Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3) (5 page)

He’d gone off a little fast for his tastes, but he knew it was only taking the edge off at this point. The next time he faced either Mandy or Gibson, he would have to try to clear his mind of what they looked like when they came with him. Not that he actually knew that, but he’d imagined it enough that he could at least picture what he thought they’d look like in the throes of passion.

There was something clearly wrong with him that he could come so soon after a vision of death and damning.

He’d survived the vision, however, and that had to count for something. And if just the thought of those two could bring him some form of…life…then he’d take it.

But there was something wrong with him nonetheless.

He dressed quickly in a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt that had seen better days. It wasn’t as if he would be seeing anyone today. No one came to him for help. They didn’t want to know if he’d seen their deaths. Of course, it wasn’t always that clear. He’d seen deaths that had played out just as he’d seen them, but most of the time, it was more of an omen, a warning of what
could
happen. He did his best to warn whom he could, but sometimes, things like old age couldn’t be stopped.

And sometimes, the visions were like they were last night, where they didn’t truly make sense. He didn’t know if Cole would be fighting a dark entity one day. He didn’t know if Gibson and Mandy would be alone when they fought off their attackers. He just knew that change was coming for them all.

And he had to figure out what to do about that.

With a sigh, he padded out to his porch, annoyed that he hadn’t made himself coffee, and sank down to the old wooden steps. His head hurt, and he knew he needed a dose of caffeine to make it through the day. It was barely dawn, the first light just peeking over the tall trees surrounding his home. If he listened carefully, he could hear the sounds of Anya and Cole waking up for the day and the cubs snoring in their beds. Of course, since he knew his sister and new brother-in-law a little too well, he blocked out their voices—Cole was a little…loud in the mornings. There were just some things he didn’t need to know. That was another reason why he’d been happy with Anya moving out, even if she was only a little across the way.

His other neighbor, however, well, he’d listen to him all day if he could.

As if he’d conjured him from thin air, Gibson slid through the trees, two cups of coffee in his hands. His hair was disheveled, long, and hanging in his face. He’d put on a white T-shirt, but Oliver was pretty sure it was inside out. The other man had also put on jeans, but they were riding so low that either the wolf had lost even more weight, or he hadn’t buttoned them.

Oliver did his best to not swallow his tongue at the sight.

“I didn’t scent coffee from your place so I brought you some,” Gibson growled. “I need caffeine if I’m going to be up at this ungodly hour.” He handed over a cup and Oliver nodded. “I don’t know how you like your coffee, so black’s going to have to do.”

He sat down next to Oliver and sighed.

“Black’s fine,” Oliver said softly. “Black’s just fine.” He paused. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” They sat there in silence, drinking their coffee and watching the morning come.

His bear settled down, enjoying the way Gibson was so close. They weren’t touching, but they were seated close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off the other man. Oliver took a deep breath and knew it was a mistake. The Omega’s rich scent washed over him and he had to hold back a groan.

Instead of doing something like acting on his instincts, he ran a hand through his wet hair and grimaced. He needed to at least brush the mass when it was at this length. Since it went past his shoulders, he usually had it back in a ponytail, but he’d slept roughly, and had showered without bothering to wash it because he’d just needed the water sluicing down his skin. Now he had a tangled mess that matched his rough beard that had grown past his chin.

He probably looked like a homeless person who needed a hot meal. No wonder Gibson had shown up with coffee.

“I felt you, you know,” Gibson said finally, and Oliver set down his now empty coffee cup.

“What do you mean?” he asked roughly.

Gibson set down his cup, as well. “I felt your pain, the angst of your dream. Or was it a vision?” He shook his head, his hair brushing the tops of his shoulders. “I don’t know exactly how, but I
felt
it.” He looked into Oliver’s face. “I’m not supposed to feel a bear, am I? Or maybe we’re all one Pack now that we’re so close and forming bonds within the den.” He paused. “But Oliver, I
felt
it. If that’s what you feel in each vision, then I don’t know how you can make it through each day.” His body shuddered. “That was…it was a lot.”

Oliver sat, stunned. No one had ever felt even an inkling of what it meant to be him, to experience a vision. He’d never met another Foreseer. Unlike those of his past, he hadn’t been trained alongside those who held his abilities. Instead, he had to feel his way around his role in the Pack—much like Gibson would have to do now.

