Page 8

NOLAN

I ignored the gaping hole in my chest as I pulled into city hall. After a busy morning trying and failing to track down Marlowe’s missing scarf, she and Elias had finally left to catch their flight. It had taken every ounce of will power in me not to punch the satisfied, smug look off the blonde fuck’s face as he’d loaded their suitcases in the trunk, promising to buy her a new one on their trip.

They were going to be alone, just the two of them, for several days. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d been planning this for a while. She’d said taking him to San Francisco had been her idea, but Elias was a successful lawyer for a reason. He could talk his way out of or into anything.

And in this case, he’d talked Marlowe straight into his arms.

It was Saturday morning. While I had opted to work from home yesterday to avoid all the weird stares and questions from my staff about my wolf, I unfortunately had some projects that couldn’t be done remotely, and I was happy to see the parking lot was mostly empty.

There were still enough people there that I’d probably run into them, so I went over the explanation for my shift Archer had come up with last night—it’d been the threat from the vampyrs, and not our bond with Marlowe, that had released our wolves.

But I was happy to be out of the house anyway. Being there with nothing to do aside from notice Marlowe’s scent weaken due to her absence sounded depressing as hell. Even Archer had decided to stay at his place in Eau Claire while he finished up the semester, not wanting to be wallowing around in pity, either.

I sighed. She’d been gone just a few hours and it already felt like our pack was falling apart. Didn’t she realize that she was the glue that held us together?

Cam was dealing with it much better than I thought he would. As Archer had surmised, Julian was like the little brother he’d always wanted, and he’d gone back to his house to grab a game system. By the time I’d left they were already five beers deep a piece and playing some first-person-shooter. It seemed like that was his plan to keep himself busy until Marlowe came back.

I guess when you own your own company, you can take a one-week bender without much consequence.

Not so much for the mayor.

I tried to keep my steps quiet through the hallways, but Megan clocked me instantly and stepped out of her office with a big smile. “Hey cuz, long time no see!”

I returned the smile, happy to see a familiar face. “Yeah, sorry, life has been…”

“Crazy?”

she asked. “Insane? Nuts? Wacky?”

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “Thank you, Ms. Thesaurus. Yes, all of the above.”

She walked up and gave me a big hug. “You shifted into a wolf and your pack was attacked by an army of vamps—you seem entirely too calm about all this. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I let myself relax into her familiar scent. Megan was more like my sister than my cousin. She was only a year younger than me, and we’d grown up on the same block, going back and forth between each other’s houses like they were both ours.

“No,”

I admitted. “I’m not. But do I really have a choice to do anything besides go on right now?”

“Of course you do. Take some time off, bond with your new pack mates… get yourself right.”

I groaned, releasing her and taking a step back. “I’ve already taken too much time as it is. I think Seth would revolt.”

Megan rolled her eyes at the mention of the city manager. “Screw that guy. I feel bad about his wife, but he’s been a bitter dick about it for months and my patience has officially worn off.”

The guy had been through a lot recently, what with his wife leaving him for an alpha down in La Crosse, and he was not taking it very well. He needed as much grace as I was asking for, but instead I’d accidentally doubled his workload.

Megan looked around me down the hall, changing the subject. “No omega today?”

On the one hand, I was happy that Megan seemed excited to meet Marlowe and officially welcome her to the Wilk family, but it also sucked to be reminded once again of her absence. “No, she’s out of town with Elias at the moment.”

She looked at her nails and snorted. “Figures. That guy never liked staying here too long.”

Well now, it seemed Seth wasn’t the only one hanging onto some bitter resentments.

Megan had had the biggest crush on Elias back in high school, but by the time she’d grown the nerve to ask him out, senior year was almost over and he’d turned her down, saying he wasn’t interested in a long-distance relationship because he wasn’t planning on sticking close by.

She was happily engaged to a beta right now, but I knew the rejection had still hurt her quite a bit. I could only hope the story never reached my territorial omega.

Reading my mind, her eyes widened. “Please don’t tell Marlowe about how I asked him out once! I wanted to invite her to join my book club, but since she almost killed me over you, I can’t imagine how she’d react…”

I grinned. “She was fresh out of her first heat after years of being on hormone suppressants, she’s much calmer now.”

