Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,123

else?" I asked, immediately thinking about my bond to Elena.

"Um, Gabby," he said. "The first time I met her, it was like she was my best friend in the world. Roman and I get along great. I mean, we give each other shit, you know? But it's..." He paused to take a bite, thinking. "Have you ever had a friend crush? Like, you just met a person and you immediately knew that you could hang with them?"

"Yeah, with the guys," I told him.

"No," he said. "I'm not a wolf, Lane. I don't submit."

"You do," I countered. "I've seen you do it to your father. You say, 'yes, sir,' and don't puff up to him."

"He'd smack the attitude out of me," Nik countered.

"But that's submission," I told him. "It's nothing more than respecting someone else's authority. The same way you don't cuss in front of Elena."

He chuckled. "Dad told me that we don't talk like that in front of ladies. She's a lady. Kim and Ashley too."

"Not Heather?" I asked.

"Or Gabby, Sam, or Olivia. They all cuss as much as me. I don't mean that like being a lady is bad or anything. It's just that I know they won't be offended."

"Elena won't either," I assured him. "Trust me, Seth can make most people blush when he's on a roll. All I'm saying is that all those signs of respect? That's what makes a pack work. The tie you feel to help those around you? That's the pack bond. It's stopping for long enough to care. I don't think it's some strange ability that wolves have and no one else gets. Even tigers have families, Nik. You understand the feeling; you just think you shouldn't be allowed to have it."

"But I kinda do," he said. "I feel like a bouncer for Gabby. She's the brains of this operation. Roman, Xander, Olivia, and I are the muscle. Samantha is the organization, and Theo? He's like the heart. He's the one who points out when something crosses a line or could help."

As the boy talked, I counted them, and that made six betas for Gabby. Six. Oh, maybe they weren't all her official betas yet, but I had a feeling it was going to happen. Just seeing those kids camped out upstairs to take care of Theo proved it. He was one of their own. They would bend and break rules to put him first - and had.

"You want to know what it's like to be a beta?" I said, bringing us back to his question. "Well, I've had two alphas. First was Ashley. I still feel that tie to her, though. I probably always will, but Ian doesn't mind. Those two are my family. Henry all but raised me. They may not be the family I was born to, but they're the family I got to pick. That's the tie. When you can disagree so much that you'll throw punches because of it, get back up, and go have a beer? That's the bond, Nik. That's what it's like."

"Because family is forever, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "Real family is. Doesn't mean we always get it right the first try, though."

"Why'd you leave Ashley?" he asked.

"She left me," I corrected. "See, I failed her as a beta. I let her get hurt so bad that she couldn't recover. I kept thinking of physical problems. I forgot that sometimes the worst wounds are to the heart and mind. Betrayal can destroy a person, and she doesn't want to be an alpha. She might be the strongest one I've ever seen - "

"Stronger than Ian?" he asked.

"Oh yeah." I huffed at that. "Ian knows it, too. The only wolf I've ever seen who might be stronger?" I leaned toward him and lowered my voice. "Gabby, and she's just a kid."

He sucked in a breath. "Really?"

"Strong enough to make a tiger ask if he's feeling the pull of a beta? Yeah, I kinda think so. Nik, what you kids are doing? It's impossible, so keep doing it. When someone tells you that you can't, don't listen. If you can, then do. I mean, just look at this. You have a wolf pack turned out to ease a tiger's first shift. Sometimes impossible is just another word for 'never been done before.'"

"Then can you help me with Theo?" He bit his lips together. "They said that you talked Elena into shifting back when the alphas couldn't make her. Tigers don't get alphas, so maybe that will work?"

"She