adult female, and he took the bites to make sure Elena didn't. Yeah, that counts as above and beyond. He's more than proven himself as a good part of this pack."
CHAPTER 28
The group of us drove straight over to Elena's place to make sure she was ok. We didn't stop at our place, and no one said much until we pulled up in the drive. Just before I opened the passenger door, Trent looked over, and the expression on his face was a little too serious.
"I don't think we should tell Elena that you shoved that woman against the wall," he said.
I just got out, debating his words as I rounded the front of the truck. Pax and Seth made their way around the back, giving me just a little extra room, even though I didn't feel that twitchy. Still, it made it clear that they didn't want to be within reach if I got snarly. Trent, however, just closed his door and watched me, clearly expecting an answer.
"I don't think we should hide it from her," I decided. "Guys, this is what we are. This is how wolves work. She just saw a fight. She got a good look at Roman's wound. I'm not going to go out of my way to tell her that I have and will throw a woman around, but I'm also not going to lie to her."
"He has a good point," Seth said. "Trent, Elena's already realized that a female wolf isn't the same as a human woman."
"But will she think about that if Ian mentions killing her?" Pax countered. "Or is it just one more reason for her to consider running again?"
"She won't run," Seth assured us. "Guys, she's in love with Lane. She knows he's fated for her - and what that means. She's well aware that her daughter needs her pack. I can't promise she won't dump us, but running? No, I think she's more likely to call Ashley."
I groaned because that wasn't necessarily any better. "Ok, not really a fight I want to have, but it's better than her bailing on us." And I gestured to the door, getting them all walking again.
Seth reached the front door first, tapping as he opened it. The group of us piled into the house to see Elena curled up beside Lane. Gabby was nowhere in sight, but Elena noticed me looking and pointed upstairs.
"She's having a shower," Elena said, referring to her daughter. "Heather came to get Olivia, and no, I wasn't bit, or clawed, or spit on, or anything else. I feel like everyone's asked me some version of that."
"I checked," Lane added.
Elena just sat up, but she didn't pull away from Lane. "Has anyone heard about Roman? She bit him really bad. I mean, that was Karen, right? Is she going to go after him now?"
"No," I promised, moving closer to claim the spot beside her. What I didn't do was try to pull her from Lane's embrace. I wasn't that stupid. "Karen's going to be gone by the time the sun sets tomorrow."
"You banished her," Lane said, nodding to show he approved. "Patrick?"
"He's going to make sure she stays busy packing all night, and he doesn't blame me," I assured him. "He's not happy, but he understands."
"Figured you'd kill her," Lane grumbled.
My eyes jumped back to Elena, and I could almost feel Pax, Trent, and Seth watching her reaction from behind me. "Um..." Crap, I didn't know how to respond to that.
"Would you?" she asked.
I just sighed. Well, it was a good thing Trent had brought it up. At least I knew how to respond. "Yes," I told her. "If I had to, I would. No, it wouldn't be the first time. Not all wolves will obey the rules, Elena, and when they don't? Sometimes, they'll fight to the death."
She just jiggled her head to show she understood. "Ok. Because she would've killed me. I could see it in her eyes. She didn't want to turn me, Ian. She wanted me gone. Like, the dead kind."
"I kicked her out of the pack," I promised. "Karen will never be a problem here again. I made some concessions for Patrick, but I doubt he'll use them. He knows that if she ever comes back, even as his guest, she'll have to be on her best behavior, and Karen was never good at that."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Seth said, moving around the coffee table so he could see her.
"I thought I was