Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,164

get them here, then do that. I'm going to wait with Bridget. Sheridan's on the gate tonight. If there's anything else you need, Alpha, your pack will be ready and waiting."

"I'm still not used to that," I told him.

He just smiled. "You've more than earned it, and you haven't even been a wolf a year yet. Take care of our kids, ok?"

Ian just caught my hand. "I want you to call me when you're on your way back so we can get you in without stopping. Samantha and Theo both have Sheridan's number too. If you have any problems, she'll have the gate open. You're going to head straight to Bridget, because the clinic is the only place we have to ease them through this right now."

"When's the moon?" I asked.

"Friday, just after one in the afternoon. It'll be a day run."

I nodded. "Then let's make sure they're alive to make it."

I tried to turn away, but he caught my hand, pulling me back. Then his lips found mine. There was something frantic about this kiss, and I knew that was his own worry, but mine matched. So I pressed into him, not caring about the kids in the room. All too soon, he pulled away.

"Be careful," he breathed.

Then Seth moved beside me, reaching up to turn my face toward him. Trent's lips found my neck, and Pax kissed my shoulder on the other side, then the three of them hugged me so hard.

"We love you," Seth whispered. "So you'd better come back, because I don't want to do the whole dating thing again, ok?"

"Promise," I said, glancing back at Trent and Pax to make sure they knew they were included in that. "Take care of Ian, guys?"

"Take care of Lane," Pax told me.

Trent met my eyes. "I'm proud of you. Terrified, but proud."

Then it was time. I turned for the truck, shooing the herd out before me. We had this balanced out pretty well. There were fourteen of us in total. Gabby and Roman were with me, along with Lane. Xander and Olivia were with Heather. I got Ashley, but Heather got Kim. Lev told Nik to ride with us so each truck had a tiger as well. Then Scott climbed into the back with his gun, leaving Jax and Vic to ride with Heather.

As we pulled out, I looked over at Lane. "Guess you count as a bear, huh?" I teased.

"Shit," Scott laughed from the back. "I saw him in his mid-form. What do you people call it?"

"Lycan," Ashley told him.

"Yeah, that," Scott agreed. "Well, he's about as big as me as a bear. I think he counts."

Then Ashley leaned forward, between the seats, and snagged my phone. I gave her a confused look in the rearview mirror, because I was currently leading this caravan, and I kinda needed that for directions. Then, she did her leaning trick again and passed Lane my phone while handing me a Bluetooth earpiece.

"Heather has her headset on," she said. "So you get to use mine. I just paired it. Lane? Can you clip that phone holder to the air vents? Angle it so Elena can see where she's going. Then call Heather?"

"Can do," Lane assured her, making his words into truth.

A ringing started in my earpiece. "Yeah?" Heather answered.

"Evidently, we're supposed to be connected," I told her.

She just laughed, but there was something nervous about it. "Well, I'm trying to convince myself that this is just like chaperoning for a school trip. Not that I've ever done that before, but it feels a little less insane."

"Tell me about it," I mumbled.

But I couldn't stop thinking about that boy. It was Saturday night. In six days, he'd turn into a wolf. Somewhere out there, his mother was probably crying herself to sleep - if she slept at all. I knew our plan was good, and since Damon's pack didn't have any walls or protection around it, we could do this. We wouldn't even drive into the trailer park. Samantha had actually found some quiet dirt road with only a pasture between us and the trailer we wanted.

That didn't mean the drive was quick. It was twenty minutes from Wolf's Run to Hidden Forest. In the back seat, the kids were talking about their own parts to play. I heard Roman swear that he wouldn't rush in unless she called his name. Not yelled for some reason, but called his actual name. But the moment we left the city limits and started seeing