Magicorum Box Set (Books 1-5)

10. Chapter Ten

10

Chapter Ten

Knox

Long after Bryar Rose is gone, I keep the Mustang idled at the curb outside Elle’s condo. My wolf’s voice keeps growling inside my head. “Follow mate. Guard mate.”

I force myself to sound calm as I reply in my mind. “Bryar Rose is fine. Did you see her take on that Denarii? She can handle anything.”

“Guard mate.” That’s a wolf thing. Male or female, we never leave our mates alone if we can help it.

Closing my eyes, I keep talking to my wolf in my mind. “She’s not our mate.”

My wolf replies with an inner howl that’s so loud, it makes my ears ring. “Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaate!”

I angrily thump my palm against the dashboard. This time, I speak out loud. “Cut it out. You’re making me crazy.”

His wolfy voice sounds all snippy this time. “Mate.”

This is a cluster. Bryar cannot be my mate, although there’s no convincing my wolf of that fact. Something’s got to be done. And at this point, there’s only one guy who might be able to help me.

Azizi, my adopted father.

Az taught me all there is to know about being a werewolf. He’s also my only source of info on being a warden. Not that there’s too much to know about that, considering the Book of Magic has been burned up for ages. Still, what there is to learn is all in Az’s head. He lives at Lucky’s bar in Brooklyn, so that’s where I’ll go right now.

I peel away from the curb with one thought. Screw the speed limit. I need to get to Lucky’s. There aren’t many shifters left in the world, which makes Lucky’s bar incredibly rare. This place is werewolf-only.

It doesn’t take long to reach Brooklyn, park the Mustang in a nearby garage, and get myself over to Lucky’s. On the outside, the place doesn’t look like anything special. The entrance is on a street corner with a small sign and a flight of stairs going underground. If you didn’t know it was there, you might miss it. Once you get inside, though, that’s when you see the difference.

Everyone’s eyes glow with golden light.

Gold. That’s the shade of shifter magic. It’s what empowers us to change forms. Sure, we can tone the shine down—while either in wolf or human form—but that’s only to keep regular humans from getting twitchy. Or cracking out their cameras for selfies with a real Magicorum, which is worse. Plus, keeping a low profile ensures that the Denarii stay off our backs. Those guys kill folks with magic like nobody’s business. But in places like Lucky’s, we can be who we are.

Once inside, Lucky’s looks the same as always. I’ve been coming here for years. It’s a dimly lit space with low ceilings. A familiar patchwork of small, round tables covers the floor. Random junk has been nailed to the walls. It’s all stuff from New York mostly, like old bagel flyers and bicycle wheels. The back wall is lined with bottles of booze. This time of the morning, the place is relatively quiet. About a half-dozen regulars hang around, drinking coffee or finishing off some booze from last night’s party.

I scan the floor, looking for “howlers,” a.k.a. humans who’ve become werewolf groupies. As much as I complain about humans who see us as oddities for keepsakes and photos, the howlers are worse. They’ll rip off their undies and chuck them at your face. Some weres like that, but it’s not my thing. Last time the howlers found our place, I had to call in some favors with Alec to erase a bunch of memories and place terror spells by all the doors. Now, any humans who get near Lucky’s should freak out and run in the opposite direction. I scan the bar carefully. There are no howlers around today. Looks like Alec’s spell is still holding. He is one amazing wizard. Not that I’d ever tell him that to his face. Guy’s got a big enough ego as it is.

The second I start crossing the floor, the room falls silent. Not again. This happens every time. It’s the fact that I’m a warden. Power comes out of my pores or something. It’s nice in a fight, but when I just want to find Az? It ends up being a time suck because I can’t walk across a room without gathering a crowd.

Someone turns around, and I wince. A werewolf named Joy is here. She’s someone whose attention I really don’t want. Joy is pretty in a “big blonde hair” kind of way. I’m not sure she owns any clothing that isn’t made of denim, either. Weres are fashion forward, as a rule, but Joy totally missed that memo. She dresses like a Bon Jovi groupie. Even worse, we have a history. There’s no way I want to talk to her now, so I keep my head down and march toward the bar. Joy stays put, which is awesome. She’s hanging in the corner with some other were. Hopefully, that won’t change.

