Feral Northern Shifters 2

kind of endearing, or would have been if the wolf hadn’t been holding Ethan captive. At least Bram didn’t smell of Doug anymore. All washed off and there’d been no rematch. Ethan figured if they were having sex too often, there was the danger of a strong bond, angry omega or not. Occasional fuck buddies would better work in Ethan’s favor.
He finally lifted a shoulder in response to Bram’s rote question. The wolf usually asked about his sleeping, probably after watching him for hours. “All I do is sleep. With practice, I’m becoming very good at it. Gets a bit dull as my only hobby though.”
Bram gestured at the food and drink brought in for Ethan, all prepackaged, high-energy shit. His mother, Ethan thought, the memories weren’t all that clear, would have called it junk food. At any rate he gobbled them down and wondered if he was already putting on a bit of weight. It sure as hell wouldn’t hurt. He needed more strength.
“I’m also getting good at eating and drinking,” Ethan said, picking up the conversation again and giving a nod towards the empty tray. “I’m wondering what my next party trick is supposed to be. Not sex, I can assume. You and Doug have each other.” But Ethan allowed a little innuendo to enter his tone, a little invitation.
To his surprise, Bram met his gaze, a warning in his eyes. “Don’t talk about Doug.”
“No? The topic is off limits?”
Bram slowly swerved his eyes up and to the left, added a slight tip of his head before looking back at Ethan. “It is for me.”
Ethan waited a beat, letting Bram pick up the empty tray, before he briefly looked into the top right corner of the room.
He didn’t know much if anything about these things, but there might have been a camera embedded in the wall—black, circular, with something lens-like in the middle.
The air whooshed out of him. They were fucking filming him? Jesus. He stood up, feeling shaky, feeling like he couldn’t get a good handle on his situation. Then he plonked back down on the bed.
“Tired from eating so much?” Bram suggested. His tone was flat and bland, carrying the faintest distaste.
Ethan turned away from the camera and spoke to the bed. “Yeah.”
“I’ll be back.”
“Fantastic.”
And Bram left.
Of course, if Ethan’s brain was in any kind of working order, he would have realized he was being watched. How else did they know to come in while he was waking up? Every single fucking time. He let the resentment wash through him and went on to the next question.
Why would Bram reveal that fact to him? It had been surreptitious, as if Bram could get into trouble for pointing it out. So why bother? Perhaps to prevent further seduction attempts.
Ethan clenched his jaw. His privacy was already shot. He would not allow a camera to get in his way, distasteful as it was, because his situation had gone well beyond distaste.
    “He ate,” Bram told Doug, throwing the empty tray in the bin for dirty dishes. He’d be washing them later.
“I gathered that.” Doug gazed intently at the screen, which showed Ethan lying on his back staring at the ceiling, unmoving. “What happened? I thought he wanted to talk to you, but he kind of gave up and went back to bed.”
Bram shrugged. “Maybe he got pissed off that I didn’t want to talk about you.”
Doug leveled a stare at Bram, who was careful not to squirm. “Then talk about me. Conversation is vital. We’re going to have to show he’s functional.”
“Functional,” Bram repeated slowly, not liking the sound of it.
“Yes. We’re trying to bring him back to civilization, remember?”
And God knows we’re civilized . But Bram shut up, because he didn’t want to argue with Doug and lose. Instead he asked, “When?”
“When what?”
“When do we have to show he’s functional?” Bram wanted to know the bigger picture, but Doug was not generous about information.
Doug shrugged. “A few days, maybe less. My contact is being a little vague. Depends when he can get away.”
“Then what’ll happen?” Doug was watching him thoughtfully, so Bram strived to sound casual, even if the alpha would scent his anxiety. “I don’t want him to come to any harm.”
Doug clapped a hand on Bram’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’ll take care of him.”
“Who?”
Doug actually laughed. “Did you think we were going to keep him forever? This is extremely draining. We’re just the first step.”
“But who will take care of him?” Bram was alarmed by