proving she was done with her visit, so I grabbed my phone and sent off a text.
Ian: Meet me at Dad's. Five minutes.
Without waiting for a response, I told the guys to keep an eye on things and headed to my father's house on the opposite side of the community entrance. I didn't bother to knock, just stormed in, slamming the door behind me, and didn't stop until I reached his office. Henry heard me coming.
He was leaned back in his chair with a bemused expression on his face. "So, what is it this time, Ian?"
"Ashley hired humans," I snapped.
My father chuckled. "Her best friend, actually. Does she know you're angry about this?"
"She's about to," I said, tilting my head when I heard the front door open. "The entire point of Wolf's Run is to give us a human-free area to live in peace!"
A heavy sigh proved that my sister had heard me. "I needed a leasing manager, Ian."
"You could've hired a wolf," I shot back.
She lifted a perfectly manicured brow. "Natural-born or changed? Would it matter if they had any experience? No, I'm sorry. This was a business decision. It has nothing to do with the pack."
"It has everything to do with the pack," I shot back as I stormed into her face. "All it takes is one person with a cell phone, and I can promise you her teenage daughter has one. One video uploaded onto YouTube. For hundreds of years, we've lived in isolation, making communes and cults so people can explain away our strange behavior. It's not going to work much longer. Everyone carries a phone. That means a camera and video. Let's not even talk about Google mapping everything from space. And now that I've finally convinced people this is worth trying, you decide to risk it all for some woman you know?"
One side of her mouth curled into a smile. "Are you scared? Doesn't look good on you, Alpha."
If my throat could've handled it, I would've growled at her, but my body was in the wrong form. "You are not the leader of this pack, Ashley. I am. And if you think that stepping aside means you get to disrespect me, then think again."
She moved, surging into me so fast I barely had the chance to grab her wrist before she was squeezing my throat. "I love you, little brother, but don't think I've gotten weak. Elena's staying because I owe it to her. She may not understand pack loyalty, but I do. That woman has been there for me when even you weren't, so give her a fucking chance."
Finally, I pushed her hand away. "No. We promised the people here the freedom to move around in whatever form they prefer. We've painted this place to be elite enough that we can be eccentric. Never mind the risks of that teenage girl! Have you thought about that? When she brings her little friends over to play and they decide to go hiking? I'm sure her mother would love to hear about the naked walking group, right? Or do you have a better way to explain all those people shedding their clothes to run off into the woods?"
"Then fix it," she told me. "Make rules. Talk to the pack and warn them to stay away from the office. I don't care. We have a couple of days before she officially starts at the office. That gives you time to introduce her. Invite the neighborhood over, show her off, and let them all see who to avoid."
"But why?" I asked. "Why are you so adamant that she needs to be here, of all places?"
"You wouldn't understand."
Of course, my father chose that moment to join the conversation. "You've made it clear that mixed couples are allowed, haven't you? What makes the wife or husband of a wolf different from this woman?"
"The simple fact that they know what they married," I told them. "Anyone who lives here knows about wolves, and we don't need to hide from them, but her? That woman and her child? Not a clue."
"How can you be so sure?" Ashley countered.
I looked at her like she was an idiot. "Because I know you, Ash. She's part of this little fantasy life that you've made outside these walls. The one where you pretend like everything is fine, and you can just be normal. Yeah? Well, bringing her here is going to destroy that. Eventually, she'll figure it out. We can't hide everything, and we shouldn't