Page 54 of Wolf Betrayed

“Let’s get inside before your whole family finds us naked and sweaty in the middle of the forest.”

Once again, she traced his jaw with her finger a few times, even as he carried her into her house. “Well, I’d like to get naked and sweaty with you outside once, but yeah, in front of my family, not so much.”

He grinned, and she fell in love with him all over again. Goddess, he had the most beautiful smile, and she prayed one day he would use it more often. He closed the door behind her and pushed her back against the wall.

With her body pinned and her legs wrapped around his waist to steady her, he pulled her arms up over her head so she was completely at his mercy.

And goddess, how she loved it.

If any other man or woman tried to pin her down, she’d fight, but Bram and Shane? It just made her want to wrap around them tightly and take all that they could give her.

“I’m going to fuck you against your door. What do you think about that?”

Charlotte smiled and arched her back, pressing her hips closer to his. “I think we’re wearing too many clothes.”

Bram raised a brow, and before she could ask him what he was going to do next, he was using his claws to rip her clothes from her body.

She moaned, in awe of how careful he was, even as he handled her roughly at the same time. His claws grazed her skin, but it was in a sensual move, not a violent one. And when she was naked, still against the door and panting, he held her with one arm and somehow slid out of his clothes, as well.

Now they were both naked, ready, and willing.

It was about time.

She closed her eyes as he slid his lips over her skin, his mouth working her shoulders, her breasts, her neck. She couldn’t help but remember the last time they’d been alone like this. She’d been so happy, so…in love with the man in her arms, and too afraid to do anything about it once the worst happened. She’d wanted him to move on to find his own fate, and had hurt them both in the process.

She’d been wrong before, and she was damned if she’d do it again.

“Ouch!” she called out and opened her eyes. Bram glared at her, and she rubbed her nipple where he’d bitten down none too gently. “What was that for?”

“I’m doing some of my best work here, and you’re frowning. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

She shook her head. “I was just thinking about how we almost lost this.” She cupped his face. “I’m not going to lose you again.”

He turned his head to kiss her palm. “Damn straight.” And when he kissed her, she lost all thoughts of what they’d been through before and only focused on what they had right then. He worked her until she was right at the edge and then slid into her. They panted as one, their bodies moving in unison as they made love. It was hard and yet soft at the same time, fast, and yet never-ending.

And when they came, they threw their heads back and howled, their mating bond once again flaring, cementing them as part of their third. Deep along the bond, she felt Shane’s adoration of Bram and Charlotte together, and she couldn’t wait to see him again. She’d only known him a short while, but somehow, he’d become a deeper part of her life, an integral one she knew she couldn’t live without.

She had two mates, two paths wrapped into one, and a future she could taste on her tongue. Perhaps fate hadn’t betrayed her when she’d been a child and then again when she’d been wrong about Bram. And now that she thought she could live with that, she could breathe again.

She had her best friend, her lover, her mate in her arms—along with Shane waiting close by—and for now, and perhaps for eternity, that would be enough.

“Do you see that?” Charlotte asked Chloe as they patrolled the Redwood and Talon border. There was a clearing of neutral ground that each Pack guarded as one. It had once been part of the Central Pack territory, she knew, and she tried not to think too hard about that.

Chloe, a Talon member who was right out of juvenile status, frowned. “It looks like a fallen log, but not really.”

On alert, Charlotte texted the coordinates to the Redwood Enforcer as Chloe did the same to the Talon’s.

“Something is off about this,” she whispered. “I’d wait to see what it is, but it’s near the human path that hikers take daily now. If they get too close, and it’s not just a log…”

“Let’s check it out,” Chloe put in when Charlotte trailed off. “We can’t just leave it there.”

Charlotte nodded and moved forward. She took four steps and her wolf howled, warning her of what was to come.

The log that wasn’t a log exploded, sending thousands of pieces of shrapnel toward them. She held back a scream as wood and metal pierced her body, cutting her deeply in places. She reached out for Chloe, but knew it was too late. The other woman turned as she fell to the ground, her eyes wide, her neck cut from side to side from a large piece of metal.

Charlotte hit the ground moments after the fallen woman, trying to get her bearings. She growled, her wolf ready to fight, but something smashed her on the back of the head. She only had a moment to wonder what it was, what had come from the wrong direction to hit her, before everything went black.

And she was gone.

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