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

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.
    That was her job, and she didn’t take it lightly.
    So she and Ariel would make plans for those in their care and do their best to make sure their people would be able to breathe freely once more. While the other shifters in the compound would lay the groundwork and do the actual fighting, there were more things to accomplish than that. That’s where she and Ariel came in.
    Hours later, her brain hurt and her back ached, but they had some semblance of a plan. One that could go up in flames in an instant, however, so they would make backups for their backups and include insights from people with more knowledge of the outside world than she had.
    “I’m going back to my place to see how Holden and Gibson are holding up,” Ariel said once they were done for the day. “Do you need anything? Want to come?”
    Mandy shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I might go to the den center to help out there and grab a bite to eat.”
    Ariel frowned. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out alone right now. We don’t know who attacked Gibson yet.”
    Mandy sighed. She shouldn’t be surprised that Ariel was being overprotective, but she was.
    “She won’t be alone,” her best friend and sometimes pain in the butt, Theo, said as he walked out of the trees, Holden by his side.
    “You really think I’m going to let my mate walk around alone right now?” Holden asked. He brought Ariel close and kissed her hard.
    Mandy blushed and did her best not to stare, but she couldn’t help it. What would it be like to have someone hold her like that? To know that, no matter what, they were hers ?
    Theo wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she stiffened. She tried to hide it, but he saw it. He sighed but didn’t remove his arm. “We were heading over to see if you guys were hungry. Good timing.” He sounded casual, but she knew he was anything but.
    He wanted her as his mate, but her wolf didn’t want the same thing.
    It was something they’d had to deal with since she’d come of age, and yet she knew that if she didn’t do something about it, her wolf might just give up on whom they truly wanted and give in to Theo.
    And that would break her, just a little.
    Not that Theo wasn’t an amazing wolf who cared for her, but he was her best friend. Not her mate. And the fact that he knew that broke him, too.
    It just wasn’t fair that the two she wanted didn’t seem to see her. They weren’t for her at all.
    And this was why she didn’t mate.
    “I’m actually going to see my mate home,” Holden said, his hand firmly on Ariel’s butt. It was a wonder he let his mate out of bed.
    “We’ll go get food, then,” Theo said. “See you.”
    Mandy sighed as she waved goodbye to the others. “You could have asked, you know.”
    Theo looked down at her, a frown on his face as well as a general look of confusion. “What do you mean?”
    She held back another sigh. He just didn’t get it. He was just so dominant and pushy,