shook my head. "What the fuck?"
"You told her too much," Seth said gently, moving to sit beside me. "Elena, you don't have to share everything."
"I only told her we don't have lions, we have tigers," I countered. "Not how many. Not that they were all we have. I convinced her that we're not the bad guys, but we are the strong ones. If you don't think she's going to tell her friends about this?"
"She's got a point," Ashley admitted. "And if Karen didn't know about the other shifters or that Elena's a wolf, then he'll doubt the rest of her knowledge."
Lane just leaned his shoulder against the wall and smiled at me. "See. Told you you're strong. I think that today you just made an enemy into a friend. Nice job, Alpha."
"Yeah, but I'm more worried about something else she said. He knows where our pups go to school, Lane." And I held up the ring. "This came from someone, and it had better not be one of ours. I need to call Gabby."
CHAPTER 46
* * *
I got ahold of Gabby between classes. She promised that everyone from Wolf's Run was at school. No one was missing, and she'd seen all of them recently, but she promised to text just to be sure. When she asked why, I told her that Damon had made a threat and I just wanted them all to be very careful. In response, Gabby assured me that they'd put the buddy system back into effect.
So who did the ring belong to? I spent the rest of the day trying to figure it out. Sadly, Evelyn's visit ruined my lunch date with my mates - and Ashley's - but I was starting to get used to that. The guys headed out to double-check the community perimeter. Scott promised that he'd have the other bears grab a few things from their job just in case we needed to do any repairs. Just to be safe, I also called Bridget and gave her a head's up. She immediately put in an order for more first aid medication and supplies.
In her office, Ashley was doing her own last-minute checks. She called her father to double-check on the status of the company. She also ordered emergency supplies, including a fire extinguisher for both the office and the guard shack for the front gates. I managed to talk her out of buying the guards a bulletproof vest, though, since teeth were more likely to be an issue.
The problem was that we really had no idea what to do, so we were completely winging it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Damon would try to ambush us somehow. After all, he'd already done it once. But when that didn't work, what would come next? In my head, I had visions of some medieval siege with his pack parked outside the walls trying to smoke us out. I knew it wouldn't work that way, but that was sure what this felt like.
So, when we got off work, I decided it was time for a pack council meeting. First, I sent a text to Ian, but the idea of a council baffled him. He was the Alpha. This was supposed to be his responsibility. I countered with the simple fact that a few more minds never hurt, and he agreed. Then I invited everyone else who'd been helping so far - including Gabby and her betas.
So, an hour after I got off work, we headed next door. The street was already lined with cars, and quite a few of them were parked in front of my place. When we walked in, Ian's house was a lot more full than I'd expected. I saw Roman and Kim around the corner. Lane and Seth were in the living room talking to Henry and Vic. Jax and Lev were in the kitchen helping Trent with something. Bridget, Scott, and Ashley were out back with someone else, and it took a moment to recognize Jesse. Then there were the kids.
Teenagers were everywhere, but Gabby quickly rounded them up and sent her betas to the den. I even saw Samantha in the group, which meant this was truly an all hands on deck situation. I paused for just a moment to be a little proud of myself, but was startled out of it by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist.
"The council was a good idea," Ian said beside my ear. "It also means I'm