Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(17)

And yet…something had shifted once more.

Once she was able to breathe again, she would find the two men who had altered her reality and figure out what to do. But for now, she did the only thing she could think of when her mind was too full.

She ran.





Chapter Five


“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?” A growl.

“I can’t. Not yet. She’s not ready.” A clench of fists.

“And me? Don’t I have a right to know why you two do what you do to me? And why she’s so scared of whatever it is?”

“I’ll tell you. I promise. But I need to make sure she’s okay.”

A pause. “Good. Because I think she needs more than she’s saying.”

Bram shook his head, pushing out the conversation he’d had with Shane the day before. Or at least, trying to. The idea that Shane could know so much about what Charlotte needed, even if he couldn’t quite articulate it, should have grated on Bram, but instead, it just pushed him further toward a conclusion he wasn’t sure anyone was ready for.

His wolf wanted Charlotte and Shane. While others would find themselves in a position where they would have to make a decision about which to choose, Bram wasn’t sure that was the case for them. They each had a push, a connection to the other two, and that meant there was more going on than a simple case of two potential mates in one place. There would be no mating circle this time.

They could be a true triad.

Claws dug gently at his side, and he cursed, rolling to the ground to get out of the way of another swipe. He quickly got to his feet and growled.

Quinn, his fellow enforcer, shook his head. “Get your mind in the game, man. You’re lucky I was pulling my punches just then, or I could have seriously hurt you. You don’t want me to have to pull in the Healer during training, do you?”

Bram shook his head and sighed. “Sorry. I won’t let that happen again.”

Quinn studied him, the two of them paused during their fight while the others continued their practice around them. They were on Redwood Pack land now, half of the enforcers from Bram’s Pack and half of the lieutenants from the Talon Pack had come to train together. They alternated who trained and which den they were at not only to keep them on their toes but also to make sure they kept up the border patrols and ensured that their Alphas were safe. They hadn’t always fought together like this, as one, sharing so many secrets; however, when they had formed an alliance thirty years ago, they had slowly started trusting each other more and more. It had taken Quinn and Gina mating over fifteen years ago for the two Packs to truly fall into their treaty, and with each subsequent mating across boundaries, their Packs were becoming woven together as one larger unit.

Though their bonds would always be with their respective Alphas, some Redwoods lived on Talon land and vice versa if their talents were able to help out the other den more than their own. That had never been an option for Bram as he had always known with the strength of his wolf that he’d be an Alpha’s enforcer, but he liked the idea that their world was just that much bigger at a time of so much unrest.

“You’re in your head again,” Quinn snapped, pulling Bram from his thoughts. “What the hell is going on with you?”

Bram just gave Quinn a look. As a former Talon Pack member, Quinn was up to date on just who was currently in the Talon infirmary. While it wasn’t a secret between the two Packs, Quinn had grown up with the Brentwoods, and therefore knew things before a lot of the Redwood population.

Quinn sighed. “How am I supposed to know if that’s what you’re really thinking? I mean, seriously, Bram, you’re so closed off sometimes, I never know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

“While I usually don’t shut up,” Max Brentwood, the Talon Alpha’s cousin and new lieutenant said with a smile. The wolf was always smiling it seemed, even in times of danger. Bram didn’t understand it.

Quinn smiled widely when Max strolled up to him. Like Bram and Quinn, Max was shirtless, sweaty, and had a few nicks and cuts from claws. They fought with claws out, but only when they weren’t punching as hard as they could in a true attack. When they were trying to increase their form, they kept claws in and fought that way, as well. While they could use weapons and any number of things thanks to technology, they were stronger and faster using their own gifts. So they learned how to shoot, and how to use military strategy, but they would always be wolves and Pack first.

“You don’t shut up,” Quinn agreed. “I’m not sure how your family can stand you since most of them are so growly they make a bear with a thorn in its paw look happy.”

At that, Bram cracked a smile. It was true that many of the Brentwoods weren’t the…cheeriest of wolves, but he couldn’t blame them considering what they’d lived through before they’d eventually taken over the Pack from the older generation that had threatened everyone’s lives.

“They can’t help but love me,” Max said with another grin. “And I know I was eavesdropping, but we’re all wolves here, so it’s not like we can help but listen.” He winked, and Bram had to roll his eyes. If Bram didn’t know any better, he would have thought Max was the Omega of the Talon Pack, not Brandon. You just couldn’t quite stay angry or upset around the other wolf.