Page 57 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

“Could… could he tell I was an omega, maybe? Or that I could shift…”

Elias interrupted gently. “Possibly, but designations aren’t revealed until we reach puberty. At four, you’d have been just like all other female pups. Perhaps a little punier, though,” he added with a wink before continuing. “And a shifter’s first full transformation usually happens closer to maturity.”

That was one hypothesis I could rule out, then. “Does my dad have any other family? Close friends?”

“Family, not that I know of. Friends, maybe. Cam would know best, with your two families having owned a business together.”

It was all too much. I needed to talk to my pack, come up with a list of people my dad knew and any potential threats in the area. “We should probably head back. I think I’ve had enough life-shattering moments for today.”

I reached out through the tenuous connections I felt now that we were bonded, but they were fraught with simmering anger.

“They’re mad, aren’t they?”

Elias chuckled. “They’ll get over it.”

28

ARCHER

We felt it immediately.

The true power of a pack bond, the one that linked shifters telepathically, had disappeared along with our ability to fully shift. But we could still sense each other. And the feeling of a fifth soul, the bonding of a new member in our pack, rippled through us like a wave of electric shocks.

We’d been standing around the kitchen island, discussing the logistics of Marlowe’s move from San Francisco to Maiingan Hollow when it happened, the impact buckling our knees.

Camden recovered the fastest.

“That son of a bitch!” he yelled, slamming his fist on the granite countertop. “He had no right!”

He raced towards the door, but Nolan chased after him and tackled him to the ground before he could slip his boots on.

“Wait a minute, you idiot!” he seethed, trying to pin Camden on his back. “If you bust in there, guns blazing, you’re going to make her think they did something wrong.”

Camden struggled to push Nolan off him. “Hedid something wrong. As pack leader I get dibs when it comes to bonding new members, especially an omega! Archer, back me up!”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I understand how you feel, but Nolan’s right. You’re going to ruin what is likely a really special moment for her. And while I would have preferred waiting a bit until she was more comfortable with pack life, if she’s fine with this, we should be, too.”

Camden growled, kneeing Nolan in the groin and shoving him away. “Fuck you and your logic. Elias disrespected my position, and as pack leader, I need to put him back in his place.”

Position. I rolled my eyes. Every pack needed a leader, and some packs adhered to that kind of hierarchy more than others. Strength wise, we were more or less at the same level, although I had to admit that Camden had the most fighting skills and could use those to beat any of us in a fight if it came to it.

But that wasn’t why he was our leader. Camden had been chosen for two simple reasons – one, because it was his idea. And two - the Wolcotts were one of the most powerful families in our community. Wolfcrest Construction employed a lot of the town, including my own father when he and my mom had first moved here from Korea. Socially speaking, it made the most sense for us to be under him.

Until now, he’d never really mentioned it unless he was joking. He might have had no problem acting like a cocky bastard when it came to impressing females, but truthfully, he was a pretty humble guy. Put the four of us in a line, and no one would guess he was our pack’s leader or that his net worth was in the millions.

It was actually amusing to see him so spitting mad about pack rank right now.

“Well, whatever you do, make sure Marlowe doesn’t see. She’s going to think you don’t want her,” Nolan groaned, recovering from Camden’s cheap shot.

Camden roared his frustration, getting up, stomping over to the couch, and flopping down. “She knows I want her. More than anything.”

“Then show it,” Nolan offered. “Next time you have the chance, bond her yourself. Archer and I will even refrain until you’ve done it, right?”

He gave me a look, and I raised my eyebrow. I hadn’t planned how to exchange a bond with her yet, thinking I’d probably just play it by ear. Now that I was being asked, I ran through the various positions we could find ourselves in when I finally sunk my teeth into her soft skin, but coughed and cleared my throat before my cock got too excited.

“Right, we’ll wait for you.”

Camden played with the zipper on his hoodie and grumbled. “You fucking better.”

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