Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,144

know about this."

"I mean..." Her words turned to a mumble. "I may have said something first, and Mom tried to make me be polite, but she was looking too."

"Please don't ever check me out again," Seth teased. "We can pretend like that never happened, right?"

"I was just looking at your tattoo," she insisted. "I mean, because I was a stupid human back then. That's my excuse, and you can use it."

"Deal," he said.

Then Gabby held up her phone. "And this is the kind of thing she likes. Personally, I think you should get a yellow stone. You know, like our eyes. Plus, she has skinny fingers, so nothing too big. And if you need help, I've totally got your backs."

I eyed the picture she was holding up and just nodded. "Pretty sure we can make that happen. Thanks, Gabby."

"No problem, Dad."

My heart stalled out first, but immediately swelled, and I looked up to see if she was joking. She wasn't. My pup had just called me Dad, and I was pretty sure it was the best feeling ever.

CHAPTER 44

* * *

Monday, Ashley helped us out. She told Elena that she needed some womanly advice and headed home with her. Elena texted me to say she'd take care of her own dinner tonight due to some best friend time. Gabby was heading to Olivia's to help her still-healing beta and check on Theo. In other words, the five of us had a few hours to sneak out and not even be noticed.

I texted Ian. He let the rest of the betas know. Then, as soon as the coast was clear, we piled into Ian's SUV and headed into town. Everyone had some idea about the rings we should get, but they'd forgotten the most important thing.

"The jewelers are humans," I reminded them. "They think marriage is a one man, one woman type of thing."

"It's not that bad," Seth insisted. "Men marry each other now, and women, and poly is a thing. I'm pretty sure the sales clerks at some jewelry store have pretty much seen it all."

"They also won't be upset if they get a commission," Trent pointed out.

"Not hiding this," Pax said. "The fact that we have to be just the roommates or friends for the rest of our lives is bad enough."

Ian was noticeably silent, so I turned my attention to him. "Thoughts?"

"Not really," Ian said. "I'm the one who gets to claim her when the rest of you can't, so I think this is one time that I don't exactly get a say. I also happen to know that Elena was only worried about what Gabby would think and making things hard on her daughter at school or such. So, if we call her our wife, I'm just fine with that."

I felt a smile slowly growing on my face. "Not yours, huh?"

"Lane, she was yours first. We all know that." He glanced over and then back to the road. "You're the one fated to be with her. If you wanted to be the legal husband, I could actually go with that. I'd hate it, and I'd be as jealous as Trent, Pax, and Seth are, but I also know that my love for her will never trump your need."

"Nah," I decided. "It's easier if she marries you, but thanks for saying it."

Because he didn't have to. Ian was the Pack Alpha. By our rules, she was his mate, not mine. I just got the side benefits. The simple fact that he openly called her ours was pushing the boundaries of a traditional mating more than any of us wanted to admit, but the pack accepted it. Granted, they could also see that she was all of ours. This wasn't a case of scratching an itch when the Alpha was away. This thing we all had was real.

It was more than friends, more than Ian simply making sure his betas were taken care of - or his mate. This relationship we had was the epitome of why we all worked so well together. When Ian said that what was his was ours, he meant it. Not to show us up or remind us of his dominance. He truly believed that he owed us that much, and we felt the same way right back.

Then Seth had to ruin the little glow I had going on. "So, are we going to be like, co-husbands or something?"

"No," Trent said before anyone else could react. "I'm not your husband, man."

"Oh, but you'd be