Mated Girl (Wolf Girl #4)(19)

Marmal’s hair was windswept as she held onto two horns that protruded from Pearl’s head.
“Well, she can fly!” I shouted to Marmal as Sage and I stepped closer to them.
Marmal grinned and the small tusks in her cheeks dipped inward. “She can.”
“You can speak to her?” I confirmed for the second time, and Marmal simply nodded. Troll magic. Mysterious.
“Tell her thank you. From both of us.” I motioned to Sage.
Sage nodded and then looked behind me. “People will have heard all that. We should scram.”
She was right. A gunshot and Trip’s fall … Light Fey City would be on us in no time. Dark Fey too no doubt.
“Okay, we will steal a car and—”
Marmal shook her head. “Pearl says she can carry up to twenty grown men. You two will feel like feathers.”
Ride a dragon! I mean, that was my escape plan after busting Sawyer and Walsh out of prison, but…
“What if we’re spotted? I was able to see her clearly the whole time,” I argued with my friend.
Marmal nodded. “We wanted you to be able to follow us. She can cloak herself. Old magic. We’ll be invisible.”
Invisible!
My eyes widened.
‘Is that so crazy?’ my wolf asked.
Touché.
I mean … she could go invisible and walk through walls. Maybe that’s where it came from … this old magic.
I looked at Pearl in a new light. Were the dragon and my wolf similar in some way? At least magically?
“Sounds good to me.” Sage leapt across the space and Marmal helped her onto the beautiful white dragon.
“Thanks, girl.” I reached out to Pearl and stroked her white scales. They felt like a cross between a lizard and a dolphin. Shiny and firm, but soft in a way. It was hard to describe. Her eyes were slitted and the color of the ocean, blue and black and white all mixed into one shiny jewel. Reaching back with her face, she nuzzled my leg and inhaled, her nostrils flaring.
“She says you smell like home,” Marmal translated, sounding a bit confused.
I frowned, unsure what that meant. “Where’s home?”
Marmal pulled me up and I snuggled in behind Sage, grabbing Pearl’s body beneath my legs to steady myself.
Marmal’s eyes widened. “She said you would call it the Dark Woods?”
I felt Sage stiffen against me. Pearl was … from the Dark Woods? I thought of the magical cave inside of the mountain and the way the trees moved. If any place in all of Magic City were home to a dragon, it would be there.
Holy crap.
My mind reeled at that revelation, but before I could ponder on it more, Pearl snapped her wings outward.
“Ready?” Marmal asked.
Sage and I had barely said yes when Pearl kicked off the ground and then we were flying. Her giant wings pumped the air as we soared higher and higher. The wind rushed past me, tossing my hair around my face.
“Wooooo!” Sage cried out, but I shushed her with a light elbow to the ribs.
“Fey could be tracking us,” I murmured behind her.
“Buzzkill,” she grumbled at me.
I looked out at the giant expanse before me and gasped. Wow. It was so beautiful up here. You could see the little brick walls demarcating the territories like spokes on a wheel. It was sad, actually, that everyone was so segregated. Because I could see how all of Magic City, as a whole, was so incredibly beautiful. The lands ranged from rich, thick, green forests to the open plains of Troll Village, which were burnt orange and yellow.
Pearl flew over Light Fey City with its black asphalt roads and glass buildings topped with solar panels, and a powerful magic came over us. I could smell the scent of burnt wires as she pulled up some type of shield. It was like I was looking through a plastic bag. Clear, but hazy.
“Okay, she says we are invisible! She’s got the cloak up,” Marmal screamed behind her at Sage and I.
Okay, that was going to be super freaking useful in getting Sawyer out of prison. But I knew the key to having this really go off without a hitch was to be able to communicate with both Sage and Marmal mentally.
“Girls!” I shouted, and they both spun around to face me.
I swallowed hard, and tried to convey the seriousness I felt stirring inside of me. “I want to make you both pack. Paladin pack. My pack. I’ll claim you, and that way we can talk into each other’s minds…”
Both of their mouths popped open at the same time. “But I’m a troll.” Marmal sounded as if she was in complete disbelief.
I nodded. “And you would be accepted as family. Cherished. Loved. Protected.” I knew that if I approved it, Rab and the others would as well.
Her eyes grew misty and she nodded. Then I looked at Sage, prepared to put up a fight, prepared to tell her she wasn’t really leaving the city wolves behind, she was just joining a blended family.
“I’ve been pack with you for a while now, Demi. Let’s make it official.” Sage extended her wrist, knowing what was required, knowing what I’d done to claim Astra.
I inclined my head, tears filling my eyes as I thought of how much I’d been through with this girl.
Reaching out, I removed my left wrist cuff and felt my teeth lengthen, then I dipped my head down to her forearm and nipped her, until I tasted blood.
‘Mine. Pack.’ My wolf surged forward as my alpha power blanketed Sage. I felt our bond deepen as a surge of consciousness joined mine and I sensed Sage so strongly, her worry for me and Walsh and Sawyer, her protectiveness, loyalty. Then she faded into the background with the rest of the pack.
‘Testing, testing,’ I tried.