Megan nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. “I mean, I’m not worried she’d actually hurt me—I could just sit on her and be fine. But I heard what some betas said about her, and I wanted to let her know we’re not all insecure harpies. Plus, she’s family now, right?”

My chest puffed with pride. “She is.”

She playfully punched me in the arm. “Then let me know when she gets back. We meet every other Saturday at the wine bar.”

“The wine bar?”

I asked, cocking an eyebrow. “I thought you said this was a book club?”

She gave me a pointed look and shook her head in disappointment. “Males…”

“Okay, whatever. I’ll have her reach out once she’s back so you can get drunk on the pretense that you’re talking about books.”

“Now you get it,”

she said with a wink, shooting some finger guns. “I’m heading out of here in about an hour, let me know if

you need help with anything.”

I continued towards my office, bursting with excitement for Marlowe. I couldn’t wait to tell her about Megan’s offer, especially after she’d been so worried about making female friends here.

I didn’t want her to feel like an outsider in my town, or to be afraid every time she stepped out of the house. And as much as I was personally happy escorting her wherever she wanted to go, I knew she was similar to Elias in her appreciation of alone time and independence.

Making a group of friends, especially other females, was the first step in her finding her footing outside of the pack.

My happiness was short lived when I passed by Seth’s office, however, finding him also working overtime this weekend. He stepped out into the hall at the sound of my approach. “Well, well, well… you decide to actually do some work for once?”

He was looking particularly punchable, but I’d recommended him for this position for a reason—he wasn’t afraid of me. Normally that was good, because I didn’t want to be surrounded by “yes men.”

On days like these, though, I really just needed some breathing room.

“Did you want something?”

I asked plainly, ignoring the bite to his tone. “I have some contracts I need to look over and…”

“I’m calling an emergency town council meeting on Monday.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Okay, what about?”

“You, obviously,” he smirked, crossing his arms. “You and

your pack.”

The look on his face, so serious and obviously pleased with himself, just made me laugh. “Sure, and what exactly needs to be discussed about my pack?”

I stepped up to him, enjoying when he flinched under my alpha gaze. I didn’t always need to bark to intimidate people, not that I made a habit of doing that. But he wasn’t deterred for long. “Your omega is causing problems. The alphas are in a frenzy, causing violence in the wake of her scent, and something needs to be done about it.”

I punched the door frame behind his head. “You leave her out of this! She’s a shifter who deserves to live here just as much as the rest of us.”

His eyes darted to the splintered wood where my fist had made contact. “Case in point. Not to mention, she brought a whole squadron of vampyr warriors to town. Who’s to say they won’t be back? Or end the truce over her?”

Taking a deep breath, I centered myself, trying not to make his case about violent alphas any further, despite the urge to shift and tear out his throat growing inside me.

Besides, he wasn’t wrong in his concern over the vampyrs. I knew the attack would put the town on edge, but I had already taken several steps to let the people know I would make sure it didn’t happen again. “I sent a letter to the Conclave last night, they’re going to deal with the Vampyric Council on our behalf. We don’t have to worry about them anymore. As far as the alphas in town, there’s obviously going to be an adjustment period—we haven’t had an omega here for a hundred years. But they’ll get used to it and won’t act out once they’re used to her scent.”

Seth tilted his head, speaking in a condescending tone. “I think it would be in the best interests of her and the town if she went on hormone suppressants.”

My rage was boiling over. Just knowing he’d been thinking about Marlowe in any way was insulting enough, but actually trying to regulate her body? “Oh yeah? Better for her to be permanently drugged than for the males here to learn some self-control, is that it? What a positive message we’re sending to the females in our town.”

He swallowed, his smile faltering. “I… it’s for her own good. And the females in this town would probably agree, they don’t want their alpha partners going berserk…”

Oh, he didn’t even know what berserk meant. “What’s next on the agenda for the meeting then, hm? ‘City Manager Seth Ashton proposes all females should wear skirts down to their knees or lower lest they tempt the male folk with their sinful legs?’”

“Please, that’s not the same thing and you know it,”

he scoffed, his eyes rolling.