I hit the bar and wave over Thad, the bartender. He’s a young guy with a baby face, freckles, and a buzz cut. He’s also new, which is why he gets the crap shifts like early morning. He strides over with his easy grin.

“Hey, Knox. You here to see Joy?”

Damn it. “No.”

Of course, Joy only hears what Thad said, not my reply. From the corner of my eye, I see her glance in my direction.

“Definitely not here for Joy.” I say that a little too loudly, hoping she’ll get the hint.

“What about Constance or Hope?” Joy’s from a family of three werewolf daughters, which is crazy rare. Her parents gave them all straight-arrow names, so of course the girls turned out wild as hell. If I ever get to name a girl cub, I’m calling her Killer or something. That way, she’ll end up being a nun.

“Not here for the ladies. Is Az up?” Azizi always hangs out in his room out back. My parents died when I was a cub, so Az is the closest thing I have to a father. In fact, he moved here from Cairo to be near me and help. The reason? Az was the previous warden for shifters. Now that my powers are growing, he’s getting weaker. There can only be one of us at full steam at any point in time. These days, Az is looking and acting older, which bums me out.

“Yup. Az is here. He’s always here.” Thad can be a little thick sometimes.

“I mean, is he awake and all that? I need to talk to him, but I don’t want to bug him.” When I was little, I’d crawl all over Az and we’d brawl for hours. Now, he rarely shifts out of his wolf form, and that’s only to use the john before going back to sleep.

“Oh, I get it. Yeah, he’s awake.”

Joy starts to make her way over in my direction. Uh, no. I give Thad a quick wave. “I’ll head back. Make sure we’re not disturbed, yeah?”

“You got it.”

I speed to the back door before Joy can intercept me. Sweet. That girl’s like a homing beacon sometimes. Not that it isn’t partly my fault. I hooked up with Joy once. We didn’t get too far, but it was still a major mistake. Just one minute into kissing, and Joy licked the side of my face. Total turn-off.

Before Joy can reach me, I escape through the back door, head down the cramped hallway, and enter the third entrance on the right. Azizi’s place.

Az’s HQ isn’t so much a room; it’s more of a makeshift cave. Az had the paint stripped from the walls and floor, so everything is just concrete. I find him hanging out in his wolf form, per usual, and curled up in the corner. Other than the chipped black paint on the bathroom door, the place is totally bare. I wish he’d let me hang up a picture or two, but that’s Az. He’s gone wolf.

The door closes behind me with a soft click. Az opens his right eye. The iris is a milky shade of gold. “Good morning, my son.” Az has a deep rumble of a voice that I love. It totally reminds me of happy times as a kid. Az is also one of the few shifters who can talk in his wolf form. It’s a side effect of being a warden. My wolf can talk, too, but I avoid it. I don’t need anything else bringing attention to my powers.

“Morning, Az.” I sit down beside him and run my fingers through the graying fur on his neck. Az is a massive wolf, like me. Sitting here next to him, I can’t believe how much muscle he’s lost. The guy is skin and bone. It kills me.

Az sniffs the air. “Something troubles you. I can smell it.”

Here’s where I should just up and ask him about whether he’s ever thought someone was his mate. But it’s hard. This feels too big. The words weigh on my tongue like stones. Instead, I find myself talking about something else that’s usually too painful. “I was just thinking. I don’t remember my parents.”

“I shouldn’t think you do. You were only a cub when they died.” He doesn’t add in the part about the Denarii killing them. It’s been my life’s mission to pay them back for that.

“I was placed with some random were family. They didn’t want to raise someone else’s cub. Then one day, you walk in, grab me, and go. How did you find me, anyway? You were from Cairo. I was in Manhattan. That couldn’t have been easy.”

Az chuckles. “You’re avoiding asking me your real question.”

