he could a true submissive or maternal, he at least didn’t feel the need to prove his own strength. That was a comfort in itself.
Usually, they met at the enforcer’s house, which had once been owned by Kade’s parents. When they had been killed during the great war, the enforcers had moved in to make it a different kind of home as Kade and his siblings had already built homes of their own. When Bram had first heard about the new enforcer’s home, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. But now that he lived there full-time, he knew he wouldn’t be the wolf he was today without it. The close quarters had created a sense of unity with his fellow male and female enforcers. The fact that the place held its own history gave it another purpose, and added to the feeling of home Bram hadn’t had since he’d been a pup with his parents.
He pushed away the long-worn grief of losing his parents in the war and once again focused on his Alpha in front of him.
Kade hadn’t aged a day since turning thirty, but Bram could see the stress he wore on his shoulders. It resembled the weight Gideon wore. The two Alphas were the leaders of their Packs and the unintentional leaders of the entire population of wolves in the US. Because the government had focused on the Redwoods and Talons at first, whatever those two Alphas did next would forever alter the way all shifters were able to live. Bram wasn’t sure how the other Alphas were taking everything as his focus was on his own Alpha and Pack, but he knew Kade was being kept apprised. Parker, Kade’s nephew, and Bram’s friend, was the Voice of the Wolves, and even now visiting each Pack within the US in secrecy to ensure cooperation. Bram didn’t envy that job, and he was pretty sure the Alphas weren’t too happy with everything going on in their part of the US.
No wonder Kade looked like he needed a nap—not that Bram would mention that to Kade. Ever. That was what Kade’s mate was for, and Melanie was good at making sure Kade didn’t take on too much.
The pang of not having a mate of his own hit Bram once again, and he had to push it away. This wasn’t about him. It was about his Pack as a whole. He needed to get over what he couldn’t have and move on.
Only he wasn’t sure he would be able to.
The moon goddess gifted wolves with mates, so in theory, he had other potentials out in the world. Yet his wolf craved Charlotte. Everything pointed to the fact that he should have been able to create a bond with her.
When it hadn’t happened, they’d shattered. He knew she’d thought it was her fault because of her birth family, though she’d never said as much. On the other hand, he always felt it was his fault because he didn’t know his wolf as well as he should.
They were both messed up beyond reason, and yet they kept circling around each other. They would break once again if they weren’t careful, and Bram wasn’t sure they could come back from that.
“We need to increase patrols,” Gina was saying, and he cursed himself for not paying attention once again.
Kade let out a growl. “We’ll need to train more sentries then because I don’t want us spread too thin. Something’s coming, I can feel it, and I don’t think we’re in any position to slack off.” He rolled his neck. “I just got off the phone with Finn, and we have another problem.”
Bram sat up, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. Finn was with Charlotte, and if there were a problem, he needed to know about it.
“What is it?” Bram asked, his voice a low growl.
Kade raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on the fact that Bram rarely spoke up in these meetings. He didn’t speak often at all, as he didn’t have much to say. But bring in Charlotte, and apparently, he couldn’t shut up.
Or focus.
“The soldier that helped Ryder escape Montag showed up at the Pack’s doorstep,” Kade said slowly. “He saw through the wards, and was able to slide right in, even though he was in horrible pain.”
Bram stiffened. That wasn’t possible, or at least it hadn’t been when their magic was full strength.
“Gideon isn’t sure how that happened, other than the fact that the moon goddess spoke to him, telling him to let Shane, the soldier, into the Pack.” Kade let out a breath. “She doesn’t speak to just anyone anymore, and not anyone outside the original hunter’s bloodline.”
Bram shook his head. As far as he was aware, only Parker’s blood family was a direct descendant of the original hunter, the human who had long ago killed the wrong natural wolf and was forced to share souls with his prey when the moon goddess found out.
“Shane isn’t wolf, or maybe he is. We don’t know.” Kade’s gaze looked bleak. “He’s something, but he smells faintly of wolf, of other. And he wasn’t bitten. Wasn’t changed.”
The entire room went still.
“The humans did this?” Gina asked, her hand over her belly once more as if she could protect her unborn child from what was to come.
“We think so,” Kade said with a growl. “We won’t be sure until Shane wakes up long enough to tell us, but that’s what we’re leaning toward.”
“What do you mean he needs to wake up?” Bram asked. Charlotte was still over there, and it killed him that he wasn’t near her.
“He’s been in so much pain that he can’t form coherent sentences. He was dying until Gideon brought him into the Pack. He’s doing better now that he has the Pack bonds around him, but he isn’t up to full strength yet. I don’t know what we’re going to do about him, but no matter what, if the humans have a way to change their own into…something, then we have to formulate a plan.”
“If they can form their own shifters…” Gina shivered, and Bram put his arm around her in a comforting hold. They were wolves and tactile creatures. While her mate was also an enforcer, he was one of the few on patrol now, as they couldn’t leave their borders vulnerable.
