Page 87 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

I was impressed by how relaxed he seemed in front of the crowd. He didn’t have the best vocabulary, but he was relatable and clearly had everyone’s rapt attention. If Nolan wasn’t careful, Camden might have a chance against him in an election.

“Finally, I want to thank James for one last gift – introducing me to his daughter, Marlowe.”

A few hushed murmurs had Marlowe sinking slightly in her seat, her face blushing. My poor little omega hated the spotlight.

“I’m certainly not the type to cling to old ways just because that’s what’s always been done. If some old method or tradition doesn’t work for you, find a new one. It’s something James and my dad taught me when I first started working at Wolfcrest Construction, but it carries over into my life, too.”

He paused, his eyes carefully scanning the room. “But not all traditions are bad, either. Most of you all probably heard already because a shifter can’t shit in the woods without half the town knowing about it by sundown…”Pause for laughter and dramatic effect. “…but Marlowe is an omega.”

Nolan wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she cringed, the outbreak of whispers growing louder.

“And she’s bonded to my pack.”

The crowd reacted even more strongly, and Marlowe winced at each question we overheard.

“The whole pack?”

“She’s bonded to four alphas?”

“Who does that anymore?”

“I thought that was a myth!”

Camden tapped his finger on the pulpit for a few seconds to let everyone get the initial shock out of their system. “Okay, that’s enough, just shut up now.” Once everyone returned to silence he continued. “Maybe after a hundred years, we’ve gotten used to single pair bonding, and that works for some shifters. And when it does, it’s beautiful and great. But for me, my pack, and our omega? We’re a unit, and it’s what we want.”

Nolan’s grip on Marlowe tightened. Elias, who sat on her other side, placed a protective hand on her knee.

“And I didn’t mean to use her dad’s funeral as an opportunity to get on a soap box, but he went to great lengths to protect her from her identity. She grew up thinking she was a human until she landed here last week. But she hasn’t received the warmest welcome here and that pisses me off. We’re better than that. Because what do we do when the Moon fades from sight?”

“We will wait,” the crowd replied in unison, “for she always returns.”

“Yeah, she finally did. And her dad just fucking died, so quit being assholes.”

I was sure if the microphone hadn’t been attached to the podium, he would’ve liked to drop it. It certainly was an effective closing statement, if a bit dramatic for my tastes.

He stomped back down to the front row, gave Marlowe a big kiss, and then sat down.

A few people clapped, unsure of what to make of Camden’s speech, while others just coughed nervously.

The Priestess ended the ceremony by trying to tie some of what Camden had said about tradition to how we needed to remember our roots and learn to balance the old with the new.

Afterwards, a line of people grew to get a chance to meet Marlowe and offer their condolences, and while she was clearly uncomfortable from all the attention, the interactions felt genuine and kind. Welcoming, even. A few had even heard of the incident at the liquor store and apologized on behalf of the town’s females.

I hated to admit it, but I was impressed. With his speech, Camden had managed to warn everyone against hurting Marlowe without any of the violence she despised.

Perhaps he was a better pack leader than we gave him credit for.

Everyone but me returned home when the whole thing was finally over. I instead headed back to my lab. I was too excited to start my work.

Itook the samples from Marlowe and Elias, as well as some others to test as a control and ran them through the centrifuge. It would only take about fifteen minutes, but it felt closer to an hour as I paced circles around the lab.

Hunches and guesses. My mind was spinning faster than the vials, and I couldn’t even slow it down enough to form proper hypotheses. I knew what I was looking for.

Kind of.

It was possibly crazy, but I could feel it. I was on the verge of something huge, a breakthrough for our species.

A buzzer signaled the end of the centrifugation and I raced over, my hands practically shaking as I took the samples out. First was mine – at a glance it was normal. The red blood cells were at the bottom, a thin buffy coat in the middle, and then the translucent plasma.

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