Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3) Read Online Free

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