Page 62 of Wolf Betrayed

Chapter Fifteen

The car ride was excruciating, but Bram could do nothing but sit in the front seat and look back at his mates. Walker worked to Heal Charlotte as much as he could without technically being bonded to her as Healer to Packmember. Bram cursed himself for not having the Redwood Healer with them, but they hadn’t had the time to grab Mark and bring him along.

As it was, Walker was doing as much as he could, and as soon as they saw Gideon, they would become Talons. They’d waited for things to settle long enough. Bram’s only family was Shane and Charlotte so while he would miss what he had before, he knew his future was with the Talons. And even though Charlotte had been holding off because of the family that had taken her in, even she had said it was time.

Soon, they would be Talons, and Charlotte would be able to be fully Healed from her ordeal.

And, hopefully, they would have enough time to do all of that before the shit hit the fan and Montag found them.

Charlotte let out a hiss, and Shane hovered over her since she was in his lap. Her feet were over Walker as the Healer did his best to do what he could. Bram hated being so far away from her, and because he couldn’t think of anything else to bring her closer, he said the only thing he could.

“I love you, Charlotte. I’m so fucking proud of you. I love you so fucking much. You too, Shane. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before. I love you both. Thought you ought to know since I almost waited too long as it was.”

The noise in the SUV dropped at his words, and Shane barked out a confused laugh. “Well, this seems as good a time as any to say I love you both. I was going to wait until we weren’t covered in blood and bruises but that doesn’t seem to be often.”

Both Walker and Kameron snorted, but Bram only had eyes for Charlotte.

Tears slid down her cheeks, but she gave him a watery smile. “I love you both, you know. You should have figured that out already.” She inhaled. And now that we’ve embarrassed our poor Healer and Enforcer, let’s talk about all of that later. Okay?”

“I kind of like how she said our,” Kameron said with a grin. The man didn’t grin often, so Bram was surprised to see it. “The Pack is going to love having you. I’d feel bad that the Redwoods are going to lose you, but they took our sister since she mated Finn, and they took Quinn, too, so I’m kind of over it.”

Bram opened his mouth to say something, but the SUV braked quickly, and he braced himself. “What?” He turned in his seat and cursed.

They were right outside the Talon den, and the wards were holding, but...

It seemed Montag had worked fast.

Too fast.

And they weren’t alone.

Montag had brought a fucking tank to a battle with wolves. He must have had everything locked up and ready to go the moment he needed to attack the Talon den. And while the wolves could hide behind the wards, Bram knew they wouldn’t. Not with the barrier as weak as it was. With the humans knowing that shifters existed, the magic that helped feed the wards was slowly fading away.

And because Gideon knew this, many of the Talon’s strongest were already outside the wards, ready to fight those who had come to take over their Pack.

“We need to help them,” Charlotte pleaded, breaking the silence.

“Absolutely not,” Bram growled. “You were just fucking tortured. You need to get behind the wards and stay safe.”

“Fuck you, Bram. If you think I can do that, then you don’t know me at all.”

Had it only been a few moments ago that they’d declared their love for each other? This was what happened when three dominant wolves mated.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of time to make a different decision,” Shane put in, his attention on what was going on outside the vehicle. The SUV was hidden behind a group of trees, but Bram knew they couldn’t hide forever. “Montag’s people are moving forward.”

“We need to move,” Kameron ordered. “Walker, get ahold of the Redwoods just in case the others haven’t been able to. Charlotte, you stay beside Shane the entire time. Got me? You’re both not up to a hundred percent, but you’re better together. Bram? You’re with me. Let’s go.”

Thankful the other man had a plan, but still slightly bristling at the orders, Bram hopped out of the SUV behind the others. Before they could head off in their respective directions, however, Bram tugged Shane to him, kissing him full on the mouth.

“I love you, do you understand that? You don’t get to die on me tonight, not when I just found you.” He kissed Shane again, aware the others were staring him. Yes, Bram didn’t speak often, but when he did, it mattered.

He turned and pulled Charlotte gently to his chest, kissing her softly. When he pulled back, his wolf was close to the surface, ready for what was next. “Protect him. Protect yourself. Believe in who you are. You are one of the best wolves I know, and I know you can do anything. But don’t fucking die on me. I love you, Charlotte.” He kissed her again before watching his two mates leave to their positions along with Walker while he let his wolf come even closer to the surface.

“Let’s do this,” Kameron growled.

“Till the end,” Bram agreed.

The explosion rang in his ears, and Bram growled. As soon as he and Kameron had gotten to Gideon’s side, the Alpha let his wolf into his eyes and slashed his palm. Bram did the same to his and slammed his hand to Gideon’s.

---