Read Online Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3) by Alexandra Ivy, Carrie Ann Ryan - Free Book Online Page A

apparently, we didn’t have that.” He held up his hands. “I didn’t come here to fight. Only to say I need some space.”
    She pressed her lips together.
    “I get that that makes me an idiot. An unfair one. But I need some space to think about what I want and what I thought I wanted for that matter. You have Oliver and Gibson now. You’ll be busy.”
    That was a low blow, and she raised her chin, not meeting his eyes. Her wolf wouldn’t let her, and it galled her that the other half of herself worked against her. Maybe if she’d been a dominant wolf, she’d have been able to navigate the muddy waters of who she and Theo were without hurting either of them, but that wasn’t the case and she would have to learn to deal.
    “If that’s what you feel like you need to do. But remember this, Theo. We’ve been best friends since we could crawl. If you’re going to throw that all away because you’re not getting what you want, then maybe you need to think about the relationships in your life.” She pressed her lips together once more, forcing herself not to say anything more because she wouldn’t be able to take it back.
    He studied her face a long moment before sighing. “I want you happy, Mandy. That’s all I ever wanted.”
    She blinked up at him. “I think I can be happy this way, for what it’s worth.”
    Theo gave her a slight nod. “I’ll…I’ll be back later, I guess. Just stay safe, okay? We still don’t know what happened to Gibson, and the SAU guards are being suspiciously quiet since the higher-ups disappeared. Something’s off, and I don’t like it.”
    Something was off about a lot of things, and no, Mandy didn’t like it either.
    “I’ll stay safe,” she promised. At his look, she shrugged. “I’ll try to. Is that more honest?”
    He gave her a tight nod before turning away and leaving her home. She swallowed hard, her hands shaking at her sides. She hated confrontation, and yet she seemed to be dong a lot of that recently. Mandy ran her hands over her face, knowing she needed to get back to work or she’d go crazy. Oliver and Gibson would be over eventually, and while she was alone now, she wouldn’t be for long. Because of the way the bears and cats had been forced into the den, she now had three roommates, all submissive female wolves who were on shifts in the den center.
    Oliver and Gibson were the important ones and had homes of their own. And she needed to kick herself. I’m important, too , she told herself once more. She was. And those who didn’t see that, didn’t understand that, were the ones lacking.
    However, exploring a relationship with two men would probably be easier at their places rather than hers. She might be alone for the moment, but she wouldn’t be for long.
    She made herself a cup of tea, using some of the blend that Soren had snuck into the den, and was about to get to work when someone knocked on the door. She turned toward the sound and inhaled, a small smile playing on her lips after she caught the scent of the wolf and bear who filled her dreams.
    She left her tea cooling on her shabby dining room table next to her notebooks and made her way to the front door to let them in. It wasn’t lost on her that Theo had walked in without knocking, and yet these two were cautious, respectful of her space. Theo had earned the right to come in when he felt like it long ago, and yet she had a feeling that might change now. It hurt, but she would learn to deal. It was what she always did.
    As for Gibson and Oliver, the way they knocked on her door rather than making themselves at home would change, as well. Everything in her life seemed to be changing, emotions long since buried making their way to the tip of her fingers, to her heart, to her entire being.
    When she opened the door, she had to keep herself from sucking in a breath. It wasn’t fair that these two were so good-looking. Oliver had pulled his chestnut hair back in a band, but his beard touched the