Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,93

happened, but I woke up in Scott's bed this morning, so I kinda had to run home for a shower and office-friendly clothes."

"You don't know how," I said, latching onto that part of her story.

"Well, there was a little Vic, a little Jax, and then Scott joined in, and I may not have slept at all on Saturday, then Sunday we had a repeat, so I kinda passed out early, but I swear it was on the couch."

I just grabbed her coffee cup. "I'm refilling this. You go sit down because I'm sure you ache too much to be standing. Bears? Really? Are they..."

"Hung?" she asked. "Oh fuck, yeah. Today, I get to be the one sitting so I can recover."

"Deal."

Because I did not want to ruin this for her. The last thing Ashley needed was some reason to cut those men off. Now that I knew how long she'd gone without having any kind of serious relationship, I was determined to make sure that she at least tried with these guys. Didn't matter if they were bears. I didn't give a shit if anyone approved or not. If those men could make her happy - one, all, or some - then I had her back.

The hard part, though, was not quizzing her. I wanted to ask. I longed to know how she felt about them, but I knew better. Instead, we spent most of the day giggling about sexual positions and the problem with being pinned into bed by men so much larger than ourselves. While falling asleep in between them was nice, the next morning? There was nothing quite as awkward as trying to get out of the covers, on top of them, and then crawling to the foot of the bed to go pee!

And the inquiries didn't stop. I couldn't be sure, but it felt like the word had gotten out that Wolf's Run was considering non-wolf shifters. One person said they had an exotic cat, legal, and asked if they'd be allowed to keep it. A mountain lion, evidently. I let him know that there were conditions on such things, and if he'd like to come into the office, we'd be happy to explain it all.

Another was curious about coyotes in the area. I responded that there weren't any, but that this was a wildlife-friendly community, and we did not trap or kill the local animals, but rather tried to make sure they could exist in a way that wouldn't threaten the other residents to preserve the ecology. In truth, I was starting to feel a little proud of my answers. It wasn't like this subtle double speak was easy!

Then, just at the end of the day, my phone rang. "Wolf's Run, this is Elena," I answered.

"Well hello, shoe girl," the man replied.

I didn't even need him to tell me his name. This was Damon. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rising, but I fought back the urge to growl. "What can I do for you this time, Damon?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You know, Karen says you're a weak and passive little thing. What changed, woman?"

"Mm, that is really none of your business, but if you have to know, it was running that bitch out of here."

"And right into my pack. Thank you for that, by the way. Now, about our request?" he asked.

I knew he meant that email, the one about the reparations. "I'm afraid that's been sent to management. You're going to have to wait your turn like everyone else, but I wouldn't count on a favorable outcome."

"My people died!" he roared, forcing me to lift the phone away from my ear.

"Then be a better leader," I told him. "If you expect Ian to manage your pack, then maybe you should just step down now."

"Oh, that's not how it works, you stupid human," Damon sneered. "Don't think I missed how your mates - and even that Langdon bitch - hovered over you protectively. You see, some of us fight our own battles, and you owe us. I lost two good men. Two! And they were successful wolves. My pack is suffering because yours exists, and I intend to get that back, one way or another."

Then the phone was snatched from my hands. I looked up to find Ashley there, pissed, and leaning over my desk. "Damon, this is Ashley Langdon, Elena's beta. Now, let me make this very clear so you don't misunderstand. You will get nothing. I don't