He honestly didn’t know how he’d ended up thinking about a future with the two of them, but now that he had, he knew he just needed to dive in full force. There was no use looking back and being fearful when others were counting on you.
“I’ll stay here while he shifts back if you want to go for a run.”
Charlotte gave a slight nod before walking up to Shane’s side. She slid her body against his before nipping at his ear. Before he could figure out how to respond, she rubbed along Bram’s legs and licked his fingers when he reached out to pet her.
Then she ran off, and Shane was left staring at her as she disappeared.
Bram let out a rough chuckle. “She has a way of doing that.” They both stared after her for a bit longer before Bram finally moved. “Let’s get you back to your human form while we wait for her. It’s been a long night.”
Shane wasn’t sure he was in the mood to go through all that pain again to shift back, but he was in no shape to argue.
“I want you to look deep inside and try to find the piece of yourself connected to your wolf. Once you find that cord, pull on it. Imagine yourself as human, and let the change come over you. Don’t fight it.”
Shane wasn’t sure he understood Bram’s words, but he followed his instructions anyway. After all, Bram had saved his life more than once, and Shane would do anything to repay him. Even something as simple as just listening.
The cord connecting him to his wolf was a dark strand he’d never seen before, never felt before. He tugged on it, and the primal part of him that made him want to growl and bite tugged back. Shane wasn’t sure what to do next, but Bram put his hand on Shane’s back.
“I want to talk to the man who will be my mate. Let that happen.”
With that idea in his mind, his wolf changed course. They both wanted to talk to Bram apparently. He pictured himself as human, and let out a howl as his body began to shift back.
Sweaty, sore, and exhausted, Shane lay in the grass, naked as the day he was born. Bram laughed when as he sat next to him, equally naked.
“You look ready to nap, but I figured you’d probably want to sleep at home.”
Shane rolled over and leaned on his arm. “Charlotte should be back soon, right?”
Bram nodded. “And I think the two of us will stay with you tonight, if that’s okay?”
The look in the other man’s eyes made Shane’s dick harden, and he swallowed, though his mouth was dry.
Before Shane could think of what to say, Charlotte trotted up. She looked between the two of them, her eyes filled with knowing, and moved to a grouping of bushes to shift back.
Shane wasn’t sure what would happen once they got back to his place, but he knew that everything would be different afterward. His wolf wanted them, and he had a feeling his human half wanted them even more.
He’d never thought to find someone—or more than one someone—to be with for the long haul, but he wasn’t human any longer. Whatever was inside him, this new soul, this new wolf, wanted these two. And now he knew that whatever danger he faced, whatever war came at them, he would be stronger, they would be stronger as one.
He stood on shaky legs as Charlotte came out of the bushes, her simple dress covering her curves. He would strip that off her later, he knew.
“Are you ready to go home?” he asked, his voice like gravel.
Charlotte stood right in front of him and cupped his face. “I’m ready.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her close before crushing his mouth to hers. She tasted of power and sweetness, and he wanted her mouth all over him.
When he pulled away, Bram was there, kissing him even harder. Shane finally caught a breath when Bram and Charlotte kissed each other, but the sight didn’t stop the rapid beat of his heart.
They were going to do this.
He was wolf. He was Talon.
And soon…soon, he’d have mates.
A far cry from the human soldier he’d been before all of this, but he knew this was where he was supposed to be. Where he was meant to be all along.
Finally.
BRANDON
Brandon fell to his knees, his body shaking. He hadn’t gone on the hunt tonight for this very reason, and yet it seemed he still hadn’t been able to fully cope with the ever-changing bonds of his Pack.
He was the Omega. The one wolf who should be able to handle the emotions and tensions of a Pack of shifters. A Pack that had gone through hell but had clawed its way back to health and life.
Yet he couldn’t do it.
His body shuddered, and he emptied the contents of his stomach on his hardwood floor. Sweat covered his body, and he knew he was too weak to shift into wolf form at the moment. His Pack needed him to be healthy. To be whole.
But he wasn’t.
And now there was a new member of his Pack, a new bond that was different than the others. But for some reason, Brandon didn’t think this bond would break them. No, the new wolf, this former human who had sacrificed everything for them, could be the one thing that could protect them.
Brandon just had to pray he would live long enough to see it.
His wolf needed a mate.