I scratch him behind his ears. “I’m working up to it. How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t as hard as you might think. The warden who taught me had passed on, so I knew you were out there somewhere. A cub. I asked around. Who’s the biggest and blackest werewolf out there? Rumors led me to you.”

“And Rui?” That was the warden before Azizi. The guy was from Manchuria. You never know where the next warden will come from, by the way. The magic finds the warden. No one really knows how it chooses.

“Rui did the same thing.” Az lets out little cough. My chest tightens to hear it. Az gets weaker every day. “He asked around for a black wolf who fought well.”

“You and Rui…were you guys close?” I guess it’s a little weird that I don’t know this, but normally when I’m with Az, we don’t talk about his past. He doesn’t like it, as a rule.

Az’s heavy brows pop up. “What’s this sudden interest in Rui? You ready to ask your real question yet?”

“Not yet.”

Az gives me a milky-eyed look that says he knows I’m up to something, but he’ll still play along. “Rui and I were very close.”

“Okay. So werewolf wardens find each other, but none of the others do? I mean, Alec has never met his last warden. Whoever that guy or girl is, they’re still out there somewhere.”

Az sniffs, a sound that says, Really? It’s the noise he often makes when he’s talking about the other magical races. “Warlocks and fairies aren’t like us. They aren’t pack.”

“True that.” Werewolves are driven to attach to a group. We share power. Some mates even share thoughts.

Az twitches his ears. “Are you going to tell me why you’re upset, my son?”

I rub my neck. He’s right. I can’t stall forever. “Here’s the thing. Did you ever feel a mating call?”

“Never.” Az’s answer is swift and without hesitation. Not a good sign for whatever strangeness is going on with my wolf and me.

“Are you sure? Didn’t your wolf ever get confused? Maybe it thought someone was his mate when it wasn’t even possible?”

“No.”

I try another angle. “What about Rui? Did his wolf ever think someone was his mate?”

At these words, my own wolf decides to get into the act. His growling voice echoes through my mind. “Bryar. Mate.”

I close my eyes and reply in my mind. “I know your opinion on this one, buddy.”

“No, no, no.” Az’s voice is getting more clipped, which means he’s not fooling around. “Rui never felt the call for a mate.” Az’s eyes narrow. “Why, did such a thing happen to you?”

I rub Az’s neck like my life depends on it. I have the option of lying right now, but that’s a waste of time. Werewolves can scent an untruth. “Yeah. My wolf thinks so.”

With these words, my wolf decides to go berserk in my head. “Bryar! Yes! Mate!”

“Quiet, you.”

Az shifts to stare directly at me. “And?”

“It’s impossible. Wardens don’t get mates. And even if we did, the girl my wolf picked is a human.”

Az’s milky gaze locks with mine. “I don’t care what she is. Do you know what I’d give for one hour of the feeling that you’re throwing away? We’re pack animals. We want cubs and a family. Don’t ruin this for yourself.”

“I get that we’re pack, but going after this girl? It’s just selfish. I could hurt her. You know wardens can’t mate. And even if we could, the bonding ceremony isn’t an option. Within a day after getting married, our spouses sicken and die.” It’s all part of being a warden. The magic finds you. It also enforces your job. If you aren’t guarding the fountain, you don’t get a family.

“Only if you do a full mating ceremony.”

I shake my head. “If I let someone in my life, my wolf is not going to be happy until we have a mating ceremony. We can’t have cubs without it.”

Az’s long tongue slides across his lips. That’s his “thinking face.” A long pause ticks by before he speaks again. “Let me see your marks.”

Now, all wardens have marks on their backs. They’re like tattoos, but they show up magically when we first get full use of our powers. As we mature, they darken. Mine are hieroglyphs, and they started to appear when I was six. The markings pulse as I get more power, and yeah, I’ve been feeling them more ever since I met Bryar. Still, I’m not ready for more evidence that I should enter into a doomed relationship, especially when it means Bryar could end up dead.

I glare at Az. “My marks are fine.”

