Page 55 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

55

ELIAS

“M mm, that smells amazing. I thought Nolan was at his meeting?”

Marlowe came into the kitchen just as I was putting the pork chops into the oven. She looked so cute in her baggy jeans and sweater, I wanted to rip them off and lock us up in her nest, pleasuring her with my tongue until she forgot all about the possible new pack mate.

I knew where Cam and Archer were coming from, but I was probably the least “alpha shifter” out of the pack. I’d moved the farthest away. I hardly visited. And while I could live with sharing Marlowe, if given the option to have her just to myself, I would take it in a heartbeat.

But I couldn’t do that to her. Now that we were all fully bonded, I felt the depth of her love for everyone. I just needed to learn how to adjust my expectations for her time.

“He is. I’m cooking.” She gave me a blank look, and I rolled my eyes. “Just because he likes to cook doesn’t mean he’s the only one who can.”

Marlowe continued to look at me.

“I lived alone for years, you know. I can follow a recipe,” I huffed.

She blinked slowly, and I scrunched my face while reaching over and pinching her cheeks.

“Brat.”

She laughed, wrenching out of my light grip and tying up her hair. “Okay, Chef, do you need any help?”

Something stirred in my gut, and I suppressed the purr building in my chest.

Just because I had chosen to live the farthest away didn’t mean I hadn’t been lonely.

Betas could easily slip in and out of human society, but with male alphas’ “unique” anatomy, we couldn’t really date anyone who wasn’t a shifter. And I’d never met another alpha or beta female who really excited me the way Marlowe did.

For years, the prospect of returning to a cold, empty home every night had driven me to work harder and later than everyone else in my firm. Sure, it had made me successful, but all I had really wanted was this – someone to come home to, someone to cook meals with, someone I didn’t have to lie to or hide from.

I’d started making plans to move back to Maiingan Hollow and to work more permanently from my Eau Claire office, but I’d still need to go to Chicago every couple of months or so. Taking Marlowe with me on one of my trips would help me quell some of these lingering instincts to hoard her time, even for just a few days.

And I had a feeling she would enjoy it as well. Like me, Marlowe preferred big cities, and would likely relish the chance to get out of this small town for a breather every once in a while.

Clearing my throat, I handed her the vegetable peeler. “Sure, if you can take care of the potatoes that would be great.”

She connected her phone to Nolan’s speaker and turned on some reggaeton, then washed her hands as she got started, slightly swaying and twirling her hips while she worked.

I ignored the broccoli and came up behind her, putting my hands around her waist and kissing her neck.

She giggled and tried to scoot me back with her ass, which had the opposite effect and only made me want to grab onto her tighter. “Stop,” she laughed, “I’m going to cut myself.”

“Fine,” I groaned, relenting.

All of a sudden, the lights went out.

Cam yelled from the basement where he was watching the Thursday night game. “What the hell, guys? Did one of you trip a circuit?”

My eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, and a blur of movement outside the window raised my hackles.

“They’re here!”

The window closest to us broke and a canister came flying through. It landed on the ground next to us with a hiss and began spewing a noxious smoke, dulling my senses.

More canisters were thrown through other windows around the room. I grabbed Marlowe and tried to run upstairs, but large males dressed head-to-toe in black came pouring in through the front and back doors. Two males were barreling straight for me when Cam came snarling up from the basement, shifting into a wolf and grabbing the first male he could see around the neck, dragging him down to the ground and ripping him apart.

Archer shifted next, leaping down from the upstairs balcony and grabbing onto a man who had reached out for Marlowe.

They were covered in kevlar and armed to the teeth with various weapons, swiping expertly at us with large, silver blades.

These males were far too advanced for commune shifters.

With the smoke filling my nose, I couldn’t smell anything, but the light of the moon flashed across a knife, illuminating one of the intruders’ faces, and his violet eyes narrowed at me.

Vamps .

Nolan was right, her bloodsucking ex had managed to recruit a small army to get Marlowe back.

I kept Marlowe above me on the stairs, creating a bottleneck so I wouldn’t be overrun. A vamp swiped at my stomach with his blade and I backed out of the way, countering with a kick to his gut that sent him straight into Archer’s waiting jaws.

My wolf was practically kicking down the door to come out, but I resisted. One of us still needed a human mind and opposable thumbs.

“Marlowe, get to your nest and call for help!”

She stumbled up the stairs, tripping in the dark and the smoke, but I heard her footsteps make it to her room, her door slamming shut and locking tight.

Knowing she was out of harm’s way for now, I grabbed the arm of the next vamp who tried to thrust their knife into my heart, twisting it behind his back, then pushed him into the outstretched blade of the next attacker.

More kept pouring in, and I didn’t know how long we could hold them.

I screamed down the pack bond – Nolan, you asshole, get here now!