Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1)

Savannah

Madison pushed open the back door to the lab. Late afternoon light illuminated a yard fronting woods. Freedom.

“Come on!” I cried, and we slipped outside and sprinted toward the trees. We made it about ten paces before alarms blared inside the building. Shouts erupted from the lab, and all three of us turned and tore into the woods.

We sprinted for safety, leaping over bushes and underbrush. I tried not to dwell on the fact that I was moving faster and more nimbly than seemed possible, and I wasn’t wearing my speed boots. That was a future me problem, and right now, we were racing for our lives.

I heard trickling water nearby. A stream.

Howls cut through the forest behind and beside us, and two blurs flashed through the trees. Panic and fear colored my thoughts. How could we outrun them?

You can’t.

I looked at Sam and the witch girl. It was my fault they were in this mess, Sam because she’d been assigned to protect my ass, and Madison simply because she looked like me. I had to make this right. If I could lead the wolves away, these two might survive this. I could tell from Sam’s strained movements that the magic inhibitor antidote she’d taken hadn’t yet kicked in. Sam was a fighter, but there was no way she’d have the strength to ward off these jacked-up shifters.

The trickle of water was louder now.

“This way.” I grabbed Madison’s hand, and we turned right, sliding down an embankment. At the bottom was a small creek, fifteen feet across.

“You two go,” I whispered, pushing Madison into the water. “I’m going to lead them away.”

She jerked to a stop. “No!”

“Go! They’re after my blood. This is your one shot at getting out of here alive.” I met Sam’s eyes. “Do this for me, please. You’re strong enough to get her out. Tell Jaxson what you know. Stop Billy.”

Sam hesitated, then grabbed Madison’s arm and waded across. She paused at the other side of the stream and nodded.

I smeared some of my sticky blood on the leaves, then took off up the stream bank, brushing against trees and making as much noise as possible. My bare feet stung as I clambered over rocks, but my resolve dulled the pain.

Once I was certain I’d put enough distance between us, I paused, chest heaving. Two howls echoed from the right, and then a crash in the forest. Close.

They’d be on me in seconds. I scanned the bank for a place to hide, but there was nowhere that they wouldn’t sniff me out. My gaze landed on the stream.

Adrenaline coursed through me, and I waded into the dark water, tripping over the rocky bottom. I scrambled to a deep bend underneath some overhanging brush, took a few full breaths, and slipped under the surface just as a wolf bounded out of the trees.

The shock of the cold water made my muscles ache, but I tried to simply imagine it as my magic flowing through my body. The water was only a few feet deep, so I laid flat and held on to a large root protruding from the bank. Water flooded my nose, and my hair floated around me.

Between the murky water and the setting sun, I could just barely make out the surface. My lungs began to burn, and I fought the urge to swallow, but the burning only grew.

Just a little longer.

My fingers dug into the rocks and roots, and dizziness drifted over me. I’d always imagined I’d die in a blaze like my parents, but considering the circumstances, drowning didn’t seem so bad.

A dark shape loomed overhead. A cloud, maybe. I closed my eyes. Something nudged me and then gripped my shoulder, pulling me up. Sharp but not painful.

My head broke the surface, and I launched into a coughing fit. A rock shifted underfoot, and I slipped, but a massive wolf ducked his head under my arm. My heart stuttered, and then I recognized the silver-gray fur.

Jaxson.

My shoulders slumped with relief, and tears streamed from my eyes. The wolf looked back at me with honey eyes, and I somehow knew what he wanted. I ran my hands through his fur and held tight as he dragged me from the stream.

I collapsed on the bank, and my cheek pressed into the mud as my lungs drew in haggard breaths. Jaxson nudged me with his face, and my chest tightened.

Several snarls sounded around us, but I was too exhausted to move or care. My strength from earlier had vanished, washed away in the cold water.

Jaxson bounded over me and collided with a black wolf who stepped out of the trees. They rolled several feet, and then Jaxson pinned the smaller wolf and tore out its throat, blood spilling onto the shore.

Just then, a white wolf sprang from the forest and landed on Jaxson’s back, sinking its teeth into his side. Fear arced through me. Jaxson let out a heart-stopping growl and latched onto the attacker’s haunch, dragging him off. The wolf yipped, and then Jaxson’s jaws sank into its neck and twisted. With a snap, the wolf collapsed, lifeless.

I blinked in horror.

I spun, looking for new assailants, but the bank was quiet apart from the gentle burbling of the stream. Heat pulsed over my skin, and I shivered and looked up.

My breath hitched as Jaxson stepped toward me, still in wolf form. Blood stained his back, and worry filled my chest, along with that aching tightness that always arose when he was near. He paused only a foot away. My chest heaved, unable to get enough air, and the itching under my nails grew again. He tilted his head, scrutinizing me with impossible golden eyes.

Jaxson tilted his head and howled, and shivers raced down my spine. The world spun as howls echoed in the distance. Some part of me knew that they were friendly howls.

Jaxson’s wolf looked at me with an expression that seemed to be telling me, Rest. You are safe.

It was like a compulsion. The last of my strength drained from me, and I slumped back onto the bank, exhaustion weighing me down. The fading light filtered through the trees, and I closed my eyes.