Az huffs out a breath, which is his version of a chuckle. “In other words, you won’t show your marks to me because they have changed.”

Again, I’d lie to him, but he’d sniff it out anyway. “They’ve been pulsing lately. That’s all. This mate thing has got me all mixed up.”

“And so, you’ve come to ask me for advice.”

“Yeah.”

“My guidance to you is this. You need to be with your mate. Hunt this girl down. Make her yours.”

My wolf loves this idea. “Yes. Bryar. Mate.”

I’m not so convinced. “Like I said, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Especially for her.”

Az shifts his weight until he’s sitting sphinxlike on his front paws. “Listen to me, cub. There are three wardens for magic. As of this moment, two of them are within a mile of each other. That’s unprecedented. And I’ll wager the third is near you too, although you don’t know it yet. Whatever you think the rules are for wardens, they don’t exist anymore. Our magic is changing.”

“That’s what Alec says, too. He thinks that the fountain can only be found once every two thousand years, and we’re coming up on that time.”

“Alec could very well be right.”

“I’ve read the passages he translated in the Book of Magic. You could interpret them ten different ways. It doesn’t mean the fountain is returning or magic is changing.”

Az arches his brows. “And is that what you truly believe?”

Times like these, I wish I could lie. “I don’t know what to believe, Az.”

“Because you know Alec speaks the truth. The fountain will return to us. Magic will change. The fact that you’re finding your mate is all part of that. You must go where it leads you.”

I shake my head. “That’s not so easy. There are risks.”

Az lies back down, resting his muzzle on his paws. “Right now, no path will be easy for you. You have two choices. You can follow the magic on this journey willingly, or it will drag you to its chosen destination anyway. At least if you go willingly, there will be less pain.”

“Less pain. Nice.”

“You came here for the truth. Just think on what I said. That’s all I ask.”

“I will. I promise.” Something Bryar said pops into my mind, raising another question I can pose to Az. And right now? Any change of subject seems like a great idea. “You still keep your contacts up with the were packs, yeah?”

“I do.”

“Do you know if there are any werewolves who are going to those teen Magicorum groups run by the Denarii?”

“I know of one. She’s a Red Riding Hood template.” Az’s scent changes. Whoever she is, this girl is important to him.

“Pass around the word. Time was, some lower-level Denarii could be trusted. But that’s over now. Make sure everyone knows… Any groups run by the Denarii are unsafe.”

“Are you certain? There has always been a core of Denarii who are evil, but they stay hidden away from the public. The underlings you’d meet in a league building are harmless. Many can be helpful to our kind.”

“Not anymore. The human I was telling you about? She was in one of those groups. The leader tried to kill her.”

“I see.” Az’s upper lip twists into a snarl. “I’ll take care of it.” And I wonder what he really means by that. Az might be old, but when he’s riled up, he can be a badass in battle. “Anything else?”

“No. Thanks, Az.” I give him one last scratch behind the ears. “I’ll be going now.”

“And I’ll be napping until later.”

With that, I leave Az’s place and head back to the bar. My body is so wound up, it’s like I could jump out of my skin. Who knows? Maybe I should find Joy and see if her kissing skills have gotten any better. At this moment, I need any distraction I can get.

With that thought, my wolf totally loses it. He instantly turns into a howling mess inside me. “No Joy. BRYAR ROSE MATE!” Then he lets out a long series of whining noises.

I reply in my mind. “Okay, buddy, I got it.”

“We go. Bryar Rose mate.”

I know what he wants. “Fine, we’ll drive by her place. But that’s all we’ll do. Better?”

“Mate, mate, mate.”

When my wolf starts repeating stuff over and over, it means only one thing. There won’t be any peace for me tonight. I need to drive by Elle’s place, since I know that’s where Bryar is staying. There was a café across the street from her brownstone. Maybe I can put the Mustang in a lot, grab some java, and keep an eye on her place. As I contemplate this plan, I must admit, my wolf isn’t the only one who’s pumped for this idea. Once I’m closer to Bryar, I know I’ll feel a lot better, too.