Page 118 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

Shit. Were we too late? How many bloodsuckers were in town, and how many did it take to subdue Cam and the others?

I took a deep breath, trying to be calm for her. “Close your eyes and reach through your bonds. Do you feel them?”

She did as I instructed, her eyelids fluttering and lips quivering. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, they’re alive!” Her eyes shot open and she scrambled towards my truck, pulling me along. “Come on, we’ve got to hurry. They need your help!”

We got back in the cab and raced to Cam’s house. I ignored the stop signs and honks, flashing my hazards as I wove in and out of traffic. We weren’t far, but every second counted.

Especially if those fuckers could fly.

“Thank you, Julian.”

She held her trembling hands in front of the heating vents. Dried blood streaked down her neck, bruises covered her wrists. My heart ached as she smiled at me.

“You have my vote.”

61

ELIAS

Iwatched 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 likethat.

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, hisordercame 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?”

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