have to. Not in our own homes!"
Ashley nodded. "I was actually thinking that she'd be a good test. I mean, if we can make Elena accept that werewolves exist, even if it's not for the reasons she's seen in the movies, then isn't that a big step? Couldn't we use that to do something different?"
Henry lifted his hand, stopping me before I could yell again. "What are you thinking, Ashley?"
She flailed an arm at me. "Ian's always saying that the best defense would be a slow integration, right? Well, having Elena here is a good way to test that. To ease the pack into living so close to humans. Our core group is one thing, but the new members? They came here because they don't want to isolate themselves from the luxuries of modern life."
"And what does that have to do with the human?" I asked her.
"Her name is Elena," Ashley said, a clear warning in her voice to get it right. "And I want to tell her. I just figured that if she's living here, slowly getting exposed to the idea, then she'll come around. And when she figures out that there's something just a bit different about us, I think she'll ask me. Just... Can you give me a few months? I mean, having her here will keep things under control. No one's going to wolf out in front of her - or the potential clients coming to look at the houses."
"Shift," Henry corrected. "I do not like that slang term."
"Regardless," Ashley said, plowing forward with this, "I put her in the front lot, furthest from the community. She's in an easy place to keep isolated, and I'll say there's a curfew or something so Gabby won't go out. You tell the pack that daylight hours are human hours, unless they're inside, and it takes away the risk of someone looking at a house and seeing the wrong thing. We're going to have potential clients walking through, and not all of them will be wolves, Ian. If we don't show the homes, we're breaking discrimination laws, so we have to at least let the prospective clients see them."
"Which means humans in Wolf's Run," Henry clarified. "Even if they aren't working at the front office. That's why I told Ashley it was ok."
Well, fuck. If my father approved of this, then I was already fighting a losing battle. The worst part was that they had a point. The only question was what to do about it. The problem with three alphas living together was that I couldn't push them to agree with me. They'd be just as likely to push back.
And I really did want things to change. I wanted it to be possible for my kids to live in a world where being a wolf was accepted. Where this wasn't some mystical hocus pocus thing. We all knew there'd be resistance, and that some group would deem us evil - probably the religious types since that was how it always went down - but we weren't ready yet.
Although, if this Elena woman was going to be here, then I could see just how far I could push her. A test, as Ashley had mentioned. I just needed to have a ready excuse to explain away the things she wouldn't understand and walk that very narrow line between the truth and lies. Too many times, I'd seen people snap when they realized we were different. The shock and fear made them do stupid things. Usually, with guns pointed at one of us.
Speaking of that. "Does she own a gun?" I asked.
Ashley actually laughed. "No, she doesn't. Elena's not exactly the 'protect herself' type. She's more of the 'try not to cause problems' type."
"Ok." I turned, pacing the length of the room as I thought. "So we'll need to introduce her to the community. Some innocuous gathering where they can all see her and ask us if they have questions." Reaching my father's desk, I turned back toward Ashley and kept walking. "You can use training her as an excuse to keep the approval process under your control."
"And," Ashley said, interrupting my thoughts, "I'll find out which habits we have that set her on edge. Things we should be conscious of. She can be a barometer for human sensitivities, ok?"
I nodded once, accepting that. "What about the disease?"
Ashley rolled her eyes. "It's bloodborne! Just like all the other gross stuff. If we have a medical emergency, we'll use gloves. That's