Page 64 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

He leaned against a table, crossing his arms and looking way too pleased with himself. “Sheer force of dominance. Your omega whine induces a similar effect, especially over your bonded alphas.”

Archer then walked over and stood in front of me, taking my chin so he could look down into my eyes. “But I only use it on bad girls.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “I don’t think that’s the motivation to behave that you think it is.”

He tilted his head, inspecting me carefully. “Oh? It doesn’t frighten you to know I could force you to do nearly anything I wanted?”

I licked my lips, imagining Archer or my other pack mates commanding me in the bedroom. It didn’t frighten me because I trusted them not to take advantage. “Quite the opposite.”

His pupils dilated and he inhaled sharply. “Very good to know.” He released my chin and cleared his throat. “But you still have to run.”

“Well?” I asked after the cool down, still trying to catch my breath.

“Aside from you looking amazing in shorts and a sports bra,” he replied as he removed the censors from my skin. “And being an absolutely pathetic runner, I can’t really say. I’ll have to analyze the data more closely later and compare it to other shifters.”

“I won’t have to do this again, will I?”

Archer shook his head in disbelief. “I might make you do this again just because you so desperately need the exercise.”

I groaned. “I might not be able to run but I am not out of shape. I walk all the time! And I’ll have you know that when Mike and I went to Europe last year, I was averaging well over twenty thousand steps a day without complaint.”

His name slipped out of me easily, my mouth running faster than my mind’s desire to never talk about him again. But we’d been together for so long, and despite how our relationship ended, I had been happy with him. So as much as I wanted to paint all our memories with a sour brush, I couldn’t. At least not yet.

My pack, however, was a different story. I picked up on the quiet growl from Archer and quickly changed the subject. “Any chance we can get some lunch on the way home? I’m starving.”

Archer gave me a small smile. “Of course. Why don’t I take you to the Moonlight Diner in Maiingan Hollow? You haven’t gotten to explore the town much yet, right?”

“Oh my god, yes, that would be great.” The only part of Maiingan Hollow I’d seen had been City Hall, so getting to experience more of the town that might become my home was exciting.

He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Go ahead and get changed, I’ll meet you outside in fifteen minutes. I just have to clean and return this equipment.”

The Moonlight Diner was so quaint I could die. The waitresses wore outfits straight out of the 50s, and a jukebox in the corner played a steady stream of Elvis, Chuck Berry, and the Everly Brothers. We made our way across the white and black checkerboard floor to a booth, and after sliding across the red vinyl seat, I opened the menu and looked it over with glee.

“Do you want to split the fried cheese curds with me?” I asked.

Archer’s eyes twinkled with amusement and he adjusted his glasses. “You can take the girl out of Wisconsin…”

“...but you can’t take the Wisconsin out of the girl, yeah yeah. Do you want some or not?”

“Always.”

The rest of the menu looked just as enticing, and I was ready to order everything when the waitress came over and smiled. “Hey, Arch, long time no see. How’s Ivy doing?”

Ivy? Who the hell wasIvy? I could feel the rage building inside me, and I closed my eyes and began to breathe deeply.

Archer noticed my agitation and responded quickly. “My sister? She’s quite well, thank you. I’m excited to meet my new nephew.”

My cheeks heated with shame. After I’d nearly clawed Nolan’s cousin’s eyes out, the guys had assured me my irrational feelings of jealousy were normal, but I still hated that even the idea of them knowing other females made me react so viscerally. And like Megan, Ivy was family, for god’s sake.

“Another nephew! That’s what, four pups now? Tell Shane to give her a break already.”

Archer smiled. “Will do.”

“And hey…” Her voice lowered. She placed a hand on the table and leaned towards him, her back facing me. “Can you tell Cam to give me a call? We were supposed to see each other last weekend, but he totally ghosted me.”

Okay, this was too much. Cam wasmine.

My hands balled into fists, and before I could leap out of my seat Archer whipped his head back to me. “Marlowe,stop.”

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