Page 27 of Triumph of the Wolf (Magnetic Magic #6)

By the time I reached the van, Duncan had finished his quick hunt and met me there, returning to his human form.

I handed him his keys, and he dressed and took the wheel.

Weary from being up all night, I dozed off a few times on the way back, only waking when updates from Bolin came in.

He had to be standing on Rue’s doorstep, pacing as she worked on the potion.

That belief was verified when she called and complained about him.

“ You are kind enough to leave me in peace when I work,” she said. “Your intern is insufferable.”

“He’s in love.”

“ Insufferable . I had no idea that you were an ideal client, at least in comparison to this one.”

“Does that mean you’ll give me a discount on future potions?”

“My ingredients are expensive. I cannot give discounts if I wish to remain in business as a successful entrepreneur. I will, however, give you double stamps on your card the next time you purchase a potion.”

“Thoughtful.”

“Yes. I am not giving your intern a stamp card at all. No freebies for him.” Rue made a disgruntled harrumph , then informed me that the order would be completed by the time we arrived.

Duncan took the freeway exit for Shoreline. “Are you going to be able to convince Bolin to consume that potion?”

“I think so. He’s in love, after all.”

“Was it love that convinced you to consume such a dreadful liquid to find me ?” He lifted his hand from the steering wheel to touch his chest.

My first instinct was to say something snarky, possibly about having his van towed, and the smile on his lips suggested he expected it.

But I thought about all we’d been through together, how many times he’d come to my aid, and that I might even now have the beginning of his child— our child—within me.

“Yeah,” I said.

His eyebrows raised in mild surprise but only for a moment before he said, “I love you too.”

“Yeah,” I said again, smiling.

He pulled into the parking lot of Sylvan Serenity, and it would have been a great moment for a kiss, but Bolin stood on the sidewalk, waiting for us.

He wore a backpack, a flak vest, and… was that a bandolier?

It looked like it held vials rather than bullets, but that didn’t keep him from looking like a slender Rambo ready to tramp into a jungle to fight bad guys.

“Love drives men to do interesting things,” I observed.

A few kids of eight or ten were up early, playing on the lawn. Digging up earthworms drawn out by the rain, perhaps. I remembered encountering that crew before and that they’d been daring each other to eat such things.

“Oh, it certainly does.” Duncan might have said more, but Bolin jogged up to his window.

“Rue said she would have the elixir soon,” Bolin said when Duncan rolled it down. “Then we can go. But I need to be within ten miles of Jasmine before drinking it. Do you want to drive? Or I could. But… I don’t have any idea where the kidnappers took her. Do you?”

“We do have an idea. I need to go to the bathroom and grab something to eat before we take off again, but we can all go together.” I also wanted to see if I could sense my relatives, but that wouldn’t take long. I tilted my thumb toward the back of the van in an invitation to Bolin.

“Okay. I have a few more supplies to load.” Bolin held up a finger, then ran to his SUV, throwing open the back door.

“Do you think he might have stopped for grenades?” Duncan asked. “I haven’t had a chance to replenish my reserves.”

“I have no idea what kind of supplies a geeky, spelling-bee-competing, violin-playing druid might bring.” I opened the door to slide out. “When Jasmine said she would bring provisions for one of our adventures, it was a bag of Doritos.”

“Did the chips keep you sated?”

“They at least let me wash the taste of that potion out of my mouth. I’d better bring something along for Bolin to do the same.

” I was relieved that it sounded like he intended to take the elixir himself.

Of course, he didn’t have previous experience with the loathsome liquid to know how awful it was.

“I have a few chocolate-covered espresso beans left, but I’d intended to save those for you.”

“I do like to caffeinate myself before storming an enemy compound.”

“We all do. Is that… a Howitzer?”

I followed Duncan’s gaze. Bolin was levering something large and metal out of the back of his SUV.

“Probably not,” I said, “but it does look awkward.”

“I’d better help him.” Duncan hopped out. “And make sure he doesn’t load anything that might be dangerous to my van.”

“Good idea.”

I strode toward my apartment, thinking fondly of my espresso maker as I yawned for the thousandth time that morning. Distracted by my longing for coffee, I almost missed sensing a werewolf in the woods.

It wasn’t someone from my pack but Lykos. Uneasy, I stopped behind a lamppost and peered toward the trees, then looked toward the parking lot to make sure Duncan wasn’t in a potentially vulnerable position.