“I didn’t know you could do that.”

Gibson met Oliver’s gaze. “I didn’t know I could either.” He swallowed hard, and Oliver watched the way his throat worked, trying not to feel like a lech. The fact that he was a year younger than the other man didn’t matter. “I’m still getting the hang of this. It’s only been a few days, and it’s not like I know what I’m doing, but I’m trying. I can’t figure out which emotion goes to which person yet unless I’m alone with them. And I can at least block those far away from me.” He sighed. “Thankfully, I don’t live by a lot of people.”

“Just the Tracker and the Foreseer, who need to be alone for reasons of their own.” He and Cole lived near each other on the edge of the den because of their roles within their Packs. Gibson had been there first, however, because Oliver figured he felt responsible for marking each member of the Pack around their brand, and needing to be alone was a result of that responsibility.

“What I felt wasn’t Cole,” Gibson said softly. “I don’t know how I know that, I just know.” He stood then, running a hand through his hair. “I’m apparently going to be able to heal not only emotional wounds but physical ones as well eventually. But I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”

Oliver leaned back against the stairs. “Welcome to the club.”

Gibson sighed and met Oliver’s gaze. “Do you need to talk about what you saw?”

Oliver shook his head. “Not now.”

“Okay, then.”

There was an awkward silence as the two stared at one another. Oliver didn’t know why Gibson had come, other than that he’d felt he had to. But had that been because he was the Omega…or for another more personal reason?

Oliver opened his mouth to speak as a warm and sweet scent filled his nose. He turned as Mandy came through the same grouping of trees Gibson had earlier, her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and a frown on her face.

Oliver scrambled to his feet even as Gibson ran toward her.

“What’s wrong?” Gibson asked, taking her in his arms.

While Oliver had felt jealousy when he’d seen Theo hold her, seeing Gibson with his arms around her gave him a completely different—and perhaps welcome—feeling.

Mandy wrapped her arms around Gibson’s waist and sighed. When she looked over at Oliver, she held out a hand, and he went straight to her. When his hand touched hers, his bear relaxed, surprising him.

He’d known Mandy was a submissive wolf, but he’d never felt the full effect of that until just now. Even when he’d leaned on her a couple of days before, it hadn’t been the same because his bear had just gotten out of a vision and Theo had been too near for him to think reasonably.

“I had a nightmare,” she said with a laugh. She pulled away then, but kept her hand in Oliver’s while taking Gibson’s with her other. “It sounds silly now but…” she trailed off. “It was about the two of you and I needed to be here. I don’t know why, but I
needed
to. I’ve never had a nightmare like that and yet I knew it was important that I did.”

Oliver frowned. Was it just a coincidence that the first time he had a vision about the two of them, Gibson had
felt
the emotional tug between them and Mandy had had a nightmare that brought her to their sides? He believed in fate and the fact that he could change it if events occurred in the right way, but as for something like this…he wasn’t sure. Yet he couldn’t deny the fact that the three of them were alone, holding one another as if they had always done so in the past. Something had shifted.

From the way Gibson and Mandy looked at each other and him, they’d felt that shift, as well. They weren’t humans; they were shifters. The subtle nuances to how they reacted to one another wouldn’t go unnoticed. And once they made a decision about certain things… things he knew that they needed to discuss, things would forever be altered.

He let out a breath. He was getting ahead of himself. First things first.

“Come inside,” he said to both of them. “I’ll make coffee.” He looked at Gibson. “More coffee. And I think I have some form of food somewhere that we can scrounge up. Then we can talk about Mandy’s nightmare, the fact that Gibson came here and why…and other things.”

Mandy squeezed his hand. “I think…I think I’d like that.”

Gibson looked between them. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.”

He let go of Mandy’s hand and felt the loss immediately.

Stop getting ahead of yourself, Oliver.

He made his way into his home, Gibson and Mandy right behind him. It was strange, having them both in his house right after thinking about the two of them like he had. A blush slashed his cheeks as he thought of exactly what he’d done with their images in his mind, and he turned away from their curious glances. He went about starting a pot of coffee while searching through his cabinets.

