Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3) Read online

  Without another word, he did Anya’s tattoo. This was about her connection and mating to Cole, not about the fact that Gibson couldn’t keep his mind off Anya’s brother and another soul out there who he couldn’t have. This should have been something a little more special than his needing to find a hole to hide in.

  Which was just like him these days apparently.

  He just needed to run, to let his wolf out. And once he did that, maybe he’d get a clue and remember that Oliver was the Foreseer and not for him. The Foreseer didn’t mate, and even if they did, it was to another bear, not to a wolf with no family or title. As for the other? Well, she was already taken, wasn’t she? Gibson had been too late for her and was too wrong for Oliver.

  He finished up Anya’s ink, knowing there were more important things out there than his needs. He didn’t need anything. As long as he kept his Pack happy, he’d figure out his own happiness.

  And it wouldn’t be with Oliver or her.

  With one last look at the new family of bears and cat, he patted Cole on the shoulder and gave the others a chin lift. The cubs were still napping, or he’d have said goodbye to them, at least. But as they were out of it, he left his studio and home without another word and jogged toward the den center. It was still too light for him to shift and change with the SAU guards on high alert, so he’d find something to do in order to get rid of this excess energy of his.

  “Gibson!”

  He turned at the sound of his Alpha’s voice and jogged toward where Ariel and Holden stood. The big wolf had his arm draped casually around Ariel’s shoulders while she leaned into him, her wolf in her eyes as she smiled. She was still new at learning to control her base instincts, but Gibson thought she had a better handle on it than some of the adolescents learning their place in the dominance structure. He figured the only reason he could feel her wolf just then was because the pair had just come back from their home, scenting of a mating of their own. Between that and the fact that Holden seemed to have missed a button while getting dressed quickly, Gibson had a fair idea what they had been up to.

  If he’d been any other wolf, he’d have called them on it, jokingly or not. But that wasn’t who he was.

  “Holden,” Gibson said softly as he made his way to their sides. He nodded at Ariel. “Ariel.”

  “Hello, Gibson,” Ariel said sweetly. She smiled up at him, and he had to blink quickly. Not many people smiled at him. In fact, not many noticed him at all. He was there when he was needed, but people tended to forget he existed any other time.

  “We’re going to work on some of the new builds,” Holden explained. It was getting later in the day, though they tended to work at night anyway. It kept the SAU off their backs and allowed them to work faster. It wasn’t as if the darkness was an issue for them.

  They were predators, after all.

  “What do you need me to do?” he asked.

  Holden studied his face. “Is something wrong?” he asked, his wolf in his tone. There was a reason Holden was Alpha, and this was only part of it. The other man knew when his wolves needed him, knew when something was off. Yet Gibson wasn’t about to lay his needs at his Alpha’s feet. They were for him and him alone.

  Gibson shook his head. “I’m fine. I just finished Anya’s and Cole’s mating tattoos.” It wasn’t a lie, but Holden would be able to take what he needed from that.

  Ariel put her hand on Gibson’s forearm over his brand and studied his face. “You’ll let us know if you need us? If you just want to talk?”

  Gibson slowly removed his arm, her touch too much for him. Unless he was working on someone’s tattoo, he tended to keep to himself. He might be a wolf, but he’d always known he was different.

  “Okay,” he lied. “Tell me where you need me,” he asked Holden.

  His Alpha let out a sigh. “On the building next to us. We’re working on a few new housing units for the bears, though it’s going to be a snug fit.”

  “We just don’t have the room,” Ariel said sadly. “We didn’t have the room before the bears and cats arrived, and now it’s that much worse.”

  Gibson studied her face as she frowned. Holden brought her close. “It’s not your fault.”

  Ariel gave him a sad smile. “It kind of is, but the more I wallow, the more annoying I get. So how about we work on what we can fix and let me sulk later.”

