Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,23
even believed to be anything but historical mumbo jumbo."
"Not surprising," Henry grumbled. "But, at least it's one thing we don't have to fret about. Ok. Vic, is there going to be an issue with bears accepting wolves as the decision-makers?"
"Not really," Vic said, glancing over to Ian. "We don't have dominance like wolves, and I'm guessing you know that. We do, however, have jobs to pay the bills. That means we all say yes to a weak little human boss. Since there hasn't been a rash of animal-related murders in town, you know we're able to hold it together - and my boss is a real dick."
"What do you do?" Elena asked.
He laughed once. "Construction. Scott works with me. Jax is a bouncer at a club, so he has stupid college kids in his face all night long."
"Ok," Ian said, sounding like he hadn't expected that. "How do we get the rest of the pack to accept having a group of bears living among us?"
"My quinceañera," Gabby said.
"Isn't the subject," Elena told her. "This is important, Gabby."
But I could see where Gabby was going with that. "No," I said, heading back to the table. "I think she has a point. Her party is next Saturday, all day. Your parents will be here, so it's human friendly, and everyone will be on their best behavior. Have the bears come, mingle, meet people, and if it gets tense, they can just leave. It's the perfect test."
"To a quinceañera?" Pax asked, looking at me as if I'd lost my mind. "That's kinda like using a wedding as a meet and greet."
"Exactly," I told them. "It's formal, which means regulated. If Gabby and Ian accept the bears' presence, I'm willing to bet the rest of the pack will as well."
"So..." Vic was mulling that over. "Just come to this party and do what?"
"Wish Gabby a happy fifteenth birthday," I suggested. "No presents necessary. Have a beer, shake a few hands, and try not to smile too big at the kids? Wild guess, but most of us aren't interested in your teeth."
"Wait," Pax said, all but cutting me off. "If this does work out, then what? We just lease them a house? And if they refuse to listen to Ian's rules? Then what?"
"We get kicked out," Vic said as if that should be obvious.
"And you'd go?" Pax countered. "C'mon, Vic. You're a Kodiak, Jax is a grizzly, and Scott's a... didn't you say a black bear?"
"Yep."
"Any one of you is a tough fight for a wolf. All of you?" he asked. "Forcefully evicting you is basically impossible, and you think we should just trust you?"
"We have over two hundred wolves in this community," Elena pointed out.
I grunted, making it clear that wasn't necessarily useful. "Total, but almost half of those are kids."
"But isn't that enough, Trent?" Lane asked. "We have about seventy-five members of the pack who could pick a fight. Maybe another twenty-five who could if they had to, but we're talking the older members, the infirm, and kids like Gabby."
"So, civilians," Elena muttered. "But seventy-five wolves is still a lot, right?"
"More than I want to tackle," Vic assured her. "But let me counter with this. Yes, we're big. But, if this does work out, then you'll have all three of us to help you evict the cats or foxes when they want to move in. I've already made it clear that we're desperate. Jax and I can't be seen in our bear forms because our kind is no longer found in most of the United States. The few places where a bear shifter can survive in this country? Well, most of them either have a bigger, stronger shifter or natural bears. We've been urbanized out of existence, and this is basically our last hope."
"So we handle this like humans," Gabby said as she pushed back her chair. "Hang on, I have notes." And she hurried into the other room.
I just pointed at Vic's drink. "Another beer?"
"Sure," he agreed. "And I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name."
"Trent," I told him. "Also Elena's mate. Pax and I were Ian's first betas."
"Lane was originally tied to Ashley," Ian explained. "We picked up Seth in college. He's a convert."
"They saved my life," Seth admitted. "Then they taught me how to enjoy the benefits of being a wolf."
Vic just nodded. "And, this relationship is a public thing?" He jerked his thumb toward where Gabby had gone. "She knows you're all with her mom?"