Page 7 of The Wolves At My Sides

“To do what?” I asked, because I didn’t want to be left out of the conversation.

“Well, until I’m not covered in raspberry chocolate pheromone blocker---” Marcus started.

“No,” Irwin said. “I need you here.”

“Okay,” Marcus nodded, sighing in defeat.

“Do you two need a minute?” I asked.

“Yes,” Marcus said.

“No,” Irwin shook his head.

“Okay,” Marcus said and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“I’m not here to steal your mate. I’m as confused as anyone else is,” I said.

“We’re not confused,” Marcus said after his mate shot him a ‘help me’ look. “We know what’s going on. It’s --- complicated. Maybe that’s the wrong word. It’s probably unbelievable.”

“Plenty of people believe it, because we have the proof, Alpha,” Irwin said.

“Someone needs to tell me what’s going on,” I said, straightening my back. “First, to come here and speak with you about a book, I had someone search me for weapons. I get it – the war and all of that. I get that. Then I need to speak with your Alpha mate first, for security. Then this. It’s starting to feel like I’m being pranked or trapped or---”

“No,” they both said at the same time.

“Then tell me what the hell is up with you two!” I said through gritted teeth in an effort to keep my wolf from growling.

“We have two claiming glands,” Irwin finally spat the words out.

“What?” I blinked.

“You probably do too. That’s why I need to take a shower and call Dara and ---” Marcus said, but Irwin shook his head.

“I really don’t want you to leave right now. This is something we have to do together,” Irwin said.

“Two claiming glands? That’s not possible, is it? I mean, I don’t want to call you liars, but --- Then again,” I said, taking a deep breath and losing my train of thought as Irwin’s scent wrapped around me.

Marcus stood up and Irwin opened his mouth to say something – to probably tell him not to go. Only he didn’t go. He stood up and walked across the room to lean his legs back against his desk as he unbuttoned his green shirt. Marcus was easy on the eyes. I knew from talking with Irwin that he was a fox. I bet he smelled nice too. I watched Irwin watch his mate and for a moment envy tickled my soul. Why wasn’t he watching me like that?

After Marcus shrugged off his shirt, he walked across the room and knelt down in front of us. Okay, he knelt down in front of his mate, but was close enough for me to touch. One of his shoulders bared the tell-tale bite mark of their claiming vows. For a second, I imagined Irwin’s face screwed up and flushed with pleasure as Marcus drove deep into his body. I blushed and shook the thought away before it lingered for too long.

“The other side,” Marcus said, reaching out for my free hand.

I let him take it, because Irwin smelled happy that Marcus was making an effort and I wanted him to smell that way forever. The fox Alpha led my hand to his unbitten shoulder, and I pulled back. It wasn’t possible! It couldn’t be possible! We all took the same biology classes in high school. If you were Alpha or omega, you got one claiming gland, and that was it. That was all she wrote. Except --- I reached out for him again, slower and on my own this time. He had a second squishy claiming gland on his unclaimed shoulder.

“Can I smell you?” I asked, feeling rude and like an idiot as soon as the words tumbled out of my mouth.

“Sniff him! Sniff him!”My wolf chanted inside my thoughts.

His emotions about the events unfolding in the office weren’t as complicated as mine. If they were telling the truth, we had two mates, and he was already accepting that impossibility as fact.

“If I could take a sh---” he started but shut up when Irwin shook his head.

“Can I try?” I asked.

Marcus looked at Irwin.

“It’s okay, Alpha,” Irwin said.

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