Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(24)

“I want to help more,” Shane said. “And I have an idea if you’ll listen.” Something had been percolating in the back of his mind.

Gideon’s eyes brightened. “Good.” He got up and stretched. “Then come with me to my house. The others are gathering there for a meeting, and you can tell them all.” He nodded. “After you tell me on the way, of course.”

Shane held back a snort at the order. Once an Alpha, always an Alpha.




When they made it to Gideon’s home, Shane’s wolf, or whatever it was, had pushed him close to the edge once again. The walk with the other man had helped, but it hadn’t been a permanent solution.

It probably didn’t help that so many wolves were inside Gideon’s home. It would probably make anyone who wasn’t used to the amount of sheer power unnerved. Gideon was there, of course, and his pregnant mate, Brie. The Beta of the Pack, Mitchell, stood with his back to the wall next to the Enforcer, Kameron. Ryder, the Heir, and his mate Leah sat on one couch next to Brandon, the Omega. Walker, the Healer, lazed in an armchair, while Max lay on the floor next to him. Though it was mostly Talons in the room, the Redwoods were on the large computer screens someone had set up, and Bram and Charlotte were on the other couch in the room. He figured those two were there to help him, and, while he was still confused, he was grateful.

“Take a seat,” Gideon ordered.

Brie rolled her eyes. “Nice to see you,” she added, and Gideon let out a little growl.

Shane gave a small smile and took the only seat left in the room—the one next to Charlotte. He figured there was a reason everyone had left that space, including Max, who had taken a spot on the floor, but he wouldn’t ask about it now. First, he had to lay out his plan, and then he could deal with the other things. He used to be better at multi-tasking, but that had been before a crazed man had stuck a syringe full of poison in his vein.

He sat down next to Charlotte, their thighs touching, and he did his best to ignore the way her mouth parted at the contact. He met Bram’s eyes over Charlotte’s head and saw a heat in them he didn’t understand. Were the two of them together and Shane was too close? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he had to worry about that later, not now.

“So, what do you have planned for us?” Mitchell asked, pulling Shane from his dangerous thoughts. The other man frowned at Shane, but he didn’t take it personally. Mitchell seemed to frown at everyone.

“If there are others worried about how I became what I am and frankly, what I could become, then why don’t we find a way to make sure that can’t happen again?”

Gideon nodded. The other man knew what Shane was going to say, and Shane was grateful the Alpha had looked interested on the walk over.

“What do you have in mind?” Ryder asked, his voice a little quieter than the others. He had his arm around his mate’s shoulders, a content look on his face that seemed a little new to Shane. He didn’t know the man other than what he’d seen in the news with the twenty-four-hour coverage of the Packs, but he knew Ryder’s mating was new and hard-fought.

“Now that I can actually think again and can stay awake for longer than an hour at a time, I can remember where I was taken and where Montag injected me.” Shane didn’t look at the other two on the couch since he figured they knew they were the reason for his ability to think at all.

Mitchell leaned forward. “You can find the building?”

Shane nodded before frowning. “They caught me getting Ryder out of the other building and took me to this one a few miles away that I hadn’t known existed. I heard others around me, but I don’t know if they’ll still be there.” He met the others’ gazes, one by one. “They could have been wolves or even humans Montag wanted to inject the serum into. Either way, they were there, and we might be able to help them now that I can remember where to go.” He sighed. “I regret that it took me this long.”

Charlotte reached out and took his hand. The contact sent a shock through his arm, but he didn’t pull away. “You needed to heal first. We understand that.” Though she wasn’t a Talon, she looked at the others with her brow raised, and they nodded slowly.

Fierce.

“I remember seeing a container where Montag kept the other injections, as well. The General was saying to the others that they only had this one batch since it was so new and they wanted to try some…experiments first. He also said that there was only one place their formula was located. That way, others couldn’t get their hands on it before it was perfected for his own use.”

“Why did he say these things around you?” Brandon asked, his face serious. “He didn’t lay out his entire plan, but it seems he laid out a lot.”

“He didn’t expect that you’d live long enough to do anything about it,” Bram bit out, and Shane nodded.

“If it hadn’t been for Gideon taking me in, I know I would have died,” Shane said after a moment. “Whatever they had in that vial didn’t work completely. It took an Alpha letting me into a Pack for anything to happen. So what they have isn’t viable, but it’s still there. We need to get rid of it, and once we do, maybe the others can sleep easier.”

Gideon ran a hand over his beard. “That may be the case, but there will still be issues as the formula could be found in your blood.”