Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1)

by Veronica Douglas

  “Well, short of injury, I’m not sure how much worse that could have gone. We got busted. I thought you were a pro at this.”

  He shrugged apologetically. “Maybe not a pro, but in all fairness, I didn’t think they’d disassemble it. That was bullshit. Anyway, we got the car and the parts, and that’s what matters.”

  I pointed the radio at him accusingly. “Your asshole friend ditched us. God knows where the car is.”

  He shook his head. “Rules say every man for himself, but yeah, she’s an ass. Still, she did her job. I called her, and your car is at the shop now under lock and key. The wolves won’t risk a confrontation up in the Midway Dens. Mission accomplished. Also, don’t tell Mom. Ever.”

  Great. That basically confirmed how idiotic this had been.

  I took a deep, chest-stretching breath and scanned the nearly empty street. “Mission-critical question: how do we get home? That’s not your car, too, is it?” I gestured to the Honda Civic that Casey was sitting on.

  He glanced down. “No. Why? I already summoned a cab. It’ll be here in a couple minutes, and we’ll grab my RAV-4.”

  I shrugged and leaned back against the Civic. “I thought your ass hurt so much, you wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.”

  Casey kicked his legs out. “Yeah, but my legs are tired. That was a lot of running.”

  He’d made it all of five hundred feet before getting tackled. Casey was oddly out of shape for his build.

  I released a long, low breath that felt like it had been pent up in my chest for hours. “I can’t believe we did that. It was so stupid. And dangerous.”

  “Totally stupid, but not that dangerous. These things don’t generally end up with fatalities. I can throw fireballs. They can gut us with their hands. Generally, everybody is so deadly, we make sure things don’t escalate. The most important thing is that we had a fun time.”

  I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. My cousin was clearly bonkers. One hundred percent a nutter. But I couldn’t deny that I’d had fun. Breaking magical locks, sneaking in, getting what was mine…even getting caught, though I was scared at the time. My instincts told me Jaxson wouldn’t hurt me, but damn was he intimidating.

  And I’d wanted to run. To have him chase. That made no fricking sense at all.

  I cracked a smile at my lunatic cousin. “I think hanging out with you is making me crazy.”

  He kicked his heels softly against the side of the car. “Oh, we’re crazy for sure. But that probably wouldn’t wear off on you so quickly unless you were nuts to begin with.”

  “Maybe. But strangely, I didn’t notice it before coming here.”

  Casey slid off the hood as our cab pulled up. “We’re all more than what we suspect we are. In this case, I’m willing to bet you were nuts long before you met us.”

  Fair enough.

  We walked our tired asses back to Casey’s RAV-4, then immediately violated Jaxson’s explicit orders by going to the Magic Moon Motel.

  It was a risk, but I needed fresh undies, clothes, and a toothbrush. I was a civilized person, and I was going to get my stuff back.

  Casey parked out front and shook his head. “You’re shitting me. You actually stayed here? The name wasn’t a dead giveaway?”

  Magic Moon. That made a lot more sense now.

  “How was I supposed to know? At the time, I was drunk and didn’t really know about magic. Now come on, help me pack.”

  “Hold up.” He reached under his seat and pulled out another bottle of mace and handed it to me. “Try not to lose this one this time.”

  “How many bottles of this stuff do you have?”

  Casey smirked. “More than I can count. I wouldn’t go on pack lands without it. Just remember, emergency use only.”

  The guy at the front desk was gone, thank God, so we darted up the stairs two at a time.

  “This place isn’t half bad,” Casey said as we reached the first-floor landing.

  “Just because they’re animals doesn’t mean they can’t run a good business. I mean, have you been to Eclipse?”

  “Girl, did I just hear what I think I did? Rewind. Werewolves are bastards, and any business they run is shifty. Don’t you forget that.”

  I rolled my eyes and pulled out my room key, but I paused before slipping it into the lock.

  The door was already slightly ajar.

