Page 14 of Kin of the Wolf (Magnetic Magic #3)

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As I leaped to my feet, pummeled by lupine enemies as well as magical beams that tracked me no matter where I went, a great roar came from further up the driveway.

That was Duncan. Duncan as the bipedfuris?

Through the trees and ferns, I couldn’t spot him. All I could see were wolves trying to surround me and end my life.

I snapped left and right to keep them back and put my rump against a tree so they couldn’t come in from behind. Only the need to avoid the beams themselves kept my cousins from charging me as one unit and getting through my defenses.

Only that and Duncan. In his powerful two-legged form, he sprang into the fray, not caring a whit about the beams.

He picked up one of the wolves with his clawed hands, hefted him over his head, and hurled our enemy across the driveway and at a tree. No, into a tree. I gaped as one of my cousins ended up dangling in the branches ten feet up.

The dark-gray wolf that was Augustus glanced at Duncan with shock and fear in his eyes. That didn’t keep Augustus from lunging for me once more, determined to take me out before he lost the support of his allies.

Having no trouble reading his intent, I saw the attack coming. When he charged toward my head, I dropped low and lunged at him. My jaws clamped around his forelimb, crunching into bone.

He yelped and tried to pull away. I would have ground his bone to dust, but his gyrations pulled my head toward one of the beams. With purple flashing in my eyes, I released Augustus and dropped low. The beam skimmed past, searing my ear.

Another thud and yelp sounded, Duncan hurling another foe away. After that, he charged at one of the men—Orazio.

I rolled to my feet, ready for my cousin to attack again, but the beams vanished. Augustus glanced about, as if startled and betrayed by their disappearance.

I snarled, ready to charge him. He looked at me, at Duncan, and then backed away.

The yell of a man came next—a cry from Orazio. Something crunched. The magical controller he’d been holding. I sensed the power of the devices all around me diminishing.

I stepped into the driveway, expecting another attack, but my foes were backing away. With Orazio and the beams dealt with, Duncan sprang close, startling me. Fear swept through me as I remembered that he’d turned into an enemy at the potion factory. But he landed beside me, not in front of me, and he threw his head back and roared.

A tingle of foreign magic turned the air electric around us and made my hackles rise. Was it another security device that would strike us?

Duncan paused, head cocked, as if listening.

I snarled a warning, spotting another of my cousins in human form. Standing to the side of the driveway, he had a rifle in his hand, the weapon pointed at us. He wavered back and forth with his aim, as if he couldn’t decide if he should shoot Duncan or me .

Fury filled me. This had gone far beyond a duel, one-on-one or otherwise. Augustus had spoken of honor, but these bastards had none.

My armed cousin settled on Duncan, aiming at his muscled torso. Fueled by contempt and fury, I charged into the brush, running so fast that it surprised my cousin. His finger jerked as he pulled the trigger, and the bullet went wide. It left a silver streak in the air before it thudded into a distant tree.

I’d seen those bullets before. In the hands of enemies of the pack. How had my cousin gotten such projectiles?

Hardly caring, I sank my teeth into his thigh, biting deep. He screamed and slammed the rifle into my back.

Shrugging off the blow, I released my bite to whip my head around and catch the barrel of the weapon. The cold metal tasted foul in my mouth. I crunched down, tore it from his grip, and flung it into the woods.

My cousin cursed and crouched, arms spread, fingers curled. He appeared to be on the verge of shifting into wolf form, but he grabbed his wounded thigh and glanced at the driveway. Duncan hadn’t moved, but he roared again, arms spread and muscles taut, making him look impressive. And dangerous. But his furred face contorted, as if he battled an inner demon. Or a magical call?

My cousin looked at me. What he saw on my face, I didn’t know, but he didn’t shift forms, not with me so close that I could have taken advantage during the seconds he would be vulnerable. I could have killed him.

He turned and ran, limping heavily on his wounded leg.

When I looked around for more foes, I was surprised to find Duncan, still in the bipedfuris form, running down the driveway toward the road. There was no enemy chasing him, and he didn’t tear off at top speed out of fear. He loped away, as if called to start a journey.

Duncan looked back, his eyes aggrieved when they met mine, but he didn’t slow down. He turned onto the road and headed north.

