Page 43 of Wolf Forgotten

"I don't know what I want. I just found out I'm not a human and that I have two mates. Who the fuck knows if I'll have more. At the rate I'm going, by next week I'll have twenty of you pawing at my door."

A growl rumbled out of Cole as his face grew serious. "Eli is my best friend. If he was anyone else, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from claiming you just for myself."

"Woah, woah, woah." I scrambled off the bed and crossed my arms. "No one said anything about claiming me. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Yes, I feel an intense attraction and pull toward both of you, but it's not so overwhelming where the wordclaimshould be used."

Eli looked like he had his tail tucked between his legs. "Maybe the feeling just needs time to develop... like your ability to shift."

"Her ability to shift took twenty-six years." Cole stood and brushed past me. I couldn't tell if he was joking, or if he seriously believed it might take me a quarter of a century to develop the same feelings they had. They were feeling way more than I was. "We're going to be late to the meeting."

The last thing I wanted to do was make a bad first impression.

Chapter Eighteen

Ivy

The building that was about fifty feet from the house was not what I was expecting. It was deceptive on the outside, but inside it was practically a football field in size. The trees surrounding the exterior really helped conceal it.

The inside looked like a state-of-the-art training facility for a sports team. At the front, near the entrance, was a lounge area with a projector screen and enough seating for two dozen people. Off to the side was a meeting room with a large conference table that had windows looking out. There were several other doors that were closed that had no windows.

That wasn't even the beginning of it. The rest of the room had gym equipment with plenty of room to throw barbells around. There also was a small area in one corner that was an area for children to play in.

"Geez, does the pack have an NFL team?" I didn't know where to look first, there was so much to take in. "Who pays for all of this?"

There were a lot of people already gathered in front of giant roll up doors at the back of the facility. They were talking and laughing, not seeming to notice us yet.

"Welcome to the Wolves' Den." Cole walked ahead of me and Eli as we started across the room toward a small platform that was in front of a giant spray-painted image of a wolf. "Find a spot near the back so she isn't gawked at."

We separated, and Eli took my hand, guiding me toward the back of where the crowd gathered. "The pack is pretty wealthy, but so is Cole."

"What about the other pack... the WAP?" I snorted at the abbreviation. "They do realize that shortening it iswet ass pussy, don't they?"

Eli's face morphed from confused, to slightly amused, to embarrassed. "What's that? Girl slang for being horny?"

"It's a song."

"Never heard of it. The West Arbor Pack is not as well off as we are. As far as I know, most of them work in the city to the west of them. Then there's the rumor about the pack getting mixed up in some criminal activity." Eli put his hand on the small of my back as we weaved through the people gathered and stopped by some gym equipment.

"Does the whole pack fit in here?" I leaned against a metal pole that was part of a pullup and squat rack rig attached to the wall.

"They can if something serious happens, but it's usually just heads of families that come." Eli's hand slipped from my lower back into the back pocket of my jeans. It was an intimate gesture, and my lower belly clenched at the thought of his hands running over my bare ass.

"All men?" I saw one or two women, but most of the people in attendance were male. "Allthe decisions are made by men? I thought wolves would be more progressive."

Overhearing my commentary, a few men turned with raised eyebrows, and Eli made a noise in his throat that wasn't quite a growl but was not a friendly sound. They looked confused and turned their attention back to the front as Cole started to speak.

"We've been called here tonight by my betas to discuss and approve Ivy Taylor joining our pack. She will live in my house and be under my protection from this point forward." His powerful voice made me stand a little taller and my wolf perk up. He was a strong leader, and I liked that. "Does anyone have any objections?"

Dante, who stood on the platform off to the side, cleared his throat. "Where did she come from, and why is she running through the woods challenging betas?"

"She moved to Arbor Falls about eight months ago." Cole held up a hand to quiet the group down when everyone started to talk at once. "The car accident we were in caused her first shift."

Cole was just ripping the Band-Aid right off, and the room exploded into discussion and questions.

Is she dangerous?

I heard her hair is red. Why is she red?

She took down a full-sized buck that was four times her size. How is that possible?

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