Page 8 of Kin of the Wolf (Magnetic Magic #3)

8

“I sense your cousins again,” Duncan said.

I halted, my hand on the sliding door to his van. I’d been about to hop out to see if the convenience-store owners had come to extort, threaten, accuse, or—the least likely option—thank me. “What? Where?”

Duncan nodded toward the greenbelt. “You may want to hide the case somewhere more secure than your sock drawer.”

It had been in the heat duct under the bed, but if Augustus broke into my apartment with something like Duncan’s magic detector, he would be able to find it. It was also possible he would be able to sense its power through the floor.

“I may want to kick their asses,” I said, irritated that they were lurking around again.

“Let me know if I can help. There are three or four of them close enough for me to detect.”

I couldn’t sense any of them but trusted that Duncan could pick out magical beings from farther away. After all, he was an ancient glacier werewolf. The clone of someone who’d been born into a far more magical time, his ancestors closer to the first of our kind that had been created.

“Let me see what these guys want first.” I nodded toward the recently arrived car. The woman remained in the passenger seat, but the man had stepped out and seemed to be waiting for me. “I’d prefer not to change into a werewolf in front of them again. On the off-chance that they were too busy being scared for their lives to notice exactly what happened in their aisles.”

Duncan had already said they’d seen me in the store’s mirror, but he nodded. “Okay. While you talk to them, I might saunter over to that path to glare menacingly into the woods.”

“Put some more dog-poop bags in the holder while you’re there, will you? I noticed it was almost empty again.”

He gaped at me. “How am I supposed to menace your foes while holding bags for the gathering of canine excrement ?”

“You can’t be bothered by such things. Not when you were just bragging about the opulence of your toilet to me. The bags are in the maintenance shed, shelf to the left of the door.” I thumped him on the arm before hopping out. “Thanks for being such a useful visitor.”

“Is there any chance my ongoing support is going to get me an invitation to your bedroom?”

“There’s a chance.”

I started to smile, but the store owner stepped into view. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for whatever he had come to talk about. That the couple had known where to find me was distressing but probably not surprising since his wife had the blood of a paranormal being. A witch? Maybe a clairvoyant. They were good at finding people, especially others with paranormal tendencies.

“We don’t have any vacancies right now,” I told the man, “but I’m starting a waiting list if you want to be on it.”

He blinked a few times, looked at his wife, and then back to me. Then he took a bracing breath and met my gaze. Maybe he wasn’t here to extort me.

“I have come to thank you for perhaps saving my life and without a doubt the contents of my cash register,” he said, surprising me, “and also to ask you for a favor.”

“Uhm. You’re welcome.”

He looked at his wife again. She nodded firmly at him, though she remained in the car. Why did I imagine her prodding him in the back with a stick to direct him toward a lion’s cage? Or… a wolf’s den?

“I am Minato. That is my wife, Mayumi. We have two daughters that are in college, and everything we earn from our store, we give to them for the great expense of having a fine education in this country. We take very little for ourselves, only enough to live modestly in our home, which we can only afford because we purchased it more than thirty years ago, when we first came to America.” He held up a phone with a cracked screen and a photo of a family of four posing in front of a tidily maintained 1950s rambler of about a thousand square feet. They proliferated in the area.

I nodded, though I didn’t know where this was going. He couldn’t think I was wealthy and could give him money, could he?

“We are currently paying… taxes —” his face twisted with distaste, “—to the Snohomish Savagers.”

“Oh.” My shoulders slumped as I remembered Francisco, the bartender and owner of El Gato Mágico, also complaining about having to pay money to my pack. He’d been apprehensive about me when I’d walked in, believing the family had sent me to collect an extra payment.

“Are you a lone wolf? Do you perhaps fight the injustice of that pack?” Minato raised his gray eyebrows hopefully.

“I, ah. I’m actually… Well, I know that pack well. And I think I know the guy who’s been coming to demand taxes from you. ”

“Augustus,” his wife said, leaning out the window. “A noble name for such an ignoble brute.”

