with her husband, and I get the impression her entire focus is on her kid. In other words, this is a stupid idea, right?"
"It's the only option I have," Lane said softly.
Pax just thrust an arm out toward him. "And that is why I'm in."
Trent slowly nodded. "She's beautiful. You've reached the extent of what I know about her. I can't say I wouldn't do her, but if she's a bitch, that's as far as it goes."
"She's not," I assured him when I saw Lane tense. "She's dangerously nice. A little bit meek, comes across as submissive, but my gut says that's more habit than her real personality. She cares about others, and I think she's scared of something. Making it on her own, or maybe just doing the wrong thing? I'm not sure, but she always feels like she's ready to run away."
"You sound like you're into her," Seth pointed out.
All I could do was shrug. "If she wasn't living inside this community, I'd definitely make a move. The problem is that she is here. She's a risk, and a big one. She's also my type."
Seth flicked his eyes over to Lane. "How's he going to take you wanting to fuck his fated mate?"
"He's my alpha," Lane said softly. "All I have is his. All he has is mine."
"That," Pax said, "is why betas share their alpha's mate. This is what you signed up for, Seth. You sure you're still in?"
Seth nodded. "I mean, she's probably ten years older than me, but sure, I can go there. I'm just not sure how we're going to do this. You guys are talking about mating her like it's a given. What if she's not into a gang bang, huh? And how are you going to do that without turning her? Condoms? Forever? Lycanthropy is a sexually-transmitted disease. The two most common forms of transmission are wolf-form bites and sex."
"One step at a time," I said, gesturing for him to slow down. "If she's interested, then we can - and will - find a way to make this work."
"But," Trent added, "if we are really going to do this, you need to talk to your sister. Make sure she's on board."
"We'll all need to get to know her," Pax pointed out. "Befriend her, flirt with her. Make it clear we're interested. Hell, figure out if we honestly are."
The guys were all nodding when Lane leaned over his knees and shoved his face into his hands. "You'd do this for me?"
I moved around the bed to put my hand on his shoulder, clasping it reassuringly. "You'd do it for me."
"But you're my alpha," Lane told me. "This is the deal. I give to you. You make the decisions, and we make them happen. You lead, and we follow."
"Lane," I said softly, "this isn't something you can choose. I don't want to lose you as my beta, and you can't share another mate with me."
"Couldn't share one with Ashley either," he admitted, lowering his hands to look up, "but I could befriend him. I could do the same with your mate."
"And spend the rest of your life caught between chasing this woman and trying to focus on what the pack needs?" I shook my head. "We need to figure out how to contain her. Spending time with her is a good way to do that. We need to make sure she doesn't want to expose us. If she cares about us, then she won't. You need to protect her, and the alpha's mate is going to be the safest person in this community. The only problem I can think of would be if she's not interested."
"Do you love her?" Lane asked.
I leaned down to look directly in his face. "I barely know her, so no. I also don't have to love her to mate her."
"She needs you to love her," he countered. "She deserves it, so if you won't try to make this real, then no. That's not protecting her, that's using her."
I nodded. "Let's just see how this plays out, ok?" But I refused to step back. "Although this only happens on one condition. You stay away from her, Lane. If you start stalking her, she'll leave you. If you need help, or you feel out of control, you talk to one of us. We're on your side, but you cannot be alone with her right now. Do you understand me?" I made it clear that this was his alpha speaking, not just