Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,177

were teenagers. I thought you were the most amazing girl I'd ever seen." I laughed again at the stupidity of it. "But that wasn't enough. We weren't enough. Nah, you wanted Ian. Not once did you stop to think that if we'd fallen in love with you, he would've made it happen, just like he did for Lane."

"I deserved this pack," she hissed.

Trent just growled, making it clear what he thought of that.

"And you!" she yelled, knowing she was pinned between us. "Do you honestly think that human bitch is going to want the two of you? She'll clutch at her damned pearls and run screaming when she realizes what gets you off."

"Not even close," I promised, reaching up to wipe the blood from my mouth, but still laughing. "Go ahead, Karen. Chase your newest lover. Go after mine if you must, but you should know that a lot has changed since you left. Elena has betas. She also has Lane, and he won't give a shit who tried to hurt his mate. He'll kill you."

Trent barked, the sound a sharp correction.

So I decided to translate that for her. "Or, like my best friend says, Elena will."

Karen turned, glared at Trent, and then just shifted, bolting between the pair of us. Trent appeared to consider chasing after her, but Ian was lying on the asphalt a few feet away, and he looked like he'd just had his ass handed to him. Huffing in frustration, Trent shifted into a man, offered me a hand up, and then the pair of us went to our Alpha.

"You hurt bad?" I asked.

"Fucking arm," Ian said. "I'm lame as a wolf. Might be broken." He lifted it to show what he meant.

Trent just pointed back at the barred gates. "Yeah, well they're all inside now. Sorry, but we couldn't stop them."

"You're fine," Ian promised, but the man sounded like he was in some serious pain. "We knew we couldn't. The trick is going to be turning them back. Who's watching the community center?"

"Henry," Trent said. "Samantha and Theo are with him. We ordered all non-combatants and children there. Heather and Kim said they'd guard the outside, which means there will be a few more to help them, I'm sure."

"Lev," I chuckled.

Ian looked over with confusion on his face. "He's into her?"

"Sounds like he's fucking her," I corrected. "Now, let's go find Damon before Seth does."

"Elena," Ian countered.

"Damon," Trent told him. "Elena's fine. She's got Lane, Bridget, and god only knows who else. The only way anyone's getting to Elena is if Elena goes after them first. Damon's the problem, and so long as he's running around, those converts aren't going to know to stop."

"You sure Karen hasn't finally made it to being an alpha?" I asked, the question for either of them. "Because I'm not convinced who they're following, Damon or her."

"Then we'll kill them both," Ian decided. "One way or another, Hidden Forest is done. But guys? I can't fight. Not as a wolf, and I'm one-armed as a man."

"We can," I reminded him. "Ian, this is why you have betas. Let us help, ok?"

Ian looked down at his arm, the opposite hand clasped over the wound. It was clear he didn't like it. "I can't let Hidden Forest take my pack."

"And you are not alone in this. Let's get you looked at," Trent told him. "If it's not broken, then we can get you back into this. If it is? Then you're still the leader, and we are your other arms."

Then he shifted, and I followed suit, but Ian couldn't. His arm was mangled and bloody, ripped to shreds. His body was bitten and battered. He limped beside us slowly, proving he was in pain. The man had clearly gotten the shit beat out of him, and in all honesty, I had no idea how he was still conscious, let alone walking. There was blood in his hair, open wounds on his thigh and back. I couldn't even count them all.

But Ian wasn't the kind of man who'd stop because something hurt a little. That was why he'd never been challenged. Too many of us had seen him push far past what anyone else could. Didn't matter if that was something as seemingly insignificant as holding his temper at bay or making something work - like Wolf's Run. He always found a way to make things work. So if Ian was saying he couldn't fight, that meant he was hurt bad.

So tonight, we