“I agree.” I glanced over my shoulder, noticing Duncan walking across the lawn.

Was he heading toward the maintenance shed to get the bags? Damn, I was starting to like him for more than his willingness to protect me.

“We cannot afford what he demands of us,” Minato continued. “And these payments have not thus far come with the protection he promised. He said the pack would improve the neighborhood and drive off the gangs and criminals that have moved into the area, but he only shows up when he wants money. From what we have seen, he does nothing , and the only violence that is averted is that which he threatens us with if we do not pay promptly.”

“Augustus doesn’t even live around here,” I said before realizing I had no idea where he currently made his home. This was barely Savager territory though. As the name suggested, the pack mostly considered Snohomish County theirs, and the convenience store was a few miles into King County. El Gato Mágico, in the heart of Seattle, was more than a few miles into it. “Is he only extorting people with, ah, paranormal tendencies?” I looked at the wife—Mayumi—wondering if she would admit to having magical blood. A lot of people didn’t. Some didn’t even know they had it, other than being aware that they, for some reason, had psychic gifts.

“That is what we have heard.” Minato nodded. “Maybe, because we sense their kind and understand their power, we are more… susceptible to their threats.” He grimaced. “It is possible they extort others as well.”

“They’re huge bullies ,” Mayumi said out the window.

“I know. What do you want me to do?” I didn’t blame them for seeking a solution to their problem, but I didn’t know how to get Augustus to stop being a bully. If I did, he wouldn’t be lurking in the greenbelt, poised to steal the artifact as soon as I left it unguarded. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think the whole pack is behind the extortion. Augustus and some of his siblings are taking it upon themselves to be…”

“ Penises ,” Mayumi said when I didn’t find an appropriate word quickly enough.

Minato said something stern to her in their native language. Not cowed, she answered equally sternly and gesticulated for emphasis.

Minato faced me again. “They are using their supernatural strength to threaten and take advantage of us. Months ago, we tried to call the police, but they did not believe us when we mentioned these miscreants were werewolves. The law enforcers in this area are very ignorant about paranormal threats.”

I grunted noncommittally, glad the police didn’t believe in werewolves. Thus far, that had helped me avoid being implicated in anything.

“Did you call the police today?” I asked.

“Only to make a report for our insurance provider. We did not mention anything paranormal.” He looked frankly at me. “Or lupine.”

“That’s good.”

“As we’ve observed, the police are unhelpful to us overall. Even when they make arrests, the justice system here often allows criminals to walk free.” Minato shook his head. “This was not the way when we first moved to this country. This recent trend is woeful.”

“Yes.” I kept my face neutral and didn’t show my relief at learning they hadn’t told the authorities about me. That meant there wasn’t a police sergeant somewhere perusing video footage of me changing into a wolf in the potato-chip aisle.

“You are local and understand our problems.” Minato waved toward the parking lot, and I was positive he’d seen the various news stories of late .

“That is true.”

“Today you proved you are a good neighbor and have the power to protect people. You not only have the power but you use it.”

Since my last potion had worn off, that was true, but my magic taking over had been the reason for my intervention at their store, not a conscious decision.

“We would like to pay you to protect us,” Minato said as his wife nodded firmly.

“I’m afraid I already have a job.”

Duncan leaned out of the maintenance shed, holding boxes of doggie bags. “Do you want the green ones or the black ones that turn into little mitts?”

“A glamorous and fulfilling job,” I told Minato as I pointed to the black bags and made a shooing motion toward the path and the dog clean-up station.

“We understand you are busy, but your services are greatly needed by the community. Should you agree, we know other businessowners like us, and we might be able to scrape together extra money to make patrolling the neighborhood worth your time.” Minato hesitated. “We would, of course, need you to defend us from the Savagers. In order to amass funds for you, we would need to stop paying Augustus.”

“Look, you don’t have to pay me, okay? I’ll try to figure out something to help you. I’ll talk to the pack leader.”

“If you protect us from Augustus and his cronies, we will insist on paying you.”

