Page 15 of Wolf Betrayed

He shook his head. “I haven’t shifted yet. And whatever they added to me is different. How do I know it’s a wolf and not whatever they made me?”

Her heart hurt for him, for everything he was going through, and yet she wasn’t sure she could help. Yes, she calmed his wolf, his so-called beast, but what more could she do when she didn’t even know herself.

“You became Pack, there is more wolf to you than you know,” she said softly.

Shane’s eyes flared in gratitude, but he still sighed. “Gideon tells me humans are added, and that in your Pack, there is not only a partial demon, someone that was bitten by one, but one is also the daughter of a demon. What if I’m more like them than wolf?”

Charlotte shook her head. Her family had been through literal hell thanks to the Centrals, and because of that, some of them carried wounds that had healed…differently than others.

“If you are more like my uncle and aunt, then you are well on your way to being one of the strongest people I know. Their circumstances didn’t define them. It could have, but it didn’t.”

She ignored the telling voice within her head that spoke of her own circumstances and what they said about her. This was not about her past, but rather Shane’s future.

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to shift, or if something else will have to happen, but the Talons brought you in, and they aren’t going to leave you behind.” She met his gaze. “Wolves don’t do that.”

“Thank you for that,” he said after a long moment. “Do you know what you’re supposed to be doing here? Just standing around so I can breathe, or do you have other things you should be doing.” He ran a hand over his shoulder and Charlotte’s mouth went dry.

The man had more muscles than even Bram, and she hadn’t thought that possible. Between the two of them, her knees would just go completely weak, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it out alive.

“I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing,” she answered with a shrug. “They want you healthy, and it looks like I’m the only person that can help you.”

He studied her face. “They haven’t told you yet,” he said slowly.

She froze. “What haven’t they told me?” she asked, her wolf going on alert. Was there something else going on she didn’t know about?

Shane took a step forward, and she instinctively took a step back. The hurt on his face was too much for her to bear, and she took a deep breath before moving toward him again. Hesitantly, she put her hand on his forearm. Her wolf bucked, and she swore she could feel something within him do the same. Shane froze, as did she, and they both blinked at one another. His arm was so warm, so…strong beneath her palm. All she had to do was squeeze gently and dig her fingers and nails a bit and she’d have a good hold on him. From there, she could go on her tiptoes and take his mouth.

Only she didn’t want his mouth, didn’t want him.

She wanted Bram, and she couldn’t have him. She’d been forsaken by the moon goddess, and because of that, she had a feeling if she were to try to be with Shane, no bond would form there either. It had almost killed her once to go through that, and she couldn’t do it again. Since Bram was the purest and most loyal wolf she knew, the fault had to lie with her and the blood that ran through her veins.

She didn’t want this man, this human, who wasn’t quite human any longer. Her wolf might feel the need for him now, but that would pass. Instead of succumbing to her hormones, she’d back away and do her duty before locking herself away once more. It was the only way she could stay sane.

It had been working for the past few years, and damn it, it would just have to keep working.

“What haven’t they told me?” she asked again.

Shane was the one to pull away this time, and though she immediately felt the loss, she was grateful.

“You’re not the only one who can calm the beast inside me.”

How could that be possible? She wasn’t sure that Shane knew about mating and how everything that came with that worked, and because of that fact, she didn’t mention it just then. She didn’t have the words or the energy to venture down that path. But if someone else could calm him, maybe it wasn’t mating heat and wolf actions that were at play here. Maybe it was something else.

Or maybe…maybe Shane had a second potential mate within his reach.

“Who…” She cleared her throat. “Who else?”

“Me.”

She whirled at the sound of Bram’s voice, her claws sliding from her fingertips, and her wolf slamming forward. She’d been so caught up in Shane, she hadn’t known Bram was so close. Her wolf clawed at her, and her body shook, even as she forced her claws to retract. Bram could calm Shane? How was that possible?

Bram met her gaze but didn’t say anything. There were so many words left unsaid between them, so many promises that would never be kept if they continued on as they were.

“Bram.” Her voice was a whisper, yet in the quiet gym with only the sound of their breathing and heartbeats to take up the space, it sounded like a scream.

“I didn’t quite believe it myself,” Bram said after a moment. He looked over Charlotte’s shoulder then. “It’s good to see you out of bed.” He raked his gaze along Shane much as she had before, and Charlotte had a sinking feeling things weren’t as they seemed.

“It’s good to be out of bed,” Shane answered. “I take it you two know each other.”

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