my boyfriend might put one of those shower sprayers in my tub?"
"Does this mean your boyfriend will get to sleep over afterward?" he asked.
"Yeah. But only one man and one wolf in my bed at a time when Gabby's home, ok?"
They all laughed, agreeing a little too easily. Damn, but they were perfect. So amazingly perfect. Sitting there surrounded by them, there was no way I could walk away from this. Maybe the risk would be worth it, because my daughter was right. This was the fresh start I'd been dreaming of. This was the life I'd always wanted.
And they were willing to give it to me.
All I had to do was stop fighting this, stop trying to make everyone else happy, and for just once in my life, put myself first. I had to trust them, let them in, and accept that I couldn't always do things on my own. I simply had to admit that not only did Gabby deserve these guys, but I did too. Infected or not, and even after all the mistakes, they were the best men I'd ever met. They were a dream come true.
And being in the pack really did have some benefits. It was the village every mother needed to help raise her child, filled with good people who just happened to be a little different. Miraculously different. Slowly but surely, the wonder of this entire situation was starting to push away the fear I'd been clinging to, and it felt… right.
Then Ian squeezed my knee, his beautiful honey-colored eyes holding mine. "I really do love you, Elena, but I love Gabby too. Enough that I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. I know we screwed up, and we should've told you something, but we just couldn't figure out how. If that means we need to prove ourselves again, then we will. We'll do anything to make this work, but there's one very important thing you need to understand."
"What?" I asked, feeling worried all over again.
"This has nothing to do with Gabby. Yes, she's your daughter, but we're going to be in her life regardless. I'm her alpha, and these guys are my betas. There is nothing that can make us not take care of her. She may as well be our daughter too, and that isn't because of you. It's because of her. So don't take us back for that reason. Take us back because…" He paused when his voice cracked.
"Because we need you," Lane said. "Because you think we're worth taking a risk for."
"Because you really trust us," Seth offered, and the others all nodded in agreement.
Around the room, five pairs of golden eyes watched me, hanging on my next words. I knew this didn't solve everything, but talking to them? Hearing their side of things? It sure made it a whole lot easier to handle.
"Yeah," I breathed. "And because I know I'm not perfect either. Relationships take work, right? I think I'm willing to try being the alpha's mate." Then I tilted my head toward the door. "So wanna help me figure out how to tell my daughter that we're back together?"
They all stood, and Lane immediately started changing back to a wolf. Yeah, that was another thing I'd have to get used to. I was now dating a dog. A really big one, who would be appearing naked when I least expected it, and his four hot, younger roommates.
But I could do this. As the six of us walked across the yard back to my place, I realized I already had. Somewhere between the first day I'd come through the gates of Wolf's Run and now, I'd found that strength I'd been missing. I'd just had to face my greatest fear to realize it. To figure out that being nice wasn't a bad thing, and being happy wasn't wrong.
In truth, it seemed that my bane was the same as any wolf's. I'd been alone. Now I wasn't, and I would never have to be again. These men were going to take care of me, but I had every intention of taking care of them back - of protecting my entire pack.
Because I was now the Alpha Bitch of Wolf's Run, and I was going to make this work. All of it. My pack deserved nothing less.
EPILOGUE
The sign taped to the door said, "Booster Club and Drama Parent Meeting Inside." It was a plain white piece of poster board, written in at least six different colors of