“We don’t know what they can do, but we will figure it out,” Kade said after a moment. “No one will be happy if they found a serum or whatever the hell they are trying to do. Nothing can make wolves but our bite or by mating and giving birth. That is how we’re made. Anything else is something different, and from the way I hear Shane is reacting to it…I don’t think it’s a viable option. Either way, though, there will be dangers. Humans can be fearful of it or even use it, creating a new conflict. And within our own borders, some might use it to put others in danger. There is just too much in the air, and until we can figure it all out, we have to be prepared for every possibility.”
He paused then met Bram’s gaze. “Shane has only calmed down once fully since he’s arrived.”
Bram frowned, unease settling over him at the anxiety of what his Alpha might say next.
“It was when Charlotte stepped into the room with him.” Kade sighed. “When a wolf goes feral or is on the brink, sometimes there is only one way to soothe the beast.” He met Bram’s eyes one more time, and Bram held his breath.
He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
There was only one real answer for why Shane would suddenly calm in the presence of Charlotte.
“You think he’s her mate.” Bram’s words were hollow, though a thousand different emotions warred within him.
Kade winced while the others murmured around them. It wasn’t a secret that most thought Bram and Charlotte were meant to be mates, but no one knew the real reason why they hadn’t made it public yet.
There
hadn’t been a reason to make it public, as there had been no bond.
“I need to see her,” Bram said suddenly, aware he was baring himself far more than he ever had before. He didn’t care what the others saw, not now when his wolf scraped at him, howling for what they might be letting out of heir grasp at this very moment.
Kade’s nostrils flared, but he nodded. “Go. Gideon will be expecting you.”
His Alpha reached for his phone, and Bram shot out of the room before he could think better of it. He was aware the others stared at him and would be speaking of this in detail as soon as they could, but he couldn’t care, not then.
He needed to find Charlotte, and his wolf needed it more. He didn’t care if he didn’t have a fucking bond with her, she was his mate, and damn it, they would fix what they had broken.
And this human would just have to get out of his way.
By the time he made it to his car and drove toward the Talon Pack, his wolf was practically in control, and his claws threatened to escape from his fingertips. He took deep breaths, using the control techniques his father had taught him long ago. The ones that he’d been forced to learn the moment his birth parents had discovered the true strength of his wolf.
That much power for such a small pup would have been too much. His mom and dad had saved Bram’s life but hadn’t been able to save their own during the coming battles. Once again, he pushed those thoughts from his mind.
When he reached the Talon den, the sentinels, the wolves guarding the gates, let him through, and he pulled over to the visitor’s parking area. Before he could fully get out of his vehicle, he felt her.
He closed the door quickly and opened his arms as Charlotte jumped into his embrace. He hadn’t been prepared for the strength of the impact, and he took a step back, steadying himself with her in his arms.
“Charlotte,” he whispered reverently. He tangled his hands in her hair and inhaled her sweet and floral scent, needing her desperately. But they were on another Pack’s territory, and this wasn’t the time. He wasn’t sure it would ever be the time.
“He…I won’t do it, Bram. I don’t care what my wolf says, he’s not mine. You are.”
The words should have been a balm, but instead, they scraped him raw, leaving a bloody trail behind. While it wasn’t uncommon for a wolf to find two potential mates at the same time, it wasn’t easy. If the wolf couldn’t choose, there would have to be a mating circle set in place where the two potentials would fight each other for the right to mate with the third. That was how Kade and Melanie had mated all those years ago, though it hadn’t been Melanie’s fault she hadn’t been able to choose. She’d been thrust into a world she didn’t know, and things had escalated too quickly.
Bram would fight for Charlotte, but he didn’t want to put her through that.
“I need to see him,” he said suddenly, his wolf pushing at him.
Charlotte’s eyes widened as she pulled away. “Why? He doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.”
He cupped her face. “It does, Charlotte. And not just because of us. You know this. What was done to him means more than what you and I are dealing with.”
She pressed her lips together and gave him a reluctant nod. “I left him with the others in the infirmary. Walker was sedating him again, though the meds don’t seem to be working well enough.”
No, the only thing that had calmed Shane had been Charlotte. Or so he’d been told. Because of that, Bram needed to see this human who wasn’t quite so human.
In silence, Bram followed Charlotte to the infirmary that was attached to Walker’s—the Healer’s—home, her hand tucked safely in his. It didn’t escape his notice that they were touching more now than they had in recent times. Before their disaster at trying to mate, they had always been close and touched in casual ways whenever they could. Afterward, however, they’d kept their distance, and it killed Bram more and more with each passing day.
As soon as they entered the building, his wolf pushed at him harder than it ever had before. For some reason, he knew as soon as he walked into Shane’s room everything would change. He squeezed Charlotte’s hand and let it go.
“Let me see him first,” he whispered. “I…I need to see.”
