Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,94

care how long you chase after my brother. It doesn't matter if you went to the same school, the same university, or even dated his exes. If you want to get ahead, then lift yourself up and stop looking for handouts."

"Fuck you, Ashley," Damon said, and I could hear him through the handset.

She chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not that desperate. You have no claim on Wolf's Run. We cannot be held responsible for some psycho shooting at our pack. More than that, we can't be held responsible for defending ourselves against it. Those hunters you keep whining about? They were incited by a mentally-disturbed high school boy - not us."

"I've now lost three wolves because of you!" the man roared.

"Thought it was two," Ashley countered.

"And Seth," he said. "Oh, but you see, that one is Ian's fault. I turned him. I was responsible for him. He stole him from my pack. Yes, Ashley, I've thought this through. Pay up, or I'm coming for Wolf's Run."

"Try it," she snarled. "Do you honestly think you can best Ian in a fair fight?"

"Fair?" The man scoffed. "Ian is a weak Alpha. He let a teenaged boy disobey his orders and what did he do? Nothing. He allowed his mate's child to be turned, and the punishment for that? Not a thing. His pack members ignore him, knowing full well that he's not a threat. Why do you think I'd be scared of him? My mate nearly killed his, and all Ian could manage to do was kick her out? Yeah, I think I've got this. Wolf's Run will be mine..." He chuckled. "Unless you pay."

"Go play in the street or something," Ashley snapped, and then she slammed the phone back into the cradle. "Dick."

"Ash?" I asked. "What is he talking about?"

"Ian is fair. He's not a tyrant, Elena, but Damon? He is. He's convinced himself that because Ian didn't kill Roman and didn't destroy Karen that he's not strong enough to fight back." She pushed both palms down onto my desk and let out a heavy sigh. "He's wrong, but he's also not going to stop. If you get any more calls like that? Just hang up on him, ok? If that asshole wants to challenge my brother then he needs to come in here and do it."

"What about the reparations, though?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "It's his excuse. If he tries to attack us for no reason, other packs will attack him. If he has a reason - even a weak one - it gives him justification for this bullshit. Kinda like the UN or something, I guess. If you're going to declare war, you have to have a reason and follow a few steps. If you don't, you're branded a criminal, and there are enough wolves in this world to make that suck."

I just nodded. "You should probably know that he seems to think I'm still human."

"Good," she said. "I mean, your eyes are dark for a wolf, but a lot lighter than they used to be. Believe it or not, that's a good thing. It will make him less likely to try to claim you as his prize."

The breath rushed from my lungs. "He can do that?"

"He can try," she clarified. "Some wolves think it's sexy. But no, wolf culture isn't rape culture. He's just trying to look impressive, and you are too smart to get wet panties over a man acting like a self-absorbed prick. Besides, what can he really do? This is Wolf's Run. There's a reason we made this place into a fortress."

I just hoped she was right.

CHAPTER 29

* * *

When Ian got the email from Karen, he was pissed. After hearing that Damon called Elena, I was too. Not that the idiot could do anything, but if he was pushing this hard, then Damon was clearly up to something, and I would not allow my mate to get hurt in the process. So on Wednesday, we made a check of the community security features. They were all still working.

Then, that evening, I headed over to Ashley's to do a little digging. Damon said he'd lost two pack members to hunters. That meant they'd been wolves, so there wouldn't be much in the news about a few animals being killed. Still, an increase in the local wolf population should be mentioned somewhere. Probably on a rural forum or something, but I'd found nothing.

Ashley, however, was a bit better at this. She ran through Twitter first, got a