Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1)

by Veronica Douglas

  The thought of Jaxson killed the sense of peace I’d gotten from plucking blossoms. “What’s the deal with you and the Laurents, anyway?”

  My aunt and uncle paused. Apparently, this was not an after-dinner conversation, or at least not a flower-plucking conversation.

  “They’re furry, and they suck,” Casey said from the sink, where he was half-assing the dishes.

  I figured I’d crossed into forbidden territory, so I looked down and began to pick at the pretty purple flowers again.

  “There’s a lot of bad blood,” my aunt finally murmured. “But we don’t need to talk about that tonight.”

  My uncle leaned forward and put his arms on the table. His voice was bold. “Three centuries ago, Magic Side was a cluster of little islands in Lake Michigan. People filled in the spaces and created a unified city. But our island stayed separate. Ultimately, the city council, which was largely made up of wolves, forced us to join them. They got rid of our harbor so that we’d be beholden to the city. Then they tried a land grab.” He waved a flower defiantly. “We taught them a lesson about what’s ours and what’s theirs.”

  My eyes darted between my aunt and uncle, unsure if I should encourage him. It was better I had the information, though, so I blurted, “But that was so long ago.”

  “They control all the bridges and the harbor, and they haven’t stopped trying to squeeze us. You’ll learn. Give them what they want, and they’ll take more.”

  Didn’t I know it. “But why do they hate you? Jaxson…seems angry.”

  My uncle leaned back and drummed his fingers on the table. “Because we provide people with the means to stand up for themselves.”

  “We shouldn’t talk about this tonight,” my aunt commanded. “Let’s speak of brighter things.”

  I swallowed.

  During the drive to Eclipse, Jaxson had told me the LaSalles dealt in illegal arms and materials. I looked down at the flowers so I wouldn’t stare at my hosts, but my mind was churning. What did the LaSalles actually do? Was it just trafficking weapons, or did they make them, too? Were they guns like the ones I’d grown up shooting, or something worse? Something magical? Something to do with dark magic?

  Jaxson had pushed me hard into staying at the motel, but when I thought about it, this was probably the safest place for me to be—with people who’d been in a standoff with werewolves for centuries.

  He wants control.

  But things were spiraling out of control. Some idiot had posted pictures of me all around Belmont, letting my assailants know exactly where I’d gone. Worse, Jaxson had paraded me through pack headquarters. Tons of werewolves had seen me and knew that a red-haired girl with a tattoo had just shown up in town. If one of them were in cahoots with my attackers, they’d know exactly where I was. It was practically a slam dunk.

  I dropped the flower I was holding.

  It couldn’t be.

  But something clawed from within my chest, and my pulse quickened. Was Jaxson using me as bait?

  He’d had people keeping an eye on me. He’d tried to keep me in Belmont, where they could strike again. Now he was keeping me in town, holding my car. I was a sitting duck, and he knew they’d be back.

  He’s planning on it.

  I jumped up from the table, my heart thundering.

  “Everything okay?” Laurel asked.

  “I just remembered I have to make a call,” I stammered, then hurried out the front door and scrolled through my phonebook to find the entry for Asshole.

  Jaxson picked up after the first ring. “Savannah. Good to get a call. Have you changed your mind?”

  “You ass, have you lost yours?” I snapped, keeping my voice low in case anyone inside was listening.

  “What are you talking about?”

  For all my anger, the sound of his whiskey voice still lit a fire in me, but I fought to keep myself focused. “Are you using me as bait?”

  “What? No.” He scoffed. Was it genuine?

  Shit.

  I should have confronted him face to face. I had a good sense of when people were lying to me, but it only worked when I was right there, looking them in the eyes and making them sweat.

  I pushed on anyway. “Apparently, someone plastered posters all over Belmont that said I was last seen heading to Chicago. The sheriff didn’t know where I was headed, nor did anyone else in town. Did you have your people post those signs?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  Was he lying? I couldn’t tell, and it made my palms itch.

