Page 50 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

50

MARLOWE

P atricia chatted me up the whole way to my dad’s office. She was tall and round in the middle, with short, curly hair, wearing dark pants and what appeared to be a hand-knit sweater.

She exuded a kind, matronly warmth that made me ache for my own mom. Ache for female companionship, period. Ever since I’d arrived in Wisconsin, I’d been drowning in testosterone, and I just wanted to talk to someone who wasn’t constantly on the verge of punching a wall.

“James didn’t really come into the office much, so he never had a lot in here. The computer might not be hooked up to the new system, but even if it is, I doubt it’s been updated. Want me to make an appointment with IT?”

My curiosity piqued. It was a long shot, but if IT could get me onto my dad’s account, there might be something, anything, about my mom or my past that would help us figure out who that full shifter was.

“Yes, that would be great. Thank you so much,” I replied. She let me in, and tsked at the layer of dust that had settled over the desk and shelves.

“The cleaning crew should still have been coming through here. Let me make sure they put this room back on their rotation. Well, holler if you think of anything else I can do for you.”

She closed the door behind her and I walked slowly around the space. The office was similar to Cam’s, but lacked the personal touches and warmth. It didn’t even smell like anyone, feeling more like a showroom. A blank canvas.

I grabbed a couple of tissues and wiped down the desk, making room for my laptop. My hand bumped into the mouse by accident and the screen came to life. Yikes, I didn’t even want to think how long this computer had been left on for.

I reached over to turn it off but the screensaver made my heart stop.

It was a picture of us – me, Ezra, my mom, and my dad, from some summer day on Lake Michigan. Ezra and I couldn’t have been older than two or three. My parents looked so young, so beautiful, and so in love.

And now, all of them were gone.

Ugly sobs erupted from my chest, and I collapsed my head into my arms on the desk. I had started coming to terms with the fact that my dad wasn’t who or what I’d thought he’d been. He wasn’t an asshole loser who had abandoned his family. He had left us out of fear or for our protection, trying his best to provide for us behind a curtain of anonymity. Together with my mom, who had specifically recommended my brand of “birth control pills” to dull my scent and heats, he had wanted to keep me hidden in plain sight because he knew someone was looking for us.

But this one small thing, a screen no one would see but him, where he could remember who this was all for, broke me.

It wasn’t long before Cam burst through the door. I figured he would have sensed my sadness, but he’d also caused my initial anguish, and I really didn’t feel like listening to him explain how I should forgive Julian for acting like an asshole.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

“Marlowe, I’m sorry. I wanted to give you space but this is an emergency.” He rushed towards me and grabbed my hand. “We need to go. NOW.”

My mind raced with horrible possibilities. I hadn’t felt anything through my bonds with the rest of the pack, but I’d been so flooded and busy with my own strong emotions, I hadn’t really been paying attention. “Oh my god, are they hurt?”

“No.”

We rushed out the door and back outside the building, weaving in and out of the people walking down the halls.

Once we got to the parking lot I slowed down, figuring we’d head towards his truck, but he ran right past it, pulling me along and heading straight to the woods on the southeast corner.

“Cam!” I yelled, already spent. I really hated running. “Where are we going? What’s going on?”

He turned around briefly and threw me over his shoulder, ignoring my yelp. “We need to stop the pack. They shifted and they’re headed right this way.”

Shifted? It was hard to speak from my position and the way I jostled around from Cam trying to run through the snow. “But that’s a good thing. Why are you upset?”

He finally stopped once we reached a little further into the trees. “Think about it – you first shifted when you were upset. Elias first shifted when he was upset.”

Damn, why hadn’t I thought of this yesterday? Cam was so much smarter than we all gave him credit for. “But what are they upset about?”

He sighed, tilting his head and giving me a knowing look.

“Oh.”

He closed his eyes, nodding as the realization hit me. Then he leaned down and took a deep whiff of my sweater and cursed under his breath. “Yeah, and when they show up and smell a non-pack alpha on you, they’re going to hunt Julian down and tear him apart.”

I winced. Even if I wasn’t Julian’s biggest fan at the moment, he certainly didn’t deserve that. And as much as Elias and Nolan didn’t want a new pack mate, I didn’t think they’d feel great if they killed Julian, either.

“You have to shift,” Cam said. “Stop them, let them know you’re okay.”

I looked in the direction they’d be coming from, but so far it was quiet. “It’s not that easy. I’ve only shifted twice – once was completely by surprise, and the other was when my wolf wanted to. I’ve never summoned her on my own.”

Cam’s eyes were pleading, his hands gripping my shoulders. “Babe, please try.”

I closed my eyes, trying to coax my wolf out. Hey girl, your boys are coming. Don’t you want to say hi?

Her ears perked up, and her tail began to wag.

“Ugh, fine, but you need to hold my clothes and cover me.” There was no way I was destroying this outfit. I took everything off as quickly as I could, mentally leading my wolf into the forefront of my mind so I could shift as soon as I was naked. Once I handed Cam my tights, underwear, and bra, I opened the gate and let her through .