Page 27 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

He pursed his lips in mock anger and messed up my hair even further than it already was. “Yeah, yeah, insert joke here about peaking in high school, whatever. I bet you were valedictorian or something really nerdy.”

I pushed the bridge of pretend glasses up my nose. “Um, actually, I was the salutatorian…”

“Ugh,” he groaned. “Of course. You got salutatorian written all over you.”

I laughed. A real, genuine laugh. I didn’t know why I wasn’t feeling more traumatized. And why I found it so easy to joke around with Camden.

Or why I still found him so sexy.

For now, at least, I could trust them. Ihadto trust them, if I was ever going to make it back to civilization.

“Oh crap,” I realized. “I haven’t talked to Mike in days. He’s gotta be out of his mind. Do you have cell service up here?”

A low growl reverberated out of his chest, but he shook it out. “No, but I have Wi-Fi. I think your phone’s dead, but I’m sure one of the pack will let you use their computers if you want to email him. Now that your heat is over, we’re going to head to my place in Maiingan Hollow so you can figure out your next move. Whether that’s heading straight back to San Fran, or working with Elias and me to figure out what to do about your dad’s half of the company, or whatever.”

“Okay, first of all…” I held up one finger. “… don’t call it San Fran, and two…” I held up another. “… I thought you didn’t want to share the company with a, what did you call me, ‘beta female?’”

He grabbed my fingers and sighed. “Look, I may haveoverreacteda touch when I found out your dad’s half was going to his daughter who I’d never met and assumed didn’t know jack shit about construction, rather than to me, like he’d hinted at over the years.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my fingers still in his hand. “My dad promised you the whole company?”

“Argh,” he grunted, rubbing his head in frustration. “More or less. I knew he had kids, but he never talked about you, and he treated me like his son most of the time. Especially after my old man died. It’s complicated.”

Complicated indeed. Had my dad been super old school and “manly,” wanting someone like Camden as a son versus Ezra or an omega daughter?

But Ezra had been super masculine and would have easily been friends with this group. He had played a ton of sports in high school and had been bigger than all these guys. Besides, my dad had left when we were four, before he could have even known what Ezra and I were like.

And then why would he have ultimately given me, his daughter, his half of the company anyway?

None of this was making sense.

I looked back at the photo of the four boys, now men, now an “alpha pack,” and asked quietly. “So do you still want it?”

He took a step closer, his jaw set tight as his eyes inspected every inch of my face. “If not having it means you’ll be in my life, I’d much rather you keep it. Even if I’m just CC-ing you on emails you’ll never reply to, even if you’re just Zooming into board meetings once or twice a year, it’s worth it.”

My heart raced, and he leaned down, nestling his nose in the crook of my neck as he inhaled deeply.

“Why?” I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper. “You barely even know me.”

His finger lightly ran down my arm, and I bit back a gasp, squeezing the towel tighter.

“I don’t think you’re ready for that answer yet. Not until you can accept what you are.”

He pulled back and our eyes locked, his baby blues slowly losing the battle to his dilating pupils. His gaze fell towards my lips, and my lashes fluttered as his face grew closer.

“Cam!” a voice barked from the kitchen. “Let her take a shower, for Moon’s sake.”

He exhaled deeply, giving me a quick kiss on my forehead. “Use whatever you want in there, babe.”

Then he slapped me on the ass and walked back towards the living room.

Dammit, that was close.Tooclose. And with Camden, of all people. If it had been a drug or a weird hormone imbalance from the birth control pills that had caused my four-day horny black-out, there were likely still traces lingering in my system and I would need to be careful.

I stepped under the rainfall showerhead and smiled when I noticed the brand-new pink bottles of floral shampoo and conditioner.

After thoroughly cleansing my hair and skin, I stepped out and wrapped the towel around my body, realizing I had no idea where my stuff was. When I opened the bathroom door, I found someone had left my suitcase in the hall for me while I’d been showering. I dug out some sweatpants and my favorite Stanford sweatshirt, and then padded barefoot into the kitchen.

The smell of bacon and butter drew me in, and Elias, Archer, and Camden were all sitting at the table, happily scarfing everything down.

---