  “Motherfuckers,” I whispered. I’d raided the shop, and now the werewolves had raided my room. Was Jaxson going to hold my underwear ransom?

  My instincts held me back. Maybe it wasn’t Jaxson.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered to Casey.

  Before I could turn around, the door whipped open, and a meaty hand grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. I twisted and came face to face with a six-and-a-half-foot-tall grinning shifter. He wore a ski mask that hid everything but his erupted canines and glowing crimson eyes.

  Fear sunk its claws into chest, and my pulse shot through the roof.

  Red eyes. It’s them. The people hunting me.

  I wrenched back, but when he wouldn’t release me, I pulled out Casey’s mace and gave him a good spray. A cloud of mist enveloped the man’s masked face, and a heart-wrenching snarl erupted from him. He stumbled back into the wall, clawing at his eyes and roaring in pain.

  Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I coughed, suddenly unable to breathe.

  “Don’t spray that shit inside!” Casey yelled, too late.

  A second shifter stepped out of the bathroom and let out a roar of rage. Casey stepped around me and unleashed a glowing fireball.

  Flames billowed around the room and paralyzed me in place.

  Was I breathing? No, because I was choking on mace.

  A hand smacked me in the face, returning me to my senses. I stumbled back and clutched my stinging cheek, then snarled and kicked my attacker in the nuts. He was still fighting the effects of the mace and dropped to his knees, grimacing in pain.

  “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to hit girls?” I managed between coughs.

  Before I could react, his fist shot out, lightning fast, and struck me in the stomach. I flew several feet back and crashed into the opposite wall. Pain exploded in my abdomen, and I gasped for air.

  “You okay?” Casey shouted over his shoulder. Another crimson-eyed man appeared through the door and leapt toward Casey, claws extended.

  My eyes bugged out, and I tried to scream a warning, but only a croak came forth.

  Casey spun away from the claws and flung a burst of glowing light at the man. It hit the shifter in the chest and pitched him back out through the door.

  The shifter I’d dropped to the floor grabbed Casey’s ankle and jerked him to the ground. He twisted, and Casey’s ankle popped. My cousin unleashed a slew of curses that shocked even me and blasted the shifter with a stream of fire.

  The shifter howled with pain as fire cascaded over him. His ski mask went up in flames, and the skin on his face sizzled off. I gagged from the smell of burnt flesh and polyester. He scrambled to his feet and charged out the door in a blur, followed by the other.

  “You little sissies! Come back and fight!” Casey yelled after them.

  Clutching my stomach and gagging from the aftershock of the mace, I got up and dragged Casey to his feet. “Come on, we can’t let them get away.”

  He flinched and hobbled on one leg. “Are you nuts?”

  “Probably, but this is a chance to nab one of these bastards. Let’s go!”

  I hauled him outside and down the stairs. His ankle was swollen, and I had to brace him the whole way. Luckily, the guy at the front desk was still gone. I hoped he hadn’t been offed by the attackers.

  Unless he was working with them.

  “Keys!” I held out my hand and shoved Casey into the passenger seat. He rolled his eyes and tossed the keys to me, but as I started for the other door, I froze halfway around the car.

  The three shifters who’d ambushed us were lurking across the stre
et, their ruddy eyes on me. Fear and anger gripped me, each fighting for control. The one that Casey had fireballed strode toward us. His skin looked like it was almost healed, and I shivered.

  These monsters were unstoppable.

  Casey rolled down the window and held out his hand with a ball of fire floating above his palm.

  The shifter paused, and then all three scrambled for an Oldsmobile parked on the side of the road.

  Casey’s fireball soared through the air and exploded on the pavement beside them, knocking one of them on his ass. The glass of the nearby storefront shattered with the blast.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I yelled as I jumped into the front seat of the RAV-4 and turned the ignition.

  The shifters scrambled into their car and tore down the road, weaving across the street.

  I gunned it and raced after them.

  Casey grinned at me, one hand holding the oh-shit handle. “Preparing the barbeque. I’m hungry for some shifter steaks.”

