Charm in hand, pacing the length of the strip mall in predawn light, it occurred to me that my tracking charms hadn’t been living up to expectations. From the front of the buildings, this thing had indicated to go to the back. From the back, it pointed to the front. Since there hadn’t been any broken doors or windows, I hadn’t a clue how it thought the werewolf was inside.

  It locked onto the shop directly in front of me. Small letters on the back door read, “Pro Swing Golf Supplies.” It might have been a trendy place to shop twenty years ago, but this strip mall had seen better days. The area wasn’t drawing in customers willing to drop top dollar on a set of clubs.

  I motioned the cops over. “Same shop. My guess is he’s in there.”

  They got on their radios, and I ended up back in the parking lot munching on a disappointing granola bar—why were they always crunchy?—while we waited for SWAT. It had been deemed too risky for us regular officers to go in.

  At least the tea was good. The bathroom options less so, but the arcade was the only shop I had access to with a bathroom, so I was properly grateful and used hand sanitizer from my car since the soap dispenser didn’t dispense.

  SWAT arrived with the sun. They also refused to take me in, which seemed like a mistake to me. Given what had happened to the guy at Get Magic Goods after limited contact, I would’ve wanted the witch who could counter spells leading the charge, but it wasn’t my call. Instead, I got a nice front row spot to watch them breach the door.

  While SWAT was gearing up, Nash and his assistant were leaving with the deer. Mitchell hadn’t even called him until after Jamie and I had purified the place. He hadn’t seemed thrilled, but I noticed he hadn’t protested the extra sleep. SWAT didn’t seem to want him around, something about unnecessary risk and getting evidence away before anything could contaminate it.

  Nash’s van took a left out of the parking lot, and SWAT started marching toward the door. From the guy talking into the radio, I figured the team at the back was moving too.

  They breached the front door and charged in. I held my breath. The charm had to be accurate, or it would be my ass on the line when it came to explaining just why the SWAT team busted into Pro Swing.

  A shadow angled across the parking lot in front of the store. The uneven shape drew my attention. Turing my eyes skyward, I searched for the bird or whatever caused it.

  Movement pulled my attention back to the building. The shadow changed again, and I spotted a person on the roof. My first thought was that SWAT sure covered their bases, though in this case, it seemed like they were putting an officer in danger if bullets went flying.

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  Then the shape turned. Morning light clearly displayed the misshapen head, trapped between wolf and human. The rest of the body hunched and moved as if it too was between forms. Then the werewolf started running across the roof toward the forest.

  “He’s on the roof!” I bellowed as I yanked my wand out of the sheath. I took off after him, angling toward the far end of the strip. Ideally, I should stop him before then, but if he went off the back side of the building, he’d be gone before I could catch up.

  A gunshot drowned out my heartbeat for a moment. I wasn’t sure where the bullet went, but it didn’t slow CJ.

  Two more followed. The magic around him rippled in a way I doubted I could replicate in a controlled setting, never mind while running across a building, and the bullets passed through him.

  “Hold fire! Hold fire! Ineffective due to magic!” I screamed.

  CJ was only two shops away from the end. If I didn’t do something now, he could get away. I had to stop him. “Sowil Haglaz!”

  A spherical containment spell sprang to life around CJ. He slammed into the magical barrier and stumbled back, one hand pressed against the spell.

  Wand up, I slowed to a walk and sucked in air. How far and how long I could run on a treadmill never compared to in the field with the added stresses and adrenaline.

  CJ regained his footing and cocked his head to the side. His entire body angled forward as he leaned into the spell. Around him, the mix of blood magic and the stimulant spell twisted. His hand pushed through the wall of the sphere.

  I swore. It wasn’t going to hold. Without a way to compensate for the spells on him, it would be risky to try any other containment spell.

  He pushed all the way through, and the tip of his tail wagged.

  “Algiz!” The invisible ropes of magic that encircled him pulled his arms against his body and bound his ankles together. It was a long shot, but maybe it would hold long enough for me to think of a more complex spell.

  That hope lived all of two frantic heartbeats before the blood magic started to eat them.

  I shoved more power into the spell. The ropes continued to disintegrate. Forgetting the type of magic on him, I reinforced the ropes with my power, not focused through runes, but through my will and magic.

  For an instant, the spells on him faded, and CJ’s fear beat against my magic. Then the other spells and other magic returned, attacking mine, flowing from CJ to me.

  Before my mind could catch up with what was happening, the ropes melted away, and CJ leapt for the edge of the building. The connection between the two of us shattered, the blood magic attached to the backlash hurling toward me.

  A black blur moving so fast it had to be a non-human SWAT officer dashed to the end of the building.

  The blood magic rushed into me with the force of a concussive blast. My hand spasmed around my wand, dropping it. My butt hit the asphalt. I had just enough control left to roll with the hit and avoid direct head-to-asphalt contact. I didn’t have enough air or time to warn off the SWAT officer before he tackled CJ.

  As the blood magic mingled with my own, my vision flickered. Before it went red and hazy, I saw the magic pour into the swat officer. Now two shifters were contaminated. Just perfect.