handled. Sure, maybe I was incredibly embarrassed about how much money these people had spent for me, but it was handled. I was... free. That was the only word that fit.
All of those things that had held me back for so long were no longer a problem. My life was mine again. My happiness was under my complete control. I was a single woman with five amazing boyfriends, one hell of a best friend, and the best pseudo-father figure I could ever dream of.
"Oh my god," I breathed. "I'm actually divorced. I'm single."
"Not quite," Trent pointed out, smiling to prove he was teasing.
I just let Henry go and stepped into him, wrapping my arms around Trent's neck. "I'm single enough to have a boyfriend - or five."
"Mm," he agreed, pressing his face into the side of my neck. "And one day, you might even start calling us your mates."
"Both," I decided, letting him go to look at Ashley. "I need a margarita."
"That," she promised, "I can definitely deliver. Let's go celebrate!" Then she paused. "And text Gabby."
As we walked to the car, I did just that.
Elena: Divorce is final. Everything went perfectly. Your father terminated his rights. Convince me to be a wolf, ok?
Gabby: <3 Yay! Now if I bite you, Ian can't kick me out. :P
I grinned, knowing she was joking, but I didn't tell the guys. Not yet. I was seriously thinking about it, but not today. Things were going too good for me, and I already had too much to think about. Letting them turn me into a wolf? I had a feeling Ian wouldn't simply agree, and Lane would only be worse.
But my last reason not to was gone.
CHAPTER 35
We celebrated that night. Ian and the guys made dinner, Ashley brought the drinks, and even Henry showed up. It was nice in a way I hadn't expected. Gabby was thrilled that she didn't have to worry about her father anymore. While I wasn't sure how to deal with that, I actually agreed with her.
The next day, Heather came to the office to leave me a "happy divorce" present of expensive chocolate, "Because everyone deserved to indulge a little," she said. Then, on Thursday, the Sisterhood of Being Too Old for That Shit met again for our weekly wine night.
This was my idea of the perfect life. It was just calm enough, just stable enough, and so very accepting. And yet, the whole time, I kept thinking that I was still missing out. Karen was gone, so I didn't really need to be a wolf anymore. I was safe. The entire pack accepted me as a human, and no one had a problem with it. Still, there was something so nice about this bond everyone had, and I really wanted to share in it too.
My entire reason for being concerned about Gerardo getting custody of Gabby was because I actually wanted to be a wolf. Ok, maybe it took me longer to admit that than it should have, but now that the barriers were gone, I had no more excuses. If I wanted to do this, I could. And yes, I wanted to, but there was still that little "adult voice" in the back of my mind asking if this was a good idea.
So I asked my friends. "Hey," I said when the conversation lulled. "Would it be weird if I still wanted to be a wolf?"
Ashley squealed like a teenager. "So you're honestly thinking about it?" She grabbed a bottle to top up my wine.
I waved her off, not really wanting to be tipsy for this chat. "I've been thinking about it. It's just that with Gabby, I had to make sure she'd be ok if anything happened, and I'm still terrified that I won't make it through the transition."
"You will," Bridget assured me. "Elena, I've seen people in worse shape survive, and the lycanthropy virus does offer some health benefits."
Kim nodded. "Just look at how well Roman recovered from what Karen did to him. It's been a couple of weeks and he's completely healed."
"With a scar," Heather pointed out.
Kim blew that off. "I'm still proud of him for jumping in to protect his alpha's mate. Considering what Karen could've done, I'm ok with a scar, and he seems rather proud of it."
"The alpha female of the pack," Ashley said, lifting her glass in a toast. "I think you should do it, Elena. Just give up the condoms and let nature take its course."
Bridget giggled. "Means