  “You’ve tried pinning me down. You’ve got your stalkers watching me wherever I go. You wanted me to stay in your motel, on your lands.”

  “I’m doing my best to protect you while you’re doing your best to get yourself killed,” he said coldly.

  I’d bet money his eyes had turned honey-gold, like they always did when he was pissed.

  “You posted those signs. This isn’t werewolf witness protection! You’re using me as goddamned bait!”

  His breath caught, and when he spoke, it was practically a growl. “I would never put you at risk. I’m doing everything I can to stop these people.”

  Was he picking his words carefully? God, I wished I could see him now. I’d be able to smell the lies on him.

  “Screw you, Laurent.” I jammed my finger on the end call button, as if he could feel it. He immediately called back, so I pressed the power icon until the phone turned completely off.

  “Fuck,” I said to the rising moon and dark summer night air. It was a filthy word that I reserved for rare circumstances. For when I was good and truly fucked, like now.

  One thing I knew—I wasn’t going to be staying on pack land tonight. The LaSalles were perfect strangers, but they weren’t actively trying to get me killed. Plus, Laurel had offered to put me up twice.

  I slammed the door out of habit on my way back inside, then blushed and remembered I was a guest.

  Casey poked his head around the corner. “Everything okay?”

  I glared. I was pissed at Jaxson but okay with settling for Casey as a target of my ire.

  He threw his hands up. “Whoa, hey there, Medusa, point those viper eyes somewhere else. Remember, I’m the guy who’s going to help you get your ride back.”

  I shook my head vehemently. “No, you’re not. But it’d be great if you’d be willing to give me a lift to get my things. I think I’ll stay here, if that’s still okay.”

  “Of course! Mom will be thrilled. We’ll get your things and your car.”

  “Stealing my car back from a werewolf is a terrible plan,” I replied, though it would give me a hell of a lot of satisfaction to see the look on Jaxson’s face. And I’d be out from under his thumb, free to make my own decisions.

  Casey waved a hand dismissively. “It’s a great plan, and it’s already in motion. We’re going to meet Zara up near the Midway in three hours.”

  “In motion? Who’s Zara?”

  “She’s the gal that drives the truck that’s going to tow your car out of Jaxson’s auto body shop and into glorious freedom.”

  I crossed my arms, raised an eyebrow, and gave him a deeply skeptical look. “So what, we just break in, steal the car, and escape without consequences?” I didn’t see Aunt Laurel or Uncle Pete, but I whispered anyway.

  “Don’t worry, I’m a pro at shenanigans like this.”

  I rubbed my temple. “Casey, I appreciate it, I do. But this sounds unnecessarily risky. Let’s say we pull this off and don’t die. Won’t Jaxson just come take the car back?”

  “No way. You’ll have made your point and demonstrated that you’ve got a backbone. Plus, we’ll stash it in the Midway Dens, which are run by devils and demons. Wolves respect that line in the sand, if not much else.”

  The world spun a bit, and I had to brace myself against the wall. “Devils and demons?”

  “Ah, shit, right. You just learned about magic and werewolves. Devils and demons are more like day-two material. On the other hand, Zara is half
demon, so there’s that little thing.”

  “You want me to work with a demon?” Who were these insane people?

  “Not a demon, a half-demon. The other half is mage or something like that. She’s cool.” He grinned. “And hot. Get it?”

  There wasn’t much more I could really take. I was way past the point of keeping up, so I just slumped against the wall and sank down on my butt.

  Casey crouched beside me. “You don’t want to be beholden to this asshole, right?”

  My stomach soured. I was up to my eyeballs in trouble. Jaxson had taken my only option for escape and might actually be using me as werewolf bait. I rested my arms on my knees. “Jaxson can shove it, for all I care.”

  “I fully agree. He’s an alpha and accustomed to just taking what he wants. To having everyone around him defer. He’s going to expect that of you. Do you want him bossing you around for the rest of the time you’re here?”

  “I want my goddamned freedom back, that’s what.”

