Page 94 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

She left and a nurse came in briefly right after her, disconnecting Archer from the monitor and removing the IV from his hand.

“Here,” Elias offered, taking some clothes out of the duffle bag he brought. “I figured you might need these.”

“Yeah, I don’t want you sitting in my truck on your bare ass,” Cam quipped, returning from helping Ivy. “We getting out of here, then?”

“Waiting on the paperwork,” I replied. I turned back to Archer. “We’re all here now, can you tell us what happened?”

Marlowe helped him pull the sweatshirt over his head, and he answered quietly. “Which do you want first, the exciting news or the troubling news?”

45

ELIAS

Cam groaned. “Can’t you just say ‘good news or bad news’?”

“No,” Archer replied, carefully pulling up his sweatpants with Marlowe’s assistance. “So which is it?”

“Troubling news,” she answered. “I want to end on a positive note.”

Archer looked towards the door and then lowered his voice. “Elias, what can you tell me about the wolf you saw last night?”

I already didn’t like where this was going and hid my unease to clear my mind, closing my eyes while trying to recall whatever detail I could from the encounter. “It was dark, so I couldn’t make out much.”

“What about fur color? Was it light?”

“No, it might have been black,” I replied. “He didn’t blend into the snow. He looked more like a shadow.”

Archer nodded. “Any other details? Do you remember his scent?”

I closed my eyes again. “Maybe… it reminded me of those cookies Nolan’s mom used to make. Cherry and something.”

“Almond?”

“Yeah, that sounds right.”

Archer swore under his breath as he tried to pull up his socks, and Marlowe growled cutely at him until he laid back down so she could do it for him.

I could already imagine what the next few weeks were going to be like with those two – Archer hated asking for help, but Marlowe would insist on helping, and hilarity would ensue.

“That wolf appeared in the middle of the road, and I lost control trying to avoid hitting it.”

My body tensed, and I looked at Cam. “We need to get those security cameras up immediately.”

“I’m thinking the same thing,” he replied, cracking his knuckles.

“Wait,” Nolan said. “How do you know what he smelled like? You could tell from inside the car?”

“No.” Archer turned towards Marlowe and grabbed her hands. “What I am about to say will be upsetting. Those three will be angry, and you will be scared. Are you ready?”

Marlowe’s face paled. “Um, no, but go ahead.”

“The wolf came up to me and shifted back into human form. He said he was coming for Marlowe. That she belonged to someone else. And then he left.”

The news ripped through me like a bullet, and my wolf snarled inside me, pacing and demanding to be released so he could chase down this other shifter and rip out his throat.

Not yet, I told him.

When? he snapped.

---