Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,202

theirs, not even needing to be asked.

These were my mates. I'd never imagined finding one man who'd treat me like this, let alone five of them! And I'd lived. I'd made the transition to wolf and back. I knew how to let go and make it happen now. I understood what this felt like. That moment when I'd been stuck as a wolf had been one of the most terrifying in my life, but I'd pushed through it because they were all right there.

So why was I still holding back with them? They'd done nothing but give me everything. Over and over, these men had proven themselves. They were perfect in so many ways. It didn't matter if that was me telling them we couldn't have sex, them stepping in to help my daughter learn the things I couldn't understand, or even just being there when I wanted to talk, I knew I could count on them.

Because that was what it meant to have a pack. Those foolish limits I'd believed as a human seemed a lot more foolish after the ordeal I'd just been through. Plus, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember why it was wrong to have more than one boyfriend. Oh, I could remember what I'd been taught, but it suddenly seemed like the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. Who cared if anyone else approved? They weren't part of my pack, and these men were. They were the center of it, right beside Gabby.

And the truth was that I'd done all of this to prove to myself that I was strong enough, yet Lane was right. Being strong wasn't about biting or jumping, or even lifting. The kind of strong I wanted was different. It was to become a woman who made her own decisions and didn't regret them. Right now, held in Ian's arms as he carried me to the one dark SUV parked in the lot, I only had one regret.

"Ian?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah, baby?"

"I should've said it before, but I was scared. I still am, but I'm a wolf now, so that doesn't matter."

"What doesn't?" he asked, pausing to look down at me.

"Being scared doesn't," I explained. "I don't need to be, even if it's a habit. I don't have anything left to worry about, and I survived, so I can say it now." I paused, pulling in a breath to make sure I could get this out. "I love you, and I'm terrified that's going to ruin everything, but I want this to be real. I want all of us to work. I want this to be the kind of relationship that lasts, but I love Lane too."

A soft, sweet smile claimed his lips. "I love you too, Elena. And I love that Lane came first for you. He deserves that. I also like that you forgot to mention a few other things."

"What?"

"Things with Seth? Where you are with Trent and Pax?" He started walking again. "I want you to love them all. I won't make you, and it's none of my business, but that's what I'm hoping for. It's no different than you wanting us to love Gabby, and we do." He chuckled once. "And so you know, we talked after you were bit."

"About?"

"If anything happens to you, Lane's raising her. Name him as her legal guardian, because that man was willing to challenge me for it. She's ours because she's yours. This is what it means to be part of a pack, and I'm not ever letting you go. You are my mate. Maybe I wasn't fated for you, but that's so rare it doesn't matter. I love you because of who you are, and I respect you for doing things your own way. That's the only reason I haven't pushed for anything from you. Not sex, not turning you into a wolf, and certainly not those three words that make me so fucking happy."

"I love you," I said again, "and I'm not going to be afraid anymore."

"No, baby," he promised me. "You have nothing to fear, because you have an entire pack willing to stand with you. Well, or run. And so you know, they were all here. Even Dad. It didn't matter if they waited by the fire or tried to keep up with you on the trails. Every member of Wolf's Run came out to celebrate the Alpha Female claiming her rights as a wolf."

"That..." I leaned my head against his shoulder,