Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,59

And he stole our pup away, grinning just a little too much.

Damn, I could get used to this. Not the tigers and bear stuff, but the family stuff. Ian was right. I'd always assumed kids would be a mess and that I'd suck as a father figure, but right about now, I felt like I had this. I might even work up to being a good influence. Then again, I wouldn't put money on that.

But my little girl was in love. I was in love. My pack was growing, and all was right with the world. Hell, even the champagne was pretty good, and I had the rest of Pax's glass to finish too.

CHAPTER 19

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The cats were friendly. The bears took the focus off them, and the foxes seemed to get along with everyone. I noticed, but I was too busy with everything else to be as social as I wanted. I still watched as every one of my guys made a point of dancing with Gabby. Seth was wonderfully awkward, allowing her to lead. Trent, Pax, and Ian all had grace and danced as if they were used to doing it.

Then there was Lane. Gabby didn't even try to dance properly with him. She just got into the right position and the pair of them kinda shuffled. I could see their mouths moving, proving the pair were talking about something. At one point, Lane nodded and my daughter tossed her arms around his waist. Lane just beamed at her like she was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

When that was done, she stole one more dance with her boyfriend, and then we started closing everything up. Gabby made another little speech, thanking everyone for coming out, reminding them not to drive if they'd had too much to drink, and thanking her friends for helping her celebrate. Not long after, people began to disperse.

"Elena?" a man asked, stepping around my father. It was the tiger, and for a split second, I couldn't recall his name.

"Lev, right?" I asked.

"Not a friend of yours?" my father asked.

Lev just smiled. "My son knows the young lady. I'm pretty much out of my depth."

But Dad was eyeing him. "Is that a Russian accent?"

"It is," Lev admitted. "Moved to the country for college, managed to stay." Then he looked at me. "Can I borrow you for a moment?"

"Sure," I said. "I'll be right back, Papa. Make sure Mama doesn't embarrass Gabby?"

"Promise," my father said as I walked away with Lev.

As soon as we were out of earshot, the man leaned a little closer. "I spoke with Ian and Lane. They said we get a chance, and I'm supposed to see you Monday for a lease and the official parts. I, um..." He paused to scrub at his mouth. "The girls. Ian said that he was willing to give them their own house, but they can't afford it yet. I know they'd like it, but we don't want to ask for too much. Well, I don't. The kids? I mean, Sheridan's still a kid to me, and they don't know how far out on a limb you all are going for us. But..." He looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Just ask," I told him.

"Is there any way their place can be close to mine? I just want to make sure that if anything happens, I'm close enough to keep them safe."

"I'll make sure of it," I promised, offering him a gentle smile. "And thank you for coming, for putting up with this insanity, and everything else."

He just nodded. "It's kinda nice. I'm not really the most social man in the world, but I'm guessing you know that. My son, though? He made some friends, and he said he wants to go to school some place where he could be with others like him."

Which was when it hit me. These were all families of one kind or another. The tiger had a son and had all but adopted the foxes as his daughters. The bears treated each other like brothers. The pack? What were we if not one very large and somewhat dysfunctional family?

And that was the tie that would bind all of us together. Regardless of species, or type, or however they differentiated shifters, we were all trying our hardest to take care of our families, and wolves had a bit of an advantage there. Was it really such an insane idea to allow these other shifters to benefit from that? The diversity would only make