Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,150

back seat, and when he changed, he would be completely naked. Never mind the problems of him doing that here! There were still cops all over the place, and the street was packed with cars.

I managed to adjust the seat and get the truck started just as Samantha offered my phone back. "Thank you," she said. "Mom's going to pick me up, but it might be an hour or so."

"Not a problem," I assured her, pretty sure I'd said that already, but my mind couldn't keep track. Then I looked over at Lane. "Are you ok in the front seat like that?"

He just leaned over and licked at my arm twice, then curled up on the seat. Well, as far as I could tell, that was a yes. So, I backed up and did my best to get on the road. Due to the thick traffic, I ended up heading the wrong way - away from Wolf's Run, but there was no way I could've made a left turn across this traffic. Instead, I took the long way, using it as an excuse to talk to Samantha.

"What exactly did you see?" I asked her.

"It's ok," Gabby assured her friend. "Mom's still human, but she's also kinda in charge of things."

"That doesn't help," Samantha said.

"Kinda does," Olivia assured her. "Just tell her, Sam."

"Ok..." The girl sounded nervous. "So Roman took off his clothes, and then he kinda turned to like, a liquid? More like a mist, but thicker, you know? And then there was a monster."

"Lycan," Olivia said. "He went full beast mode, Alpha, but it made Mason run out of the building."

"But he said he changed to wolf in the halls," Gabby told me. "And as soon as they were gone - "

I cut her off. "I asked Sam, Gabby."

"Oh."

Samantha tried again. "I mean, it's kinda what they said. I've heard Mason joke that the kids from Wolf's Run are all werewolves, but we just thought he was crazy. And then Roman did that... thing and went after Mason. Gabby grabbed his clothes, and started organizing things. It was like Gabby became a drill sergeant, and all the other kids from there just listened, you know? Then, when things were just starting to calm down, this dog ran into a classroom, and Gabby went in after it. She and Roman came out."

"And what do you think about that?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno. It's kinda cool, I guess? Like one of those stories I read. Gabby said that's why it's called Wolf's Run, and that I couldn't say anything, but I guess you know too?"

"Yeah," I said, reaching over to pet the top of Lane's head. "Sam, you really can't tell anyone. Not even your mother. She wouldn't believe you."

"I wouldn't!" she promised. "I mean, there's got to be a veil, right, and if you let the secret out - "

"Uh, no," Olivia said. "There's no veil, and no protectors, and I've never seen a vampire. It's a virus, Sam. Like HIV, kinda. It modifies our genetics and we all have it. That's pretty much it."

"Oh." Samantha sounded almost disappointed. "Does getting bit really make you turn?"

"It does," Gabby said. "It's just one way to get infected, though. Sex, blood transfusions, and things like that."

"So that's why you didn't want Xander to see the paramedics!"

I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Olivia nodding. "He could expose them, and then they could turn, and it's kinda scary. I mean, I've never done it. I was born this way."

"It's scary," Gabby assured her. "Well, confusing is a better word. Like the way they make bad drugs sound, you know? Like the world is all messed up. But after that, it's pretty cool."

"You will not turn anyone!" I snapped. "You hear me, Gabby?"

"I know, Mom," she groaned. "Ian already said the same thing." Then she turned back to Sam. "Ian's the pack alpha, and he's dating my mom. Well, and his betas. I'll tell you all about that later."

"This is such a mess," I grumbled under my breath.

But my wolf-child heard me. "It's ok, Mom. Sam's cool, and see, she's not even freaking out. And if Ian says anything, I'll tell him how it happened, because we really didn't have a choice, but I knew she'd be ok. Plus, now she can hang out with us again, right?"

"No exposure," I insisted.

"Because she doesn't want you to end up a werewolf," Gabby explained. "And you really don't want to until you can live