  Casey stood and slapped his hands on his pants. “Well, let’s go get it back, then.”

  17

  Savannah

  Three hours later, the moon was high, and we were on our way to play grand theft auto in real life. We drove the long way out of LaSalle territory to make sure we weren’t followed by any of Jaxson’s goons waiting to stalk me at the border. Eventually, we parked Casey’s RAV-4 a few blocks off the Midway, and my adrenaline was humming.

  Stealing my car was an insane idea. I knew that.

  Old Savannah wouldn’t have done anything of the sort. But Old Savannah hadn’t been attacked by werewolves, didn’t know her parents had hidden her magic and family from her, and hadn’t had her car essentially stolen by a mob boss who was using her as a pawn.

  New Savannah was kinda having her teeth kicked in and needed a win. Also, I needed to teach Jaxson a lesson. Thus, I was going to break into his auto body shop and steal my car back.

  What could go wrong?

  Our plan involved three conspirators—Casey, me, and Zara, who owned a truck with a dolly trailer to tow my car. She looked almost normal, if not for the horns and the purple streaks in her dark hair.

  “What are you looking at?” she snapped.

  “Your horns.” I was past caring at that point. This place was so weird, and it needed to accept the fact that I thought so. “They’re cute,” I quickly added, because she was also driving the truck that would be towing my car to freedom, and I didn’t want to start off on a bad foot.

  Zara shrugged and leaned back against the pickup with a nonchalance that shouted outward confidence but whispered, I’m ready to bolt the moment the cops show up.

  I turned to Casey. “So, what’s the plan? There is one, right?”

  He waved a hand dismissively. “Pretty simple. We all hop in Zara’s truck, then we break in, grab the car, load it on the dolly, and escape. The whole thing should take five to ten minutes.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You seem to be skipping important details. How do we get in? How do we not trip alarms? And crucially, how do we not get caught?”

  “Don’t worry, cousin. I’ve got this handled.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m worried.”

  “Fine. First step, we climb in the car. Second step, Zara turns the ignition. Third—”

  That was just too much lip, so I kicked him in the shin. “Real details.”

  Casey winced and rubbed his leg. “Jeez! I was teasing!”

  “We’ll go through the back,” said Zara. “Casey will disable the alarm spells, and I’ll unlock the door. You find your keys in the office while he opens the garage bay door and I pull up out front. We’ll all push your car onto the dolly and drive away. Simple.”

  “And if wolves show up?”

  Casey shrugged. “We won’t trip any alarms, so they won’t. But if they do, we get in the truck and go. There’s no way to outrun them on foot.”

  “Won’t they just chase down our car? The wolves that attacked me caught up with me on the open road.”

  Casey’s eyes got big. “Really? Shit. I didn’t think they could run that fast. I haven’t seen them do that around here, but maybe they’re holding back. They don’t like us to know much about them. Still, that’s freaky fast. Let’s not get caught.”

  “Watertight plan, Case.” I sighed.

  “Also, if they catch you, no lethal force.” Casey fixed Zara with a stern look, then turned to me. “This is Magic Side, not Chicago. There are rules of engagement. That’s why I’m giving you this.” He pressed a little bottle into my hand. “I know you can’t control your magic worth crap, so if someone looks like they’re going to eat you, just point this at them, close your eyes, and spray.”

  “Yeah. I’m familiar with the application.”

  He shook his head. “No, you’re not. Only use this in dire emergencies. The wolves will try to scare you because they think it’s fun. They might rough you up. Roll with the punches and get them back later. Only use this if you’re staring down a wolf, it’s out of its mind, and it’s getting ready to bite. That’s some serious weapons-grade shit in your hand.”

  I swallowed hard. None of these scenarios sounded great.

  Casey paused as he opened the truck door and glanced between Zara and me. “And, uh, don’t tell anyone where you got that if they ask.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I won’t.”

  “And cousin, really, really, really try not spray yourself in the face.”

