Everything was far messier, far more out of sync than most matings. “Anything worth doing is hard,” his mother had used to say when he was a pup. And though he could barely remember the sound of her voice, he could still hear those words.
He pushed away the sadness that came with thinking of his mother and father, and focused on the Talon Alpha in front of him. His parents were long gone, and he’d mourned for them. Now it was time for him to find his new path with two wolves he’d never seen coming.
Charlotte was out on patrol with the Talons, not the Redwoods. Kade had thought it would be a good idea for her to learn to work with the new wolves. Bram had never been prouder. She was such a fast wolf, such a fantastic dominant female, but it was hard for her to look beyond her past to see that. It wasn’t his role to show her how brilliant she was, however. That had to be all her. He could nudge her a bit, of course, and he had been trying to do that for years.
Hopefully, a new Pack who hadn’t seen her as she was as a child would help. While the Redwoods had never treated her differently, she had felt it anyway because of the pressure she put on herself.
Now, Bram and Shane stood with Gideon in his home to talk about what would come next. It was all a little surreal, but he wouldn’t be who he was if he couldn’t roll with the punches.
“We still have the three wolves who attacked you in custody,” Gideon was saying. “Kameron has his people on guard.” Gideon frowned. “I know others want me to call a Pack circle to decide what to do, but I don’t think that would be good for the Pack moral. However, these wolves betrayed us, betrayed you. So I’m going to take your input into consideration, Shane.”
Bram’s eyes widened. While Kade listened to his wolves, for some reason, Bram had always thought Gideon was a little more of a dictator than his Alpha. It seemed Bram had been wrong, and for that, he was very thankful.
Shane ran a hand over his face, and Bram put his hand on the other man’s knee. Gideon didn’t look surprised at the display of affection. The other man would clearly be able to see the mating marks at the collars of their shirts, scent them all over each other, and feel the bond between them. Bram knew all three of them—him, Shane, and Charlotte—were so blatantly into each other that even the weakest wolf would be able to tell at the moment.
“I don’t know the options here,” Shane said bluntly. “I think everyone is forgetting that I was a human man in the military less than a month ago.”
Hell, had it only been that long? That was crazy.
“Fair enough,” Gideon said after a moment. “For what they’ve done, they could be put to death. We can shun then from the Pack, break the bonds that make them Talon. We could lower their ranking within the Pack itself and force them to work up through the system over time like they did their entire adult lives. There are a few other options, but those are the main three.” Gideon paused. “The main three that I’m willing to do right now.”
Bram breathed in through his nose, letting the scent of Alpha and Shane roll over him. This would be Shane's and Gideon’s decision, but Bram would be here no matter what happened.
“They thought I was the enemy when they came after me,” Shane began. “They didn’t know the truth, and while they should have trusted you and your word, they were scared. So, yeah, they need to learn the chain of command and maintain that, but killing them or pushing them out into the world without a bond during the unrest we have outside the wards right now seems cruel.”
Gideon’s shoulders relaxed marginally. If Bram hadn’t been watching the other man, he would have missed it. It seemed Shane had passed some sort of test, or rather; the Alpha was pleased with Shane’s words.
“You’re thinking the same as I am, then,” Gideon said, confirming Bram’s thoughts. “Pull their ranks and make them work for it.”
“I also want to show them that I’m not the enemy,” Shane said earnestly. “I want to show all of you. I need to pull my weight.”
Gideon studied the other man. “You will. You already have with what you’ve given us. We’re still waiting on retaliation and what McMaster might do on the other end, but for now, we’re training and keeping our people safe.”
“It’s not enough, though. I need to feel like I have a purpose.”
“Then train with Bram, train with the Talons. And let’s see what your wolf can do. Once we figure that out, we can see where you fit, and what role you’ll play in the grander scheme of things. Breathe, Shane. You’ve been wolf for all but a day, and you have two new mates that need to know you, as well. We’ll be here when you’re on your feet. Now, go take time to see who you are. I have another meeting with one of our wolves in Washington, and then one with the Aspen Pack.”
And with that, they were dismissed.