smearing ointment on his arm, but he still looked up. "We took precautions."
"And took away my right to make that decision. Mine. My choice. Did any of you ever think that I deserved to know about this first? Not later?"
"Seth did," Trent admitted. "He told us we should wait before going through the whole ceremony."
"What ceremony?" I asked.
"Fuck," Pax groaned. "Guys, we're just making this worse."
Lucky for him, a knock from the first floor interrupted us. I hurried over to the stairs in time to see Ashley open the door. A woman stepped through carrying an armload of plastic bags. Behind her was Henry Langdon with his own share. Forgetting all about what the guys had said, I jogged down to help.
"There's more," Henry was telling his daughter. "I may have gone a little crazy, but it's the least we can do."
"Elena," Ashley said, pointing to the kitchen. "Show Heather where the stuff goes?"
Heather. That was Olivia's mom. I'd met her briefly, but only in passing. Today, that didn't seem to matter. The moment she dropped her load of bags on the kitchen floor, she turned to me and gave me a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry, Elena," she said. "I can't imagine what you're going through. We tried to tell the kids they had to be careful."
"I was, Mom," Olivia told her, sounding just like Gabby. "And I came over to tell Elena as soon as I realized what happened. I told on my two best friends."
"It's not telling," Heather said. "It's explaining, because this isn't something those two could hide." With a sigh, she turned back to me. "But it's going to be ok. That's why Henry made Wolf's Run, so we have someplace safe. That should make this easier on her, and the whole community is here for you." She stepped back. "Let me get the rest."
"This," Henry said from behind me, "wasn't how I wanted you to find out about this. I told Ian he was moving too fast, but we men decide we have the right girl, and we won't let anything get in our way. Not my boy with you, and not the Whelan boy with your little girl." Then he offered me his hand. "Welcome to the pack, Alpha."
"I don't know what that means," I told him, feeling my eyes trying to well up.
Henry saw and shushed me as he pulled me closer, just like the perfect father. "It's ok, Elena. It means you're Ian's girlfriend. That's all. To us, it means you deserve a lot of respect, and an entire community willing to cancel their plans, kick out their guests, and lock this place down tight so your child, the alpha's girl, won't come to any harm. You need anything, you just ask, and everyone here will make sure it happens, ok?"
"Because I'm Ian's girlfriend?"
"Yeah, and the rest of those boys. Any woman who can keep the most dominant wolves in line? We tend to respect that. It's kinda like marrying a king and being given the title of queen. Doesn't mean you were born royal, but you're fucking it, so we bow before you."
On the other side of the kitchen, Olivia gasped, then giggled. I just pressed both hands to my face. "All I wanted was a job, sir. I didn't ask for the rest of this."
"I don't need any sirs from you." He chuckled and rubbed my shoulder. "Not going to complain if you start calling me Dad like the rest of my kids do, but in your own time. You got enough to think about right now. So, why don't you and the Stuart girl put things away, and we'll bring in the rest." He looked over my shoulder. "And you, young lady, are to call me if we need anything else. Christopher is at the gate, and he'll accept any deliveries we need, but they aren't opening again until our newest pack member is sleeping off her first change."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Langdon," Olivia told him, opening up the first bag. "Elena? Where does this go?"
One thing about keeping busy: it made it harder to worry about everything else. After we put away the groceries, Heather and Ashley dove in to help with dinner. They stayed to clean up. The whole time, I just kept going through the motions until, eventually, I blinked for a little too long.
CHAPTER 48
I rolled over in my bed and felt something soft. Without thinking, I moved closer to it, burying my face in the