What most people didn’t know about the Pack she’d grown up in was that the Centrals weren’t always like that. In fact, they’d been a strong and valiant Pack much like the Redwoods before her father had broken something deep inside himself to become who he’d become. And because there had been decent people left within the Pack, who had seen what their den was becoming, they’d left, hidden within the forest and created their own version of a Pack. They didn’t have an Alpha or anything the moon goddess would have gifted them with, but they had been taint free of the disease that had spread throughout the rest of the Centrals. They didn’t have hot showers, and they lived under the radar for as long as they could. Charlotte’s mother had been one of those deserters, doing everything she could to protect her daughter from a Pack that would see her destroyed. Though Charlotte knew the distance between her mother and her mate, the Alpha, was what had eventually killed her, Charlotte had never been as proud of a person as she was her mother.
The fact that she had that woman’s blood running through her veins was the only reason she had any semblance of hope most days.
She hadn’t thought about her birth mother in a long while. It hurt too much most days, and Ellie had been the best kind of mother, everything Charlotte had ever needed. She didn’t like looking into the past, and she had been a lot recently. She knew it was probably because she was worried about what the future would bring.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Shane and Bram. Maybe it would be best…maybe it would be best if the two of them mated and she stood aside. Maybe they would be happier without a woman like her near them.
She quickly wiped away the tears that dared to fall and finished showering. There was no use crying over something she wasn’t going to deal with right now. First, she had to save her people from whatever schemes this Montag had and get rid of the poison that had made Shane into what he was.
Then she could deal with her own crap.
And that was the seventh time she’d told herself that, so maybe it was time she actually did it instead of just talking about it. She turned off the shower and dried off, her mind finally on the mission at hand. Once she was dressed and her hair back in a braid, she stretched her arms over her head, centering herself for what was to come.
She’d been lost for so long, even when others thought she was finally found. Tonight, however, she had a purpose, a plan. She would work with her Pack and the Talons to ensure there was a future for her people. One free of the dangerous propositions Montag and the others held so close to their chests.
She was wolf first, woman second tonight.
And she would fight.
Shane’s presence by her side heated her from the inside out, but her wolf didn’t push her to move closer. In fact, it seemed to steady at the idea of being so close to Shane on one side and Bram on the other.
Tonight they had a mission, and her wolf was eagerly waiting to show off her skills. That, Charlotte thought with a smile, was satisfying.
The wolves were strategically placed around the compound in human form. If needed, they would shift, but it would be better to not tip anyone off to their presence. And seeing wolves around this particular area would do just that. Though Shane wasn’t a hundred percent yet, they needed him there in case there were any details he’d missed when he’d briefed them. With so many things going on, it wouldn’t surprise Charlotte if he had. He’d been drugged and out of his mind the last time he’d been here, after all. They’d placed Charlotte and Bram with him to keep him steady, and while she’d thought that would have made it more difficult for her, it had just the opposite effect. Her wolf needed to know where these two were, and because they didn’t have a bond to aid in that, their physical closeness would have to do.
She inhaled deeply, ignoring the two scents around her as they wove together to form an intricately enticing aroma, and studied the landscape around her. Bram was to her left, Shane to her right, and she did her best not to think about how perfect it felt. They would have to talk soon, she knew, because it was getting harder and harder to focus on the more important things.
Her senses told her there were at least ten guards stationed around the compound, but she couldn’t tell if anyone was inside the building. Either it was an empty husk, and the guards were there to protect the equipment or even act as a decoy, or there was something blocking her. Knowing these particular humans as she did, she wouldn’t put any of those scenarios past them.
Bram leaned close, his body pressed tightly against hers, the warmth of his breath on her neck doing horrible things to her self-control. “We’re going in soon. You ready?” His voice was so low that she could barely hear it, and his lips were at her ear.
She nodded. Her wolf was beyond ready. The men and women behind the horrors that Shane had described needed to be dealt with. It shouldn’t be wolf against human, human against human, or even wolf against wolf. It was always those who broke the laws of nature against those who fought for the health and safety of the rest of them.
She leaned into Shane then, and he lowered his head so she could speak to him. “Ready?”
He nodded, and though it was dark, her eyes were wolf, and she could see him clearly.
The Alphas moved first and went in. She followed, the men at her side. They didn’t need her speed yet, and she wasn’t sure they would at all, but for now, they needed quiet. If they did need her talents, she would be ready.