Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(23)

Gideon nodded. “Come with me.”

Shane raised a brow. “Where?”

Gideon snorted. “You know, most people would just come with me. I am Alpha, after all.”

Shane shook his head. “You’re not a dictator, that much I can tell. Maybe those who would come with you without question know you inside and out and figure you have a reason. But you still allow others to question you.”

The other man tilted his head, studying him, so much like a wolf that Shane had to blink. “Perhaps. Now follow me. We’re going to take a walk into the forest so you can feel the wind on your face and the den’s magic on your skin. You’re edgy as hell, so if you don’t want to come with me, I’ll make it an order with the force of my Alpha wolf behind it. You need the walk.”

The order bristled Shane, though it shouldn’t have. He’d been taking orders his entire life. Though the recent ones had all been lies. Perhaps that’s why Gideon’s order just then made him want to be surly.

“Don’t even try it,” Gideon growled. “I know it sticks in your craw that you have to listen to me after your last leader f*cked you over, but you’ll get over it. You’re not at full strength yet, and you need the connection to the Pack. So get a move on.”

With that, Gideon turned around and headed out, as if knowing Shane would follow. Much to Shane’s chagrin, he did indeed follow soon after, closing the door behind him. They’d put his hand up to the scanner when they’d shown him the place, so now it would only unlock for him or one of the ruling members of the Pack in an emergency.

He had a home now.

And maybe he should start fighting for it.

Shane hurried his pace to catch up to Gideon, and soon, the two of them were jogging peacefully through the woods. He didn’t know if it was just being near a wolf of such immense strength or the forest itself, but Shane could feel himself relax a bit. It wasn’t like it was when Bram or Charlotte were around, but it was something, at least.

The stopped by a cool stream and each drank some water before resting alongside a large rock.

“Why did that help me?” he asked.

Gideon looked over at him. “Because we’re not human. Not fully anyway. We have wolf counterparts within our bodies. For those of us who are born wolves, that connection is always there and always will be. We don’t start being able to shift. That comes when we are two or three, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but we’re still wolves in human form. That’s what scares some of the humans who are against us. That and a few other things. But though we’re wolves, we also have human halves that give us the ability to reason and to live like we do. We try to find peace, and we had for a long time before the Unveiling. I hope we can find that peace again in my lifetime.”

Since wolves apparently lived for hundreds of years, that was quite a statement.

“With wolves who are changed, things are slightly different, but not forever. They have to learn how to live with another…being within them. They need to control the wolf, to allow the moon goddess to tighten and strengthen the bonds. They need to believe. Not only do they now have the ability to shift into another form, they also have to fight the instincts they had as humans and learn to live in a new type of societal structure. There are submissive wolves, maternal ones, dominants, and those in the higher powers with gifts from the moon goddess and even more bonds to the Pack like my family. It takes time, and we are constantly evolving and changing as we learn and grow, but eventually, a Pack can lead to calm, to peace.”

Shane listened, learning, soaking in as much information as he could. “But I’m not either of those things.”

Gideon nodded, a frown on his face. “No, you aren’t. Montag’s people created a serum that somehow mimics what a bite from an Alpha or a very dominant wolf can do. Not every wolf can change a human into a shifter, and not every human is able to change at all. It usually takes that human being near death and getting multiple bites from a specific wolf for a change to occur. You almost died, for sure, and now you carry the scent of a wolf along your skin, but we won’t know what will happen to you on a full moon. The moon is coming, and we’ll be here to help you if you do change.”

“If,” Shane whispered. “That’s a big if.”

Gideon nodded. “Yeah, it is. And that’s one reason why some within the Pack aren’t fully ready to accept you.” He shook his head. “Our Pack isn’t as healthy as the Redwoods. We went through hell during my father’s time as Alpha, and it’s taken years to get where we are now. Those that opposed me as Alpha are mostly gone either because they left for other Packs or became lone wolves.” He paused. “Others fought and lost.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate that, you know. I hate that I had to fight wolves that I knew since I was a boy because they’d rather have a tyrant as a leader than me. But I fought. And yet there are still those that hold a sliver of distrust or resentment. The moon goddess chose me as Alpha, but I still had to fight for the right. Some believe I didn’t fight hard enough. Some believe the moon goddess chose wrong. But when the time comes, and you need to shift into a wolf, we will stand by your side and help you. You saved my brother, and for that, I can never repay you. However, I can at least do this.”

Shane listened to the Alpha bare a part of him Shane wasn’t sure he let many others see. He didn’t know why Gideon was telling him such personal things, but he knew it was a gift in and of itself. He wouldn’t take that for granted.