Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,167
could hide that. Samantha had her hands clutched to her chest, and Theo's face was ghostly pale. I half expected him to pass out any moment.
"Guys," I snapped, turning to look at all four betas, and then Ian last. "Relax. They're kids, and they're trying to fix the problem. They already know, so scaring the shit out of them isn't going to help."
Gabby just sighed and ran through things again, but this time she put it in a little better context. "Look, you said the video's a problem, so we figured out how to make that go away. Theo took it, and he never considered that it could be bad. He posted it, but last night Sam claimed it was hers. The channel doesn't have a name that can be traced, so it works. We're working on making a video that shows how she put in the special effects, and why she did it. The news has picked up the story, so it's gone from werewolves to being inconsiderate."
Ian just looked at the girl. "You realize this might make it hard for you to get into college, right?" he asked.
Sam shrugged. "I'm honestly more worried about what's going to happen when my mom finds out."
"You're throwing away your future, and for what?" he asked.
She licked her lips and glanced at Gabby. "Mason was going to shoot us," she said softly, her voice quaking just enough to prove these kids weren't over what had happened. If anything, this was likely their way of coping with it.
"And?" Ian pressed.
"When Roman started taking off his clothes, I thought he was losing his mind. I mean, I was! And we could hear Mason in the other room, and then Xander rushed in and said something about not hurting his pack. Before I knew what was happening, Roman changed into this thing, and he roared like some hero monster from a movie. And then he chased Mason out, but we weren't ok. People had been shot, and they were screaming in the halls. Gabby just started barking orders - " Her eyes went wide and her mouth snapped shut. "Sorry!"
"It's ok," Gabby told her. "Common phrase. I use it too."
"Ok," Samantha said. "But, I'd never seen anything like it. Gabby said to do something, and the kids from Wolf's Run just did it. Not only our friends, but the others. Even the seniors, you know? And by the time the cops got there, we had the bleeding under control, and those who were hurt had someone taking care of them. The others were out of the way, and it was just organized. It made it less scary."
"So they saved your life," Ian said, summing it up. "But when the media realizes who you are, they're going to drag you through the mud for this. They will dig up everything you've ever done, and turn you into a monster. You'll lose all of your friends - "
"No, she won't," Gabby told him. "She'll have us."
"Who are my only friends right now," Sam told him.
So Ian looked at Theo. "And you?"
"He's not going public," Sam told him. "Theo gets bullied enough. He took the video, but he's letting me have that account so he doesn't need to get called out. He's also giving me the original copy and deleting it from his phone. And who knows, maybe this will mess up my college, but I'm probably going to community college anyway, because I can't afford anything else."
"She's saying it was a mistake," Gabby told him. "Her way of coping. The video was put up on YouTube, but never shared by her. Or by Theo. It was just parked there. Someone else found it and shared it. She wasn't trying to spread a hoax, just making a video to help her cope with what happened."
"Ok." He paused to scrub at his face. "We'll help how we can, but you cannot be a wolf." He glanced over at Gabby. "No turning anyone. I'll make sure she has access to come and go as she pleases, but she stays human."
"And Theo?" Gabby asked.
"Same, but they're your responsibility. If anything about this goes wrong, you will be the one telling the pack."
She smiled. "Yes, Alpha. But maybe we don't have to hide what we are in front of them? I mean, since they know and all?"
"Don't push it," Lane told her.
"For the video," Gabby insisted.
Trent chuckled once. "We're old, Gabby. Not stupid." But he looked at Ian. "Although, they already know."