Page 61 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

61

ELIAS

I watched in awe and horror, as the light from the shifter’s hands entered each of the vampyrs’ bodies, quickly burning them from the inside out. Within a matter of seconds, they had all been reduced to smoldering piles of ash on the floor.

My mind could scarcely comprehend what my eyes were seeing.

Magic. I had just witnessed magic that could easily kill a dozen males without the caster breaking a sweat. How was any of that possible?

Shifters had abilities that humans would likely refer to as magic – we transformed into wolves, for one. Designations and bonds were also greater than what human science could understand or explain.

But this? Nowhere had it been written that shifters – or even vamps, for that matter – could perform something like that .

I also couldn’t shake the feeling I had seen this shifter somewhere before. It was hard to get a good look at him in the dark with the smoke, but he was big. Bigger than we were, with tattoos that resembled Celtic knots winding along his chest. A bushy beard covered his face, and his long, light-colored hair was half-tied up.

He looked like a fucking viking.

He turned towards the rest of my pack, still in their wolf forms. “ Find her ,” he commanded. Even I winced at the dominance in his tone.

Archer and Nolan bolted out of the door immediately, but Cam stalked towards him, growling and snarling.

The shifter smirked. “This changes nothing. When Marlowe is ready, I will bring her to him. Enjoy her while you can.”

Cam snapped his jaws and the shifter rolled his eyes, turning back towards the night. “You’re welcome, by the way.” He leapt into the air, landing on the snowy lawn as his wolf, and bounded off into the forest.

I wanted nothing more than to follow him, but Marlowe came first. Fuck, his order came first.

I ran to grab my keys – even if I didn’t know where her ex had taken her, I certainly wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. But as I unlocked my car, two howls pierced the air, and an unfamiliar truck pulled up Cam’s driveway. Before it even came to a stop, Marlowe tore out of the cab and jumped straight into my chest, nearly knocking me over.

Safe. She was safe.

I hugged her tightly, tears pricking the corners of my eyes while she sobbed. “You’re alive!” she cried. “Oh thank god, I was so afraid…”

“You were afraid for us? Marlowe, you have no idea…”

Cam shifted back into his human form and hugged her from the other side, burying his face into her neck as his breathing shuddered.

How had she managed to escape him?

A throat cleared from the truck. “Hey, boss, is this like a nudist pack? Because I don’t mean to kink shame, but…”

I finally looked up, and an alpha covered in vamp blood stood before us. The breeze brought his scent, and I nodded my acknowledgement. “You must be Julian. How… how did you find her?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging humbly. The shame that a non-pack alpha had saved our omega hung between us, but Julian was smart enough not to rub it in our faces. He had some social skills, I had to give him that. “I was heading over here for dinner when I saw a female struggling in the back of a car. She looked like Marlowe. I mean, I would have gone after them even if it had been someone else, but…”

Cam let go of Marlowe and made his way to Julian, embracing him tightly. Julian looked a little like he didn’t know where to put his hands, and Marlowe laughed. “For god’s sake, Cam, put some clothes on. You’re going to scare our new pack mate.”

I turned back towards Marlowe and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Marlowe grinned, wiping blood off my cheek. “He knocked out a vampyr with one punch. I want him on our side.”

I glanced over at Julian. He was a little young, but I supposed his scent wasn’t too bad. And if Marlowe was fine with it...

“Well, can’t argue with my omega,” I replied.

Archer and Nolan came running back up the driveway, and Marlowe let me go to lean down and pet them. They pushed her over in their excitement, licking her and wagging their tails while she giggled.

“You all keep wolves?” Julian asked in amazement. “They’re beautiful.”

Nolan shifted back into his human form, giving Marlowe a kiss on the cheek below him and then standing to his full height. “Beautiful, huh?”

The color drained from Julian’s face. “Wait… you all can…”

Archer shifted back next, picking a leaf out of his hair before walking towards Julian, a wide grin on his face and his hand outstretched.

“I suppose this means welcome to Pack Wolcott?”