I kicked and clawed at the ground, grabbing a rock. Searing pain shot across my back, and my vision flashed as his claws cut through Sam’s leather jacket. Anger surged inside me.
Fight.
I flipped over and brought the rock in my fist down on Billy’s head. The crack reverberated through my hand.
He grunted and fell back. Rage flashed across his face, and he grabbed my ankle and dragged me toward him. I kicked him wildly with my free leg, but he backhanded me so hard, I nearly passed out.
He climbed on top of me and squeezed my throat. Blood dripped down the side of his head. “If you don’t stop fighting, I’ll fucking kill you, no matter what the sorcerer needs.”
I’ll never stop fighting.
I slammed my palms into his chest “I said, get the fuck off me!”
Time seemed to stop. Ice water flowed through my body, starting from my fingertips and toes, then spreading up my legs and arms. It narrowed to a point in my chest, then exploded through my hands.
A scream tore from Billy’s throat as the force blasted into his chest and sent him flying back into a tree. Shadowy tendrils snaked around him, and he fought them off as he writhed.
My magic. I scrambled to my feet and looked down at my palms. How do I do that, again?
Billy crouched and growled, his eyes bright yellow. He was wolfing out, and I was pretty sure he was actually going to kill me.
I spun and sprinted along the ridge above the shoreline. The dark water lapped against the worn rocks below.
Billy’s feet pounded the earth behind me. I leapt over a mass of twisted tree roots, fear clawing at my chest. My breaths came in ragged bursts. I couldn’t outrun him—even with my boots, he was too fast.
I dipped under a low branch and glanced over my shoulder. His claws were out, and hair bristled over his arms. Billy had checked out, and there was only a monster left where the man had been.
Not good.
Up ahead, a small ravine cut through the ridge. Dread settled over me. The gap was at least ten feet across.
Could I make it?
Only one way to find out. I sent a silent prayer into the universe and launched myself over the ravine. Weightlessness took over as the dark expanse flashed by below. My feet hit the rocky ledge, and my boots absorbed the shock.
Holy crap!
But before I could celebrate, a solid force—no, a body—hit me from behind, expelling the breath from my lungs. Claws sank into my arms as my feet were knocked out from under me. We hit the ground hard, and a stabbing pain shot through my shoulder. I screamed as Billy and I rolled across the ground, entwined together. We came to a stop, his weight painfully pressing my back into a rock. I gasped as warmth seeped into the front of my shirt. Blood. Was it mine?
Fury flashed through me, and my mind slipped away as rage settled into the driver’s seat. A burning sensation pulsed under my fingernails, and pressure built under my ribs, like my chest was breaking in two.
I was having a heart attack. My poor heart had given out from the terror, and I was dying.
Not without a fight.
My adrenaline surged, and I punched Billy in the nose, feeling it crack against my knuckles. Blood dribbled from his nostrils, and the metallic smell filled my mind. He stared down at me. Horror and confusion streaked through his tawny eyes. “It can’t be.”
A white-hot anger I’d never known before burned through me.
Tear his throat out.
I grabbed the front of his shirt, and rammed my other fist into his chest. That cool energy from earlier returned, erupting through my fingers in a painful flurry. Billy let out a guttural sound as his body launched backwards like a rag doll and disappeared over the ledge.
My muscles spasmed, and I collapsed. Exhaustion weighed down on me.
Get up, Savy.
I shook my head but crawled over to the ledge and peered down. Water lapped against the rocks—water mixed with blood. I could smell it, though that made no sense at all.
I gripped a tree root and climbed down the steep, rocky slope. My boots slid on the dirt, and I landed on a limestone boulder. My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my temples.
The moon’s reflection glinted on the dark water, and I scanned the shore and froze. A dark shape lay motionless at the lake’s edge, rocking gently in the waves, shielded from above by an overhang.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer.
Blood seeped into the water from the black wolf. Billy was dead, and he’d reverted to his original form. Just like the monster who’d attacked me at the Taphouse. Wolfborn. Like Sam. Like Jaxson.
Crouching down, I gripped his wet fur and rolled his body over. Several deep red gashes cut across the wolf’s chest. They looked like…
Nope.
