“I don’t know what’s coming next, but what I do know is that deep inside, my wolf wants you both,” Bram said softly. “That doesn’t mean we should jump into bed and declare our feelings for each other or create a bond, but I do want to…I don’t know, at least try to find out if this is something more than just a feeling.”
Shane slid his hand through his hair again. Bram watched the way the other man’s muscles worked, telling himself to calm down. He could never quite calm down in Charlotte’s presence, however, and now it seemed Shane incited a similar reaction in him.
“I don’t even know if I’m going to shift,” Shane said softly. “I don’t know what I am. Who I am.”
“I understand,” Bram said sadly, and Charlotte kept her head down, staying silent.
“No, I don’t think you do,” Shane whispered. “I don’t know who I am, but I do know that it’s time I start believing in something other than what I thought I was fighting for for so long. I want to believe in fate and something greater than me. And I know having the two of you around does something to me. So I have to take a chance on that. I don’t know what’s coming next, but I want to see what does…with the two of you.” He looked at Bram then before reaching out and lifting Charlotte’s chin. “Can you do that? Can you take a chance on a broken soldier who doesn’t know what’s inside him?”
Shane’s question was so earnest that Bram reached out without thinking and put his hand on Shane’s thigh. The other man tensed before relaxing. Since Charlotte had put her hand on Bram’s wrist, the three were touching as one, and Bram’s wolf pushed at him, wanting more.
Charlotte looked between the two men, a soft expression Bram couldn’t quite read on her face. “I think that’s your answer. Yes, I want to see what comes next. I just hope it doesn’t break us in the process.”
The relief hit Bram hard, even if the fear ebbed with it. Yes, they’d broken once before, but he’d be damned if he’d let it happen again. Everything was changing, and Bram knew they’d have to change with it or shatter again. Forever.
These two could be his future.
Maybe it was time for Bram to fight for a life worth living.
Chapter Nine
Shane was taking notes. He figured he’d be taking notes for the next decade at this rate and never catch up. He should have understood that changing his entire life twice over would be difficult, but he hadn’t taken into account the history of a world he’d never truly been a part of.
“You’re going to give yourself a brain aneurysm if you don’t stop and breathe,” Brandon said from his side.
The two of them were taking a walk through the den so Shane could get acquainted with the layout as well as ask any questions he could think of. Brandon was a good listener, but more importantly, when prompted, he was a good teacher. The Brentwoods had been taking turns with Shane, showing him around the den, as well as staying at either his place or one of theirs for a meal so he would feel more included.
They not only wanted him to learn what it meant to be wolf and Pack, but they also wanted the side benefit of others watching them. Shane hoped that if those who were wary about his presence saw him with the Alpha and his family, they might learn to trust him. Of course, trust took time, and helping them blow up one building along with the formula to create monsters wasn’t enough.
Once he could shift—if he could shift—he’d find other ways to prove to them that he was here to stay. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he’d come to know this so quickly, as he hadn’t been in the right mind when he’d shown up at the Talon’s door, but he thought it probably had something to do with the bonds sliding through his system, anchoring him to a group of people he’d never met before.
Though he’d trusted his team through his career as a soldier and would have died for them if the need arose, he’d never felt what he did now. It was…different.
He stopped where he was and ran a hand over his face.
Different was the word of the day, wasn’t it. And what a sad word it was since it couldn’t possibly encompass everything that had happened in the past weeks.
Brandon, who had stopped walking when Shane had, merely nudged him along to a bench by a grouping of trees. The wooden seat looked like it fit perfectly with nature and not like something they’d placed without thought. He liked that about the wolves around here. They did their best not to hurt the land that fed them and always made sure it and den were taken care of.
Shane sat down slowly with Brandon taking the seat next to him. He wasn’t truly in control right then since the full moon was the next day, and neither Bram nor Charlotte was there to help. Brandon, however, soothed him in a different way.