Trent both showed up. Like Pax, they saw Lane, realized something was up, and gave me a worried look. Granted, the big guy did look like I'd just laid into him. He was clearly irritated, completely silent, and kept squeezing one hand into a fist like he wanted to pummel something.
"Tell 'em," I said.
Lane nodded. "I met Elena downstairs. The new neighbor. Reached over her to get a glass, and I don't know if I touched her or just smelled her, but that was enough. Felt like I'd just shoved a live wire up my ass."
"Do that often?" Pax teased.
Lane gave him a look that would make most men piss themselves. "Every sense in my body flared at once. It only lasted a second, too fast for me to even react, but impossible to miss." His eyes jumped back to the window. "And I think I scared her."
"Not following," Seth admitted.
"I'm fucking fated to be with her," Lane barked out.
The others all looked at me, clearly hoping for an explanation. "Fated?" Seth asked. "Please tell me that's bullshit?"
"It's not common," I admitted. "The theory is that it's a way of dealing with an imbalance in our forms, but the condition only affects two or three people per generation, so not easy to study. What we know for sure is that it happens, it's not fun, and the person who is fated often can't stand being with anyone else. Not ever."
"Enough to kill for her," Pax added. "The medieval myths of raging werewolves? Yeah, most were fated mates trying to claim their lover. They'll kidnap her if there's no other option, but they're compelled to protect her - or him, because it can go either way. The problem is that contact with her will be like a drug for him. The more he gets, the more he needs."
"And the worse the withdrawal," I added.
"It's bad," Lane said. "I feel like I need to go out there, to make sure no one looks at her wrong or makes her feel nervous."
"Fuck," Seth breathed. "You talked to her for what? A few seconds?"
Lane just nodded. "And it doesn't go away."
I let out a heavy breath, deciding to lay it all out there. "The problem is that she's human. She doesn't have a clue about what we are, what we can do, or any of it. She's also not so stupid that she'll miss the hints. Ashley wants to integrate her, using her as a test to see if it's even possible. That would be a lot easier if she didn't have a kid to go with it. Now we're going to be juggling two humans in the middle of our exclusive wolf community."
"That's going to be fun," Trent agreed. "But it does explain why Ashley was talking about a wolf curfew. Humans outside during daylight and wolves kept in the back, out of sight."
I nodded. "I was planning to chase Elena off. Be the kind of neighbors she couldn't understand, cause enough problems for her in the office, and subtle things that would convince her this job isn't worth it." Then I pointed at Lane. "And now I can't."
Trent moved over to sit on the opposite side of the bed from Lane, facing the rest of us. "Betas don't get our own mates," he pointed out. "That's the deal. You plan to kick Lane off the team?"
"No."
Because there was no way I'd do that. The man was my brother, even if we weren't related. I'd known him since I was a kid. There was no way I'd force him to leave, but if he wanted to go it on his own, to try to make something of his need for her, would I stop him? Or could there be another way?
"What if I mated her?" I asked, looking at the guys one by one.
Surprise was on Seth's face. Pax canted his head and twisted his mouth like he was considering it. Trent just shrugged. That wasn't the enthusiastic response I was hoping for, but it made sense. I hadn't picked these guys because they were yes-men. I'd chosen them because they helped me see all sides of things.
"She's a single mom with a teenage daughter who lives next door and is your older sister's best friend," Seth pointed out. "She knows nothing about wolves - not even that we exist - and the disease is transferable."
"Sexually," Trent pointed out.
I nodded. "And she's not even legally divorced, it sounds like, only just split up