Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3) (3 page)

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

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.

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, even when he didn’t think he was being pushy. He never meant anything bad by it, but he also couldn’t help it. If they were truly mates, his wolf wouldn’t automatically push her into a little box of helplessness, but he didn’t see it that way.

And that’s why they would never mate, even if her wolf tried to give in eventually.

Mandy wanted better for herself.

Even if it broke her best friend’s heart.

“Let’s just head that way,” she said, ignoring his question. He wouldn’t understand anyway. He was only a year older than her, and because of the way his wolf was ranked, he wasn’t as in control as the other males in the den. Meaning, he honestly couldn’t help himself when he did his caveman routine.

That didn’t mean she was going stand for it every day. It just took her a little while to gain the confidence to speak her mind.

He put his arm around her shoulders once more and they made their way to the den center. Because of the way the SAU had grouped them, shifters were forced to live relatively close to one another. But instead of infighting and daily challenges that would end in pain and death, they’d created a den they could live in for the time being. Within the den center, there were large meeting places for various groups of shifters, plus food storage and other places that allowed them to survive the long winter months.