Nicole Austen - Black Magic

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author makes no claims to, but instead acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the word marks mentioned in this work of fiction.

Copyright 2022 by Nicole Austen

BLACK MAGIC by Nicole Austen

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by Month9Books, LLC.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-951710-69-9

ePub ISBN: 978-1-951710-70-5

Published by Month9Books, Raleigh, NC 27609

Illustrations by Sarah Sladk

Cover by Danielle Doolittle, DoElle Designs

Shadow of the Pack is a thrilling tale about survival in the wild. Set in a world that is at once enchanting and dangerous, the story weaves a gripping drama of power, betrayal, and family. The Willow River wolves are real flesh-and-blood characters we care about, and the stakes in their fight for dominance are life and death. Austens natural instinct for plot and action make her a wonderful new talent to watch. - NYT Bestseller Soman Chainani, author of The School for Good and Evil series

Shadow of the Pack is a joy to read, especially for those fascinated by wolves. Reading it brought me the same happy feeling I had when I first encountered Watership Down. -- NYT Bestseller Thomas Lennon, author of Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles

Dad, who made everything possible,

this ones for you.

Moonlight touched the clearing where the pack prowled. It shone like silver dust on the forest leaves and rendered the grass beneath the wolves paws in gray-green brilliance. It shimmered on their mottled backs and rounded ears, leaving their eyes to shine eerily from the shadows beneath their brows.

In the center of the clearing stood a black wolf with a patch of white on his chest. He was alone and exposed under the light of the moon. His large, golden eyes followed the movements of the other wolves. They circled him, stalking near the trees on either side of the clearing, passing in and out of shadow and light.

The black wolfs teeth were bared, shining bright white in the moonlight, and his tail was high and quivering with aggression. He was ready to fight for his life.

Hawk had known this would happen. It hadnt been long since he had left his birth pack and set off as a lone wolf. His search for food had led him deep into the heart of enemy territory. Willow River territory. Now, Hawk was surrounded by enemies, followers of the Old Way. Now, violence was his only option.

They had caught the scent of Hawks old pack on his fur. They knew he had once considered the territory around Mud Lake his home, born into a pack that obeyed the New Way rather than adhering to the collective ancestral will. He would have to fight harder than most to prove himself worthy of joining them.

A low growl reverberated across the clearing. Hawk swept his eyes over the pack, searching for its source, and saw a large, green-eyed male standing near the forests edge, teeth bared in a snarl. It was Alric, the alpha male of the Willow River pack.

The other wolves froze, heads tilted as they watched their leader. Alric took one step forward, then another, slowly approaching the lone wolf. Hawk stood motionless, his eyes narrowed. The slightest movement could provoke a fight.

There was triumph in Alrics eyes. Like he had already won. Hawk would make him pay for his overconfidence. No wolf, not even a powerful alpha such as Alric, could overcome Hawks gift, a blessing he had carried with him since birth. But this gift from the ancestors was also his greatest secret. Revealing it to an Old Way alpha like Alric would be a mistake, especially if he wanted to make these wolves his packmates.

The rest of the pack began to inch forward, careful to stay far from Hawks claws. Three wolves, all female. The Willow River pack was small and weak. They needed new members, especially strong males like Hawk. But the Old Way was harsh, and it never compromised, not even when the survival of the pack depended on it. Hawk would have to fight to prove his worth.

For a moment, everything was quiet and still. The only sounds were the distant chirping of crickets, the whisper of a breeze, and the wolves soft panting as they faced off in the center of the clearing. Their breaths rose in faint white mist from their mouths, swirling together in the brisk night air.

A violent growl broke the silence as the largest of the females stepped forward, eyes narrowed in a challenge. Hawk could sense her anticipation, her eagerness to prove her strength to her alpha. She was only a subordinate, a mid-ranking wolf, but her ambition was clear. The lone wolf stretched back the corners of his mouth and bared his teeth in a wolf grin, mocking her. Shed soon regret facing him.

The female was unfazed. She sprang forward and knocked Hawk to the ground. She was stronger than he had expected, pinning him beneath her claws, smothering his face in her thick white fur. He thrashed beneath her, unable to breathe. Panic rushed through him, and he felt something deep inside his body begin to rise to the surface.

A single golden spark danced across his vision, and he lashed out with incredible strength, a single kick of his hind legs throwing the white-furred female halfway across the clearing.

Hawk closed his eyes and pushed down the wild surge of magic. The other wolves stared at the white female as she shakily got to her paws. Blinded by fear for their packmate, the wolves were oblivious to Hawks attempts to tame the energy inside him.

With another furious growl, the female charged. Her claws flashed through the air, glimmering in the moonlight, as Hawk whirled out of the way. She stumbled forward, off-balance. Hawk lunged.

Moments later, all that could be seen was a writhing ball of fur rolling back and forth across the ground. The two wolves clawed and bit at each other, struggling to pin their opponent and gain the advantage. Alric moved forward to protect his packmate, then shrank back again as Hawks claws raked through the fur on his chest and barely missed his skin. The fight was too heated for him to intervene. Or perhaps he just wanted to see who would prevail.

Though Hawk was taking care to control his magic this time, he was still the more experienced fighter, and his size gave him an edge. The white female kicked and struggled, but Hawk was too strong. Soon, he had his teeth around her throat. He began to bite down, fangs cutting through her fur and digging into her skin.