  I pocketed the bottle of what I assumed to be some kind of mace and stuck out my hip. “Casey, you’re a complete ass.”

  He hopped in the passenger side, leaving me the suicide seats in the back. “Strange. A lot of people tell me that.”

  Five minutes later, we pulled to a halt a couple blocks from Savage Body.

  “Why are we stopping?” I asked.

  “Disguises for the cameras,” Casey said as he handed out black gloves and fuzzy masks.

  I held one up. “Oh, God, what is this?”

  In answer, Casey put his on. They were furry wolf masks.

  I groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Zara put hers on, too. “Suit up. Let’s go, rookie.”

  I acquiesced as the pickup rumbled down the road. The eye holes in the mask limited my vision. Was trolling the wolves like this really worth it?

  Before I could decide if it was better to call things off, the truck stopped right around the corner from Savage Body. Adrenaline surged through my veins as my mind tried to come to grips with this lunacy.

  Casey and Zara jumped out and darted up the alley behind the restored brick building, and I followed after. As soon as we got to the back door, Casey began whispering and waving his fingers like an abject madman.

  Was this what it meant to be a sorcerer?

  My doubts vanished as he formed a little glowing ball of light in his gloved palm. He blew, and the light drifted outward like a feather on the wind. It brushed gently against the door, and in a crackle of power, the whole doorway lit up with glowing magical runes.

  My breath caught at the beauty of it.

  Then the magic symbols dissolved into sparks and faded into nothingness.

  “That should do it,” Casey whispered. “Wolves don’t do magic, so they buy off-the-shelf stuff from mages. Not too hard to crack.”

  Zara knelt beside the doorknob, touched it, and closed her eyes. It clicked. She carefully turned the knob and swung the door in, revealing a pitch-black room.

  “What did you do?” I whispered.

  “I’m part Iron Mage. I control metal.”

  “Cool.” I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around what all that entailed, but it sounded awesome.

  Casey pulled a tiny flashlight out of his back pocket and flicked it around the room. Within a few seconds, he’d found the lights and switched them on.

  My heart seized. My Gran Fury sat on a lift in the middle of the second bay, hood up and totally in pieces.

&nbs
p; “What did he do?” I gasped as I dashed over to the car.

  The seat back had been removed and lay to the side, along with several parts that I assumed made the car go.

  This was bad.

  Zara flicked a switch on the wall, and the hydraulic lift roared to life, slowly lowering the car to the ground.

  Casey grabbed my shoulder. “Don’t worry, your ride’s probably okay. We’ll just need to take everything with us. Go get your keys from the office.”

  Tears swam in the corners of my eyes as I darted for the office. That asshole had ripped apart the one thing that mattered to me.

  I tried the office door. “It’s locked!”

  “Give me a sec, I’ll get it!” Zara shouted from the lift.

  I shook the doorknob as my mind spun with worry. There could be a silent alarm. They could be on their way. Jaxson could be here any second.

  My skin began to prickle, and my arm hair stood on end. Then a shock of cold raced down my arm and blasted the doorknob out of my hand. I yelped as the office door blew off its hinges, and the detached doorknob clattered to the floor somewhere in the office.

  “Damn,” Zara called from her post. “I thought you didn’t know magic.”

  I looked down at my hand in shock. “I don’t.”

  A big red light in the interior of the office started blinking.

  Well, crap.

  As a new layer of panic seeped into my voice, I shouted to Casey, “I think I screwed up!”

  “Get the keys,” Zara hissed. “I’ll get the truck. We gotta work fast.”

  I flicked on the office lights and found the cabinet with the car keys, which was also locked. Zara was gone, so I tried focusing my mind and doing the magic thing.

  Nothing. No explosion, no icy skin, no juice.

  With nothing else to do, I rampaged through the desk until I found a key hanging on a hidden hook. I jammed it in the lock and popped the cabinet open. My keys were on a chain with a bunch of tiny silver paint brushes, so they were easy to find. I snagged them and dashed out of the office.