Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1)

Savannah

I broke into a run after him, grimacing at my sore muscles and scratched arms. It was a short distance to the cabin, but when I arrived, I didn’t see Jaxson or the others.

The hairs on my neck prickled, and my heart thundered.

The structure was a simple, single-roomed building with a couple of grimy windows and a cracked front door.

Where was everyone?

As if in answer to my question, a pack of blood-covered wolves filtered out of the forest. Light swirled around two of them, and they shifted back into human form, fully clothed. Sam and a few others were still missing. Perhaps they were still catching up.

“What happened?” Jaxson growled, stepping into view from the trees.

“I don’t know,” one of the Wisconsin shifter’s said. “She was with us, and then the next minute, she was gone.”

“Fuck!” Jaxson scrubbed a hand through his hair. His body rippled with tension and anger.

Another wolf stepped out of the forest and rose on its hind legs. It bones popped and cracked, and its hair receded, until there was just a naked woman standing there, claws still out. Regina.

She fixed Jaxson with a penetrating gaze. “Sam was scouting ahead and was jumped. We heard her howl and she didn’t respond. We tracked them—two males—to the beach and saw a boat heading north. They’ve got her.”

I’d never witnessed a shift back into human form before, but the shock of it was instantly pushed from my mind by Regina’s words. They’ve got her?

“Wait a sec. Do you mean Sam?” I asked.

Regina looked at me, anger and blame in her eyes. “The bastards took her.”

The weight of that hit me, and the world spun.

Jaxson took the cabin stairs two at a time and ripped the door off its hinges. A few of the others followed, and I heard his curses from inside.

I rubbed my temples, and my heart sank. This was my fault. Sam had been taken because of me. She was the only one who’d shown me any kindness, even if she was still upset at me for wolfsbaning her. If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself.

I had to find her.

The others disappeared into the forest, so I stepped inside the cabin.

“—bring him to the hospital.” Jaxson was crouched next to a low coffee table. Tony and two shifters were huddled around, blocking my view, so I maneuvered past them and froze. I’d seen snippets of this room in my scrying vision, but I wasn’t prepared for the horror of the scene.

Syringes and empty blood bags were strewn across the floor. Two limp arms dangled from the table, each bearing tubes secured with tape. The missing man. I’d seen him in my vision as well. Tony removed the IV needles from the man’s arms and lifted the body over his shoulder.

I covered my mouth as Tony carried the limp victim past me. The man was in his thirties and had purple-brown bruises where the needles had been inserted. His skin was gaunt, and his cheekbones protruded from his face. He was unconscious. Dead, maybe.

The two other shifters followed them out, and the three of them took off into the woods.

My mouth went dry as I surveyed the room. Was this what would have happened to me?

I inadvertently glanced at Jaxson. His eyes were fierce, filled with rage and concern. Was he thinking the same thing?

My gaze returned to the pile of bloody tubes. I swallowed, but my throat was sandpaper. “So they were harvesting his blood…that must have been what I saw the woman give to the faceless man, but why? What the hell were they doing here?”

“The faceless man must be a blood sorcerer,” said Jaxson. “They use blood to work dark magic. But why he would drain someone dry, I don’t know. Maybe he’s part vampire. Maybe he’s using it to summon those demons.” Jaxson’s body quaked with rage, and he crumpled a piece of paper in his hands and tossed it into the corner of the room.

I tried to keep the potato chips I’d eaten earlier down as I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and snapped photos of the room, focusing on the dark red ring of magic symbols in the middle of the floor. It had been drawn in blood. A few chips came up, but I forced them down again.

“This was the ring I saw in my vision,” I told Jaxson. “I should ask Casey what it is, now that I’ve got good photos instead of blurry smudges.”

“Do it. But if he gets back to you with any answers, don’t tell anyone where you got the information,” Jaxson muttered, his voice so low it was at the edge of my hearing.

I surveyed the wreckage. “They were expecting us. Why leave all this here for us to find? They must have been confident we wouldn’t survive the demons.”

“It was a message.” He shot me a look that chilled my blood, then headed for the door. “Let’s go.”

I finished sending Casey the images, along with the question, What the F are we looking at?

It was definitely a day for breaking out the F-word.

