Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3) Read Free

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