Burned: Wild Magic Book 2

by Danielle Grenier

  “That’s it?” Jesse asked, watching the marble curiously.

  “Pretty much,” Angel replied. “Now we just need to place the rest of these every fifty feet or so.” She headed west, counting her steps to estimate how far she was from the anchor.

  “Would someone else be able to feel it when they pass through?” Jesse asked.

  “Depends,” Angel replied, reaching fifty and placing a marble on the ground. “A witch will definitely sense it, they might even be able to figure out what it’s for, too. Most wolves are sensitive enough that they’ll probably feel it, but they might not realize what it is.” She placed a third marble on the ground. They were approaching the hotel parking lot now. “A vampire would probably also feel it, if they’re old enough.”

  “What about zombies?”

  “They might feel it,” Angel replied, “but they wouldn’t have the mental capacity to really know what it was.”

  They were at the front of the hotel now, about halfway around the perimeter. Angel placed another marble on the ground, and they kept walking.

  “So,” Jesse began, “Caleb tells me you’re pretty badass.”

  “Does he, now?” Angel replied, curious to know what Caleb had told Jesse, or for that matter, Jonathan.

  “Yeah,” Jesse said, “the way he tells it, you saved his whole damn pack.”

  “I was just doing my job.”

  Jesse scoffed.

  “Yeah, right,” he said, “there aren’t a lot of witches who would risk their lives to save a bunch of wolves.”

  “I wish I could disagree with you,” Angel said, “but unfortunately, that sentiment seems to work both ways.”

  “True,” Jesse admitted, “but there seems to be some decent people on either side. Almost makes up for all the idiots.”

  “Almost,” Angel agreed.

  They fell into silence for a little while, but Angel could tell Jesse still had things he wanted to ask. He managed to keep it to himself for a whole two minutes.

  “Is it true you killed one of Caleb’s wolves?”

  “Yes,” Angel admitted, “but don’t mention it in front of Caleb.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it upsets him,” Angel explained. “Roscoe almost killed me, after Caleb made it clear I was his guest. He blames himself.”

  “Got it,” Jesse said. He paused a moment, then spoke again. “So, what’s the deal with you two? You dating?”

  “I, uh, don’t really know,” Angel admitted, “we haven’t really discussed anything like that yet.”

  “You do realize he’s head over heels for you, right?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Angel told Jesse, not allowing herself to believe such a crazy idea.

  “Seriously?” Jesse stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. “I - a Mated male and one of Caleb’s good friends - put my hand on your shoulder, and he gave me the ‘get your hand off her if you want to keep it attached to your arm’ look. He’s got it bad.”

  “Really?” Angel asked, still not completely convinced.

  “Really,” Jesse insisted. “So if you don’t feel the same way, you should probably let him know. It might be easier on both of you.”

  “I, uh, don’t really know how I feel yet,” Angel fibbed.

  She knew exactly how she felt - she loved Caleb more than she would ever love another man - but she was still afraid of what would happen if he found out her secret.

  “Best work on that,” Jesse suggested, stepping out of her way.

  They fell silent for a few moments, and Angel couldn’t help starting to overthink her situation with Caleb. It wasn’t anything new, and it threatened to give her a headache. Wanting to distract herself, and grateful for a mostly independent third party, she decided to ask Jesse a few questions she’d collected about packs.

  “What’s the difference between pack bonds and Mate bonds? I’ve read books about werewolves, and none of them goes into any real detail, but they definitely seem important.”

  Jesse nodded. “They are important, which is part of the reason why we don’t really make the exact details publicly available.”

  “Someone could use them against you?”

  “Exactly. But I don’t think you would.”

  Angel shook her head. “Of course not.”

  “Good. Well, let’s start with pack bonds. They’re hierarchical in nature - starting from the bottom with the most submissive member of the pack, and going all the way up to the Alpha. Pack bonds can be formed in one of two ways. The first way is when the Alpha or their Mate claims an individual as part of their pack with a bite. The second way is when an existing pack member claims a Mate, which includes them in the pack bonds automatically.”

  “What happens when the mate already belongs to a pack?”

  “Traditionally, the mated pair will belong to the male’s pack, but there’s plenty of times where they choose to belong to the female’s pack instead. That does require a little cooperation from both Alphas, but it’s usually just a formality.”

  “OK, that’s pretty straightforward. What about Mate bonds?”

  “Mate bonds are a little different. Obviously, anyone can form a Mate bond, but it does require acceptance from both parties. Mate bonds are also balanced - neither partner has more power than the other.”

  “That’s how an Alpha’s Mate is able to create pack bonds, then, right?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Huh. That’s neat. I mean, werewolves have always seemed so decidedly patriarchal to me, I guess I expected Mate bonds to still favor the male.”

  “You’re not wrong. Up until a few decades ago, the only way a female could be recognized as dominant was through her mate. But most packs, especially the ones in North America, are getting better at recognizing their female pack mates who are dominant on their own.”

  “That’s great. Thanks for explaining all that to me. And, uh, thanks for your advice about Caleb.”