  Gibson sighed but followed the Alpha pair as they made their way to the job site. Since the heat started to suffocate, seeping into his pores, he stripped off his shirt and began to work. He needed the release of tension, and beating his body into tiredness would have to be the thing that did it.

  He was well into an hour of hard work when the sweet scent of wolf and sugar filled his senses. He tensed and did his best not to look over his shoulder.

  Of course, he failed.

  He turned as Mandy made her way to Ariel’s side, her best friend and future mate, Theo, close by. The other wolf always watched her, cared for her, did everything a mate should do except mark her.

  As Mandy was submissive, her wolf required more time and care than other wolves would. She was an integral part of the health of the Pack, even if not everyone understood that.

  And she wasn’t his.

  He swallowed hard and forced his gaze away. She wasn’t his. Same as Oliver.

  He was alone, right where he should be. He couldn’t do what he had to do for his Pack if he had others, if he had someone to share the burden. They wouldn’t understand, and he didn’t want them to have his burden. It was what he had to do.

  And Mandy would be happy with Theo.

  And Oliver…Oliver would find his peace one day with his role as Foreseer.

  He felt Mandy’s gaze on him, as well as Theo’s glare. He pushed himself into his work, lifting and hammering until sweat coated his body and his lungs burned. By the time he looked around again, they were gone, and he could finally breathe once more.

  Gibson bent down to reach for his bottle of water and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He rose slowly, ready to lash out at whoever had put his wolf on edge. Yet as soon as he turned, claws out, someone else came from the other side.

  The last thing he remembered before something smashed into the back of his head was a sharp pain radiating from his skull, pulling all thoughts of matings and confusion from his mind.

  “Gibson,” a voice growled. “Wake up, wolf. The bleeding’s stopped, but you need to wake up.”

  Gibson blinked his eyes open and promptly shut them at the blinding light. He growled, trying to remember what had happened, but could only focus on the fact that his wolf couldn’t stay still.

  It prowled within him, lashing out and nudging at him. It wanted something, but he couldn’t quite figure it out. Rage filled him, followed by relief, and an overwhelming sense of unease and responsibility. Before he could navigate through the emotions, his wolf howled within and he opened his eyes.

  “What happened?” he gasped.

  Holden knelt over him, his eyes wide, though not his own. Rather his wolf’s. “Omega,” he whispered.

  Gibson swallowed, trying to catch his breath, but the emotions assaulting him wouldn’t let him do anything except lie there and try to remember how to be him. “What?”

  “You’re our Omega,” Holden whispered. “I have no idea how it happened, but, Gibson, we’ve been waiting for you for a lifetime.”

  Gibson looked into his Alpha’s eyes, then around him at the other wolves who knelt in a semi circle, awe in their gazes. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

  He couldn’t be the Omega. That was a place of power and great pride. They were the ones who helped heal the Pack from within and brought them together while the Alpha and Beta protected.

  He couldn’t be the lost wolf Omega.

  Yet as rage, happiness, awe, fear, sadness, angst, and nervousness assailed him, he knew it had to be true.

  He was the Omega.

  Gibson blinked.

&nbsp
; His Pack was screwed.

  “Who hit me?” he asked, his voice raspy.

  Holden’s eyes narrowed. “That is something we’re going to figure out, Omega,” he growled.

  Omega. Yes, Gibson thought, his Pack was screwed.

  Chapter 2

  Mandy ran her hand over the quilt at the end of her bed and frowned. How could things change so quickly overnight and yet remain so much the same? Her world had shifted, her axis forever altered, yet here she was, staring at the handmade blanket and wondering about her place in the world.

  She’d done much of the same the day before, and yet her Pack had changed when she hadn’t been looking.

  They’d found their Omega.

  Her wolf sighed happily, content for the first time in her life. Well, maybe not fully content since there was something missing just out of her reach, but as content as she was going to be unmated.