He was helping Bolin carry some kind of tripod with a barrel on it—I decided it probably wasn’t a weapon—to the van.

Duncan must have sensed me looking because he met my gaze, tilted his head toward the woods, and nodded.

Of course. With his superior senses, he must have already detected the kid out there.

Laughter came from the boys holding worms and, for who knew what reason, a hockey puck aloft.

Though Lykos was good at camouflaging himself in those woods, I got the sense from his position that he might be looking at the kids instead of at Duncan. Because he intended them some harm?

It was hard for me to imagine a clone of Duncan having a malevolent streak, but Lykos was apparently here on an assassination mission.

After taking care of biological needs and turning on the espresso maker to warm up, I grabbed ham out of the fridge and a bar of the caramel-truffled chocolate.

So armed, I took a roundabout way to the woods, using one of the back apartment buildings to hide my approach.

Lykos would sense me as easily as Duncan would, but maybe he’d be distracted by observing his prey and wouldn’t have time to run off.

Taking a side trail, I veered into the woods and tried to sneak up behind Lykos. Not surprisingly, he sensed me and, soon after coming into my view, turned away from the kids to look at me.

His brown hair hung in his eyes, he wore torn, dirt-stained clothing, and he didn’t have any shoes.

My heart ached for him. I knew Abrams had been a shitty guardian, but things must have gotten worse lately.

The memory of the scars on Duncan’s wrists always haunted me, a testament to how Abrams had treated him in his youth.

“Hey, Lykos.” I forced a smile and offered a friendly wave, rustling the bag of deli ham.

If he’d been a dog, familiar with the ways of humans and kitchen items, Lykos would have known to come running at the sound. His head cocked with curiosity, but he also lowered into a crouch, ready to spring off to run in any direction.

I stopped several steps away so I wouldn’t appear threatening. “Do you want something to eat? Or did you come to see Duncan? I know he enjoyed teaching you about magnets. Have you gone fishing with him yet?”

Duncan had said Lykos could speak, but he’d yet to say anything to me, and he didn’t respond to my burbling now.

Instead, he looked toward the parking lot where Duncan and Bolin were gesturing near the open door of the van.

He also glanced at the boys again, though they were heading toward a rack where their bicycles were chained, probably on their way out.

I didn’t know where my family had gone but was glad they weren’t loitering here.

Maybe they were on the trail of the missing werewolves?

Jasmine, at least, they knew well. But she’d been taken in a van, so I questioned if the pack would be able to track her.

If it were easy to trail someone in an automobile, Duncan or I could have done it ourselves.

The wistful gaze on Lykos’s face as he watched the group of children made me realize he hadn’t been contemplating hurting them, the first thought that had come to my mind.

“Those kids all live here,” I told Lykos. “If you lived with… Duncan, you could play with them.” I’d almost said lived with us , but it wasn’t as if Duncan and I had moved in together. Unfortunately, I still had no idea where I would be living in the future. “One problem at a time,” I murmured.

Lykos met my gaze again. “I must kill him to take his place as the chosen wolf.”

His tone was quiet and earnest. I couldn’t tell from his eyes if he wanted to do that or didn’t like the idea of it.

“Is that what Abrams said?” I asked. “He’s an asshole and a liar.”

“You killed Radomir.”

“He was an asshole too.”

“Is that ham?”

“Yeah, black forest. It’s delicious.” I waved the baggy again. “Do you want me to leave some?”

“You keep bringing food, as if you think I’m a hound that can be won over with treats.”

I might have been comparing him to a dog scant moments before, but I refused to feel embarrassed. “Yeah, it’s how I won over Duncan, so I figured I’d try it. You’re mini Duncan, after all.”

Lykos squinted suspiciously at me. “You earned his loyalty with ham?”

“Ham and chocolate. And bacon, though I guess that’s similar to ham.”

“That’s it?”

“He likes my boobs too.” Okay, that wasn’t the most age-appropriate topic to bring up with a kid, but Lykos had the soulful eyes of someone who’d never had a childhood and wouldn’t be fazed by anything adults discussed.

“He is your mate.”

As of last night, I could finally say, “Yes, he is.”

“Then you will say anything to keep me from killing him.”

“I guess I would, but I’m not that concerned about you being able to pull that off. Not for some years anyway. He’s full-grown and pretty badass.”

Did Lykos look offended? The young never liked being told they were just kids. Maybe I’d done better with him before he’d started talking.