Mated Girl (Wolf Girl #4)(15)

“That one!” Sage hissed, and we ran over to a large sturdy wooden carriage. It was tented with some type of lightweight material that would conceal us.
Perfect.
It had four giant wheels, and then two long poles to connect to the horses’ saddles. I grabbed one stick and Sage grabbed the other and then we heaved it forward.
Holy Mother.
This thing was heavy, but it was our only way through Dark Fey Territory until we could steal a car in Light Fey.
Come on…
Inch by inch, we heaved it forward, stopping to move other junk out the way. We were too slow, I could hear the men’s far-off voices, and knew they might just give up on catching my wolf and come back. Without a second thought, I ripped off the cuffs, shoving them into my cloak pocket, feeling my magic flaring to life under my skin. With a grunt, I yanked the wagon forward and dragged it at super speed out of the storage shed.
“Whoa!” Sage yelled and scrambled to get out of the way as I almost dragged her under it.
“Sorry,” I whisper-screamed, unaware of how much strength and speed I had at the moment. I dragged the cart behind the shed and back down the hill to where our horses were grazing while Sage covered our tracks behind me. Magic pulsed through my body in electric waves and my heart pounded in my chest. I felt like the Hulk on steroids.
When I finally stopped, panting and feeling lightheaded, I slipped on the cuffs quickly and looked at my friend. She was watching me with wide eyes.
“The fuck was that?” She looked at my arms as if she expected them to grow in size.
I laughed nervously. “Magic, I guess.”
Sage just shook her head. “Incredible, your powers are getting stronger.”
Were they? Or was I just starting to discover them all? Since the moment I found out what I was, everyone was trying to suppress my powers or hide them. I wondered if I was able to just be free and use them, what I would be capable of. I probably should have tried in the woods, but I was too busy learning to trust my human side and getting food and looking for the cave to bother with magic.
“Okay, you hook up the horses, I’ll go start the fire and then get ready to scram,” I told my bestie and second-in-command.
She nodded and got to work tying our horses to the wagon. My wolf pulled at my attention and I focused on her, seeing that she’d allowed the men to catch her. She growled as they pulled her into the front doors of the barn with a rope around her neck. The big dude then handed the rope to Marmal, who was bent in front of Pearl’s cage. She had a special key in her hand and was opening the lock. She’d told us last night that on Pearl’s “harvesting” day she was permitted to use the key to take Pearl out and bring her to the back room. She’d worked there a year and they trusted her to do this alone now without an escort. She wasn’t able to open the lock with her magic, as it had some type of protective spell over it that the others did not.
“Keep the damn animals in the cage or I’ll have you fired!” the troll-fey Ithaki snapped at Marmal, handing her the rope-leash that was connected to my wolf.
She took one look at my wolf, eyes widening slightly, and nodded curtly to the man.
Good. My wolf was safe with her, and she’d gotten the key to let Pearl out. Time to light this place up.
Literally.
Scrambling up the hill to the back barn door, I pulled out the lighter and kindling from my pocket that I’d stashed there earlier this morning. Shoving the kindling into a crack in the wooden siding of the barn, I lit it, blowing softly to increase the flame. It caught and slowly flickered up the wall, causing tendrils of smoke to waft up to the sky.
Okay, now to throw some fuel on that fire.
Pulling out the small bottle of fuel Marmal had given me, I stood back and popped off the lid.
Here goes nothing.
I threw the liquid, dousing the bottom half of the flames. For a second I feared they would go out, but then the fire roared to life and engulfed the entire back wall of the barn in seconds. I stumbled backward as the heat became too intense, the crackling and popping growing louder.
Time to scram.
Running to the side of the barn, I pulled my hood up as I heard a commotion inside.
“Fucking fire!” I heard someone yell.
I snapped my attention to my wolf, who was still inside the barn, and was immediately assaulted by the smell of smoke. Marmal was in the corner near Pearl’s unlocked cage, looking at the ceiling like she was in a trance. My wolf was curled protectively around her feet, staring up at her. The scent of hot wires and burning electricity filled the air.
Magic. Troll magic.
Click, click, click, the sound of hundreds of locks opening clattered throughout the space like an orchestra. The fire had fully engulfed the entire back wall, including Trip’s office, and people now abandoned all thoughts of putting it out as they fled for the exit.
“Magic!” someone yelled, and that’s when Marmal stepped over to the door of Pearl’s cage and pulled it wide open.
My wolf tipped her head back and howled, long and deep, and I felt a stirring in the air, as if she’d somehow sent out a signal to the other animals that it was time to fight and be free. The animals had gotten wind of the fact that their cages had been unlocked, and now they butted the cage doors open with their snouts. Marmal’s magic was so powerful, she’d unlocked every single cage. I was in complete awe of her.
A gray plume of smoke filled the barn so quickly I worried they wouldn’t get out in time. Dozens of different animals leapt out into the commotion, all abandoning their cages. Foxes, bears, wolves, otters, eagles, it was insane.
“Come on!” Marmal screamed as she yanked Pearl’s neck. The dragon looked afraid, like she wasn’t sure if they were going to do another experiment on her. “I promise,” Marmal said with a fierce look, peering into Pearl’s eyes. “Never again. You’re free.”