Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3)(2)

And because the cats and bears had no one with his talent, he did theirs, as well. In the past decade, he’d been the one to sneak off the compound to the cats’ and bears’ places to do their tattooing. While he could have taught others to do it, he felt like he was the one who had to. It seemed ridiculous in retrospect that he’d risked so much to do what he did, but at the time, he knew he had to. And the Alphas of the other two Packs had been welcoming—even if some of the others hadn’t wanted his kind to touch them.

Yet every single one had his ink.

Hundreds of shifters wore his mark, his work, and yet he felt closed off from them. As if he were on the outside looking in because he was the one who had to cause them more pain.

“You okay, Gibson?” Cole asked, his voice low.

Gibson looked up at his friend and nodded. He didn’t speak much since there wasn’t a reason to. His work would speak for itself, and not just the Pack tattoos. He also did other work for any shifter who wanted a tattoo that was theirs and not the Pack’s or the SAU’s.

That meant he was always busy. But he liked it. As long as he didn’t have to think too hard about why he wanted to stay busy, he was fine.

“Want to finish this another time?” Cole asked, worry on his face.

Gibson shook his head. “I’m good,” he grumbled, his voice rusty from lack of use.

“If you say so,” Cole said wearily. “We can do Anya’s mating tattoo tomorrow if you need a break.”

“Really, Gibson, I’m good with waiting.” Cole wrapped his arms around her hips as she stood next to where her mate sat. Gibson held back a sigh.

He was happy for them, truly. If anyone deserved a mate and a happy ending, it was these two. They’d been through hell for one another and their Packs, and this mating would ensure the Packs’ health as well as their own.

So Gibson would complete the other part of his role and work on the mating tattoo for them. It was the least he could do. On the other side of the brand, opposite the Pack symbol, when a couple or triad mated, they had their own design inked on their flesh. That way, once it was completed, they held a full circle: of shifter, Pack, mating, and future. Without all of it, the design looked unfinished, as if it needed more for a person to stay whole. He stole a glance at his own design, one he’d inked himself, though he knew he could have probably found another to do it for him.

He didn’t have the mating mark and knew it might never come. Matings were few and far between within the compound. There just weren’t enough people for each person to find someone they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. And while it might have been a bit easier to…settle if they were human, their inner beasts would never allow that.

So while Gibson might have wanted another, unless his wolf agreed, it would never happen. Of course, in Gibson’s case, it was a little more complicated than that.

For Gibson, it always was.

Owen patted his knee with his little paw, his claws sheathed, and Gibson smiled. He loved these two cubs like his own, and since he was their honorary uncle, his wolf felt like they were family. In fact, his wolf stretched out, giving a big yawn before bumping up against his skin, wanting contact.

Soon, Gibson thought. He’d shift to his wolf and go on a run in one of the few areas the SAU allowed him to hunt within the compound. One day soon, he had a feeling their kind would be able to hunt and roam in any of the forested areas around here, free and on their own four paws.

The time was coming for a revolution, though Gibson wasn’t sure it would be from tooth and claw, but maybe mental ability and policy instead. That was so unlike the past they’d grown up in, the histories they’d been taught. But as long as his Pack could live, he would do anything for them.

Gibson sighed and roughed up the fur on the top of Owen’s head before stretching. “Okay, let’s get this last part done and I can work on Anya’s. It’ll be quicker with hers because I already have the design done and it’s always easier the second time.”

Cole blinked at him, and Gibson was aware he’d spoken more then than usual, but he was trying to get out of his funk and get his mind on the task at hand. He could brood on his own later. It was what he was best at.

“Thanks for doing this,” Anya said softly, Lucas snuggled in her arms.

“It’s what I do,” Gibson said just as softly. And that was true. He wasn’t the kind of fighter Cole was, even if he could hold his own. So he did his best to be a master at the one thing no one else wanted to do.

A scent hit him straight on, and he gripped his machine harder before forcing himself to relax. Thankful the needle hadn’t been in Cole’s skin. But it was damn close. He hated that scent. Hated it as much as he craved it.

Though they were inside his little studio, he had the door open to let out some of the intense heat. It wasn’t as if they had air conditioning or heating within their little homes. They took whatever offerings the SAU gave them and built what they could. There were some genius carpenters and builders within the Packs, but even they couldn’t magically produce equipment that didn’t exist.

And because he had the door open, Oliver’s scent filled the home quickly as the large grizzly bear in human form lumbered inside to watch his sister get her mating tattoo.

“Oliver!” Anya called out with a smile. Still carrying Lucas, she left her lazy cat mate to Gibson’s devices and moved toward her brother. “You came. I didn’t think you would.” She cupped her brother’s face and that big bushy beard of his, and though Gibson couldn’t see her features, he knew she would look worried.