Page 44 of Kin of the Wolf

I bristled, skin flushing even hotter. Part of it was magic, the call of the wolf, and part of it was anger. Anger and… shame. Even if I’d had a reason for leaving, I couldn’t help but feel that he was right on some level. I shouldn’t have abandoned my family, my mother.

“Wolves leave, and they come back,” was what I said. “If they’ve the power to earn a place in the pack, they deserve one.”

“Let’s see if you do.” Augustus beckoned with his fingers, then took a few more steps back and dropped to all fours, the change coming over him.

Frustrated that he hadn’t given a confession—if anything, he was doing his best to make me look petty in front of Mom and Rosaria—I felt the magic surging up within me, demanding to be released. Though I worried I was walking into a trap, I removed the medallion and my clothes. Duncan had my back, and I… I realized I trusted him. Even if our relationship had started with betrayal, I believed wholeheartedly that he would help me against my family. He would be here for me if I needed him.

And I probably would. As the magic transformed me, my last human thought was that I was most certainly walking into a trap.But the need to prove myself, to not back down in front of my mother or be perceived as a coward by the pack, drove me.

Skin stretching, torso changing, and fur sprouting, I dropped to all fours, paws feeling the compact dirt of the driveway. The magic prompted me to lift my head and howl.

Behind me, my ally remained in his human form, but he’d also removed his clothes. He could change quickly when the need arose.

The dark-gray wolf that was Augustus had backed farther down the driveway, making sure nobody was nearby as he waited, cold eyes intent. I padded toward him with determination.

It crossed my mind that he was pulling me farther from the cabin, from Mom’s witnessing eyes. But she wouldn’t stop this. She’d made it clear by not interfering thus far. As a devotee to the way of the wolf, she would stand back and watch Augustus kill me, if he could. In her eyes, if I couldn’t fend him off, I didn’t deserve to live.

As I drew closer, I sensed magic in the woods on either side of the driveway. I hesitated with confusion until a vague memory from my other form eased through my mind. The magical security devices to deter enemies of the pack. They’d been there before. Mom had ordered them installed. My cousins shouldn’t have had anything to do with them.

But as I padded closer, drawing even with the first of several devices in the ferns, and the dark-gray wolf’s jaws parted with smugness and triumph, I realized that might not be true. Augustus might have backed down the driveway, not because of Mom’s eyes or to give us more room, but to lure me closer to the devices.

I halted. My cousin had started this. Let him come to me.

Augustus took a few more steps backward before accepting that I wouldn’t follow him farther. He looked intently toward one of his observing siblings. Orazio. Did he have something in his hand?

While I was trying to figure that out, Augustus charged.

I settled my weight, bracing myself, my gaze locked on his throat. His jaws parted as he sprang for me.

It crossed my mind to dodge, but he might expect that. Instead, I surged straight into him, using my snout to knock his aside as our chests crashed together. His weight was jarring, and fangs brushed my face, but I managed to deflect most of the bite. With his head pushed aside, I snapped for his throat. He tried to jerk his snout down to cover the vulnerable spot, but I got there first, fangs sinking into fur and flesh.

He pushed with his legs, trying to shove me back. If we’d been human, it would have worked, but we were close to the same size as wolves. I bunched my muscles and resisted as I dug my fangs in deeper. He snapped his own jaws, but with mine locked around his throat, he couldn’t find the angle to sink his teeth into me.

He tried rearing up on his hind legs, but I wouldn’t let him go. With the taste of his blood in my mouth, my savage instincts were taking over, demanding that I hold fast until my enemy died. But I needed a better angle to turn my grip into a death bite. When I loosened my jaws slightly to reposition, he dropped to his belly and rolled to the side. I almost caught him again before he could get away, but he whipped himself off the driveway and into the ferns.

I started after him, but the magical devices remained in my senses. I hadn’t forgotten them.

Neck bleeding, Augustus rose to all fours. He snarled at me from the brush, then turned his head, showing his neck. Trying to taunt me to jump in after him. There was a device behind him, and I had no idea what it did.

I backed a few steps toward the cabin and flicked an ear, tauntinghim.

Coward, I thought, though we had no way to communicate telepathically. With body language, I showed him my feelings.

He was the one to be lured closer, to run toward me. This time, I dodged, though I was careful to stay on the driveway. I didn’tknowif it was a safe haven, but I wouldn’t risk getting close to the devices.

He snapped at me, but I was too fast and evaded him. He rushed past; then, as he stopped himself to turn, I whirled toward him. Jaws leading, I snapped for his flank. This time, I landed a series of fast bites instead of holding on. If I latched onto his back half for long, he would have space to maneuver, time to twist and sink his jaws into me.

When he tried that, I released my last bite and jumped back. The scent of his blood filled the air as it spattered onto the dirt driveway.

Panting, he faced me again. But he paused to glance toward our observers, toward Orazio, still in his human form. He nodded right before Augustus charged at me again.

Prepared, I was about to dodge, but purple beams shot out from the ferns on either side of the driveway. The magic slammed into me hard enough to knock me flying as pain scorched my torso.

I managed to evade Augustus’s jaws as he ran in, but my dodge turned into a clumsy tumble. I rolled off the driveway and into a tree.

The beams followed me, continuing to burn pain into me. Not giving me any reprieve, Augustus leaped after me to take advantage. Despite the pain, I met his jaws with mine, snapping with fury for his face, longing to gouge out his eyes and drive my fangs through his skull.

In his haste to take advantage and bring me down, he let one of the beams clip his shoulder. He cried out like he’d been electrocuted. Still enduring the pain, I lunged for his throat.

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