Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(35)

Shane didn’t say anything in answer to that and wasn’t sure there was anything he could say that would matter. He wouldn’t know what the future would bring until the next night when the moon shone high in the sky and his wolf, if he indeed had one, felt the urge to shift.

“Do shifters always have to wait for the full moon for their first shift?” he asked after a moment. They’d been sitting without speaking, listening to the world around them. He could hear other Pack members talking to one another as they went about their day, as well as animals in the forest who felt safe for the moment from the predators living in their midst.

“Not at all. For those born from shifters, they can transition at any time after age two, though I know a few who shifted a during their first year.” Brandon smiled then. “Startled their parents, that’s for sure. The first shift for a child can come during a time of great emotion, or for those like Brie, when they feel like it’s time.” The other man met Shane’s eyes. “According to her parents, one day she was toddling around, feeling like she needed to scratch her skin, and decided it was time to be a wolf.”

“And now she’s your Alpha’s mate,” Shane added.

“Yep, and my sister-in-law. I never would have picked a woman like her for my brother, and I’m glad I was wrong. Hell, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Gideon and our Pack.”

Shane smiled then. “And now she’s going to have a pup of her own.” One day, he’d get used to calling children “pups” interchangeably. At least, he hoped.

“It’s our first baby,” Brandon said softly. “I mean, the family’s first, you know? And because Brie is a submissive wolf, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”

“You mean because the eldest child eventually becomes the Heir of the Pack when they’re ready?”

“It doesn’t always work out that way, but yes. Finn actually became the Heir at a young age because their former Alpha, Finn’s grandfather, was killed during the Central war.”

Shane flipped through his notes. “I don’t know a lot about that time period. I was only a child then, and the humans didn’t know you guys existed. It’s still strange to think that all of you were fully adults at that time, too.”

Brandon looked over at him, a strange expression on his face. “Not all of us. Charlotte and Bram are around your age, so they’d have been kids, too. Brie as well for that matter. Once we hit adulthood, you kind of forget that some of us have hit a century of living and still haven’t lived.”

Before Shane could ask the other man what he’d exactly meant by that, the Omega stood up and rubbed his chest bone.

“Hell, I need to go.” He met Shane’s eyes. “One of the elders needs me. Are you okay going home by yourself? I can drop you off on my way.”

It wasn’t a long walk, and though you could drive place to place, most walked to preserve the den’s natural landscape. However, that wasn’t what Shane was talking about. The others were not only worried about retaliation from Montag but also about threats within the Pack regarding Shane’s existence. Just because they’d destroyed the samples, didn’t mean it was over. Shane himself was proof that there was something out there that could change the ways of the wolves forever. And not everyone wanted him to live to become more than he already was.

Shane shook his head. “Go. Someone needs you more than I do. I’ll go straight home.” And didn’t that grate on him. He didn’t have a babysitter so he had to go home and wait.

Brandon took off with a nod, leaving Shane alone. He sat there a few more moments, taking in the sounds around him. He’d never really paid attention to nature as he had been recently. Was it because of his wolf, or because he had the time to do so now? He wasn’t sure, but like with everything else lately, it was a change.

Deciding it was time to head home, he stood up but not before he heard the sounds of crunching leaves behind him. He turned, but he wasn’t fast enough. Someone took out his feet while another punched him square in the face. He rocked back, the pain shooting up his face and down his spine like sharp blades sliding into his skin. Whoever it was had used the full power of their wolf. Shane wasn’t wolf yet, despite how his body had changed. He was no match for these three on his own, but he’d be damned if he went out without a fight.

He punched back, getting one man in the shoulder. Shane grunted, knowing he’d probably just broken a few fingers. Hell, these guys were like solid steel, and there was no way he’d live through this without a miracle.

They got him down on the ground and on his back. Someone held his legs, while another had his arms, and the third punched him over and over. Shane yelled out but choked on his own blood.

“If you’re dead, we’re safe,” the man on top of him grunted. “If you’re dead, they can’t kill us.”

Shane didn’t think that was the case at all as nothing could ever be that simple, but he didn’t say anything. Couldn’t. He tried to fight them off, but nothing worked.

He was dying.

This wasn’t how he wanted to die, but hell, he’d already been close to the brink far too many times recently. But before he could take his last breath and keep fighting, the heavy weight on top of him was taken away.

Growls sounded around him, and the immense power of a strong wolf hit him like a bag of bricks to the chest. He tried to get up but he couldn’t, his limbs were far too weak. Instead, he opened the one eye that hadn’t swollen shut and blinked.