Page 14 of Relics of the Wolf (Magnetic Magic #2)

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With four rifles peeking out car windows and aimed in my direction, I wasn’t inclined to obey the command to get inside, girl . Since night had fallen, and Duncan and I were crouched behind a garbage can, the gunmen probably couldn’t see us, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do plenty of damage.

I clenched my jaw. I couldn’t let these people endanger my tenants. It was nothing but luck that nobody returning home from work was in the parking lot at that moment, but that wouldn’t last.

“I’m going to try to get them to chase me away from the complex.” I pointed out a route across the lawn that would take me behind bushes and toward the parking lot from the side. “I don’t want them to open fire on this property.”

I tapped my pockets where I usually kept my phone and car keys, but the keys were in my apartment, and I had left my phone on the desk in the office. Damn it. I would have to lure these guys away on foot.

“I can distract them while you get away,” Duncan offered.

“By what? Hurling sausages at their windshields?”

“That would be a blasphemous use of good meat.”

“We’re not joking around, girl,” the same man called from the Tesla with the open door. The other vehicles were circling the parking lot. “We know you’re here.”

I eyed the lights of the leasing office, suspecting that Duncan was right, that the phone call to the land line had been a way of verifying my location. Whoever the man in charge was must have guessed right away what I was trying to do when I posted that ad. And he was trying to do something else, nothing good for my health.

“Just stay here,” I told Duncan, then slipped out from behind the garbage can.

Staying low, I jogged toward the sidewalk running past the property, intending to use the mailboxes, trees, and bushes to stay hidden until I was in the street. And then… Then I would have to hope the men truly did want to snag me, not shoot me, because I would be an easy target running down the pavement.

Before I made it, a tenant in a minivan rolled into the parking lot. I winced, recognizing the vehicle. It belonged to a mom with two kids.

Hopefully, they weren’t with her, but I couldn’t count on that. Instead of running into the street, I hurried toward the parking lot. I would have to give myself up to ensure there wasn’t violence. Maybe Duncan could help me escape later.

Anger at the situation and frustration that I’d inadvertently brought it down upon the complex surged through my body. Magic mingled with the emotions, the call of the wolf. It urged me to take my lupine form to battle the threats.

I tried to sublimate the call, certain a wolf wouldn’t be effective against cars and guns—especially guns loaded with silver bullets. Besides, I needed my wits about me to protect the tenants and figure this out.

One of the Teslas halted abruptly. Two of its doors opened, and men surged out. They weren’t facing me or the minivan but the walkway in front of the leasing office. A salt-and-pepper wolf stood there, brown eyes toward the intruders, jaws parted to reveal fangs.

Damn it, what was Duncan doing? He would be as vulnerable to silver bullets as I.

He lifted his snout toward the night sky and howled.

“That’s her ally!” one man yelled as he got out of his car, a rifle in hand.

It was the blond guy, and he reeked of magical power. Had he quaffed a fresh dose of the Tiger Blood potion?

I reached the parking lot from the side but didn’t rush out, instead using the big metal cluster mailboxes for cover. How much cover they would provide, I didn’t know. They were meant for keeping out parcel thieves, not stopping bullets.

“If it’s me you want,” I called, leaning out, “I’m right here.”

With their rifles in their hands, the intruders spun toward me. They were all huge and all oozed magical power. Their fingers rested on the triggers, but they didn’t pull them.

“That’s her.” One man raised his voice. “Get in, girl, and send your wolf boy away.”

As if I had that power over Duncan.

I took a step away from the mailboxes, but the minivan lady had parked.

“Mom,” a young voice cried. “Those men have guns!”

“Stay inside!” their mom barked.

Another car swung into the parking lot, another tenant coming home. Damn it. This was about to turn into?—

The blond guy swung his rifle toward the minivan and fired at it.

“No!” I shouted.

I started toward them, but a different man raised his rifle to fire at me . Instincts more than any stunning brilliance warned me an instant before he pulled the trigger. I dove to the pavement. The bullet that shot from his rifle left a silver trail in the air before slamming into a mailbox.

“Watch out for the other wolf!” a man yelled.

Two more rifles fired at Duncan.

The fury and frustration that had been simmering inside me shifted to a boil, overflowing with magical urgency that coursed through my veins. Heat seared my skin from within, and a fearsome tingle of power burned through me. Before I could leap to my feet, the change began, clothing disappearing into the ether as my body morphed. By the time I stood again, it was on all fours as a wolf.

Fear of the men and those magical bullets should have made me hesitate to charge them, but rage over them attacking Duncan and my tenants took me over. More than took me over. I was barely aware of anything but the need to destroy those who dared trespass on my territory.

Rifles fired again, aiming both at me and toward Duncan on the walkway. No, my ally had reached them. Dodging bullets as he ran, the salt-and-pepper wolf sprang toward the gunmen.

