attack. But what about the others? Jonah wasn't the only one that man bit."
"No, but Evelyn's starting a daycare for the pack children. Christian's in college. Mia? If she's not struggling so hard, she might be able to do the same. They're all staying, Michelle, along with five others from that pack before it was disbanded. You see, this place?" I turned to look at her. "We're going to make it a sanctuary. Tigers, bears - we even have a lion interested, which will round things out nicely, I think."
"Lions, tigers, and bears?" she laughed.
I nodded. "And foxes and some wolves. Yeah. See, we wolves have it pretty good. We're a pack. The others? They rely on us to help, because they're scattered out there, desperate to not be discovered, and some of them would do anything just for the chance to scratch their back on one tree. They're desperate, and we can help. I need people in that office who understand what that feels like."
"I do," she assured me. "I want to say more than you can understand, but it sounds like you've been there."
"Yeah," I agreed, "and my pack helped me even before I knew what they were. Now it's time to give the next ones a chance."
And then the first set of howls broke out, announcing a successful hunt. My lips curled into a smile, and David jumped up just as a red wolf ran into the clearing. That was Lane, and his head swiveled around for a moment before it landed on me. Immediately, he shifted.
"Elena, we need you. Christian's running hard and still not done, but Jonah's just about ready. He's also scared, so we don't want to push him."
Without thinking, I began to pull off my clothes, but Michelle had heard that too. "What's happening?" she asked.
"He needs a mom," I told her. "Not a big bad wolf, but someone to make him feel safe." I shoved my pants to the ground, pulling my shoes, socks, underwear, and pants off my ankles together. "It's ok. I got this. It's what pack does for each other."
Then I shifted, racing after my mate to make sure that Jonah knew he no longer had to fight. We were done with that. This was our home, our safe place, and I was not going to let anything happen to my pups. Not Gabby, not her betas, and not this new boy who would be a good addition to the pack.
Lane and I reached them just as Ashley knocked the boy off his feet. Kim immediately dropped her weight on him. Bridget shifted to grab his legs, and I headed right for his head, finding my human body at the exact moment I reached him.
"Hey, Jonah," I said, looking into his eyes.
And I could feel it. That power. That ability to ease him out of this. It was right there, begging for me to use it, so I did. I leaned on him gently, giving him my eyes to hold onto like a lifeline even as I gently petted his head.
"We got you," I promised. "Now comes the hard part. You made it, Jonah. You turned, but now we have to get you to turn back, ok? Nod if you understand me?" He nodded his muzzle. "That's perfect. But the trick is that you can't push. Don't shove your human body away. You need to reach for it. Strain, trying to pull it to you, but don't fight it. Just look right into my eyes, and remember what it was like to have knees, and fingers, and even thumbs. That's it. We got you. You're completely safe, but you have to really reach for it."
His form began to blur, but his eyes didn't blink. They held mine, so I leaned just a little more. This was my pup. They all were, and I could help him find this. As his body lost its shape a little more, the boy finally figured it out, and the next part happened in a rush. His body almost dissipated and then shifted, resettling into the shape he knew best - that of a teenaged human boy.
"I did it?" he asked.
And I didn't care if anyone else was watching. I bent down and hugged the kid, holding him against my shoulder. "Welcome to the pack, Jonah. You're going to be a strong wolf, and I think your mother's going to help us a lot."
Then Ian's hand stroked down the back of my hair, making