Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,192

him. "The four of us will make sure Elena's ok."

Ian's mouth opened and he leaned like he was trying to stop himself from saying something. Then he just sighed. "Pax, I want to help her too."

"You can," I assured him. "But we won't give you shifts. You'll be too busy with everything else. Well, everyone else. Stop in to see her when you want, but trust us to take care of our mate."

He nodded in agreement. "I want every alpha in the pack on this run. If one of us can't force her to shift back, then all of us will. I don't care how it happens, but we are not losing her, guys. I also don't want Gabby to realize that it's even a possibility."

"And if she doesn't come back from the wolf?" Seth asked. "I know we won't abandon her, and we'll shift her back eventually, but at first? What do we do with Gabby?"

"We raise her," Lane decided. "If the five of us can't figure out how to be worth one stepfather, then we don't deserve our mate. We'll raise Gabby, and we'll make Elena proud with how good we do." We all made some show of agreement, because he had a good point.

Then I asked, "What time does the moon rise on Wednesday?"

"Seventeen minutes after six," Lane said. "So, just after the sun sets. Hopefully, we'll get her back to human by midnight."

"Moon set?" Seth asked.

"Five till nine the next morning," Lane said. "So it might be a long night."

The last words were barely out of his mouth before a sound from the other room made all of us stop. Lane was in motion before I realized what it was, but his reaction made it clear that Elena was awake. I set my coffee down and followed, and I wasn't the only one. The entire group of us piled into her bedroom in time to see Elena sitting up, pressing a hand to her head.

"You ok?" Lane asked.

And for the first time, I saw the bandage on her left arm, but Elena just groaned. "Yeah. But I've got a killer headache."

Lane moved to the edge of the bed and knelt down. "You hungry, little bunny?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his nickname for her. It was oddly adorable. "Water?" I offered instead.

But the sound of my voice made her open her eyes. "Is everyone here?"

"We were worried about you," I admitted, even as Trent headed to the bathroom to get her a drink.

"Advil's over here already," Lane told him.

"Shh," Elena said. "Talk like I have a hangover."

Seth just made his way around the bed and crawled up behind her. "Come here," he said softly. "I want to see if you have a fever yet."

"I have a thermometer," Trent offered, carrying back both that and the glass of water.

Lane found the bottle of Advil, and fished out two pills. Ian was hovering at the end of the bed. I was between him and Lane. Trent moved over to Seth's side to hand him the thermometer and the water for Elena, even as Lane passed her the pills. She took those first, then finished the entire glass of water, but when Seth handed her the thermometer, she smiled.

"So, is this what I should expect for the next couple of days?" she asked.

Ian ducked his head and chuckled. "Probably," he admitted. "Elena, you're going to feel hungover all day today. Tonight you'll be sick. And tomorrow?"

"I'll become a wolf," she said, nodding to show she understood. "Well, then would it be wrong to ask for pancakes?"

"I'll make 'em," Trent offered.

"And orange juice?" she added.

I laughed once. "Sure, honey. You want that in bed too?"

"Definitely, because when I have five men willing to wait on me hand and foot, I'd have to be a fool to let this chance get away." She forced a smile, but it was clear that she really didn't feel that good. "And maybe one of you can find me some pajamas?"

"You just need one of Lane's shirts," I told her as I headed for her dresser. "And some very ugly panties. I mean, since it's a sick day."

But when I glanced back, she was smiling at me. "Thanks, Pax. All of you." Then she lifted the thermometer. "And I'll use this, but one of you needs to close the blinds, because it's bright."

"I got that," Ian said. "You just lay there and feel better. Let your mates spoil you for once."

"Not even going to complain,"