Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,78

supposed to be my pack," she growled. "Mine, Pax. I gave my life to all of you, and what did you do with it? You shit on me!"

"You're the one who seduced us. You never put any conditions on that, because if you had, we would've said no. After you slept with his brother, Ian knew you were just chasing his family name, but you said it was just sex."

"Because you were supposed to give me a chance!" she snapped.

I lifted a brow, making it clear how stupid that sounded. "We did. And then another. We tried to make you a friend, but for you, it's always been about what you deserve, about what you should have by right. Never the pack. Never anyone else. Certainly not what we wanted. So, we fucked you. We dumped our load and left. We took exactly what you were offering and gave nothing back because you didn't either."

So she shoved at me, but weakly. "I have nothing if I'm not his mate," she whined.

"Bullshit. You have the exact same thing as everyone else. The world isn't going to come to an end if the pack isn't bowing in obedience at your feet. The power you want so bad? It comes with a shitload of responsibilities, and you can't just pass them off."

"That fucking bitch does!"

"Elena?" I scoffed in her face. "She does more for this pack than you ever have. I'll say it one last time, Karen. Leave my mate alone. I happen to have real feelings for that woman, and I would rather kill you than lose her. Kill. Not just run you from the pack, but I will tear your throat out and accept the penalties because I don't think the pack will banish me for it. You went too far when you tried to attack her, and the only reason you're still here is because your father promised us that you wouldn't be a problem."

"I'm not," she said.

"You pushed Ian until he chased your ass off. Think the fuck again!" Then I pointed at the cars. "Go home. If you turn the wrong way, I'll be on you, and there won't be a warning."

She grunted but started walking. I just shifted back to a wolf, thankful for the fur to help me warm back up. Then I kept pace with her until she reached the treeline. Sure enough, she turned left, angling for her car. I turned right and trotted over to where Elena and the others were roasting marshmallows. Just to make sure they knew I was there, I whuffed softly.

Elena turned, and a smile lit up her face. "Hey, Pax. It's warmer over here."

Oh, that was an invitation I couldn't turn down. I made my way to her feet, then leaned up against them as I sat, sniffing at the air. Elena just giggled and lifted her skewer, testing the marshmallow on the end with her fingers.

"Please tell me that you have the digestion of a man," she mumbled as she pulled it off. "Because I'm pretty sure these are bad for dogs, but I have no idea about wolves."

"He's fine," David said. "We aren't really canines. Just men shaped like them."

So she held out the golden brown bit of sugar for me. As gently as I could, I licked it from her fingers, annoyed at how my teeth never worked right like this, then lapped her hand again, getting the last of it. She just laughed and reached around to hug me, ruffling my fur at the same time. In the middle of that, I heard a car start, but I didn't want to pull away. Instead, I waited until Elena leaned back for another marshmallow, then turned to make sure that was Karen's car heading down the road.

It was, and while I should go back to run with the rest, the fire was nice and warm. Elena was having fun, and I kinda didn't want to miss it. I didn't get a lot of chances to be with her alone, but I also didn't want to change back - just in case I was needed. No, I could stay right here. I'd say I was guarding her if asked, but the truth was that I just liked the way she always smiled when she touched my fur.

She wasn't nervous. She wasn't creeped out. She petted me like she actually enjoyed the touch. Like she understood that I was just shaped differently, not a stupid dog. And