Confusion and panic clouded my mind. I turned away and doubled over, squeezing my knees with my palms.
Deep breaths, Savy.
Billy must have scraped himself on some branches while he was chasing me. That’s why I was covered in blood.
I opened my eyes and saw my reflection in the water, illuminated by the moonlight. Horror rocketed through me. Staring back up at me in the water was me. But my eyes…
Oh, my God.
My eyes were fucking glowing honey gold.
I screamed and tripped, landing hard on my butt. As I scooted away from the lake, ice chilled my veins, and panic took hold. I couldn’t seem to get enough air. I clutched my heart and stared up at the starry sky. My vision blurred, but the vastness of the black expanse above was calming, like the presence of an old friend. After a few minutes, my breathing eased.
I’d just experienced a trauma. Billy had attacked me. I’d pushed him over the ledge, and now he was dead. Shock had made my mind project things that weren’t real. Hadn’t Jaxson told me the same thing the first time we’d met?
And he’d been lying.
I dragged myself to my feet and peered at my reflection. My eyes weren’t a honey color. I sighed with relief but couldn’t shake the dread that had seeped deep into my soul.
It had just been my wild imagination.
45
Jaxson
Though Savannah’s scream had torn through the forest minutes ago, it still echoed in my mind.
Fury coursed through me as I growled and leapt up the side of the gully. Her scent was everywhere, clouding my mind and causing my wolf to panic. I feared that if I shifted now, he’d take over, and I’d lose control.
Why the fuck had she chased after Billy alone?
Protect her.
Anger rippled through my body, and I ran faster than I ever had on two legs. The thought of Billy’s hands on Savannah sent me into a rage, and I couldn’t understand it. She was nothing to me, just a LaSalle. A means to an end.
Lies.
The smells of blood and fear flooded my senses, and I slowed. The forest was dead quiet, apart from Savannah’s breathing…and her heartbeat. I could feel it from twenty feet away, as if it were my own.
The reflection of the full moon shone over the lake, and Savannah moved through the trees toward me. She was wounded, terrified, but underneath it all, her alluring scent called to me.
Her eyes locked on me, wide with fear. “Jaxson!”
With a few steps, she closed the distance and crashed into my arms, her body trembling. I could smell Billy’s scent on her, and my anger spiked anew. “I told you to stay with me.”
She didn’t answer, just buried her face in my chest. I tensed but held her tight, breathing in her intoxicating signature as her pounding heart steadied. My anger dissipated. She was alive. That was all that mattered.
I gently moved my hand up her back and felt the lacerations through her torn jacket. She flinched, and a whimper escaped her throat. Guilt pummeled me, and my body shook with fury. Billy was a dead man.
Taking a slow breath, I listened intently. Two heartbeats. Hers. Mine. And nothing else.
The woods were empty. Billy must have fled.
<
br /> “You’re hurt,” I said, my voice rough.
“I’m okay,” she whispered. “Just hold me.”
I should have been calculating, planning, tracking Billy. Ransacking the cabin. Looking for clues to the identity of the sorcerer. But all of that was laughable with her in my arms. Suddenly, the battle, the danger, the stakes, none of it meant anything.
At this moment, there was only her. The scent of her hair so close to my lips. My wolf, who had been raging, was quiet. Focused. We were perfectly aligned. This was where we were supposed to be. Holding her. Protecting her. Reunited.
A part of me knew it was madness, but it was drowned by every sensation in my body.
Savannah looked up at me as she slid her hands to my chest. I could smell her emotions. The fear and panic were gone, replaced by a scent I had never encountered before. I couldn’t quite name it. Rightness. Belonging.
Mine.
Her pupils spread, and her pulse throbbed against my fingertips. Could she, somehow, sense it too?
The lightness of her touch sent heat straight through me, turning my fear for her safety into pulsing desire. All I could think about was kissing her, claiming her, taking her right here under the moon.
I dragged my thumb over her bruised cheek. She winced ever so slightly but bit her lower lip. I could smell her need. Her desire. And I wanted to taste it.
Were we mad? Her eyes told me yes.