My hands balled into fists but I kept them firmly by my side. “No, it’s not, because covering up doesn’t alter your body’s chemistry. She wouldn’t be able to go into heat or have pups on hormone suppressants, Seth. Are you really proposing we chemically spay her just because some alphas can’t keep their noses to themselves?”

His eyes narrowed as he spit back, “I know her backstory. She was on them for years without any problems. She might even agree to it.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed him by the shirt and lowered my face into his. “Don’t you ever speak about her like you know her again. You have no idea what she’s been through. This is her home now, and she has the right to live as free and openly as all the other shifters here. It’s in our town charter, for fuck’s sake.”

Back when omegas were more prevalent, our town had written specific laws and policies to protect their rights. They were as much a part of our society as the other designations, and I refused to let Seth take out his anger towards life and me on Marlowe.

Luckily, our illustrious pack leader had more than enough sway to help back me up, so I upped the ante. “And do you really think Camden Wolcott would continue to sponsor any of your projects if you tried to pass this? Say good-bye to the Fourth of July BBQ and parade, Maxwell Street Days, the new football stadium for the high school, and anything else you’ve got on the pipeline.”

I thought I had a slam dunk argument, but Seth smiled instead, and my confidence faltered. “Your pack would screw over this town just for your omega? Well, thank you for giving me the final push I needed to initiate a recall petition. I have a league of very concerned voters ready to start collecting signatures this very minute.”

He couldn’t be serious. I’d won in a landslide two years ago, so even if he could get enough signatures, there wasn’t anyone in this town with enough clout to run against me in a recall election and win. And who exactly were these “concerned voters?”

“The Betas Against Brutality are tired of alphas throwing their weight around. Betas outnumber you assholes four to one, and it’s about time our government reflected that.”

BAB? How laughably pathetic. BAB was a small, niche group of elderly beta females. Was he really trying to rally them into leading this farce?

Seth had always been a sardonic son of a bitch, but he’d been my sardonic son of a bitch. What had happened for him to turn against me like this?

Could it really be something as pedestrian as jealousy over my new happiness?

Marlowe had rubbed a handkerchief along her neck before she’d left, leaving us each with her scent as a goodbye present. She’d insisted we give her ours as well, and it had been adorable watching her carefully pack them like they were her most prized possessions.

I let go of Seth and smiled back, taking out the handkerchief, waving it in front of his face. His pupils dilated and his nostrils flared, his breathing turning into desperate pants. “Is that her?”

he asked. His hand reached out to grab it but I held it out of his way.

His face became pleading as he tried to get it from me. “Please, I just need one more sniff…”

“Enough!” I barked.

Seth whined and his shoulders shrank. For all his bravado, he was still a beta, and I was still an alpha. And in my hands, I held one of the most powerful motivators known to our kind.

“Now listen to me,”

I said. “We were on fine footing before Marlowe arrived. I understand I dropped a lot on your plate while I tended to her, and you were dealing with a lot of your own shit. But you speak of me wanting to screw this town over for my pack, when you’re just trying to ensure I’m as miserable as you are because it hurts too much to see me happy. Or do you just really want my job? Because if so, run against me in the next election, fair and square.”

His eyes were focused on the handkerchief as he listened. “But I’ll be damned if you think you can threaten the health and well-being of my omega just for cheap political points. You have no idea the lengths I’m willing to go to protect her. Well,”

I looked down at the erection in his pants and smirked. “You might be starting to get the idea.”

I sacrificed my gift from Marlowe and handed it over. He snatched it quickly, taking deep breaths that caused his whole body to shudder. I cringed as I thought where it was likely going to end up, but it was a small price to pay to keep her name out of his mouth and off the town council agenda.

“So what’s it going to be, Seth? Apologize and I’ll forget this ever happened. Or go forward with this stupid charade, and… ”

I gestured towards the security camera pointed towards his door. “Perhaps I’ll leak the video of a certain City Manager creaming his pants over the scent of the very omega he’s trying to medically control.”

Seth growled, “Fine.”

Then he slammed his door in my face. I walked away before I’d have to hear what he was doing, heading straight to my office to get a copy of the footage before he was clear-headed enough to try to erase it first.

Marlowe would be furious if she ever learned what I’d done, but threats weren’t just coming from alphas and vamps.

I’d do whatever it took to keep her happy and safe here.