Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3)(13)

The coffee machine beeped, but Oliver ignored it. This was what he wanted, what he’d dreamt of when he was allowed to dream as a man rather than the Foreseer. If he did this, he might hurt them both in the process. But something was pushing him forward, whether it was fate or just his own will, he didn’t know.

But he could take this chance.

It was the only one he had.

Gibson was the first to speak. “I don’t know what’s coming. I just know something is.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I can…I can take that chance.” He looked at each of them. “I want to.”

“As do I,” Oliver added. “I want to see if we can do this.”

And with that, something clicked into place within him.

He didn’t know what was next, but he knew he might not be alone when it happened. He might break himself in the process of figuring out what was going on between the three of them, but he swore to himself that he wouldn’t break the other two.

He’d always seen death. Never his own, but he’d never seen true hope either.

Maybe, just maybe, this could be it.





Chapter 4


Gibson pinched himself, wondering how the heck he’d ended up here. He’d woken up from a restless sleep because he’d felt Oliver’s vision. He wasn’t sure how being an Omega was suppose to work fully, but he would have thought the fact that Oliver was a bear would limit the way Gibson could go through the emotions and vividness of the vision.

As it was, he still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with these newfound powers. Others in the Pack seemed to think he would be their savior; the one who would be able to bring a new health to their people. He didn’t think of himself that way, and he was worried that he’d fail.

That’s what he did.

He failed at trying to bring a sense of ownership and pride to a brand put there by those who’d enslaved them. He failed at trying to find a way to fit in with his people. And he was failing at figuring out what to do with Mandy and Oliver.

Somehow, he’d ended up at Oliver’s table next to the two people he wanted but shouldn’t have. And yet they wanted him just as much.

He’d have pinched himself again to make sure he was awake, but from the way Mandy was looking at him, he figured he should probably say something rather than sitting here like an idiot.

They wanted to be with him. With him. The loner wolf, who grumbled more than he spoke. He’d have thought Oliver would want to be with another bear to help him with his burden, and Mandy…well, he’d thought Mandy was with Theo.

Apparently, he’d been wrong on all accounts.

And now here they were, calmly discussing forming a partnership. Of course, they’d carefully not mentioned the word mating. As if once they did, things would get too serious.

“Gibson?” Mandy asked, her voice soft. He loved that voice, the way it wrapped around him and his wolf. He always felt like he was being petted when she spoke directly to him—not that she did that often. But when she did? He buried himself in it, rolling around like a pup in freshly cut grass.

She reached out and put her hand on his fist. He hadn’t even realized he’d put both hands on the table, as if he’d needed to grip something in order to stay centered, grounded in reality. His brain hurt, his heart just as much, but for some reason, it wasn’t as bad as it had been the past few days. Since he’d first found out that he was the Omega, he’d had to wade through emotion after emotion, sometimes falling to his knees when it became too much. Over time, he knew he’d be able to find each individual thread and work with it, either taking the feeling into himself if it was too much for the other shifter, or using it to make sure they were healthy. One day, he would even be able to heal physical wounds, but from the way he weakened with just the onslaught of emotions, he was pretty sure that would be years off, if ever.

And yet…and yet he’d known exactly what Oliver was feeling during his vision. He’d also known it was Oliver and not another that might have been near.

And as he focused, he could also feel the nervousness, the excitement, and the raw hunger of Mandy. He wondered for a moment if it was because her emotions mirrored his own, as well as Oliver’s.

“Gibson,” Mandy said again, squeezing his hand. “What’s wrong?”

He swallowed hard and blinked away the torrent of his thoughts. “I’m okay.” He paused, tasting the lie. “Or at least I will be. It’s weird right now.”

She winced, and he quickly turned his hand over to hold hers in a firm grip.

“I’m not saying being here with you and Oliver is weird, though in reality, it kind of is since we’ve done so well avoiding one another.” Oliver snorted, and Mandy gave him a small smile. Gibson relaxed somewhat. “We’re not avoiding each other now, though. And because of that, or maybe in spite of it, I can actually relax for the first time in days.”

“What do you mean?” Oliver asked.

Gibson met the other man’s gaze even as he ran his thumb over Mandy’s hand. He felt her shiver, and he knew he had to stop soon or he’d take them all too far too quickly. Though since they were shifters, there wasn’t really a chance to be too quick. Once the wolf, bear, or cat decided, the man followed. Ready and willing.

“With the two of you here, I can actually unravel whose emotion is whose. It’s not as overwhelming. I can breathe again.” He hadn’t known how much being an Omega had been affecting him until he sat between these two at this scarred wooden table. What would it feel like to be with them fully, to know that they were his and his alone?