  “And I’m the one who’s nuts? You are a certified wacko, Casey.”

  He was having way too much fun, and I was pretty sure that blowing up shit in the pack’s territory was a no-no.

  There was going to be hell to pay.

  20

  Jaxson

  “And what about the Traverse City pack? Will they sign the deal?” I asked, thumbing through the papers on my desk.

  I was working late because every other pack around was trying to squeeze my balls, and the LaSalle woman was eating up my time—even when she wasn’t around.

  Why couldn’t I get that damn woman off my mind?

  I couldn’t believe that she’d had the gall to break into my shop to steal her car. Her boldness and utter disregard for my authority were infuriating.

  “They’ll sign if you agree to give them a ten percent share,” Barb said over the line.

  Sam and Regina raised their brows at me. Clearly, that was too much, given that we were taking all the risks hauling black market car parts over state lines.

  “Five percent. And I’ll throw in a crate of magic disablers,” I said.

  There was a pause on the end of the line. “Eight percent.”

  “Seven.”

  “Fine,” Barb sighed. “I’ll fax over the paperwork tonight. Good doing business with you, Jax, as always.”

  Sam grinned. “Not a bad deal. Way to get rid of those magic disablers.”

  She was in a cheery mood after getting to kick the LaSalle boy’s punk ass. I deeply regretted not getting to see it myself. She could unleash hell when she had to, but generally, Sam fronted information for me. Everyone in town, whatever species, wanted into Eclipse, so her job at the bar allowed her to trade and barter with demons, devils, and fae all night long.

  My cellphone rang, and I answered. “Yes?”

  “Boss, there’s been several explosions over on 67th Street. From the reports, it sounds like the sorcerers,” Tony said.

  You have got to be shitting me.

  I growled. “The LaSalles?”

  “No word. Heading over that way now.”

  That was right by the Magic Moon Motel.

  Savannah fucking Caine. It had to be her and that fucking cousin of hers.

  “We’ll be right there. Don’t let her get away.” I hung up and clenched my fists.

  This woman was a damned nuisance, and if I had it my way, I’d chain her to my desk where she couldn’t cause any more destruction.

  The image of that made my wolf stir and my muscles tighten. Fuck. I scrubbed a hand through my hair and stormed through Eclipse, Regina and Sam in my wake.

  At least they could tell the difference between when to follow and when to ask questions.

  My phone rang again.

  Savannah. Speak of the devil herself.

  I punched the screen and growled, “You’re blowing up shit in my territory after my wolves escorted you out? Are you out of your goddamned mind?”

  “Shut up and listen,” she said.

  Fury coursed through me, and I clenched my phone. Something cracked.

  “I was attacked at the motel by red-eyed psycho wolves. We’re chasing down the shifters now.” I heard the screeching of tires and the curses of her cousin in the background.

  Fuck. Why hadn’t I been alerted that she’d been attacked in the motel? I had someone stationed there for just that reason, as I knew she’d be back sooner or later for her things.

  “Stay on the fucking line and don’t let them out of your sight!” I shouted at the phone.

  We burst out the back door of Eclipse while Savannah screamed the details of what had happened over her speakerphone. We jumped into my truck, and the beast roared to life. “Where are you right now?”

  “Where are we, Casey?” There was a pause. “67th and Ironwood. Get your ass over here!”

  I heard an explosion across the line, and it disconnected.

  I hit the gas. The truck lurched forward, and the tires squealed against the pavement.

  “If that asshole cousin of hers is throwing fireballs in downtown Dockside, I’m going to skin him and hang him on the wall,” Regina snapped. I wouldn’t put it past my second in command. She’d been my sister’s best friend and still had a score to settle.

  “I’ve got to hand it to her, Jax. First her car, and now this? Savannah is a damn wild card.” Sam had a shit-eating-grin pasted on her face.

  Did she actually like the red-headed monster? I growled and shot her a look. “Not now, Sam.”

  Darkness seeped into my mind, and I tried not to break the steering wheel.

