Page 95 of In the Mouth of the Wolf

Soon.

Nolan and Cam weren’t taking the news any better, but fueling the fire was our very own omega. She wasn’t scared at all; she was furious.

“Who the fuck does this guy think he is?” she seethed.

“I don’t know who he thinks he is, but I can tell you what he’sgoingto be if he ever shows his furry ass anywhere near you – my new rug.” Cam pulled Marlowe into him, tucking her neck gently into the crook of his elbow and kissing the top of her head. “No one is taking you away from us.”

The discharge coordinator came so Archer could pay and sign all the paperwork. After grabbing his meds at the pharmacy, we made our way back home in Cam’s truck.

“Well?” Marlowe asked, her eyes nervously scanning the road for the dark wolf. “What was the exciting news?”

Archer grunted as he turned towards the back. “I need to preface this news as well and let Marlowe know she’s under no obligation to do anything…”

“Oh, for Moon’s sake,” Cam grumbled, “Just say it – Elias can shift because he bonded with Marlowe already, right?”

Nolan coughed and tugged at the collar of his shirt, and Archer sighed. “Yes, but now I am starting to understand why.” He dug around in his bag and pulled out a small vial. Inside were a few drops of a white, pearly liquid that almost seemed to float as he flipped it upside down.

He gave it to Marlowe, who turned on her cell phone’s flashlight, inspecting it closely. Tiny rainbows and glimmers of diamond-like brilliance danced inside the car. “What is this?”

“Luminis,” Archer replied. “At least that’s what I’m calling it for now. It made up about fifteen percent of your blood sample once I ran it through the centrifuge, and perhaps five percent of Elias’s, but wasn’t present in mine or the other random human and shifter samples I used as a control. When Elias bonded with you, he ingested some of your blood, and you must have passed it onto him that way.”

“Fascinating,” she whispered. She passed the vial to Nolan next so he could look at it. “But what is it made of, and why do I have it while other shifters don’t?”

Archer smiled, clearly excited to talk about this and forgetting his pain or injuries. “I won’t get the data from the spectrometer until tomorrow, and it will take me a while to analyze it. As far as why you have Luminis present in your system and others don’t, well…”

“Your mom,” I interrupted. Cam kept his eyes on the road, already knowing what I was about to say anyway, but everyone else turned to me. “And possibly your dad. With this new full shifter showing up, and the mystery surrounding your parents’ origins, I’m guessing they escaped a shifter commune, and they must never have lost their abilities or their omegas. That’s why you, well, are what you are.”

We knew these communes existed only because of shifters like Marlowe’s parents. But we didn’t know how many there were or where they were even located.

“But why would they want me back?” Marlowe asked. “If they can all fully shift and they still have omegas, I can’t be worth all this trouble.”

Nolan clicked his tongue against his teeth in disgust. “A group of shifters like that, stuck in the old ways when females were seen as commodities, would definitely fight like hell to get a missing omega back. We’re very possessive.”

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed…” she replied dryly. I winked at her, and she stuck her tongue out at me in return.

Little brat.

“It’s true,” Archer added. “Before omegas disappeared from our communities, you were still rare enough to be highly guarded from the general population. When a shifter presented as one in the early stages of puberty, they were sometimes whisked away until they reached maturity, when they could be used as bartering chips between powerful packs. Do not underestimate the lengths shifters will go to for someone like you.”

When Marlowe’s unease leaked through the bond, Cam spoke up. “Including us, babe. No one, and I meanno one, is going to take you away from us. Even if…” he paused. “Fuck, I didn’t want to entertain this idea, but we might…”

He struggled to get the words out, making Marlowe even more nervous. She let out a breathy whine, and Cam cursed again, finally saying, “We might want to consider expanding the pack for Marlowe’s protection.”

46

MARLOWE

The entire truck was silent. Nolan and Elias seethed, too stunned with anger to speak.

Another alpha? Like there wasn’t already enough testosterone in the house. And would I be expected to…

Seemingly reading my thoughts, Cam answered my question. “I would make it clear to whoever we brought in that he is not entitled to anything you’re not willing to give. He’d be bonded to me and me only.”

“You already have someone in mind, don’t you?” Nolan asked, his tone acidic.

Cam didn’t move or blink before conceding. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Elias wrapped an arm around me, holding me defensively. “How long have you been thinking about this?”

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