He let out a sigh of triumph as he spotted the container of muffins Anya had put in there the day before. Thankfully, she kept him fed, and now he would be able to feed these two, as well.

He set the muffins on the small, beaten-up table in his kitchen as Mandy and Gibson each took a chair.

He sat down as well, the awkwardness of the situation settling over his skin. “So…”

“So…” Gibson repeated.

Mandy let out a breath and rolled back her shoulders. “So…yeah. I had a nightmare. I don’t know what it was actually. It was dark, and there was growling, and it scared me. So I came here.” She blushed. “I don’t know
why
I came here instead of going to Ariel or Theo, but I did.”

At the sound of Theo’s name, Gibson let out a growl, surprising the three of them.

“Theo’s just my friend,” Mandy said softly. “That’s all he ever was.”

Gibson blinked. “I thought he was going to be your mate.”

She shook her head, and Oliver watched Gibson’s shoulders relax. “He wanted more, but I never would have mated him.” She scrunched her nose. “Well, I might have later on if my wolf finally gave in, but she wanted…
wants
someone else.” She sighed. “
I
wanted someone else. Still do.”

Oliver froze, as did Gibson. The sound of the coffee percolating filled the silence and they waited for Mandy to finish.

“This isn’t easy you know,” Mandy grumbled. “I’m not used to being so open and forward, and you two sitting there all growly and intimidating isn’t helping.”

Oliver smiled softly at that. “We’re not growling right now.”

She raised a brow and pointed at Gibson. “He growled.”

The other man held up his hands. “Yeah, I’m a wolf. I do that. He’s a bear, he tends to grumble and huff more than growl.”

Oliver snorted. “True. And don’t forget the roaring.”

Mandy smiled as he hoped she would and appeared to relax somewhat. “Anyway, I’m going to be an idiot and say something I probably shouldn’t. But you know what? We’re living in a time where things are all up in the air, and I might as well just go for it. Because waiting isn’t helping anyone, and I’m kind of freaking myself out over the whole thing.”

She paused, met both of their gazes. “My wolf wants you both. There. I said it.”

Oliver studied her face, in awe of the strength that lay within her. She was a submissive wolf, one who soothed and stayed in the background. For her to come out and say what she had meant that she’d truly needed to…it also meant that she was much stronger than anyone realized.

It made his bear come closer to the surface, and the man see her for who she was.

A woman he needed.

A woman he wanted.

But things weren’t as easy as that, and the others needed to know that. “I’m not long for this world, Mandy. I’m the Foreseer. You know that takes a toll.”

Mandy’s chin rose. “That’s why you need someone you can lean on. And I’m not saying we should be mates right now. It’s not as fast as that. But maybe we can see if that can be our path. I saw the way you two looked at me just now, and the way you two looked at one another. I’m not crazy.”

“It’s not as easy as leaning on someone,” he said softly, aware Gibson hadn’t said a thing. “With each vision, I lose part of myself. I’m dying, Mandy.”

Mandy’s eyes filled but she shook her head. “We all are. And I’m not going to let you die without a fight. And neither will Anya or anyone who knows you.” She turned to Gibson. “And you? You’ve been silent. If I’m just kidding myself, let me know so I can go home and hide. Okay?”

Oliver reached out and gripped her hand, hating that she looked like he’d hurt her.

“I’m new at this whole Omega thing,” Gibson said softly. “I’m trying to navigate the fact that you both have so much…hope…and fear within you. And it’s mixing with mine. So I don’t know what to think.” He paused. “You know someone tried to kill me, right? It might not be safe for the two of you to be near me.”

Oliver growled at that. “We’re all in danger, and they’re going to find out who hurt you.”

“Did you see that in a vision?” Gibson asked, curious.

“No, my visions don’t work like that.”

“Then will you tell us how they work?” Mandy asked. “Let us help?” She winced. “Let me help, at least.” She looked at Gibson. “Let me help you, too. It’s what I do. It’s what I want to do. And yes, my wolf wants you, but the woman in me wants to get to know the both of you. And I’m tired of being on the sidelines.” She swallowed hard. “What do you say? Do you think you can take a chance on a submissive wolf who tends to blurt things out at the wrong time?”