Page 58 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

For being our supposed leader, he really was such a child sometimes.

He sulked a bit longer, until Elias and Marlowe finally returned a few hours later. Camden did his best to put on a happy face… well, a neutral face, but Marlowe made a beeline for him once her shoes were off, giving him a big hug.

“You’re upset. I can feel it, now.”

Elias mouthed a silent, sorry-not-sorry apology, and made a quick escape upstairs. I would question him on the details of the bonding later, but for now, I wanted to watch our omega in action.

Omegas were meant to be the glue that held packs together, that neutralized our aggression. Today was her first test, and I was riveted already.

Camden slumped his shoulders, wrapping his arms back around her and kissing her on the head. “I’m not mad you’re bonded, baby. I’m mad because Elias beat me to the punch.”

She tilted her head up, batting her eyelashes. “But you got to knot me first, right?”

He started a growl but it petered out pretty quickly, and his hand dropped to grab her ass. “Damn right, I did.”

With a yelp and a giggle, she kissed him on the cheek and then we all heaved a sigh of collective relief as calm cleared the hostile atmosphere.

We’d met her only about a week ago, and she already knew how to soothe Camden. Would Marlowe employ the same techniques if another alpha of our pack needed talking down? While doe eyes and hugs were perfect for our ‘intrepid leader,’ that certainly wasn’t the most effective way to reach me when I was angry.

I was curious to find out if omega skills were intrinsic or learned.

She cleared her throat. “Hey, so Elias and I found some interesting stuff at my dad’s, and I really want to talk to you all about it.”

“Oh?” Nolan asked. “Like what? Some skeletons in the Linden family closet?”

Her face paled slightly, and Camden bared his teeth back at Nolan.

“Wait, for real?” he asked.

She reached out towards Camden, bringing his arm around her waist. His face lit up, clearly thrilled that our omega found comfort in his touch.

“Yeah, I want to talk about it with Elias here too, but I have a feeling he’s hiding from you all for the moment.”

We exchanged a knowing glance. “Can’t imagine why…” I murmured.

Nolan checked his watch. “I’m sure we’ll get this resolved by dinner. We can talk then.”

She nodded her thanks, and I switched the subject to something I’d wanted to ask her earlier.

Ever since she’d fully shifted, the scientist in me had been dying to run some tests. We hadn’t really addressed it much, due to what had happened, but now that she was bonded, her wolf should have had a better sense of home and safety.

“Marlowe, would you be interested in coming with me to my lab tomorrow? I have a little work to catch up on, but I also wanted to take the opportunity to get some blood samples from you. If that’s okay, of course.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, sure. I’d love to learn more about what you do, and I’m curious to learn why I can shift into a wolf when most of you can’t.”

“None of us can,” Nolan corrected. “The last full shifter died an old man over thirty years ago.”

“Damn, so I’m the only omega and the only full shifter? What are the chances?”

“Astronomical,” I replied. “I hate to turn you into a guinea pig, but if you’re open to testing, it could lead to the answers we’ve been looking for.”

Marlowe nodded, chewing her lip while her eyes fixated on some spot across the room, the true scope and gravity of her uniqueness settling in. “No, yeah, I get it. I’m happy to help, however I can.”

Camden pointed a finger at me. “Just don’t go turning her into a pin cushion or anything.”

I gave him a mock salute. “Yes, alpha.”

He flipped me off and then turned Marlowe around, leading her to the basement. “So, we watched your K-drama yesterday, which means today we’re going to watch one of my favorite movies. Do you knowDie Hard?”

---