Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,161

you natural-borns think this is the worst thing ever, but I can promise you it's not. I mean, we helped them!"

"Who?" David asked.

"The other kids," Gabby said. "The ones who got shot. Those of us from Wolf's Run helped. We're the ones who did the first aid, and we're the ones who got everyone into the classrooms until the cops cleared the building."

"And," David pointed out, "you're the ones who were front and center for the whole thing. The ones Mason is now saying are special. The ones who people will point at. Not all of those people will be on your side or appreciative of what you did."

"But - "

"Gabby," I begged. "I know you're trying. I know you just want to help, but what we need is a plan. We need options. This afternoon, I'm going to have to talk to the entire pack, and they'll want more than some vague promise that it'll be ok. They'll want some idea of what to do if it isn't, and how we'll get out of here when humans come for us."

"Oh, no," Elena breathed. "You don't think that would happen, do you?"

"I don't know," I told her. "Multiple kids know what we are. At least one saw Roman, and who's to say there weren't others? Never mind the teachers! Are there any cameras you kids didn't know about? Any of those things could mean werewolves have been proven, and then what? Where can we go? How do we hide from people who will think we're just animals they can shoot and kill as they want?"

"But we're not," Gabby insisted.

"I know that, and you know that," I said, "but it's not how humans typically treat those who are different. We need a plan, Gabby, not just to cross our fingers and hope."

She looked over at Roman. "We can think of something, right?"

"I'll sure try," he promised.

The sad thing was that I hoped they could do it, because I honestly had no clue how to fix this. I wasn't even sure if it was possible.

CHAPTER 47

A couple of hours after lunch, the entire pack met in the community center. Ian, Pax, and Trent headed up early to get things ready. When it was almost time, Seth arrived to let me know he had room for Gabby and me. The problem was that none of us knew what to expect. The pack was worried, werewolves had been exposed, and it sounded like everyone expected some miracle to fix this.

There wasn't one.

When we got there, people were already congregating. The entire hall was buzzing as people discussed the video, the shooting, and worried about what would come next. Gabby hovered beside me as I headed to the front where Lane, Ashley, and Henry were talking to different groups. Everyone looked anxious, yet there was an odd calm I hadn't expected. It reminded me of people waiting for help after a natural disaster.

"Roman," Gabby gasped before hurrying off to her boyfriend.

I almost followed, but Seth grabbed my arm. "It's fine," he promised. "If she's with him, the pack will see that he's not in trouble. Kim's probably a little snappy right now, so just give them space. If you go over there, Elena, others will crowd her because they want to talk to you."

"Me?" That wasn't what I'd expected.

He gave me a wry smile. "You are the Alpha Female. Means you're basically second to Ian, and the woman who can bend his ear."

I just nodded, because what could I say to that? "This is going to be bad, isn't it?" I asked.

He made a face and shook his head. "Probably not. We just want some plan for what to do if humans try to hunt us."

"Do you really think it'll get that bad?"

Seth reached down to take my hand. "Elena, we don't know. History has a long list of persecutions. Witches are the only thing we can compare to, and look how that went down. In modern times, you have the things they've done to minorities and gays. Why would people treat us any better?"

"Because you look human," I pointed out. "You can pass, the same way so many gay people did in the past. You can hide in plain sight by doing exactly what you've been doing."

"And we just got outed," he countered.

"No," I said. "Roman did. The Whelans at worst, and if a community of exclusive - " I sucked in a breath. "That's it!"

He shook his head, clearly not following me. "What