Page 30 of Wolf Betrayed

“I think the game’s over,” another voice said from behind him, bringing Bram out of his thoughts.

He turned and moved to make room for Shane. The other man hadn’t been playing because no one was sure how strong he was yet, nor how much control he had. Shane needed a little more training and a whole lot more time with his wolf before he could even simple things like play a game of football with a bunch of werewolves.

“I guess it is,” Charlotte said as she looked around the field. Bram followed her gaze and noted that people were pairing up with mates or friends, leaving the field in gales of laughter and growls. “Did we win?” she asked.

Bram shrugged. “I think so. We’re usually better at keeping score.”

Shane let out a rough chuckle. “Yeah, you guys won, and even though you don’t kick for extra points, I’m assuming everything else is the same point system as human football?”

Bram nodded. “Yeah, same system. We used to kick for extra points but ended up losing the ball nine times out of ten because we kick it so hard. We don’t even kick off anymore.”

“I noticed that,” Shane said, a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I guess everything is a little different here.”

“It is,” Charlotte agreed. “But you’ll learn.”

Shane stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking a little more lost than he had before. Bram wanted to reach out and brush the hair from the other man’s face as he had with Charlotte, but he didn’t think any of them were ready for that yet.

“We should find someplace quiet and talk,” Bram said after a moment. “It’s time, don’t you think?”

Shane met Bram’s gaze, warring emotions shining through so brightly that Bram couldn’t fathom what the other man could be thinking right at that moment. “Come to my place,” he said. “I don’t get many visitors.”

Bram had a feeling he didn’t get any visitors other than those who needed something from him. What would it be like to be cut off from everything you’ve known your entire life and thrust into a situation where not everyone trusted you? Hell, not everyone wanted Shane alive at all. Bram fisted his hands and forced them into the pockets of his sweats so the others couldn’t see.

“Let’s go, then.” He turned to Charlotte. “You ready?”

She licked her lips, and his dick hardened. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Well, this should be interesting,” Shane mumbled.

Interesting indeed. Just three people who had pasts so rife with confusion and angst they could barely breathe from it all, finding that they were mates but not knowing if they were a triad or just three people who could pair off. Add in the fact that one was a former human turned maybe-wolf, another a wolf with too much strength for the body it was in, and another who’d grown up chained in a basement and it made it a party.

The three of them made it to Shane’s place in silence, though it wasn’t as tense as Bram had figured it would be, considering they were about to talk about a future that might never come. Hell, maybe Bram was the tense one.

There wasn’t much in the small bungalow house Walker had scrounged up for Shane. A few older pieces of furniture but nothing personal. Hell, Shane didn’t have anything personal. He’d left it all behind when he’d come to the Talons.

Bram ran a hand over his head as he watched Charlotte look around the place, a frown on her face. Shane had his hands in his pockets, confusion and a little bit of embarrassment evident on his face.

“Is there a place we can go to get your stuff?” Bram asked suddenly. “I mean, things that are yours that you might want?”

Charlotte smiled at him while Shane’s eyes widened. “We can get it for you,” she added in. “I mean, this is your home now. Let’s make it yours.”

Shane slid his palm over the bottom half of his face, rubbing his jaw. “There’re a few things in storage I can probably get. The things that were at the barracks weren’t really that important to me, and I don’t think I’ll be getting those back anyway.”

“Then we’ll get your stuff from storage,” Bram said simply. “Just tell us where it is.”

“Because I can’t get it myself,” Shane added, his eyes dark. “Because I can’t leave the den.”

Bram sighed, but it was Charlotte who answered. “No, you can’t. But it’s not just you, you know. A lot of people aren’t safe outside the den right now because of hate groups and people like Montag, who happen to have a lot of power behind his own version of hate. Plus, any new wolf—no matter how he or she was changed—wouldn’t be allowed to leave so close to the full moon before their first transition. It’s not practical, and it’s not just about you. I promise they aren’t singling you out, even if it feels like that. So later, we’ll get your things. I’m surprised Mitchell hasn’t asked it about it, honestly. It’s his job as Beta to make sure the day-to-day needs of the Pack members are fulfilled.”

Shane winced. “He might have mentioned it, but I blew him off.” Shane sat down on the old couch, resting his forearms on his thighs. I wasn’t in a good mood when he asked, and he hasn’t asked again.”

Bram met Charlotte’s gaze. “He’ll either find a way to get your things without your help, or he’ll show up again and ask. He always finds a way to get what he wants.”

“I’m learning that fact about a lot of the Talons now,” Shane said wryly. He paused as if trying to collect his thoughts. “I never thought I’d be here, you know. I figured I’d retire or get out when my term came up like I was planning to and learn to be a civilian. Turns out, I’m learning to be something else entirely. I didn’t like the idea of who I would have to become if I had stayed with Montag, but I’m still not sure who I am now.”

Charlotte sat down on the coffee table in front of Shane, while Bram took a seat near the other man on the couch. “There’s a lot of that going around.” She licked her lips, and Bram forced himself not to stare. It wasn’t easy when the mating urge was riding him so hard. “I’m sorry for blurting out the whole mate thing like I did.” She blew out a breath. “It’s just all so much, and I tend to either block myself from things or let it all out in unintelligible instances when I’m stressed.”

Shane smiled then, and Bram once again felt the mating urge hit him. The man was handsome, sure, but when he smiled? Yeah, Bram was going to be in trouble with these two.

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