Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,73

going on," I said. "Even more fun, I'm one of the people who gets dizzy watching them shift."

"Oh no!" Emily said. "Will warned me that happens, but I thought he was just being overprotective."

A pair of hands clasped my shoulders from over the back of the chair. From the size of them, it had to be Lane. "I made her pass out," he said. "It's why we wanted her to be used to our society before she decided to come out here and faint."

I reached up to press a hand over Lane's. "I've learned how to close my eyes," I promised.

He just chuckled. "I told the others that you brought stuff, so we might have a few wolves come take a break. Don't let them get chilled when they switch forms, ok? We always feel warm with a coat on, but..." He lowered his voice. "Henry will try to pretend like he's ok. At least make him wrap up in a blanket?"

"Promise," I said. "And I think his modesty will be all it takes."

Then Lane kissed my cheek. "Roman asked if he could run with Gabby. I said it was ok, so I hope I didn't mess up."

"Lane, he's fine," I promised. "I'm well aware that Gabby pressured him into biting her. If Ian's ok with him, then I certainly am."

"Ian's still annoyed," Lane admitted. "Making the kid prove himself, so I'll keep an eye on them." Then he massaged my shoulders once. "Yell if you need me, ok? I'll be listening, and I can hear you - even on the far side."

"Promise." Then I shooed him off. "Go play, Lane."

He headed off, but Sasha was trying hard not to giggle. As soon as he was far enough away, she leaned closer. "I heard he's fated for you."

"Yeah," I said, "although it's nothing like the stories I've read."

"None of it is," Emily agreed. "Like, they don't have to shift on the full moon - "

"Well," David interrupted, "we do feel the pull of it. That's why chasing the moon is such a strong tradition. And I get irritable, like there's an itch I just can't scratch. When the moon finally comes up, there's this urge to bolt." He glanced over at me. "So don't laugh when I flinch."

"For everyone?" I asked.

David nodded. "Yep. It's like when you get bad news and you just want to do something, go somewhere, or find some action, but there's no action that will change it? That same feeling. Not like getting scared, but this subtle need to just do... something and do it right now."

I twisted to see the group gathering closer to the start of the trails, no more than thirty feet away. "What do they do without a community like this?"

"My last pack used to live in the middle of nowhere," David explained. "Rural town with a population of a few hundred. They ran in the pastures, but the problem was that sometimes the humans thought they were chasing livestock and were willing to shoot. That's what makes Wolf's Run so unique, Elena. Here, we're finally safe to be ourselves."

But my eyes had just landed on a woman leaning against the hood of her car at the far end of the parking area. She was bundled up in a long coat, but I'd know that dyed-blonde bob anywhere. That was Karen, and I hadn't even thought about her showing up. I should've, but for some reason, I preferred to think of her as a human nuisance, not a real part of the pack.

David noticed my attention and turned to see what I was looking at. "She won't start anything with the entire pack around," he promised.

"Who?" Emily asked.

I just sighed. "Karen Green. She seems to think that she was meant to be with Ian instead of me, and she's trying her best to break us up."

"Won't succeed," Sasha said. "Lane's fated for you, and everyone knows that Ian won't set him aside. That man is basically his brother!"

"Karen doesn't agree," I told her, peeling my eyes away from that bitch. "And I hate that she's going to be out there with my daughter."

"You know that Kim and Roman won't let anything happen to Gabby," David assured me.

Emily was picking at her lower lip. "She warned Will not to leave me alone around you."

David huffed in frustration. "Have either of you ever lived with another pack?"

"No," Sasha said. "Miles told me that I would have to be bit and turned if I wanted