For reasons that didn’t fully register to my wolf brain, he was leaving me alone.

Fortunately, further enemies did not present themselves. Augustus and the others were slinking off into the woods.

Seething, I was tempted to go after him, the savagery in my blood wanting to continue the battle, to utterly defeat he who’d challenged me. He who’d challenged me ignobly and cheated instead of allowing a fair fight.

But my ally—the only ally around who’d jumped in to help—had disappeared, summoned by magic that superseded the power of the wolf. The memory of the magic I’d noticed a minute before lingered, though I could no longer sense it. Soon, I could no longer sense the bipedfuris either.

Reluctantly, I let my cousins leave without giving chase. If I went after them and they realized I was alone, they would turn on me again. I might yet know defeat this night.

As I stood in the driveway, thoughts whirling, the wolf magic faded. I sank back onto my haunches as the change came. When I was once again in my human form, the night air cold against my bare skin, I rose and walked toward the cabin.

Blood dripped from the fang wounds in my shoulder, and the beams had left burn marks on my sides. The injuries throbbed as I walked. I hoped the bite, in particular, would heal quickly. That was the arm I used to clean apartments.

Rosaria had disappeared, but my mother remained on the porch.

Annoyed, I clenched my jaw as I gathered my clothes and picked up Duncan’s as well. Since Mom was old and ill, I wouldn’t have expected her to help in a fight, but she could have done something when she’d witnessed the treachery. Yelled at my cousins to knock it off anyway. Or called Lorenzo or someone else to break up the fight—or turn off those damn magical devices.

But she’d only watched. Waiting to see if I passed the test? Something told me that was it. She’d spoken of the arbiter and driving Augustus out of the pack if he deserved it, but she wanted me to handle my problems on my own.

“Thanks for the help,” I couldn’t keep from saying sarcastically.

“What would you wish me to have done? The victory was yours to earn. If you seek to have a place of respect in the pack again, you should defeat him. It is what would convince others that you have the right to be here. And it is what you need, as well, to be sure of yourself and whether you deserve a place in the pack after your long absence.”

“I’m forty-five, Mom. I don’t need a damn coming-of-age test.”

She looked off into the woods in the direction Duncan had gone. “He can become the bipedfuris.”

Was that… reverence in her tone?

“That is what I sensed all along,” she mused. “I didn’t quite realize it. I’ve not encountered another werewolf with the power to become a two-legs, not in my entire life.” She cocked her head. “What called him away?”

“It’s a long story.”

She looked at me. “You knew he could change into that form?”

“I haven’t known for long, but yes.”

“He would be an even more suitable mate. Perhaps your offspring would also have that ability.”

I stared at her. I was naked, tired, and battered, with blood running down my arm, and all she cared about was my offspring?

Maybe she guessed my thoughts. “Do you want me to call back Rosaria?”

“To opine on Duncan’s suitability as a mate? ”

“She got the gist of that when we came across you in the woods.”

My cheeks heated, and I glowered at her. Because they’d come across us in the woods, Duncan and I hadn’t done anything to indicate suitability or anything else.

“To tend your wound,” Mom said, waving at my shoulder. “Come inside, if you like. I’ll get you something to drink and eat if you’re hungry.”

“I’m fine.” I laid the medallion on the porch railing for her. “I’ll wait in my truck for Duncan to come back.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I have dark chocolate with crunchy cacao nibs.”

That was the kind I’d given to the werewolf boy—to Duncan’s clone brother. I wondered if the kid had liked it or had been disappointed it wasn’t sweeter. I also wondered if Duncan would see his clone again tonight. The potion factory was the only place I could imagine him being called to.

“I’ve got my own.” I waved a curt goodnight and walked stiffly to my truck.

Maybe Mom had intended the chocolate as a peace offering, but I was still too disgruntled to accept it.

“You fought well, my daughter,” she called softly after me. “Were he not a deceitful coyote instead of a true wolf, you would have won.”

“Damn straight.” I tried to unknot my shoulders and set aside my dour mood.

“I worry for Lorenzo when Augustus decides to make his move and turns that deceit on him.” Her words were soft, more for herself and the night than for me. “I worry for the future of the pack unless something changes.”

Unless I did something? The weight of the family’s future settled on my shoulders, more burdensome than the bite wound.