adrenaline, and this? Yelling at a wolf who was my daughter's boyfriend? Yep, I'd just reached my breaking point. The countdown was already in progress, and any second now, I was going to be a complete and total mess, because I'd just said it myself. Gabby might survive, but that didn't necessarily mean she'd be ok. My little girl might be gone to me forever.
CHAPTER 47
The walk back to my house wasn't as frenzied. Instead, Ashley had her arm around my shoulders and a bottle of really good whiskey in the other hand. I was just trying to keep breathing. All of this was real. Yep, I'd seen Lane change, I'd petted a wolf, and I'd just screamed at one. Any minute now, I had to wake up, right? The only problem was that I knew I wouldn't. This was no dream.
This crap was real. My best friend was a wolf. My boyfriends were wolves. Any minute now, my daughter would be one too.
"We're going to make this ok," Ashley promised.
I just shoved a hand over my face. "How can you say that? How can you be sure? Seth said that some never change back. David said it's hard to accept. How can you be so sure this will just be no big deal? And never mind that Gabby's going to have to live with this forever! She'll never get to grow up, fall in love, get thrown into bed, and have kids."
"Yes," Ashley told me, "she will. There are hundreds of us, maybe even thousands. I think there's a pack in every state in America, all the provinces in Canada, and even more in Europe. That's where we started, after all. Finland or the Netherlands. One of those. Records are spotty until the werewolf trials back in the Middle Ages."
I just stopped and huffed out a breath. "Middle Ages? So all the stories are real?" I waved that off. "What about silver?"
"There was one family, one time, who was allergic to it. Germany, I think. It became a folk tale and is now in every movie ever. It's also bullshit for most of us. But, my point is that there are plenty of guys out there for her." She got me started walking again. "Look, it's going to be a long night. I'll stay and fill you in, ok?"
I agreed, and she finally got me back home. Sometime while I'd been gone, the screaming had stopped. My house was still a battleground, though. Even from the front door, I could see the guys upstairs in the hall. Then there was Olivia, who was in the kitchen washing pans.
"Ms. Castillo?" she asked.
"It's just Elena, honey."
She nodded. "Mom's at the store with Henry. They're picking up stuff to feed this group all weekend. Is there anything else you need? Like toilet paper or that kinda stuff? She told me to ask."
"Probably," Ashley said, taking over when I blanked. "Gonna be a lot of people here. Paper towels, too. Wouldn't hurt to get some cleaning stuff, if Gabby starts puking."
Olivia had her phone in her hand, and her thumbs were flying across it like only a teenager's could. "Chips, snacks. Mom says Henry wants to know what Elena drinks?"
"We've got plenty of wine, and David just sent over a bottle of whiskey." She set that on the counter that separated my kitchen from the living room. "But we're going to need soda, juice for Gabby. Probably some broth. Beef."
Olivia nodded. "Mom's making her soup. Said it should be easy on her when she can eat again." Then she set her phone down. "Did Roman do this?"
"Yeah," Ashley told her. "He said it was their anniversary."
"One month," Olivia agreed. "I'm so sorry. I really didn't know, and if I did, I would've said something. I swear! I mean, Gabby's like my best friend, and I can't believe she didn't tell me."
"Not your fault," I assured her, making my way around the corner to give her a side hug. "And thank you for helping."
She chuckled once. "This is what we do, Elena. We're a pack. We take care of each other, and Seth asked me to take care of you." She tilted her head to my shoulder. "We honestly like you. I mean, all the wolves. When we heard you and Ian were mated - "
Ashley's groan cut her off. "I haven't gotten to that yet, sweetie."
"Oh."
So I turned to my best friend. "I'm gonna go check on my daughter, and then we're going