Page 16 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

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E lias and I rode back into town with Camden, on Marlowe’s request. And honestly, I was a little relieved. I didn’t want to speak with her until she had a chance to process what had happened during her heat.

All the other guys had done was sleep next to her, but I’d done much more than that. Even if it was for her own good, and even if I never touched her beyond what I could do to help in the moment, she could easily see it as a major violation. And I wouldn’t blame her if she did.

The truck pulled up to Camden’s home, and I was reminded that he wasn’t always a total dumbass, at least when it came to construction. He’d helped design and build the house himself when he was only twenty-one, taking charge under the eye of his father and James.

The wood and stone exterior blended into the surrounding landscape, with massive windows that reflected the drifts of snow that had accumulated in his front yard.

Camden opened the heavy oak door, leading us straight into a large, open space. The double-high atrium soared above us and was bathed in natural light, making it seem somehow both cozy and grand. He turned on his fireplace and collapsed in a heap on a large U-shaped leather couch, leaning his head back and releasing a sigh. Elias brought in some Amazon boxes that had been left on the doorstep and began opening them.

“We should probably wash these first, right?” he asked, holding up several large, furry blankets. “Cam, where’s the laundry room?”

“Downstairs,” he grunted.

I sat down a few feet away from him, taking out my phone to check my email. I’d lied and told my department I had the flu, canceling my classes for the week. It was bad timing, what with finals right around the corner. But we weren’t covering any more new material so they were only missing review, which they could do on their own.

A text came in from Nolan.

Nolan: Leaving my office now. Don’t make a big deal out of it when we arrive, but she threw an omega fit when she saw me with Megan, and said I was hers.

“Holy shit…” I whispered.

“Hm?” Camden grunted.

“She claimed Nolan.”

Camden bolted forward. “What did you say?”

I showed him the text, and he stood up and howled.

Elias came back into the room, his body tense and alert. “What is it, what happened?”

“She wants us!” Camden cried. He shoved my phone in Elias’s face and howled again. “I fucking knew it. She’s going to dump the fiancé and bond with us!”

I put my hands out to slow him down. “Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here. Marlowe reacted on instinct. It doesn’t mean she’s changed her mind.”

She’d been off the hormone suppressants for nearly a week, and while her biology might be realigning, she had still been brought up in the human world. In the argument of nature versus nurture, expecting her to break up with a man she’d loved for years just because her inner beast wanted another she barely knew was a hard sell.

Elias read over the text several times. “I mean, it’s not bad news. But Cam, if there’s anything that can screw this up, it’s you. Do not breathe a word of this to her, got it?”

Giggles bubbled between his lips as he pretended to shut his mouth and lock it, but the look of pure delight was still written all over his face, and he jumped around the living room, stopping in front of me to thrust in my face while he hummed to himself.

I scoffed and pushed him away. “Get it out of your system now. She can’t know we know.”

We needed to be here for her, but every time we – and by we I meant Camden – came on too strong, her guilt over her fiancé would kick in.

But perhaps this was good for another reason. How much longer could she deny the existence of shifters when she was reacting this way to perceived threats? Humans didn’t typically go nuts at the sight of their partners standing near someone who could be their sexual competition. And the humans who did tended to have a shifter somewhere in their line.

The sound of car doors closing had Camden looking like he was about to burst. “Camden!” I barked. “Go take a cold shower, you’re going to ruin this.”

He growled, but when Elias nodded his agreement, he swore under his breath and stomped upstairs.

Nolan opened the door and Marlowe stuck her head in tentatively, looking around and subtly sniffing the air for danger. I was sure she didn’t even realize she was doing it, which made it all the cuter. Finally deciding it would be safe, she stepped through and took off her shoes. “Wow, this is a nice house.”

Elias chuckled. “Cam would be real happy to hear you say that.”

She rolled her eyes as she made her way to the fireplace, warming her hands while we did our best to maintain plenty of distance. “Well in that case, it’s a dump.”

Nolan cleared his throat nervously, giving me and Elias pointed looks. “Marlowe’s fiancé is in Eau Claire. She needs a ride down there and a plausible excuse as to why she hasn’t talked to him since Friday.”

Disappointment coated the air. Of course he would fly out here if he hadn’t heard from Marlowe. I’d expect no less from a devoted partner. I hated him for having her, but I could at least respect how much he cared. Even if he was just a human, he would do what he could to protect her.

“I see,” Elias responded, trying hard not to sound too downtrodden. “I can take you. And for an excuse, why don’t you just say you’ve been grieving more than you expected and had just turned your phone off? It’s simple, and you don’t need a web of easily provable lies to prop it up.”

She shivered slightly. “Thanks, that sounds good. I just need to call him, and then can we head over? I know you probably don’t want to be in a car again so soon…”

Nolan handed his car keys to Elias, who started putting on his coat. “Not at all, it’s not that far. Besides, I have some work to do in my office. Two birds, one stone and all that.”

“There’s a spare bedroom down the hall, why don’t you call Mike in there?” I offered.

Marlowe breathed in deeply, steeling herself for what was likely going to be a very difficult conversation, her gait slow and full of dread.

Once the door clicked shut, Nolan whistled, getting our attention. “She was ready to tear out Megan’s throat,” he said in an excited whisper. “She growled – growled ! Her first omega tantrum, it was glorious. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have an omega ready to throw down for me before. And she’s not even in our pack yet!”

“ Yet being the operative word here,” I reminded him. “Elias, you can’t bring this up with her. She needs to figure this out on her own. Coming to terms with her identity means she will likely realize her incompatibility with the human fiancé. But if we try to force it, she might deny us further out of fear or even spite.”

The water upstairs turned off, and Camden came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “I can smell her,” he bellowed from the balcony. “Where is she?”

Nolan groaned. “Dude, get some clothes on. She’s talking to her fiancé. He freaked out when he couldn’t get in touch with her and flew up to Eau Claire a few days ago.”

Camden gripped the railing tightly, his knuckles turning white. “That human piece of shit is here ?”

“That human piece of shit is my fiancé, thank you very much, and I just lied to him for the first time in our relationship. So who’s the real piece of shit now?”

Marlowe’s face was streaked with tears, her hands shaking as she made her way back to the living room. Nolan approached her first, rubbing her arms. “How did it go? Is he okay?”

I held back rushing in to comfort her as well, my hands balling into fists at my sides. An omega in distress kicked every beastly impulse into overdrive, but I doubted she would appreciate me rubbing my scent all over her.

She bit her lip, her eyes glassy. “I’ve never heard him so upset before. Elias, can we go now?”

His shoulders slumped. “Of course, California. ”