Mated Girl (Wolf Girl #4)(20)

She grinned. ‘That’s cool. I’ve never done that without being in wolf form.’
A smile pulled at my lips. ‘Welcome to the pack.’
Marmal was next. She extended her arm timidly; she didn’t know me as well as Sage did, and she sure as hell didn’t know wolf ways, yet still she trusted me. After drawing blood, I claimed her and her consciousness surged with mine. There was a frantic panic in her energy and her eyes widened.
She clutched her chest. “I feel you.”
I nodded. ‘I feel you too. You’re family now. Pack,’ I finished with a smile, slipping the cuff back on my wrist.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish out of water, and then a single tear slipped from her eye. I shouldn’t have pressed her but I did; I pushed into her emotions just a tiny bit to see what was wrong, and then tears were lining my eyes as well.
She wasn’t alone anymore. Her sister had died in the farm fires last year, and she hadn’t realized how lonely she was until this moment that she felt our bond.
I reached out and pulled her in for a hug, in which Sage had to lean over and clutch on to Pearl and out of our way.
‘You’re with us now,’ I told her.
‘Happy to be so,’ she responded.
We all flew in reflective silence for the next twenty minutes when the cluster of buildings signaling downtown Magic City, the capital of Light Fey City, rose up into view.
It was stunning. A giant river ran right down the center of the city, spanned by a huge bridge so that cars could go to each side. The river was almost like a lake it was so wide. As we flew closer, I noticed there in the very center of the wide rushing river was the tallest building in the entire city.
Magic City Prison.
There was probably a hundred feet of water on either side of the island, with boat docks and canoes moored on the shores. The city bustled around the island prison as if it didn’t exist, cars zipping in and out of traffic, fey walking and laughing as they dressed in their finest suits. It was like a magical Manhattan.
‘Have her set down over there. We need to go over the gameplan,’ I told Marmal, pointing to the thick trees that butted up against the river’s edge. It looked like some type of parking or hiking trail. It was like they’d cut a city right out of the forest but kept as much nature as possible. I’d never seen so many fey in one place. There were very few in my time at Delphi and they kept to themselves. The way they walked, so lithe and graceful, was almost hypnotic.
Pearl lowered us onto a grassy patch deep within the park, and I dismounted as I stepped out of her invisible shield. We were alone for now, but I pulled the hood up high over my head to cover myself just in case, and then checked that my cuffs were securely on my wrists. Sage and Marmal met me in the grassy area as I paced tracks into the lush blades of green.
I’d made it. I was here. And I had no fucking idea what part of the plan to start next. But looking up at the huge building and knowing my mate was so close gave me hope. I needed to get Sage inside, but getting her arrested now seemed like a big and timely fanfare. There would be sentencing and all of that if it was anything like the jails in Spokane and the human world. My wolf felt on edge as she slithered restlessly inside of me. Were there vampires inside the prison right now? Maybe they lay in wait in these very bushes.
“Tell her to keep cloaked until I figure this out.” I pointed to the direction that I knew Pearl was, but instead of a dragon there was just a shimmering bubble not noticeable to the untrained eye.
Marmal nodded. “She will.”
“Okay…” I said, not slowing my pacing. “What time is it here?”
Sage pulled a cellphone out of her pocket and turned it on. Holy crap, I hadn’t seen one of those in over a year. My fingers itched to check my Instagram account as silly as that sounded.
“Eugene gave it to me,” Sage offered. “It’s two p.m. Light Fey time.”
Two hours. I had two hours to get Sage inside for a four p.m. jailbreak during Sawyer’s workout time, or I’d have to wait another day. I was not waiting another day to see my man.
“Okay. I have a plan.” I set down my pack and pulled out all the maps.
The workout room on the eightieth floor was directly across from the mess hall and next to the showers on the west side of the building.
“Sage, if you can merge with my wolf and get her inside, she can get up to the eightieth floor to save Sawyer and then come back for you,” I told my bestie, knowing it was such a huge ask. She’d be putting her life in danger. If I knew they wouldn’t recognize me right away, I’d do it myself. She had already agreed, but I wanted to give her one last chance to back out.
“You know I’m down, but how can I get arrested and sent to prison in two hours?” she asked.
I chewed my lip, an idea forming in my mind. “We’re going to test your acting skills.”
She frowned and I pointed to Marmal. “You’re my getaway car. We will keep Pearl hidden, and then when I direct you, I need you to drop me off at the top floor while we grab the guys, and then we’ll go pick up Sage before they transfer her to a psych ward.”
Sage sputtered, choking on her spit. “Psych ward!”
I nodded. “I need you to act batshit conspiracy theory crazy. Swim across the river, walk right in the front door and spout ridiculous things. Just enough to get my wolf inside.”
Sage shook her head, half smirking. “You and Sawyer owe me the nicest possible vacation ever after all this.”
I grinned. “Done.”
“Okay, I can do this.” A shadow crossed her face and she pulled her lower lip into her mouth to chew on it nervously.