Page 44 of Wolf Forgotten

What if she's a spy for WAP?

I felt like someone had thrown me to the wolves and leaned closer to Eli, who was tense as eyes landed on us and the flurry of questions continued.

A shrill whistle rang out across the room, causing me to bring my hands to my ears. Cole lowered his fingers from his lips. "Enough. We are better than this. She is a harmless female who needs a pack."

"I don't agree to this. There's something off about her." Dante crossed his arms and looked across the room, finding me without missing a beat. "We're already dealing with enough from Silas, we don't need to worry about a stray."

Oh, hell no. I was perfectly fine with the slew of questions that had come. I was an outsider, and I was definitely different. But calling me a stray? I wasn't privy to wolf lingo yet, but my wolf's hair bristled at being called a stray.

"Twenty-six years ago, I was abandoned in Arbor Falls. Iamone of you, whether you like it or not. I might not be normal, but who are you to judge what is normal? You-weshift into wolves." My voice was calm as I made my way to the platform. Cole had an indistinguishable look in his eyes, and I wondered if I was breaking a wolf rule by speaking. "Cole and Eli are my mates, and I don't plan on leaving either of them. You are more than welcome to find the door if you have an issue."

Gasps spread across the room, and Cole's eyes flickered as his jaw clenched tight enough to break teeth. Oops. Maybe they wanted to keep the mate thing a secret.

"Mates? Is this true?" Dante looked between all of us. "The three of you?"

"It is," Cole confirmed, not looking away from me. "She's my mate. Eli's too."

Dante narrowed his eyes as he stared down at me. "Mates don't exist. She's tricking you."

I went to take a step forward, but Eli grabbed my hand, pulling me to a halt. That didn't stop my mouth, though. "If I were a female that just rolled over on my back, you'd have no qualms about me staying. Would the pack prefer if I went back to Arbor Falls, shifted in the middle of the street, and bit an old woman crossing the road with her breadbasket? I think not."

Eli snorted and then coughed, covering his laugh. I didn't know why I thought about the grandma fromLittle Red Riding Hoodwhen wolves attacking came to mind, but it seemed fitting.

"Let's vote," Dante demanded. My wolf was beside herself with joy that I'd pissed him off. There was something about Dante that made me want to challenge him.

Cole looked like he was ready to punch Dante. If the pack voted for me to leave, would he really make me? Despite my resistance, I wasn't stupid. I knew I needed the pack more than they needed me.

"All in favor of Ivy being accepted into the pack, raise your hand," Cole said.

I kept my eyes focused on Dante as his face morphed from smug to pissed off. I didn't need to look to see that most of the pack were raising their hands for me to stay. It was a small victory for me, and I wanted to fist pump but kept it to myself.

"The pack has spoken. Ivy is now a member of our pack." Cole nodded at me, and I smiled up at him. "The meeting is adjourned."

Dante and Cole moved off to the side in a heated conversation, and I turned to Eli, who furrowed his brows as he watched.

"What's wrong?" I put my hand on his arm, needing to touch him.

"I don't like that Dante is against you being in the pack. But the pack decided. Now we feast!" He rubbed his hands together. "Whenever there's a new pack member, the inner circle welcomes them with a cookout. Cole seemed to have already planned to welcome you to the pack, since he already had arranged it."

"Food sounds good. Lately, it seems to be all I can think about." I looked back over my shoulder. "I'm sure this is far from over though."

Eli slung his arm around my shoulders, and we walked out one of the roll up doors into the quickly fading light. It was already getting a little chilly from the sun setting. It disappointed me that my body didn't seem to run hot.

When we got back to the house, Sara was in the kitchen preparing steaks and vegetables for the grill. They didn't have any doubts about what the vote would be, and that made me feel a lot better about the whole situation.

"This looks delicious. Do I have time to go take a shower?" I felt gross from moving boxes and the workout I'd had from Cole earlier in the morning.

"It'll be a while until dinner." Sara smiled at me then looked at Eli. "I've got this handled." She winked and turned back to the sink where she was scrubbing potatoes.

My body prickled with awareness as I went to go up the stairs. Eli was right behind me, and when I stopped and turned at the bottom, I ran right into him with my face.

"Ow." I pulled back and rubbed my nose. "What are you-"

He pulled my hand out of the way and his lips were on mine before I could protest. Not that I wanted to protest him kissing me silly. Not breaking contact, he scooped me up and carried me up the stairs, his tongue sliding against mine in smooth strokes that made my toes curl.

"Eli... what... are..." I tried to get the question out between kisses but was having a hard time even focusing on my thoughts.

"Need you." His lips hovered above mine. "Unless you don't want to."

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