Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound 1)

When I came out of the ladies’ room, Sam scooped up several plastic bags from the checkout counter full of pop, chips, and candy. “Eat up, Savy. You’re going to need to keep up with us.” She tossed me a bag of potato chips and a Coke, which I nearly fumbled as I followed her out of the store.

“Right, because sugar and salt are what your body needs before a run,” I replied. This was a pretty sketchy way to carb-load, and it raised a lot of questions. Could werewolves eat carbs? Jaxson had eaten normally at Eclipse, but wolves in the wild ate mostly protein…God, I hoped Jaxson didn’t wolf out and eat deer and rabbits. Live.

That train of thinking was derailed as I crossed the lot, replaced by the hot-and-sexy express.

I couldn’t help it, but my eyes were drawn to Jaxson like a moth to flame. He had some maps spread out on the hood of one of the Jeeps and was going over details with the five new members of our team. Their eyes were locked on him just as firmly as mine were. Jaxson had a presence that absolutely commanded attention.

I took a deep breath. His ass commanded my attention. Jaxson’s blue jeans and plaid shirt had my mind playing out all kinds of fantasies. Seeing him standing there, I suddenly felt slightly less embarrassed about what had happened in the woods. How was a girl supposed to control herself around a pair of buns like those?

He shot me a look as I approached. After a moment of butterflies, I remembered that these shifters would be reading my scents the moment I was near.

I blushed and tried to remind myself of how terrifying he’d been the night before in his wolf form, his fangs dripping with another man’s blood.

That did the job.

Jaxson gestured to the five gathered shifters. “Savannah, this is Tony and several of our Wisconsin operatives.”

I nodded. “Hi. Nice to meet you guys.”

Only Tony acknowledged my presence. The others glared. If it hadn’t been clear before, I was certain they knew I was a LaSalle—I could practically smell their revulsion. It didn’t bother me. I was used to being the odd one out. As long as they played nice and didn’t try to kill me, we’d be cool.

Jaxson glanced in my direction, and I was certain he could read my mind, or at least everyone else’s.

“Savannah is the reason we know anything about these fucking rogue wolves.” Jaxson’s voice vibrated with power, and the Wisconsin shifters looked down and focused intently on the map.

I found myself inexplicably looking at my shoes.

Overall, it was one hell of an improvement from my encounter with Billy. He’d looked like he’d been ready to gut me. Thank God that asshole had stayed home.

Jaxson jabbed his finger on the map. “This is the area around the Jasper Point lighthouse, and this is the cabin Savannah saw in her vision. As soon as we pull along the road here, we’ll break into three teams and converge from the north, west, and south. They know we’re coming, so we’ll go in eyes wide and ready to kill. Keep in mind that we’re not up against normal wolves. They’ve got some kind of enchantments or enhancements, so chances are they’ll be faster and stronger than us. And they may have demons under their control. That means you’ll have to be smarter.”

Jaxson divided the group into hunters and shooters, and then we loaded back up in the vehicles and continued north.

Ten minutes later, we turned onto a dirt road that wound through a forest. We continued for another ten minutes before the cars ahead stopped along the shoulder.

Go time.

I stepped out and stretched my aching leg muscles. My stomach growled, and immediately, nine pairs of eyes locked on me. Holy werewolf hearing.

Jaxson reached into the car and handed me a protein bar, which I took reluctantly and scarfed down. At least it was better than the junk Sam had bought.

Then he unzipped a black bag in the bed and pulled out a bulletproof vest for me.

Yeah. Shit was getting serious.

I slipped my arms through, and Jaxson deftly adjusted the straps. His fingers brushed against my side, and I could smell the deep musk of his body. “Okay fit?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without my voice shaking. Tightness constricted my chest, but not from the vest.

Jaxson, Tony, and one of the other shifters slipped into vests of their own.

“Y

ou can heal, right?” I whispered, “your scratches went away in the alley…”

He smiled, warm and confident. “Yes, but it helps to have fewer holes in you.”

When his eyes flickered gold, an unreasonable sense of comfort and security washed over me. At least Jaxson was going to be by my side.