  Jesse nodded and gave her a small smile. “No problem.”

  They finished setting up the ward, did one last perimeter sweep, then headed back inside. It was mid-morning, and Caleb and Jonathan were still in one of the conference rooms, so they tracked down Matt, giving him one of the marble beacons. He scowled at the little stone but stuck it in his pocket anyway, then headed off to check something vague. Angel figured he just didn’t want to be around her, which she was okay with; she didn’t really like being around him either.

  Jesse led her on a tour around the hotel, showing her the various conference rooms and dining halls they would be using throughout the week. They ended the tour at the main dining hall, just as the hotel staff were starting to set up the lunch buffet. Everything smelled delicious, and she and Jesse were able to snag a couple plates of food early, since they were going to be Jonathan’s personal security for lunch and the first half of the afternoon. Lunchtime came, and the dining hall filled quickly with wolves who had been attending the morning talks. Jonathan grabbed a plate, then sat at the head table, with Angel and Jesse at his back. They updated him quickly on the ward and gave him the beacon.

  “If anything triggers the ward,” Angel explained, “the beacon will glow brightly and beep until you pick it up.”

  “Excellent,” Jonathan told her, “thank you very much.”

  They spent the rest of lunch standing behind him, watching the room for anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully, no vampires jumped out from under the tables, which made sense since it was the middle of the day. After everyone had eaten, they moved into one of the smaller conference rooms. Angel nearly fell asleep, having to stand still and listen to people ramble on and on. When three o’clock rolled around, she was immensely grateful for a break. Caleb was waiting for her outside of the conference room, and she couldn’t help smiling when she saw him.

  “Hey,” he greeted her. “How’s it going?”

  “Peachy,” Angel replied, coming to stand before him. “I set up the ward this morning, and we haven
’t had any troubles. How about you?”

  “Not bad,” he told her. He pulled her out of the way of a bunch of wolves who didn’t seem inclined to alter their path enough to avoid her. He cast them a nasty look. “We’ve got about twenty minutes before Jonathan needs us. Wanna go grab a snack?”

  “Sure,” she said, allowing him to take her hand and lead her through the crowd.

  It felt strange to be holding his hand, but in a good way. She barely even noticed the weird looks they were getting from some of the wolves they passed. Caleb led her to the hotel restaurant, where only a few others were grabbing a mid-afternoon meal. They had a near-constant buffet set up for the conference, so Caleb just grabbed a plate, loaded it up with sandwiches, and sat down at one of the tables in the back. Angel grabbed them some drinks and joined him.

  “So what’s the Autumn Ball?” Caleb asked after inhaling his first sandwich.

  “Ugh,” Angel groaned.

  Caleb laughed at her. “It can’t be that bad,” he insisted.

  “It’s a ball,” Angel said, stressing the word “ball.” “Fancy clothes, tiny little hors d'oeuvres, and no hard liquor - it’s awful. My mother seems to think I’m gonna be like friggin’ Cinderella, find Prince Charming, and live happily ever after in high society.”

  “I’m having a hard time picturing you in a fancy dress,” Caleb admitted, looking her up and down.

  “It’s painful, trust me,” Angel told him, “especially the frilly things my mother always picks out for me.”

  “What happened at your mom’s Thanksgiving luncheon?”

  Angel groaned again. “You know, you could at least pretend you weren’t eavesdropping,” she told him.

  “Sorry,” Caleb apologized, “wolf hearing - it’s kinda hard not to.”

  “Right,” Angel nodded, and when it didn’t seem like she was going to answer the question, Caleb gave her a go on gesture. “OK, fine, the luncheon. My mother was trying to play matchmaker again, so she sat me at a table with a bunch of single guys. Ignoring the fact that none of them were even remotely my type; all they were interested in was what happened with William. One of them even invited me to the ball, just because he wanted to see how William would react when he saw me.”

  “That sucks,” Caleb summarized, and she agreed wholeheartedly. “It seems like your mom just wants you to be happy, though. It’s nice, in an overbearing kind of way.”

  “She wants me to be happy, so long as it fits into her idea of how things should be,” Angel corrected him. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom, but she needs to realize I’m not anything like her, and what she thinks will make me happy and what actually makes me happy are two very different things.”

  “I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually,” Caleb assured her, reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. He smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze.

  “Thanks,” Angel replied, smiling back.

  The rest of the afternoon passed without incident; Angel and Caleb were assigned to guard Jonathan, which basically meant standing behind him while he or another wolf talked a lot. By the time they were done for the day, Angel was itching to go for a run. They entered their hotel room, and Angel started digging through her duffel bag.

  “What are you looking for?” Caleb asked

  “Running clothes,” Angel replied, pulling out her tights, yoga top, and sneakers. “I need to get some fresh air.”

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Angel turned to look at him curiously. “You run?” she asked.

  “I’m a wolf,” he answered snarkily.

  “I meant on two legs,” Angel replied. “I doubt the locals would appreciate a giant wolf running down the street.”

