“After.” Shane’s face went crestfallen. “After the full moon and you’re healthy. Then…well, then we’ll see what happens.”
And though that was the best decision in the long run, she knew none of them were going to be able to sleep that night.
She’d tasted both of her men, had them in her arms if only for the moment. She just prayed that when the moon rose full and high in the sky, she’d find the strength to keep them.
Because her heart had betrayed her once already, and she’d be damned if she’d let it happen again.
Chapter Ten
Bram didn’t have a good feeling about this. The moon shone high in the sky, bright and beckoning. It pulled at his wolf, his skin itchy, as if too small for his body. His bones ached deep down, ready to break and transform into his other counterpart. Wolves didn’t have to hunt on the full moon, and most didn’t do so in such large groups every month. However, sometimes the occasion called for it. Tonight, he wouldn’t run on four paws with his Pack, but rather the Talons. And while other Redwoods had hunted with the other Pack in the past for fun or because they were on their way to mating, Bram had never had the opportunity.
He was the Alpha’s guard, an enforcer. From the time he’d hit puberty, he’d known his role, and Kade had figured it out, as well. He’d been running with the Alpha ever since.
Tonight, he wouldn’t be, and he honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
It was something he’d need to get over though because while his wolf needed this run, tonight wasn’t about him. Shane needed Bram and Charlotte by his side during his first shift, and that meant Bram would put aside his own reservations and worries and help the other man.
Bram couldn’t remember not shifting into his wolf. He didn’t even remember his first shift. Some people swore they could, even though they’d been too young. For most of them, it was their first memory.
Bram could only remember being wolf, never fighting the change.
So he wasn’t sure how much help he’d be tonight, but if Shane needed him, he’d be there. He could still remember the taste of the other man’s tongue on his, the feel of Shane’s lips, the scrape of stubble against skin. His wolf had bucked at the reins, needing more, but it hadn’t been the time.
When—not if—Shane made the change to wolf, they would all have to be ready to face the next step. His wolf was oddly content at that thought, but once again, Bram pushed that away.
Strong arms wrapped around his middle as Charlotte pressed herself to Bram’s back. This time, his wolf wasn’t merely content, but ravenous.
He slid his hands over hers before turning around in her arms. “Are you ready for tonight?”
She sighed into his chest, his strong girl looking vulnerable like she never could around others. “Yes, though I wish I weren’t so nervous.”
Bram kissed the top of her head, aware they’d been touching more now than they had in previous months. The two of them had always been close, holding one another like this when they needed to because it had been safe. When things had gone astray, they’d resisted the urge to do what had come naturally for so long.
Now he had her in his arms again, but it wasn’t the same as last time. Instead, this was comfort wrapped in promise and heat. He’d missed the feel of her against him more than he’d ever thought possible. It had taken a human entering their lives for them to see the truth behind what they had been missing.
A human who wouldn’t be human after tonight.
Though Bram and Charlotte were standing in the middle of a field on the Talon Pack land, they were early enough that they were alone. Soon, the rest of the Talons would show up already in wolf form or to begin shifting. While nudity didn’t usually bother people, teens in the middle of finding out whom they were, preferred to shift indoors, as did some wolves who took a while to change.
The shift itself was personal, their bodies becoming their most vulnerable selves before they went from one form to another. It was a private thing that they could sometimes do in front of others if the time was right. A full moon hunt was usually one of those times.
Shane would shift tonight near Charlotte and Bram, but Walker and Gideon would be close, as well. Bram hoped everything would work out so that none of them were needed, but nothing so far had worked out as he’d planned so he wasn’t sure.
Bram’s wolf pushed at him just a bit more, and he turned as Shane walked toward them. The Brentwoods around him dispersed to their own areas, though Gideon and Walker followed him.
Charlotte slid from Bram’s grasp and moved toward the other man. Again, he didn’t feel the jealousy he would and did with any other man. It just proved to him that his was more than multiple potential mates. This was a triad.
Something that had never once crossed his mind as a possibility before this.
“Ready to do this?” Charlotte asked, her voice serious but still soft.