Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1)

Savannah

I took a swig of Old Style, hoping the beer would relax me. Between our freak heat-filled encounter along the shore and the prospect of scrying again, I was on edge.

After our jaunt at Avery’s Point, things had been pretty awkward, and we’d barely spoken a word on the drive back. Jaxson hadn’t wanted to return to Eclipse, probably because he was afraid I’d make another scene, or maybe he was ashamed of what had just transpired between us. Probably both. I was just an unruly LaSalle, after all.

Ultimately, we needed somewhere private to scry, so we’d headed to The Boiler, a homely little corner bar in the southern part of Dockside. Jaxson had led me straight to a private room in the back like he owned the place. Maybe he did. Either way, no one asked a single question, and no one bothered us other than to drop off our drinks.

“Ready to give it another go?” Jaxson asked, nodding to the flask of silver and red liquid that I’d placed on the table between us.

I pushed the noxious scrying potion toward him. “Maybe you want to do it this time?”

He didn’t touch the flask. “I’m a wolf. Your blood in that potion attunes it exclusively to you, but even if it didn’t, our kind doesn’t have the innate magic necessary to control the effects. Moreover, scrying is forbidden.”

I crossed my arms and leaned back in the booth. “Forbidden? Or simply illegal and dangerous, which you neglected to tell me when you first asked.”

Jaxson flinched slightly, but he kept his eyes trained on me. “Forbidden. Dabbling in the occult is taboo in our pack. Knowing the future, far-seeing, they’re the domains of the moon-mother and not meant for mortals. She watches over us, and only she sees the future.”

I leaned forward. “But you went to a seer.”

“I was desperate. I needed answers.”

I wondered how that went over with the rest of his pack. “What did she tell you about our adversaries? About me?”

“My prophecy is my own, just as yours belongs to you.”

I scowled. “But you heard part of mine.”

“Not the prophecy, just the fortune teller’s interpretation of the cards. That’s different.”

I chewed on my lip and dug my nails into my palm to keep my frustration from boiling over. He was chintzier with information than Alma was with sweets. “Can’t you tell me anything?”

Jaxson released a low, exasperated rumble from his throat, then leaned toward me. “The seer helped me find you and told me to protect you. She said you would lead me to answers, and that if anything happens to you, it’ll mean ruin for my pack.”

Of course—that was why he was so interested in me. The wellbeing of his pack. And to think I’d begun to believe he saw something in me.

I scowled and hoped he could smell my annoyance. “Fine, let’s do this. By which I mean I’ll do it, seeing as you can’t or won’t.”

My palms were wet from the condensation on the beer bottle, so I rubbed them on my jeans and uncorked the flask. “Bottoms up.”

I screwed up my face as the bitter liquid burned my throat, making me feel slightly nauseated, and then I choked as I started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Jaxson asked, his eyes narrowing in on me like lasers.

“Honestly? I was thinking of throwing up on you. This tastes so bad.”

He inclined his head, and a muscle in his jaw twitched. It was so easy to ruffle his fur. “Focus, Savannah. This is important.” His voice was sharp and impatient.

I took a breath and closed my eyes, concentrating on the picture of the she-wolf I’d drawn. The potion began working its way through me like the tingle of a low-voltage current. My arms became leaden, and my fingers felt like they were merging with the wood. Black shadows and forms swirled in the darkness, drawing me in.

“Tell me what you see.” Jaxson’s voice was far off, like a dream.

I tried to speak, but the darkness tugged me in all directions and muddled my mind. I clenched my eyes shut as hard as I could and imagined the face of the bitch from Belmont. Her rage. Her hatred.

The shadows behind my closed eyes began circling me like wolves. Hungry. Impatient. The hair on my neck rose, and I had the distinct sensation of being watched by unseen eyes.

“Savannah. Is it working?”

“Something’s different. I can’t…it’s not right. Very not right. I’m not alone…”

Jaxson’s hand pressed against my back, and warmth poured through me, awakening a power deep within. He spoke in honey tones. “You’re not alone. I’m here. Concentrate on the woman.”

His signature washed over my body, and I wanted to drink it in. It filled my senses, and suddenly, despite the darkness around me, I felt like I was running through a cold and snowy forest with crisp air on my face. The stalking shadows in my mind peeled away and fled through the darkness. Light appeared. Suddenly, the forest wasn’t just the scent of Jaxson’s signature. It was there, bathed in summer sunlight, all around me.

I was moving through the woods, following the woman.

My pulse began to slow. “I see her.”

“Tell me everything.”

The vision was blurry, and I could only catch snippets of the images.

“She’s entered a house, no, a cabin in the woods. It’s got wooden walls, and it’s really run-down. She’s messing with something. I can’t make it out—like red cables.”

What the hell were those?

“Describe every detail. Is there a demon summoning circle?”

“I can’t see, she’s moving around the cabin. There’s another person, but I can’t identify them. Wait, she’s picked something up and is heading outside. There’s lots of trees. Tall pines, but I can see blue. It’s a lake! She’s walking to a lake.”

“What’s she carrying?”

I didn’t have the right angle to see clearly. “A box of vials or bottles. Maybe potions? Okay, she’s down at the lakeshore. It’s all white limestone cobbles. There’s a boat with someone in it. She’s taking the box to a man in the boat!”

My heart pounded against my chest.

Jaxson’s voice was low and controlled. “Savannah, look for any landmarks. Could this be her home or a base of operations?”

I tried to look around, but I could barely control my vantage point, and my vision swirled like I was on a carousel. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Something caught my eyes, and I tried to focus. “There’s a lighthouse nearby.”

“Describe it, quick, before the vision ends.”

“It’s on a promontory or spit. I think it’s abandoned—the light might be broken. It’s tall, smooth, cylindrical…a white tower with a rusted red roof. There’s a fence around the top.”

“Excellent.” Jaxson pressed his hand on the small of my back and gently squeezed, and elation shot through me. “Do you see who she’s handed the box off to?

I pivoted my view, and the world spun. I felt myself sliding off my chair, but Jaxson’s hands caught me and held me upright. The spinning stopped, and finally, I was able to get a fix on the boat.

My attacker waded into the lake, picking her way carefully over the slippery, greenish, algae-covered stones. When she reached the edge of the waiting boat, she lifted the box up. I held my breath and strained my mind. I needed to see who was there.

A man reached down and took the box. “I see him, but…”

My stomach dropped, and horror trickled through me.

“But what? Tell me, Savannah.”

The man’s face was a black hole. Swirling darkness leaked around from the edges of his body, distorting the air like grease over water. Confusion and panic tore through me as my mind tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

“His face is a blank. It’s like he’s got no face. Just darkness.”

“He has an anti-scrying charm. Try to concentrate, try to break through. You can do this.” Jaxson’s breath was soft on my neck and sent power vibrating through my body. Every word of his was confident, cloaked in certainty. He believed in me without question.

I strained as hard as I could, imaging what my magic had felt like, trying to call the sensation forth, to force my way through the darkness. Suddenly, the man snapped his head up and looked directly at me with that horrifying, blurred-out face.

“Holy shit, he sees me!”

“Not possible,” Jaxson said.

Adrenaline surged into my veins, and my heart hammered against my chest.

The faceless man slowly tilted his head, and words formed in my mind: No peeking, Savannah.

Then there was only pain.