“That’s not necessary. You shouldn’t have to pay anyone for protection. Most werewolves just want to be left alone to lead their lives and hunt during the full moon. They’re not supposed to be like the mafia.”

“Anything you could do would be greatly appreciated.” Minato nodded to me before returning to the car .

As they drove away, Duncan joined me. “Your cousins disappeared from my senses as soon as I finished with the bags and glared menacingly into the woods.”

“ You’re the person the local business owners should be hiring for protection.”

“I don’t have a superhero cape.”

“My blanket is still in your van.” I looked toward the woods, having a feeling that Duncan’s presence was the only reason my cousins hadn’t attacked. I also worried about leaving the premises. As often as they were coming by, they had to be biding their time and waiting for a chance to sneak into my apartment and look for the case. I would have to take it with me every time I went somewhere.

“Are you going to try to stop your cousins from extorting the populace?” Duncan must have caught some of the conversation.

“I’ll talk to Lorenzo. I’ve been meaning to go up to see Mom anyway.”

“Didn’t you say he forbade your cousins from pestering you?”

“Yeah.”

“They don’t seem to be listening.”

“I’ve noticed. I was away from the pack for so long that I don’t know how many alphas have come and gone over the years, but it sounds like Lorenzo is mostly in the position because he’s my mother’s mate, and she’s always been a strong female leader for our people. It also sounds like my cousins have challenged Lorenzo, or they’ve at least been posturing, and don’t fully respect him.”

“It sounds to me like they need to be driven out of the pack.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone strong enough to do that.” Alone, I was a match for Augustus, but he had a lot of allies.

“I would be happy to drive them out.” Duncan’s eyelids drooped halfway, a feral vibe emanating from him. When he wasn’t smiling and being deliberately goofy, he was a little scary .

“You’re not a part of the Savagers. They won’t listen to you.” Despite my words, the thought of unleashing Duncan on my cousins made me wistful, but I doubted the family politics would allow that as a solution. Duncan had already thumped my cousins, and that hadn’t improved their behavior.

“I wasn’t going to drive them out by talking to them,” he said.

“You’ve already kicked their asses, and they’re still here.”

“They’re not fast learners, are they?”

“Well, they’ve figured out not to attack when you’re by my side.”

“That’s something at least.” Duncan lifted a hand to my shoulder, as if to say he would be pleased to remain by my side.

I didn’t want to need a man, to need anyone , but I caught myself leaning into his touch, glad for his presence.

“Do you want to come with me to visit my mom?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said promptly.

“Even though you’ll probably be attacked?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” I asked softly, looking into his eyes.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’m kind of into you.”

“Because you looked at my chest with the X-ray goggles on?”

He grinned. “I don’t need goggles to notice your fine attributes, but I also like the way you snark at me, and I’m having all kinds of adventures simply because I’m in your orbit.”

“My adventures didn’t start until the day you showed up. It’s possible your presence causes them to occur.” Admittedly, I couldn’t blame him for more than finding the wolf case, though that was at the core of a lot of the chaos. Even if he’d somehow been responsible for everything, I couldn’t wish he had never ambled into my life.

“I do strive to make the world an interesting place. I…” Duncan looked off to the north, a troubled expression replacing his grin.

“Is that device calling to you again? ”

“Yes, but I can resist it.” Duncan nodded firmly and pointed to his van. “I’ll drive you up to see your mom. I’m eager for another wolf to jump on my hood and leave claw marks on it.”

“We could take my truck. Additional scratches in the paint wouldn’t be noticeable.”

“Would I then have to leave gas money on your dashboard?”

“Obviously. That’s how it works.” I smiled but waved away the idea—he’d bought me far more groceries than he’d eaten, so I couldn’t charge him for anything.

Before we’d taken more than a few steps toward the truck, Bolin’s SUV rolled into the parking lot.

I didn’t think much of it until I spotted additional people inside. His earlier warning that his parents might come by came to mind, and I groaned. If only Duncan and I had cleared out five minutes earlier. We would have been gone when they’d arrived.