Page 39 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

39

MARLOWE

N olan knocked on my door around noon. “I take it you don’t want anything for lunch?”

I groaned. Even after throwing up everything I’d eaten in my wolf form, I still felt like my stomach was full. How was that even possible?

“I don’t think I want anything for the next week,” I replied. I stared at my phone, looking at the text my friend from grad school had sent that morning.

Esther: Haven’t heard from you in a while, how are things?

I wasn’t even sure how to respond. Would it be better to cut off all my old human connections? How could I explain my life here now?

“You still there?” I asked.

Nolan opened the door about halfway, careful not to cross the threshold. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, I need your advice on something.”

I could tell he was excited to be asked for help, but he was trying to play it so cool it was almost cute. He sat on the edge of my bed. “What’s up?”

Turning off the TV, I showed him my phone. “How do I explain my life to my human friends?”

He ran his tongue along the bottom of his teeth while he thought. “You broke up with your fiancé because he was cheating on you. That’s easy enough. You came to Wisconsin to deal with your father’s sudden death and his estate. That’s also fine. You need to spend some time out here to figure out what to do with your inheritance – nothing shifter-y about that.”

“Okay, but you know what I mean…” I gestured towards him.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Does this mean you’re no longer second-guessing the bond?”

I took my phone back and rolled away from him, staring at the wall to think without getting distracted by Nolan’s stupidly handsome face. After last night, I didn’t think my wolf would allow me to leave the pack since she had accepted Elias as her own. If I ever tried, she’d likely force a shift and head straight back to him. And if the others ever learned to shift, too, I suspected she would feel the same way about them.

And I wanted to be here, it wasn’t like I was resigning myself to these guys. I wasn’t ready to call it love yet, but it was pretty damn close.

However, things needed to change if this was going to work. While the guys were sure that the old ways shifters operated by were socially acceptable, from the interactions I’d had in town so far, it was clear not everyone felt the same way. We still needed a lot more pack meetings to iron out exactly how things would proceed from now on.

“Perhaps,” I replied. “But going back to my question – how do I even explain you all?”

“You don’t,” he answered quickly, as though he was already prepared for the question. “In order to blend into human communities in the past, omegas would often choose one of their pack mates as a public husband. For legal purposes, for social purposes… whatever kind of situation required an omega to have one partner like a human.”

Oh yeah, he’d been thinking about this. “Hm, so let’s hear it.”

“Hear what?”

“Your argument as to why it should be you.”

He grinned. “Well, I don’t have my PowerPoint slides on me at the moment, but I think I can present my case without them.” He exaggeratedly cleared his throat, thumping his chest a few times for good measure, then began. “Your public husband should be the one whose company is the hardest to explain without a ring. Elias is your father’s lawyer and Cam is your business partner. If you go out to a meal with them, it’s not a date; it’s a meeting. So that leaves me and Archer.”

I clasped my hands together, tapping my fingers. “Go on.”

“As my omega, you’ll likely attend public events with me. Your picture could end up in the paper, describing you as my partner. If you were supposedly married to Archer, that would raise some eyebrows, wouldn’t it?”

“Or,” I countered, “I have my master’s in public policy. Wouldn’t it make sense for me to work in local government, even as a volunteer? I could just as easily be described as a colleague.”

He looked at me dubiously. “A colleague I’m touching all night? Sugar, there’s no way I can keep my hands off you for that long.”

I beckoned for Nolan to lay down next to me, and he happily slid under my mountain of blankets. “Then how do I explain going out with Archer?” I asked.

“Your dad died young, from some disease Archer is researching. You can pretend he’s a genetic counselor or something.”

I picked up his hand and placed my palm against his, marveling at the difference in size. “Archer is remarkably restrained in public. He could probably keep up professional appearances better than you could.”

“See? I knew you’d agree. So, when should we get married? I’ve always been partial to a spring wedding, but I could be convinced to wait until the fall, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

I laughed, wincing from the way it jostled my stomach. “Hold on there, cowboy. I’m still pissed about yesterday.”

He swallowed, turning on his side to look at me. “I won’t apologize for wanting to defend you.”

I knew he wouldn’t, but that didn’t mean it was okay. “Then match the defense with the offense. If someone tries to hurt me physically, by all means, tear them apart. But verbally? If you feel the need to step in, bust out your roasting game, because this will not work if you Hulk out every time a female lashes out when she’s jealous or threatened.”

“It’s instinct, though,” Nolan sighed. “You tried to attack Megan and Rachel yourself, remember?”

Oh crap, he had a point with that.

“Yeah, but I didn’t try to justify my reaction. I don’t want to be that kind of person, and I’m trying to be better. Can’t you?”

He paused, considering. “What if a male tries to hit on you? Can I still punch him?”

“Depends if he’s serious or not.” I shrugged.

“And how will I be able to tell that?”

I turned on my side to face him, our noses close to touching. “Just check with me. If I nod, go for it.”

A relieved grin spread across his face. “Deal.”

My stomach gurgled ominously. “Terrific. Now, if you would be so kind, would you escort me to the bathroom? I believe I have another appointment with the toilet.”

“Well, better keep it short. The funeral is in two hours.”