Page 31 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

I wept, letting his scent bring me back into a clear head space. “You don’t understand. I called you mine. You can’tbemine. I have someone, someone who loves me, someone who’s losing his mind in a hotel room in Eau Claire right now because he hasn’t been able to reach me for five days.”

Nolan tucked my head under his chin. “I see. Let’s head to Cam’s, we’ll figure out what to do from there. I’m assuming you need a ride and an alibi, correct?”

I pressed my face further into his chest, inhaling deeply as I nodded.

“Megan, can you reschedule my meetings for the rest of the week?”

“You got it. And uh, nice to meet you, Marlowe. Welcome to Maiingan Hollow.”

16

ARCHER

Elias and I rode back into town with Camden, on Marlowe’s request. And honestly, I was a little relieved. I didn’t want to speak with her until she had a chance to process what had happened during her heat.

All the other guys had done was sleep next to her, but I’d done much more than that. Even if it was for her own good, and even if I never touched her beyond what I could do to help in the moment, she could easily see it as a major violation. And I wouldn’t blame her if she did.

The truck pulled up to Camden’s home, and I was reminded that he wasn’t always a total dumbass, at least when it came to construction. He’d helped design and build the house himself when he was only twenty-one, taking charge under the eye of his father and James.

The wood and stone exterior blended into the surrounding landscape, with massive windows that reflected the drifts of snow that had accumulated in his front yard.

Camden opened the heavy oak door, leading us straight into a large, open space. The double-high atrium soared above us and was bathed in natural light, making it seem somehow both cozy and grand. He turned on his fireplace and collapsed in a heap on a large U-shaped leather couch, leaning his head back and releasing a sigh. Elias brought in some Amazon boxes that had been left on the doorstep and began opening them.

“We should probably wash these first, right?” he asked, holding up several large, furry blankets. “Cam, where’s the laundry room?”

“Downstairs,” he grunted.

I sat down a few feet away from him, taking out my phone to check my email. I’d lied and told my department I had the flu, canceling my classes for the week. It was bad timing, what with finals right around the corner. But we weren’t covering any more new material so they were only missing review, which they could do on their own.

A text came in from Nolan.

Nolan: Leaving my office now. Don’t make a big deal out of it when we arrive, but she threw an omega fit when she saw me with Megan, and said I was hers.

“Holy shit…” I whispered.

“Hm?” Camden grunted.

“She claimed Nolan.”

Camden bolted forward. “What did you say?”

I showed him the text, and he stood up and howled.

Elias came back into the room, his body tense and alert. “What is it, what happened?”

“She wants us!” Camden cried. He shoved my phone in Elias’s face and howled again. “I fucking knew it. She’s going to dump the fiancé and bond with us!”

I put my hands out to slow him down. “Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here. Marlowe reacted on instinct. It doesn’t mean she’s changed her mind.”

She’d been off the hormone suppressants for nearly a week, and while her biology might be realigning, she had still been brought up in the human world. In the argument of nature versus nurture, expecting her to break up with a man she’d loved for years just because her inner beast wanted another she barely knew was a hard sell.

Elias read over the text several times. “I mean, it’s notbadnews. But Cam, if there’s anything that can screw this up, it’s you. Do not breathe a word of this to her, got it?”

Giggles bubbled between his lips as he pretended to shut his mouth and lock it, but the look of pure delight was still written all over his face, and he jumped around the living room, stopping in front of me to thrust in my face while he hummed to himself.

I scoffed and pushed him away. “Get it out of your system now. She can’t know we know.”

We needed to be here for her, but every time we – and by we I meant Camden – came on too strong, her guilt over her fiancé would kick in.

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