Feral Northern Shifters 2

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“Bram.” Ethan waited until those dark eyes looked directly into his. “That was Trey, Veronica, Seth and Liam. They’re all related, though not really a pack as such. We’ve been working together to find you.”
That Bram looked unimpressed with this news was an understatement. His lips curled, revealing sharp canine teeth.
“Okay, why are you so suspicious?”
The response was growling, nothing Ethan could really understand. “Look, I’ve known them for three months. I was also suspicious at first. But they haven’t hurt me, they’ve helped me. They’re sincerely concerned about you. Trey—”
Bram snarled.
Ethan eyed him. “Not Trey’s biggest fan then? I’ll admit he takes a while to warm up to, but he’s been helpful.” The wolf remained utterly unconvinced, and Ethan wished Bram were human and could tell him about his concerns.
“I promise you. You’re going to have to give me some credit for knowing who is not my enemy. You aren’t. They aren’t.” Ethan decided now was not the time to tell Bram the wolves might be back at Ethan’s house. He needed Bram to get in that car. “Come home with me? I’m renting a house.” Now was also not the time to say that the place belonged to Trey.
He walked to the car and unlocked it, opened the passenger door and swept his hand towards the interior. “Please?”
Bram circled the car twice before he deigned to get in. As Ethan shut the door, he let out a long breath and jogged around to the driver’s side and jumped in. He started the engine and drove out of there as fast as possible, because he didn’t want Bram changing his mind and leaping out of the car.
Trey had warned Ethan that feral wolves could deteriorate quickly. Even if both Veronica and Liam had protested, claiming they had been feral for years , Trey with his signature slashing-hand motion had silenced them.
“Bram,” Trey had said, “is coming out of a bad situation.”
Veronica had snorted. “Whereas it was just peachy-keen for Liam and me.”
Ignoring her, Trey continued, “The pack dynamics were terrible, still are. Not only that, from his perspective he betrayed them. Now three months out, I’ve got a lot of hope, but we have to be careful. I don’t want assumptions made about this guy and how safe he is to approach.” His expression turned grim. “I have seen vicious-feral wolves, and it’s not pretty.”
Veronica still hadn’t been convinced. “‘This guy’ obviously has a moral compass if he set you free.” She nodded at Ethan. “He’ll be okay.”
Trey had simply raised his eyebrows whereupon Veronica had expounded, “Stronger morals, stronger mind.”
It was then Trey had slung his gaze back at Ethan. “Or he was bonding with a cougar.”

Chapter Thirteen
    The truth was Bram didn’t have a clue if he could trust Ethan’s judgment. Given his history, the cat should perceive wolves as enemies, not friends. But perhaps, too, Ethan wasn’t aware of how devious wolves could be. Or perhaps Ethan had had very little choice.
    Except Ethan wasn’t stupid and he didn’t seem to be under any kind of coercion. Bram could smell Ethan and that wasn’t stress but happiness. And while it might be that Ethan was happy to see him again, it was going to be some time before Bram allowed himself to shift. He needed to understand what was going on.
    It was bizarre sitting in the passenger seat as wolf. Dawn was lightening the sky, and the forest skimmed by, disorienting Bram whose wolf had never traveled like this. It made him want to whine. As a point of pride, he held the sound in.
Sensing his tension, Ethan glanced over. “Should only be about twenty minutes more.”
    God knows how long it had been. It was hard to gauge hours or minutes when he was wolf. He didn’t think like that. He only thought about sunrise and sunset.
“You can lie down in the back if you’re tired.”
Bram lifted his head away to look out the window. He sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep. Ambush was a possibility. It had happened before.
“Or not.” After a long silence, Ethan observed, “You haven’t been eating properly.”
Bram swung his head back towards Ethan and closely observed him. The cat had filled out, postcaptivity. The sharp planes of his face had softened, the hollows of his cheeks had lessened. A good sign. It would suggest he’d been able to look after himself properly, maybe with these new wolves’ help.
Careful , he warned himself. Don’t get your hopes up .