  She couldn’t quite believe that Gibson was their new Omega. He’d always been on the sidelines, the one there, but not completely. He’d marked each and every one of the Pack and most of the cats and bears, as well. He’d been the one to take what should have been an ugly reminder of their captivity and make it something beautiful, unique, theirs.

  And yet she was never sure he felt that way.

  She could still remember the way he’d never once looked in her eyes when he did her tattoo. It had only been a couple of years ago, and though he was a few years older than she was, Mandy had thought they’d had a connection.

  Her wolf had chosen him right then and there.

  Of course, Mandy hadn’t done a thing about it.

  How could she when he never looked at her, never spoke to her, never once acknowledged her?

  He wasn’t like some of the others, who felt submissives didn’t have a place in the Pack because their first instinct wasn’t to fight, but to soothe. Instead, he pulled away and did his best to ensure they were never alone together.

  If she had been any other wolf, she might have confronted him on that. But her wolf hadn’t been able to.

  And when the other man had entered their den, her wolf had done much of the same as it had with Gibson. Only now, instead of yearning for just one, it yearned for two without doing a thing about it.

  Her wolf seriously confused her.

  If Gibson had shown any interest whatsoever, she’d have done her best to push her wolf to make a move or to at least have a normal conversation with the man. But he hadn’t, and she hadn’t found the courage to get rejected. Now that Oliver was in the den, though…

  No, that couldn’t happen either. He was the Foreseer. Someone truly important to his people, and someone who should probably mate with another bear so their line remained strong.

  Mandy knew she wasn’t nothing and never thought of herself as ‘not good enough,’ but sometimes being a submissive wolf wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. For actions like going for the man—or men—she wanted, she had to work twice as hard to find the ability. And yet when it came to making sure the dominant members of the den had a place where they could feel safe and relax, she could do that in a pinch. She was pretty sure she was the most submissive shifter in the entire compound, and while that had never bothered her in the past, now it made for an awkward state of things.

  Before Gibson was the Omega, she figured he had to be near the top of the dominance chain, though he’d always set himself apart. Everyone, including her, thought it was because he was the one who tattooed over their scars and brands. Now, however, it could have been instinctual since Omegas were outside the roles of dominance. They were the ones who cared for all emotions within a Pack. And since they were living in close quarters with bears and cats, it could be that one day he would care for their emotional well-being, as well.

  Oliver was much the same with his ability to see the future. With his visions, he was able to protect the bears—and therefore the cats and wolves. Though she knew it took a toll on him with each new sight before unseen. Because of his role, however, he was also on the outside looking in.

  Mandy sighed, tracing her fingers over the tight stitching her grandmother had done years ago when she’d made the blanket. The other woman had been a maternal dominant, strong, capable, and yet nurturing.

  Some days, Mandy felt like none of those things and yet all of them at the same time.

  “Mandy? Is this a good time? I can come back if you want,” Ariel said as she walked into Mandy’s room.

  Mandy turned and smiled at her new friend. She didn’t have many because of where she was in the Pack. It was hard for the truly dominant to be casual with her when their wolves urged them to protect at all costs. While she did her best to allow her own wolf to soothe, usually it became too much of a push and pull with the way their wolves should act, rather than how the human halves of them could.

  Ariel was different. Though she was mated to the Alpha and decently dominant in her own right, she hadn’t been born a wolf. Because she’d had so many years of being human, the instinctual way some wolves reacted around Mandy didn’t seem to happen to her. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason Mandy liked the other woman, and because of that, she’d found herself a friend.

  “I’m ready now. Do you want to sit at the table and get to work?” she asked. “I know we could be doing this at your place, but I figured it’s nice to get out of the Alpha den every once in a while.”

  Ariel rolled her eyes and tugged Mandy close for a hug. “Yeah, sometimes I need a break from the strength of their wolves. I swear every dominant wolf not on patrol is in my living room at the moment.” Her eyes clouded. “And Gibson is over there right now.” She paused, her teeth biting into her lip.

