Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(15)

This was going to be a long day.

Beside them, Walker cleared his throat. “I have another patient that came in earlier I should check on. You two should be fine here, but you both know where Shane’s room is if you want to change places.” He looked at Shane, getting the other man’s attention, and Charlotte quickly wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. “I know you were in here working out because you have too much energy, but you might come down off that high pretty quickly with her here. Don’t hurt yourself. I’m not in the mood to Heal you.” Walker winked as he said it, and any other time, Charlotte might have liked to get to know Walker more, but right then, she could only think of Shane.

Shirtless and sweaty Shane.

The Shane she wanted to lick and taste. Bite. To sink her teeth into until her wolf was finally satisfied, and the woman within her could feast, as well.

Walker left with a stern look at Shane, and Charlotte sucked in a breath, knowing it was a mistake as soon as she did it. He was just so potent. That sweaty and spicy scent coated her tongue and seeped into her pores. Her wolf wanted to roll around it in, and the rest of her wanted to lick it up. Her nipples pebbled against her bra, and she swallowed hard, fighting for her control once again.

“You’re here,” he said roughly, his voice almost a growl.

“I am.” He looked tired, she thought. Now that she could breathe through the lust and think through the recriminations she’d had when she first saw him, she truly got a look at the man who had turned her world over. He hadn’t asked to become what he was, that much she knew to be true. Those she trusted believed Shane’s story about the injection and the fact that he’d run away. She couldn’t help but believe, as no one would ever put their body through what he’d been through on purpose. Though, he wasn’t truly a wolf…not yet, and perhaps not ever. What must it be like to travel along two worlds, one foot in each without a path to move into the one they truly wanted? Of course, Charlotte had lived that before, only on a much different scale. The fact that she and Shane seemed to have something in common, if only somewhat tangible, pulled at her wolf.

Once again, Charlotte was confused…and scared.

“You ran away last time,” Shane said, and Charlotte let out a growl.

She might have run, but she didn’t need this stranger pointing it out.

He held up both hands. “Sorry. I just know what the others told me. I remember your scent, though.” His nostrils flared again, and his eyes darkened.

This time, Charlotte did indeed press her legs together because her clit throbbed unrepentantly.

“It was a shock seeing you.” She didn’t tell him why, and wasn’t sure if she could. Not yet anyway.

“You tame the beast inside of me,” he said softly. “I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Why do you call him ‘the beast?’” she asked curiously. “He’s your wolf.”

He shook his head. “I haven’t shifted yet. And whatever they added to me is different. How do I know it’s a wolf and not whatever they made me?”

Her heart hurt for him, for everything he was going through, and yet she wasn’t sure she could help. Yes, she calmed his wolf, his so-called beast, but what more could she do when she didn’t even know herself.

“You became Pack, there is more wolf to you than you know,” she said softly.

Shane’s eyes flared in gratitude, but he still sighed. “Gideon tells me humans are added, and that in your Pack, there is not only a partial demon, someone that was bitten by one, but one is also the daughter of a demon. What if I’m more like them than wolf?”

Charlotte shook her head. Her family had been through literal hell thanks to the Centrals, and because of that, some of them carried wounds that had healed…differently than others.

“If you are more like my uncle and aunt, then you are well on your way to being one of the strongest people I know. Their circumstances didn’t define them. It could have, but it didn’t.”

She ignored the telling voice within her head that spoke of her own circumstances and what they said about her. This was not about her past, but rather Shane’s future.

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to shift, or if something else will have to happen, but the Talons brought you in, and they aren’t going to leave you behind.” She met his gaze. “Wolves don’t do that.”

“Thank you for that,” he said after a long moment. “Do you know what you’re supposed to be doing here? Just standing around so I can breathe, or do you have other things you should be doing.” He ran a hand over his shoulder and Charlotte’s mouth went dry.

The man had more muscles than even Bram, and she hadn’t thought that possible. Between the two of them, her knees would just go completely weak, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it out alive.

“I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing,” she answered with a shrug. “They want you healthy, and it looks like I’m the only person that can help you.”

He studied her face. “They haven’t told you yet,” he said slowly.

She froze. “What haven’t they told me?” she asked, her wolf going on alert. Was there something else going on she didn’t know about?

Shane took a step forward, and she instinctively took a step back. The hurt on his face was too much for her to bear, and she took a deep breath before moving toward him again. Hesitantly, she put her hand on his forearm. Her wolf bucked, and she swore she could feel something within him do the same. Shane froze, as did she, and they both blinked at one another. His arm was so warm, so…strong beneath her palm. All she had to do was squeeze gently and dig her fingers and nails a bit and she’d have a good hold on him. From there, she could go on her tiptoes and take his mouth.