Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,15

saw the same guy twice?"

"There's a reason for that," she reminded me.

"Yeah, because a decade ago, your friend and mate were assholes. But that was them! Vic isn't even a wolf. I also have a feeling that if you actually like the guy, then Ian and Henry will give him a chance."

"No," she said. "Elena, cross-species stuff? It doesn't happen. What if we could infect each other? Would that kill us? Make us some wolf-bear monster? It's just not worth it. There's a reason shifters stick with our own kind or humans. If a human gets our disease, we get fresh blood - to put it as bluntly as possible. The only downside is someone shifting, but mixing our diseases?"

"Is it even possible?" I asked.

All she could do was shrug. "No idea. That's why it's a lot better to just let that one night be one night, and not think about them that way. So, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything to the guys? I don't want them to think I'm only trying to move these bears in because I slept with one!"

"Are you?" I made sure there was no judgment in the question.

Ashley let out another heavy sigh. "I honestly don't know. Vic's a great guy. He's easy to talk to, and he's not like most men I meet, you know? He doesn't stare at my tits or think I'm some conquest he can brag about later. He's... nice. Smart. Considerate, even. So, yeah, I want to help him, but I also think the bears deserve a whole lot more than they're getting."

"Me too," I agreed. "Besides, I think you nailed it when you brought up Ian's initial plans. He wanted to make Wolf's Run into a test of sorts. To modernize shifter society, right? To bring our kind into this new digital world?"

"Our," Ashley repeated. "I kinda like hearing you say that."

"And I love saying it, but that's not the point. You brought me here to see if humans could be persuaded to accept wolves. Well, I did - eventually. Samantha and that other boy, um..."

"Theo," Ashley supplied. "The one who has a crush on Roman. Yep, Pax and Trent think it's cute, so I got cornered into asking Kim if her son might swing both ways. She doesn't think he does, which is sad because that's just too cute."

"And I'm not sure how Gabby would feel about her boyfriend cheating on her," I pointed out.

Ashley huffed like I was an idiot. "Gabby isn't going to have one boyfriend, Elena. She'll end up with a whole group, just like her mom. I mean, she's dating her beta."

Crap. She probably would. All this time, I'd been thinking that she'd be in Ian's situation, sharing her lover with Olivia and her betas, but Roman said he was both her beta and mate! If he wasn't completely straight, then it would be a lot easier for my daughter, which meant Ashley had a point.

"Well, damn," I said. "Although, I'd really rather not think about her having sex yet. I don't have that problem with you, though. So, do bears share?"

She laughed. "I'm not dating the bears, Elena. Not happening."

"But they seem lonely," I teased. "It would be the neighborly thing to do. Just, you know, a blow job here, a little threesome there..."

"No!" she insisted, but she was laughing too hard to sound serious. "Do not even make me imagine it, because we're trying to focus on Wolf's Run, not the super-sexy trio of bears who make me think that we need a public pool for the summer."

"Mhm," I agreed. "Or just lease them a house with a hot tub like your brother has?"

"I'm never getting in that hot tub again!" she swore. "I don't even want to think about what's floating in that water now. Eww!"

"You really don't," I teased. "But, now, their hot tub... Or maybe you should get one? Just, you know, invite the guys over and see how relaxed they get?"

"I live next to my father," she reminded me. "So, no. Just no. But I kinda like how you assume those bears are going to get to move in."

I pushed to my feet. "I just called Gabby and told her to put the teens on it. She'll show up armed with information and a plan, and I'm pretty sure Ian won't expect that."

"So, you're ok with this?" Ashley asked.

I nodded. "Reading that list?" And I gestured to my belly. "It makes something in here