  Mandy’s wolf pushed forward ever so slightly—as aggressive as she ever got. She put her hand on Ariel’s arm and did her best to soothe.

  “Is he doing any better?” she tried to sound casual, but Ariel saw through her words.

  “You should tell him how you feel, Mandy,” her friend and Alpha whispered.

  Mandy shook her head. “I think he has enough feelings to deal with at the moment.”

  Ariel winced. “I’ve never seen anyone so afraid to touch another person, Mandy. We can’t get near him, and yet every time we go away, he whimpers.” She paused, her wolf in her gaze. “Gibson doesn’t whimper. Ever.”

  Mandy’s eyes filled, and she did her best to blink the tears away. “No, he doesn’t. He’s so much stronger than he gives himself credit for and yet…”

  “And yet he won’t lean on anyone,” Ariel finished for her.

  “Is Cole there?” she asked, speaking of the Feline Tracker that had become friends with Gibson.

  “Yes,” Ariel said with a sigh. “Holden is happy at least he’s there. The rest? Not so much. Okay, so Soren is fine with it, but I think that’s mostly because he’s mated to a cat and our Beta. But the other dominant wolves? Most of them don’t want a cat in our business.”

  “Which is stupid because we’re all in this together so everything is our business.” Mandy shook her head. “Is there anything we can do?”

  Ariel blew out a breath. “I don’t know, but I don’t think all of those dominant wolves near him is helping. They’re trying to figure out who attacked him and why he’s suddenly the Omega and it’s all too much.”

  “He was always the Omega,” Mandy said softly. “His wolf just wasn’t ready before this. And maybe the attack put it all out in the open.”

  Ariel met Mandy’s gaze. “I agree with you, but not everyone does. It’s so weird for them right now and nothing I do seems to help.” She paused. “I think you need to go to him, Mandy.”

  Mandy shook her head, her heart in her throat even as her wolf perked. “I can’t.”

  “He might be what you need. You are what he needs.”

  Mandy closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to find her path once more. It used to be easier when it was only one man on her mind, but now that there were two, it was much harder. It wasn’t
that being in a ménage within the den would be taboo, it was that she wasn’t the kind of shifter most thought would be in a relationship like that. Of course, she couldn’t find the strength to even talk to them, so it wasn’t as if anything was going to come of it.

  “Let’s get to work on our plans,” Mandy said softly. “That much I can do.”

  Ariel sighed. “If that’s what you want. But if you ever want to go to him, I’ll go with you. He might need a submissive wolf to calm him, Mandy. But I can find another wolf—”

  “No,” Mandy interrupted. Her cheeks heated. “I’ll go to him if he needs it. I don’t want another wolf around him.”

  Ariel’s eyes filled with triumph, and Mandy wanted to kick herself. “Good. Now let’s get to work.”

  They went to the table and rolled out their plans. Twenty-five years ago when shifters were forced behind walls and branded, they’d done it to protect those who couldn’t fight for themselves.

  Those like Mandy.

  And yet, she knew those like her were stronger than they thought they were.

  Now that their people were on the verge of a rebellion, it wasn’t a matter of if they would get out, but when. And when that happened, they needed to make sure they were ready. Children and those who couldn’t fight needed to be protected.

  She wasn’t sure what the world looked like outside these walls. She’d been born into captivity, and the way they lived now was the only way she’d ever known. But one day, she would breathe fresh air and not fear for her life near the walls that were her home. That day would be soon, she thought. Because of the work those in positions of power were doing, as well as those on the outside. The Unseen, the shifters who had hidden instead of being captured, were doing their best to protect their own people. But in so doing, things were changing for everyone.

  And when things broke, when the way they lived changed, Mandy would be one of the ones to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. She might be submissive, and her first instinct may not be to fight tooth and claw, but she would show the others she was stronger than they thought. She would also make sure those in the line of fire knew they were needed, knew they had someone to lean on when the time came.