  “Good point,” he admitted, “and I really should go talk to some of the other Alphas while I’ve got the time. You going to come downstairs for dinner?”

  “I’ll probably just order room service,” Angel replied, starting to pull off her clothes.

  “Alright,” Caleb said, coming to stand in front of her, “I’ll see you later, then.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Have a good run.”

  “Thanks,” Angel replied.

  Caleb was gone for a few minutes before Angel realized she was standing half-dressed in the middle of the room, staring at the door and grinning like a fool. Shaking herself, she finished pulling on her running clothes, tucked the hotel key card into the pocket on the back of her shirt, and headed out.

  Chapter 22

  Caleb almost turned around and went back to the room at least three times before he reached the elevator. He wanted to spend every free second with Angel, but he was worried about crowding her and scaring her away again. So, as much as he wanted to go back to their hotel room, strip her naked, and spend the rest of the evening fucking her until she couldn’t walk straight, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. The shiny metal doors closed slowly, and with a jolt the elevator began to descend. Caleb reached the lobby and took a look around. He saw several Alphas he should probably talk to while they were here, but he decided he needed some time to himself before he dove back into work. He headed to the bar, got a beer, and parked himself in a booth near the back, where he was less likely to be disturbed.

  He wasn’t sure if having sex with Angel had made him more or less confused about his feelings towards her. Before, there’d always been this nagging doubt in his mind that his obsession with her was only because she’d essentially turned him down. Caleb could admit to himself that he had a bit of an ego - he was an Alpha male, after all - and sometimes that ego made him do stupid things. But if that had been the case, he would have slept with her once, rocked her world, and felt perfectly fine just walking away. At this point, though, Caleb didn’t want to walk away. Angel suited him so damn well - both inside and outside the bedroom. She was strong in both body and mind, she protected those she cared for, even to the point of risking her own life, and she was a demon in the sack. Caleb hadn’t enjoyed himself so much with a woman ever before, and he had no doubt in his mind she felt the same way.

  The question, then, was why he couldn’t figure out if she was his Mate or not. He’d never had a Mate before, but from what he’d heard from others, when a wolf met his or her Mate, there wasn’t any uncertainty. Hell, he’d heard of wolves that had met and Mated without even knowing each other’s names. Before he’d left for the conference, Caleb had spoken to Sara about his confusion. Females seemed to discuss these kinds of things a little more freely than males, so he’d been hoping she might have something helpful to tell him.

  “I knew the first time I met Wyatt, he was my Mate,” Sara had told him. “But I know lots of people who were friends or acquaintances with someone for months, or even years, before they realized they were their Mate. I think sometimes one or both people aren’t quite ready to be Mated yet, which is why it sometimes takes a while for people to figure it out.”

  Sara’s words had reassured him a little, making him think maybe, eventually something would just click and he’d know for sure whether Angel was his Mate or not. But she was a witch - did they even believe in soul mates? And if they did, could they sense it as easily as wolves could? Would Angel even want to be his Mate? He took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to settle his thoughts. He was getting ahead of himself. Angel had spent the last few months trying in vain to avoid him, for reasons he still didn’t know. If she’d been so hesitant just to get involved with him, bringing up the idea that she might be his Mate would certainly send her running in the opposite direction. He had to tread carefully, lest he lose her for good.

  “You look like a man deep in thought,” Jesse told him, sliding into the seat across from him.

  “Mmmhmm,” Caleb grunted, still caught up in his thoughts.

  “I’m guessing it has something to do with your witch?” Jesse asked.

  “Mmmhmm.”

  “She’s pretty cool, actually,” Jesse said, “not nearly as stuck up as s
ome other witches I’ve met. Do you think she really knows how to use those swords?”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Caleb said proudly.

  “You got it bad, Caleb,” Jesse informed him.

  Caleb shrugged, deciding he’d rather not share his internal struggle with the other wolf. Unfortunately for him, Jesse was very perceptive.

  “You worried ‘cause she’s not a wolf?” Jesse asked.

  “Not at all,” Caleb replied - and he meant it. He didn’t care if he Mated a witch or a wolf, or even a human for that matter. He knew wolf-witch pairings were almost non-existent, but he figured that was likely because wolves and witches didn’t really socialize that well, or that often. There were some wolves who believed in keeping bloodlines “pure” - refusing to mate outside of their species, but Caleb had no such reservations. A soul mate was a precious thing, and throwing them aside because they weren’t born a wolf was something Caleb would never do.

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “I’m not sure she’s my Mate,” Caleb admitted.

  Jesse scoffed and rolled his eyes. “She is,” he told Caleb.

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “The way you look at her when you think no one’s looking,” Jesse explained, “and how much you smile when you’re with her. Oh, and the way you nearly ripped off my arm for touching her this morning. I’d hate to see what you’d do to an unfriendly, unmated male who dared touch her.”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether there was anything left of the guy after Angel was done with him.”

  Jesse nodded thoughtfully. “Good point,” he said, raising his beer for a toast. “To women - can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.”