She frowned at him but let him go. He always loved how she trusted him when he couldn’t explain why he needed things.
He could feel her at his back even as he moved toward the open door. Gideon and Walker stood in the doorway, curious expressions on their faces, but they didn’t speak to him when he passed. He knew he’d have to talk to them soon, but not then. Not yet.
When he saw the man on the bed, he sucked in a breath. Shane’s brown hair was stuck to his face, slick with sweat. His firm jaw was tight with pain, widening at his temples. He didn’t make a sound, but as soon as Bram walked into the room, Shane’s arched back relaxed and a sense of calm softened his features.
Bram took a staggering step back at the ramifications of what had just happened.
If what Kade had said were true, and Shane had only calmed in Charlotte’s presence before this…that meant she wasn’t Shane’s only mate.
Bram was a potential, as well.
And that meant Bram’s version of hell was only just beginning.
Chapter Three
Shane Bruins was in hell. His body ached as what felt like flames licked up his back and down his legs. His bones creaked as he thrashed on the bed, and he held back a moan. It was as if someone were holding each of his limbs and pulling, but his bones weren’t going in the same direction. Sweat covered his body, and bile filled his throat.
He was dying. There could be no other answer.
He didn’t want to die and had fought with every ounce of his being so he wouldn’t, but it seemed he hadn’t been strong enough. In the end, he’d only been a man in a world of power, greed, and magic.
That wasn’t what he’d signed up for all those years ago.
A cool cloth was wiped across his brow, and Shane leaned into it, craving the sensation.
“Wake up,” a voice urged. “You’re doing so much better, but we need you to wake up.”
He frowned at the man’s voice. Shane would much rather sleep. With his eyes closed, the pain wasn’t quite as bad. Another wave of nausea rocked him, and he knew that what he’d just thought was a lie. He didn’t sleep anymore, he just tossed and turned and prayed for the agony to cease.
“Fight it,” another voice urged, this one far stronger than the first. Something inside Shane pulled at him and urged him toward the deep voice. It wasn’t sexual. No, it was…power. As if whoever spoke was in charge of something far greater than Shane could understand, and whatever was inside him at the moment needed to be close to that.
“Maybe we need to bring Charlotte in,” the first voice said softly. “She seemed to calm him the most.”
“She’s at home. Where she should be,” a third voice snapped. This one was just as deep as the second but didn’t have the same effect on Shane as the other. Instead, all Shane wanted to do was wake up and see who the man was. Whatever demons lay within him calmed at the man’s voice, and that let fear bleed through Shane faster than it had before.
A fourth voice came closer. “Keep speaking, Bram,” the voice ordered. “His heart rate slowed again at your voice. I know you don’t want to acknowledge it, but it’s helping.”
“This is more complicated than it seems, Walker,” Bram grumbled back, and Shane calmed even more. He couldn’t explain why that was happening, but if the pain eased even a little, he’d take it.
“They always are,” Walker mumbled by Shane’s side. “Now tell him to wake up, Bram. He can’t stay in this state, and we need to know what he knows.”
What did Shane know? He wasn’t sure anymore, but since he’d come to the conclusion that staying as he was only meant more pain, he might wake up fully now.
Might.
Someone mumbled something he couldn’t quite understand, and he rolled to his side, another f
resh wave of pain slamming into him. He’d been trained not to react to torture, not to let the pain take control, but nothing had prepared him for this. He twisted and turned in the sheets as if he couldn’t control any part of his body. He screamed until his throat became raw, and when someone helped him drink water to soothe it, he screamed again.
This wasn’t the Shane he’d grown into, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be that person again.
The last thing he remembered before the fiery pain was saving a shifter named Ryder from the clutches of a man Shane had worked for. A person he had sacrificed everything for. He’d signed up to protect his people and his country, and when word of shifters came out into the public, he’d found himself on the wrong side of history.
Not all humans hated shifters. Not all soldiers were required to fight them.
He’d been one of the soldiers to protect them at first and hadn’t been in the know when it came to whatever Montag had planned for his secret experiments. As soon as he’d found out, he’d tried to stop it, but it had been too late for most of the wolves in captivity, and too late for him as well it seemed.
Montag had injected something into his system, and Shane had no idea what it was.
It burned. It ached. It was killing him.
He’d gone to the only place he thought could save him. Ryder’s Pack. And somehow, he’d been able to get there and find the place without dying. He’d begged for help, and they’d given it to him. He’d honestly thought he’d only have a small chance at survival as soon as he stepped foot on wolf land. He’d unknowingly been the enemy, and even still, knew his life wasn’t completely in his hands.
He was at the mercy of the wolves that surrounded him now, he was sure of that. They wanted to know what he knew, but they hadn’t hurt him to get the information. That was more than could be said of those under Montag’s care. The wolves were trying to help Shane now, and he would accept their assistance. Even if it meant giving up part of himself in the process.
Wolf Betrayed Page 3
