Page 116 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

I hadn’t even been trying to court her when I first saw her at Cam’s desk. Despite having never met one before, I clocked her as an omega immediately from her sweet perfume. I had also sensed the bonds and could smell the sex in the air. All I had been able to think was that Cam was a lucky bastard, and I had just wanted to flirt a little bit. Who didn’t want to flirt with a cute female?

But then she rebuffed me. Got angry, even, flipping the power between us. The fact that she had been able to orderme, the alpha, to gether, the omega, a coffee, confused the hell outta me. The worst of it was, I hadn’t been able to tell if I was ashamed or turned on.

And when Cam let us check each other’s scents, the way packs made matches, it was like something had clicked in my brain. Some override system that took over and redirected all my thoughts, my hopes, my dreams, and my goals towards her.

I didn’t think there’d be any going back now. I needed tonight to go well.

Cam had also given me the lowdown on the rest of the pack – the alphas had been bonded for fifteen years, and half of them were dead set against me. That was a hard group to join, even without the extra complication of an omega. But apparently, Marlowe was the swing vote. If I could convince her, I was in.

So… flowers.

To be honest, it wasn’t just the prospect of Marlowe that made me nervous. I also really did want a pack. I felt untethered most of the time without one, craving the support of bonded alphas.

I’d grown up in a small shifter town like Maiingan Hollow up in Montana. Only unlike here, we weren’t a thriving community. The only things we had in abundance were poverty and free time – the perfect ingredients for nothing good.

Packs there operated more like gangs. I’d almost been bonded into one against my will before my mom had given me all her savings and told me to run.

I had found my way here and started working for Cam as a general laborer. He had taken a liking to me and started giving me more and more responsibilities.

Now I had people working under me. I was making six-figures with bonuses. I had friends. Hobbies. A life.

Last year, I bought a three-bedroom house, and was going to move my mom in but…

The doctors called it Shifter Repression Syndrome.

In any case, I was alone now. I didn’t think I could take it if this pack rejected me.

I pulled up to a red light and stopped, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel nervously, ignoring the little voice inside my head telling me I was going to screw this up.

It felt like I couldn’t trust any of my instincts on this one, not with a headstrong omega and half a pack against my bonding in the mix, and that scared the crap out of me.

Biting back my fear, I looked ahead, concentrating on the traffic. A car to my right pulled into the intersection, waiting to turn left, and my adrenaline spiked.

That looks like Marlowe…

There was a female in the back seat - small, with strawberry blonde hair. A dark-haired male was on top of her, holding her down, and she was fighting him back.

A vicious growl ripped through me as I watched the male grab her wrists to keep her from defending herself. Even if that wasn’t Marlowe, that female was being attacked and taken somewhere against her will.

I reacted on instinct, making a quick U-turn to follow them. I might be late to the dinner, but I wouldn’t be able to concentrate or even sleep at night if I let this go. Whoever she was, she needed help, and that was more important.

I held my anger in check and made sure to keep a safe distance. I didn’t want to alert the driver that I was following them.

I watched helplessly through the car’s back window as the female attempted to fight the attacker off, but she was so small against him. Every fiber of my being was screaming to help. To protect.

I clenched my teeth, my knuckles turning white on the wheel. I didn’t know how much longer I could watch this go on.

Oncoming headlights highlighted his figure, and I saw the fangs clearly in his mouth as he plunged himself into her neck, her limbs flailing in response.

Vampyrs? Inmycity? Oh, hell no.

I turned on my high beams and floored it, quickly making up the distance between our cars. I’d never tried it before, but I watched enough cop shows to try a PIT maneuver. By the time they noticed, it was too late.

I pulled alongside and hit the back corner of the car, then slowed down as it spun out of control and off the road, skidding to a stop on the snowy ground.

After I slammed on my brakes, I dashed out of my truck to confront them. The driver came out first while the male in the back tried to subdue the female. He swore at me under his breath, touching a gash on his forehead. His eyes narrowed at the blood on his fingers and he brandished a silver blade.

“You’re going to pay for that, you fucking mutt,” he hissed, his voice dripping with venom.

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