Rather than follow Jaxson out, I lingered for a second, then plucked the crumpled piece of paper from its resting place in the corner. Unfolding it, I found a message written in broad strokes: Have the Laurents really stooped so low they’d work with a LaSalle?

Dread weighed down on me as a new thought tore into my mind. According to Jaxson, the rogue wolves had never abducted another werewolf. Had they taken Sam to punish the pack for working with me?

I shoved the note in my pocket and hurried outside. We were so in over our heads, it was ridiculous.

Regina was speaking to Jaxson. “We’ve scouted the area. No scent of any remaining demons.”

Jaxson pointed at her and the others. “I want you all to scout out the nearest town and marina. See if you can track the rogues who escaped with Sam. Then see what you can dig up on sorcerers in the area—find out if there are any blood sorcerers milling around. I’ll make arrangements for us to stay at the motel on pack lands.”

Regina and the others nodded and took off into the woods, leaving Jaxson and me. He strode into the forest, tense with fury, and I had to speed walk to keep up with him, even with my boots.

“How are we going to get Sam back?” I asked.

“I’ll let you know when I figure that out. Don’t worry.” His voice was a low rumble that sent shivers across my skin.

Even so, my irritation flared. He was trying to cut me out. “I am going to worry about it. Her life is on me, and I’m going to help get her back. I can scry.”

Jaxson’s honey eyes narrowed on me. “No. You’ve done enough. You wound up with blood dripping from your nose the last time, and you got caught. My guess is that wherever Sam is, the sorcerer will be there, too. He might not just kick you out of the vision next time. I don’t know what’s possible, but it could be very dangerous.”

I stepped in front of him to stop him in his tracks. “You brought me along because I can scry. I saw the note, and I know Sam is in danger because of me. I’m going to do it, whether you like it or not.”

He studied me for a long moment, a deep frown set on his face. When it seemed he was about to say no, I pushed. “It’s worth a shot, Jax, and I need to help.”

I’d never called him Jax before. It just slipped out.

His expression softened a little, and he sighed. “You’re right, it’s worth a shot. We’ll get somewhere safe, and then you can try it.”

Before I could argue with his presumptuous tone, my phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket. “It’s Casey. He might have some information.”

Casey’s voice cut across the line. “What the hell are you doing? Are you at some sort of twisted murder scene? Shit, tell me that’s not your godmother’s house.”

“A blood harvesting site. I’m not actually in Belmont. We found one of the abduction victims in Wisconsin. He’s alive, but barely. What can you tell me about that circle of magic symbols in the middle of the floor?”

Casey’s voice shook with what I presumed to be fear and outrage. “Are you out of your mind, Savannah? You have no idea how much danger you’re in! I’ve been trying to figure out what attacked you at the fair, and the photos you sent confirm it—blood demons.”

“Blood demons?”

Jaxson’s body tensed at my words, though I was certain he could hear everything Casey was saying.

“Yeah. Blood demons are like vampires on steroids. If they get ahold of you, they’ll drain you dry. They’re apparently really nasty and nearly impossible to control unless you’re an insanely strong spellcaster. My guess is that some fucked-up super-powerful blood sorcerer summoned them using a little of your victim’s blood, then kept the dude around as a human juice box for the monster to feed on. That probably means the demon is nearby. You need to get out of there before it comes back.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the warning, but we already shot four to death already.”

“Wait, what?” he squeaked.

“I really appreciate all the info, Casey. I know this puts you in an awkward spot, but text me if you learn anything more. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Savannah, wai—”

I hung up and gave Jaxson a half smile. “Bad news: those things are blood demons, and the sorcerer is using people like juice boxes to keep them hydrated. Good news: we just killed four of the bastards. Five, counting the one at the fair.”

Jaxson’s expression darkened.

“What? That’s good news, right? We know more.” I cocked my head.

He grabbed my arm and silently hurried me toward the cars, but I yanked myself away. “Tell me.”

He studied my eyes, then growled. “I was just wondering, with the demons dead, what do they need the juice boxes for anymore?”

My stomach churned as we hurried back to where we’d left the vehicles. Five abducted people and five dead demons. We’d rescued one of the abductees, but that meant there were four other people who were no longer useful.

It sickened me, but I prayed that the sorcerer still needed their blood for something else.

Hopefully, our prayers wouldn’t be too little, too late.