Page 9 of Wolf Betrayed

His Alpha reached for his phone, and Bram shot out of the room before he could think better of it. He was aware the others stared at him and would be speaking of this in detail as soon as they could, but he couldn’t care, not then.

He needed to find Charlotte, and his wolf needed it more. He didn’t care if he didn’t have a fucking bond with her, she was his mate, and damn it, they would fix what they had broken.

And this human would just have to get out of his way.

By the time he made it to his car and drove toward the Talon Pack, his wolf was practically in control, and his claws threatened to escape from his fingertips. He took deep breaths, using the control techniques his father had taught him long ago. The ones that he’d been forced to learn the moment his birth parents had discovered the true strength of his wolf.

That much power for such a small pup would have been too much. His mom and dad had saved Bram’s life but hadn’t been able to save their own during the coming battles. Once again, he pushed those thoughts from his mind.

When he reached the Talon den, the sentinels, the wolves guarding the gates, let him through, and he pulled over to the visitor’s parking area. Before he could fully get out of his vehicle, he felt her.

He closed the door quickly and opened his arms as Charlotte jumped into his embrace. He hadn’t been prepared for the strength of the impact, and he took a step back, steadying himself with her in his arms.

“Charlotte,” he whispered reverently. He tangled his hands in her hair and inhaled her sweet and floral scent, needing her desperately. But they were on another Pack’s territory, and this wasn’t the time. He wasn’t sure it would ever be the time.

“He…I won’t do it, Bram. I don’t care what my wolf says, he’s not mine. You are.”

The words should have been a balm, but instead, they scraped him raw, leaving a bloody trail behind. While it wasn’t uncommon for a wolf to find two potential mates at the same time, it wasn’t easy. If the wolf couldn’t choose, there would have to be a mating circle set in place where the two potentials would fight each other for the right to mate with the third. That was how Kade and Melanie had mated all those years ago, though it hadn’t been Melanie’s fault she hadn’t been able to choose. She’d been thrust into a world she didn’t know, and things had escalated too quickly.

Bram would fight for Charlotte, but he didn’t want to put her through that.

“I need to see him,” he said suddenly, his wolf pushing at him.

Charlotte’s eyes widened as she pulled away. “Why? He doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.”

He cupped her face. “It does, Charlotte. And not just because of us. You know this. What was done to him means more than what you and I are dealing with.”

She pressed her lips together and gave him a reluctant nod. “I left him with the others in the infirmary. Walker was sedating him again, though the meds don’t seem to be working well enough.”

No, the only thing that had calmed Shane had been Charlotte. Or so he’d been told. Because of that, Bram needed to see this human who wasn’t quite so human.

In silence, Bram followed Charlotte to the infirmary that was attached to Walker’s—the Healer’s—home, her hand tucked safely in his. It didn’t escape his notice that they were touching more now than they had in recent times. Before their disaster at trying to mate, they had always been close and touched in casual ways whenever they could. Afterward, however, they’d kept their distance, and it killed Bram more and more with each passing day.

As soon as they entered the building, his wolf pushed at him harder than it ever had before. For some reason, he knew as soon as he walked into Shane’s room everything would change. He squeezed Charlotte’s hand and let it go.

“Let me see him first,” he whispered. “I…I need to see.”

She frowned at him but let him go. He always loved how she trusted him when he couldn’t explain why he needed things.

He could feel her at his back even as he moved toward the open door. Gideon and Walker stood in the doorway, curious expressions on their faces, but they didn’t speak to him when he passed. He knew he’d have to talk to them soon, but not then. Not yet.

When he saw the man on the bed, he sucked in a breath. Shane’s brown hair was stuck to his face, slick with sweat. His firm jaw was tight with pain, widening at his temples. He didn’t make a sound, but as soon as Bram walked into the room, Shane’s arched back relaxed and a sense of calm softened his features.

Bram took a staggering step back at the ramifications of what had just happened.

If what Kade had said were true, and Shane had only calmed in Charlotte’s presence before this…that meant she wasn’t Shane’s only mate.

Bram was a potential, as well.

And that meant Bram’s version of hell was only just beginning.

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