Page 30 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

“We’re not really meant to be apart for long. Even our pack struggles with Elias being in Chicago most of the time. There’s a shifter town like Maiingan Hollow in Northern California, though, near the Oregon border. I can get in touch with their council and see if there are beta females closer to San Francisco who’d be interested.”

Tears welled in the corners of my eyes. Why did that make me so happy? I still didn’t even believe in all this. “You’d do that for me?”

Nolan looked down, closing his eyes and releasing a deep breath. “Cards on the table? I want you, sugar. My pack wants you. We’re willing to do whatever it takes to convince you to bond with us and be ours. But I know that’s not really an option, and I would rather see you safe with a pack that can respect your choices than throw you out to the wolves.”

He exited the car before I could respond, leaving me to drown in his admission. The ring on my finger felt heavy and my chest tightened. I did love Mike. He wasn’t any less good looking than this “pack of alphas” I’d somehow fallen into up here. Mike was smart, caring, and funny. He treated me like a queen, and he didn’t deserve this doubt now growing inside me.

I took out my phone, and gasped when I saw the dozens of missed calls, voicemails, and texts. I’d sent him an email before we left the cabin, but hadn’t bothered to check for a response on the road since my phone was charging and I didn’t have any cell service.

Mike: Everything alright?

Mike: I found your birth control pills, do you need help getting a new pack out there?

Mike: Hey, just checking in, I haven’t heard from you.

Mike: Marlowe, you’re starting to worry me.

Mike: Seriously, you need to call me back ASAP.

Mike: I’m on my way to Eau Claire.

Mike: Shit, the weather is diverting flights, I’m going to Chicago instead. I’ll rent a car from there.

Mike: Just landed in Chicago, where are you?

Mike: I called the local hospitals and the police stations, they don’t have you.

Mike: Getting gas in Madison, I’ll be in Eau Claire in a couple hours.

Mike: I checked into the DoubleTree. Please, call me.

My blood ran cold. Mike had been here since Sunday, worried sick about me, all while I’d been holed up in a cabin four hours away, getting fucked by a vibrator. I knew the guys wanted me to go to Camden’s house, but I needed to get to Eau Claire and come up with some excuse as to why I’d been MIA for so long.

Would he buy that the storms had knocked out the power here? No, not for that long.

Could I say my dad’s house had no service? No, I had sent him an email that morning. It had been brief, just a quick note to say I was alive, but hadn’t included any details.

Crap, this wasn’t good. I wanted to call him, but I was too afraid to speak to him until I could come up with a plausible explanation for my radio silence. One that didn’t involve shifters, heats, or alpha packs.

I got out of the car in a panic, running into the building to find Nolan. On instinct, I knew his scent and touch would help calm me down, and I followed the signs towards the mayor’s office. As I rounded the last corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. Nolan stood in the hallway, computer bag in hand, while some woman in a skirt laughed and tapped his arm in a playful punch.

I couldn’t think anymore. All I saw was red, and the breath I expelled rumbled in my chest. Nolan and the woman both turned towards me, mouths agape.

“Marlowe? Is everything okay?”

“He’smine,” I snarled. Anger and jealousy possessed me, and I ran forward to tackle the bitch, ready to rip out her throat for daring to touch him.

Nolan stepped in my path, grabbing my wrist as I raised it in a swipe. He pulled me into his chest, his other hand wrapping around the small of my back and purring in my ear. “Calm down, sugar. She’s my cousin.”

The adrenaline abandoned me, and I pushed myself away from him, backing up into the wall. What the hell had come over me? I’d never attacked anyone in my life, especially over a boy. Especially over a boy that I wasn’t even dating. I was engaged to Mike! I had come in here to figure out how to salvage my relationship with him, not get into a cat fight with a stranger!

The woman gasped in surprise, her hand on her chest. “An omega? Nolan, where did she come from?”

Nolan walked slowly towards me, not taking his eyes off mine even while he spoke to her. “I’ll call you later. It’s a long story. All you need to know is that Marlowe is James Linden’s daughter, and she’s here for the funeral and to deal with his estate.”

I dug my fingers through my hair, pulling the strands in frustration. “I’m so sorry, I’m so…”

“Shhh,” he said quietly. Once he was within arm’s length, he pulled me back into his embrace. “I’m not mad, and Megan’s going to be fine. We’re shifters. We’re used to a little aggression every now and then. It’s actually really flattering, to be honest.”

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