  I told Savannah to go to the motel. I had people watching it. She would be safe. She said no.

  Fine. I could adapt, so I’d redeployed those people to watch the Indies. Then she went to the motel.

  One of us was going to be the death of the other.

  Red brake lights filled the street ahead, so I veered into a back alley, swerving around a dumpster. A flash, followed by an explosion, echoed from the south.

  “What the hell do they think they’re doing?” Regina yelled.

  My phone rang again, and Sam answered it on speaker.

  “Hello?” a man’s voice said. Savannah’s cousin. We had a mile-long dossier on the creep. “Where the hell are you guys? I knew you were slow, but come on.”

  I tightened my grip on the wheel, wishing it were his neck.

  “We’re right behind you, asshole,” said Sam. “We just heard the explosion. Pro tip: stop unleashing a firestorm on our town, or we’ll return the favor.”

  “Message received. They turned right and we’re heading north on Razorback. Just passed Donahue’s Grill House. Hey, they opened one over here?”

  “Casey, focus!” Savannah’s voice cut across the line.

  “What are they driving?” I asked.

  “Tan Oldsmobile. Looks like a real piece of shit. Maybe you should steal it and hold it for ransom in your shop,” her cousin said.

  To my wolf, that man was just a mouthy steak with a bad attitude.

  I gunned it down 64th Street. If my calculations were correct, we might be able to cut them off. Regina cursed as we sped through a red light, narrowly missing a collision with a Beamer.

  Two blocks ahead was the Diagonal—our shortcut to intercept. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, distracting me from the anger that clawed in my chest. I had to put it aside for now. If we could catch one of the rogue wolves, it would solve most of our immediate problems. I’d beat the information out of them. We’d hunt down their allies. And once it was done, I would be mercifully free of Savannah Caine.

  The truck careened right as we peeled through the intersection onto the Diagonal.

  “Tell me where you are, Savannah,” I growled.

  “This is Casey here. Savannah’s busy driving like a bat outta hell. We’re just passing 64th Street and Louie’s Strip Joint. That looks promising.”

  Just where I needed them.

  “Seatbelts on,” I sa
id as I shifted gears and hit the accelerator. Two blocks, and we’d be coming right up—

  A tan Oldsmobile came into view as the lights in the six-way intersection turned red.

  I hit the gas, and we rocketed forward. Shock crossed the face of the shifter in the passenger seat of the Oldsmobile just before my truck T-boned them.

  The grating of metal was deafening, and I braced myself against the wheel. The Oldsmobile slid across the intersection sideways before stopping. Steam rose from the hood of the truck, but the grates on the front had absorbed most of the impact.

  I sucked in air and felt around my neck. A broken clavicle.

  I glanced over at Sam and Regina, who were smiling wildly. Sam popped her arm back in its socket and hopped out.

  It was good to be a wolf.

  I ripped my crushed door off its hinges and extracted myself from the wreckage.

  Screeching tires echoed behind us.

  “Holy shit!” Savannah’s cousin was hanging halfway out the passenger-side window, pumping his fist into air. He was a fucking lunatic. Then again, he was Laurel’s son. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

  Two masked male shifters climbed out of the crumpled Oldsmobile, and with a burst of speed, I circled around the rear. The one in the front seat was dead. Neck broken.

  The rogue shifters put their backs together as Regina and Sam closed in around the wreckage, their claws extended.

  The two shifters took one look at them and me, and then sprinted down the street, heading north.

  I grinned and tore off after them. I liked a good chase, and tonight, I had some steam to blow off before ripping Savannah a new one.

  But they ran fucking fast. Faster than possible.

  What the hell was going on?

  Sam and Regina shifted into wolves but still couldn’t catch up.

  My wolf roared with rage as they rapidly pulled away from us. I started to shift, and my shirt ripped, but Sam growled and snapped.

  I understood her intent, as I could speak without words to the wolves of my inner circle: We’ll hunt. Don’t let the LaSalles blow anything else up.