Wolf Betrayed (Talon Pack #4)(47)

She wasn’t the same Charlotte who had been chained in the basement any longer.

She was stronger.

She was fiercer.

And she wasn’t alone.

Now she just had to figure out what to do about it.





Chapter Twelve


They weren’t Talons yet, but Bram knew it was only a matter of time. And because of that, he would listen to what Gideon had to say and take each word in measure.

It had only been a day since Bram had created a mating bond with both Shane and Charlotte, but they were already doing their best to find a way to make things work.

Bram had honestly thought they’d wake up in the morning and find themselves Talons, or perhaps even find Shane a Redwood. But that hadn’t happened. Instead, Shane remained a Talon Pack member, while Bram and Charlotte were still Redwoods. It wasn’t exactly how things went for most of the other wolves that mated across Pack lines, but their triad mating was anything but usual.

Soon they’d have to make a choice, but he had a feeling they would end up Talons anyway. Gideon was sure that Shane could never break from the Talons now, and had said as much when they’d shown up at the Alpha’s house that morning. And because Bram trusted Gideon, almost as much as he trusted his own Alpha, he knew soon he and Charlotte would have to take that plunge.

In all honesty, it wasn’t a choice at all, and that was something he’d have to get used to.

Everything was far messier, far more out of sync than most matings. “Anything worth doing is hard,” his mother had used to say when he was a pup. And though he could barely remember the sound of her voice, he could still hear those words.

He pushed away the sadness that came with thinking of his mother and father, and focused on the Talon Alpha in front of him. His parents were long gone, and he’d mourned for them. Now it was time for him to find his new path with two wolves he’d never seen coming.

Charlotte was out on patrol with the Talons, not the Redwoods. Kade had thought it would be a good idea for her to learn to work with the new wolves. Bram had never been prouder. She was such a fast wolf, such a fantastic dominant female, but it was hard for her to look beyond her past to see that. It wasn’t his role to show her how brilliant she was, however. That had to be all her. He could nudge her a bit, of course, and he had been trying to do that for years.

Hopefully, a new Pack who hadn’t seen her as she was as a child would help. While the Redwoods had never treated her differently, she had felt it anyway because of the pressure she put on herself.

Now, Bram and Shane stood with Gideon in his home to talk about what would come next. It was all a little surreal, but he wouldn’t be who he was if he couldn’t roll with the punches.

“We still have the three wolves who attacked you in custody,” Gideon was saying. “Kameron has his people on guard.” Gideon frowned. “I know others want me to call a Pack circle to decide what to do, but I don’t think that would be good for the Pack moral. However, these wolves betrayed us, betrayed you. So I’m going to take your input into consideration, Shane.”

Bram’s eyes widened. While Kade listened to his wolves, for some reason, Bram had always thought Gideon was a little more of a dictator than his Alpha. It seemed Bram had been wrong, and for that, he was very thankful.

Shane ran a hand over his face, and Bram put his hand on the other man’s knee. Gideon didn’t look surprised at the display of affection. The other man would clearly be able to see the mating marks at the collars of their shirts, scent them all over each other, and feel the bond between them. Bram knew all three of them—him, Shane, and Charlotte—were so blatantly into each other that even the weakest wolf would be able to tell at the moment.

“I don’t know the options here,” Shane said bluntly. “I think everyone is forgetting that I was a human man in the military less than a month ago.”

Hell, had it only been that long? That was crazy.

“Fair enough,” Gideon said after a moment. “For what they’ve done, they could be put to death. We can shun then from the Pack, break the bonds that make them Talon. We could lower their ranking within the Pack itself and force them to work up through the system over time like they did their entire adult lives. There are a few other options, but those are the main three.” Gideon paused. “The main three that I’m willing to do right now.”

Bram breathed in through his nose, letting the scent of Alpha and Shane roll over him. This would be Shane's and Gideon’s decision, but Bram would be here no matter what happened.

“They thought I was the enemy when they came after me,” Shane began. “They didn’t know the truth, and while they should have trusted you and your word, they were scared. So, yeah, they need to learn the chain of command and maintain that, but killing them or pushing them out into the world without a bond during the unrest we have outside the wards right now seems cruel.”

Gideon’s shoulders relaxed marginally. If Bram hadn’t been watching the other man, he would have missed it. It seemed Shane had passed some sort of test, or rather; the Alpha was pleased with Shane’s words.

“You’re thinking the same as I am, then,” Gideon said, confirming Bram’s thoughts. “Pull their ranks and make them work for it.”

“I also want to show them that I’m not the enemy,” Shane said earnestly. “I want to show all of you. I need to pull my weight.”