Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(20)

“Ask Walker what?” the Talon Healer asked as Charlotte and Bram passed his office. With so many wolves around, it was truly hard to pick out scents if you weren’t trying, and Walker had even gone so far as to pad his office so it was hard to hear conversations. That made sense, as privacy was vital in Walker’s line of work.

Bram inhaled then, now aware that there was one more scent in Walker’s office.

Shane.

The other man was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt along with work boots and a belt, but he didn’t look happy to be out of sweats or scrubs.

“We were just wondering why Shane is here rather than somewhere else,” Charlotte answered. She looked around Walker’s large body and gave Shane a smile. “Hi, sorry to talk like you’re not here. The question popped into my mind when we walked inside.”

Shane had been sitting when they’d arrived, but at her voice, he stood, his body long, built, and hard. Bram pushed at his wolf once more. With Charlotte and Shane near, he was going to test his control more now than any time before.

“Walker will have to answer that,” Shane said, his voice low.

Bram met Walker’s gaze, and the other man gave him a pained expression. “Is there a reason he’s being confined here? You asked Charlotte and me to come here to help him, and you want what he can give you, but what are you giving him? He’s Pack, Walker.”

Shane let out a small growl, seeming to surprise himself. Bram couldn’t blame the man. He had enough issues with his wolf, and he’d been born one, not changed like Shane. And the fact that Shane wasn’t truly changed just made it that much harder for the other man. They didn’t know what Shane exactly was, and with each passing day, they seemed to have more questions than answers.

That’s when the light dawned for Bram.

“You’re keeping him here because people are afraid of what his existence means,” Bram bit out.

This time, it was Charlotte who growled.

Walker sighed and ran his hand over his face. He waved at them to come into his office fully. Now, the four of them stood around Walker’s desk—Charlotte angry as hell, Shane resigned, and Bram on the edge of a fury he couldn’t quantify.

“It’s not safe right now,” Walker began. “There are threats against him.” He sighed. “Brandon and Kameron can feel them along their bonds.”

Charlotte let out a curse. “Brandon is the Omega so he’s sensing others are feeling dangerous things. But Kameron? He’s the damn Enforcer. He senses attacks from outside forces.”

“And they’re both sensing something is coming, and it has to do with Shane,” Walker bit out.

“Then what can I do about it?” Shane asked, clearly annoyed with being talked about as if he weren’t in the room. “I’m not going to hurt your people. I refused to do it before, and I’m not going to now.”

“They’re your people, too,” Bram put in. “That’s what I’m not getting, or rather, what I didn’t get until right now. They aren’t worried you’re going to come out and attack them. They’re worried about what you represent. They don’t want any evidence of the serum out there at all.”

Walker pinched the bridge of his nose. “Got it in one.”

“I’ll help you destroy the serum,” Shane said after a moment. There wasn’t anger in his tone, and that pissed Bram off. The other man was giving in because he cared about others, not about himself. Why couldn’t people see that? “I already said that.”

“But it’s still in your veins,” Walker sighed. “And that’s why there are threats.”

Charlotte growled. “Then f*cking do something about it.”

Bram knew he was going to cross a line with what he was about to say, but this man, this Shane could be his mate, and he was damned if he’d see others hurt him.

“Then let us bring him into the Redwood Pack. Finn will blood bond him in, and we’ll protect him if you can’t. We already have demons in our Pack. We can handle anything.”

Charlotte gave him a wide-eyed looked that matched Shane’s.

This time, it was Walker who growled. “We can f*cking protect him, damn it. It’s much more complicated than that.” He looked over at Shane, who gave him a nod. Apparently, the other man already knew this next part. “He hasn’t shifted yet, so we don’t know what that will do to him or the Pack bonds.” Walker met Charlotte’s eyes, then Bram’s. “And Gideon thinks Shane can’t leave the Talon Pack and join the Redwoods.” A meaningful pause. “Ever.”

Charlotte sucked in a gasp, and Bram reached out instinctively to grip her shoulder. It was the only thing he could do then when his own world had been rocked. Beyond the idea that the blood in Shane’s veins could hold the chemicals that humans could use to make wolves, there was something much more going on. When wolves mated outside their Pack, they had to choose which Pack to join, some leaving behind their old Pack. For most, it was an easier decision because one wolf would have a stronger place within their respective Pack.

If Shane couldn’t leave the Talons and the three of them ended up mating, Bram and Charlotte would have to leave the Redwood Pack. The Pack he had grown up in. The Pack that had taken Charlotte in when she’d had no one. He would no longer be the Alpha’s enforcer, and Charlotte would no longer have the close bonds with her family.