I also dodged as I ran, but a bullet grazed my shoulder before it struck a lamppost. Though searingly intense, the pain didn’t stop me. I leaped at the blond man, knocking his rifle aside as I rammed into him.

He staggered, managing to shift his strong legs to brace himself and stay upright, but it didn’t matter. Guided by the magical instincts of the wolf, I snapped my jaws for his throat.

He got a hand up to block me and clipped my chest with a powerful blow, but I caught his arm and sank my fangs into it. The man screamed, strong muscles jerking as he tried to break the grip and fling me away. But I was strong too. I held on, sinking my fangs in deeper.

His allies turned toward us, but they couldn’t shoot me without risking hitting him. When I landed, I made sure to stay close, using his body for cover. He ripped his arm up and out of my grip, leaving the taste of blood in my mouth. Before he could back away, I sank my jaws into his thigh. He yelled and flailed wildly. Most of the attacks went awry, but a strong punch slammed into my spine. I hung on, gnashing my teeth and sinking them in deeper.

More shots fired nearby, but men also screamed. My wolf ally was attacking the intruders.

My foe punched me in the back again. I released my grip on his thigh and sprang at his chest. This time, I succeeded in knocking him to the pavement. He flung his arms over his neck and face, shouting for help, but I was merciless in dealing with the threat. Rational thoughts disappeared, and the savage animal in me took over.

I tore out his throat, then spun to face another enemy. Barely registering that it was another of the big enhanced men, I charged.

Tires squealed loudly as one of the vehicles sped away, and I paused, startled. A powerful kick knocked me flying. It hadn’t come from my target but from one of the other men. Shoulder twinging, I hit the pavement and rolled. Faster than lightning, I leaped up to spring again.

Someone fired, and a bullet clipped the pavement inches from where I’d been.

“He wants her alive,” someone barked.

“She’s killing us! They both are.”

Snarls came from a fight Duncan was engaged in. I rushed toward the man who’d kicked me, driven by savage wildness, the need to defend my territory—the need to kill.

My target tried to club me with his rifle, but I ducked low, and the blow missed. I barreled into him, jaws snapping as I bit into his belly. He cried as he fell back. Someone else fired, but the bullet flew wide, one of their allies yelling as it struck him.

Chaos covered the parking lot, and my thoughts scattered, only instincts driving me. I eviscerated my foe.

Tires squealed again. The vehicle hadn’t been leaving. The driver had come around and was heading straight toward me, the car oddly silent, no smell of gasoline in the air.

At the last instant, I recognized the danger and jumped away. The driver had meant to hit me, to knock me flying. Instead, he ran over one of his own downed allies. The obstacle made the vehicle careen into a lamppost, the crash assaulting my sensitive ears.

Near me, Duncan knocked aside a man who’d been aiming a rifle at me. I met his eyes, silently acknowledging that I appreciated the help.

One of the cars tried to zip out of the parking lot with two men, those wise enough to flee, but the vehicle angled toward me before leaving. Another driver attempting to take me out.

I tensed, but the salt-and-pepper wolf sprang in from the side. He landed on the hood of the car, startling the driver. The man swerved, drove over a curb, and smashed into a sturdy cedar. Duncan leaped off before impact, before the front of the vehicle crumpled.

The driver-side door flew open, a man with a rifle scrambling out. The wolf sprang upon him, knocking the weapon to the pavement with a clatter.

On the passenger side, the window rolled down. My instincts processed the threat before the rifle fully thrust out, and I dodged before the shot fired. A silver bullet streaked away, disappearing into the night.

The rifle shifted to follow me, but I rushed in before the human could shoot again. My jaws clamped onto the cold steel of the barrel. The man didn’t release the weapon, and his grip was strong, but my magic and fury made mine stronger. I tore the rifle from his hands, flinging it away, then leaped halfway through the window. He screamed and tried to crawl to the other side of the car to escape me, but I was too fast. I caught him by the neck and crunched down, halting the scream—and his life.

Sensing movement behind me, I dropped out of the window. None too soon. Another bullet streaked past, this one glancing off the roof of the car.

The gunman stood behind me, utter terror widening his eyes. Swearing, he fired again. Though I saw the finger squeeze in time to duck, the bullet parted the fur on the top of my head. Fear as well as my ongoing fury propelled me forward, and I reached him before he could shoot again.

I leaped, magic and power taking me into him so quickly that even his enhanced blood wasn’t enough. He couldn’t get his rifle up fast enough to block me, and I tore out his throat. As a wolf, I felt no remorse, no concern about possible ramifications, only the satisfaction that I was ending the threat to my territory.

Fortunately, Duncan didn’t come close while I was in that state. In the haze of leaping and charging and snapping jaws, instincts having overtaken me, I might not have known friend from foe. I kept fighting, snarling and attacking anyone close until the battle fury faded and all lay still around me.