But they compelled me, luring me in, lighting a fire that no sanity could extinguish. I slipped one hand to her ass and lifted her. Her body was soft and inviting. She gasped and wrapped her legs around me, pushing her heat against me.
Fuck.
I had to have her. I growled, and my other hand gripped her hair as my mouth claimed hers. She parted her lips so easily, and she tasted divine, like citrus on a warm summer’s day. Her fingers moved over my body, touching and exploring. I ached to feel and lick every inch of her. She kissed me hard, like she was ravenous. Her need only intensified mine, and it took every last ounce of control I had not to rip off her clothes and bury myself in her.
As if sensing my thoughts, she moaned and moved against my hardness. I could almost feel the wet warmth of her body, a drug pulling me onward. I could lose myself in her. Nothing else mattered in the world but this. Her.
Mine.
“Jaxson.” Sam’s voice cut through the night air, drenching my desire like ice water. She stood in the shadows of the trees, flames of shock and fear flickering in her golden eyes. “Are you mad? What are you doing?”
No bullet had ever hit me so hard. It was like an ocean wave slamming into me.
What was I doing?
Guilt, shame, and anger flooded me. I dragged my mouth from Savannah’s and set her down. What had I done?
She’s ours.
No, she wasn’t.
Everything was wrong. The moment had been perfect. But it wasn’t. Tendrils of panic twisted beneath my skin. I had to get control. Savannah was a LaSalle, my pack’s enemy. The people who’d murdered my sister and driven Billy to insanity.
I scrubbed a hand through my hair and stepped toward Sam. She turned her back on me and leaned against a tree. I could smell her despair and confusion.
What had just happened had been like a heat, but far more powerful. Maybe for another of our kind it wouldn’t have mattered, but I was the alpha, and she was a sorceress. A LaSalle. Not one of us.
My wolf surged inside me. She. Is. Ours. I forced him down with a snarl. It wasn’t right.
“Where’s Billy?” Sam asked, her voice pitched flat as she tried to maintain control.
I turned to Savannah. Her lips were swollen from our kiss, and her cheeks were flushed. My chest clenched, and I doused the surge of desire that ripped through me.
“Do you know?” I asked.
Anger and fear flashed across her face, and she glared at me. “He’s dead.”
My chest tightened as the forest spun and the nightmare coiled around me. “What? Billy was mine.” My voice was icy and rough, almost unrecognizable.
Disappointment and hatred cut across Savannah’s face. “He attacked me. I pushed him, and he stumbled over the ledge.”
“Where?” I growled, barely able to control the emotions whirling inside of me. He couldn’t be dead. She must have been mistaken.
Savannah led us through the woods. Sam didn’t speak. She didn’t have to.
My senses had been so consumed by Savannah, I hadn’t scented Billy. But now that I’d reined myself in, it was clear as day. His scent was everywhere and all over her. I would have killed him myself for touching her, but that wasn’t the point.
Finally, after a few minutes of walking, Savannah stopped at the edge of a cliff. “Down there.”
I stepped around her up to the edge. Down below, Billy’s body gently bobbed against the rocks. It was true. A wave of emotions erupted over me—sorrow, anger, regret. Guilt.
Sam appeared at my side. “He tripped, huh?” She arched her brow at Savannah.
Savannah’s lips trembled, and she rubbed her arms. “Yup.”
A lie.
We could both smell it. I scowled and dropped over the ledge. Billy’s eyes were still open, staring at the sky. I knelt and closed them. Then I closed my own and let the grief bore into me.
The last thread tying me to my sister was dead. The person who remembered her best. The person who’d loved her so much, he was willing to abandon everything he believed for justice. Vengeance.
Her true mate, bound together in life and death.
I prayed to the moon mother that I would never have a bond like that, one so fierce that it could drive me to betray my pack, my kin. I was the alpha, and I couldn’t risk being bound by love or desire or anything else.
I gave myself sixty heartbeats to dwell in that darkness. Then I opened my eyes and stood. I would grieve for Billy and my sister later, but for now, I needed to lead. I needed to set things right.
I looked up at Savannah, who met my eyes. In that moment, I knew for certain that she was not as she seemed.
When I’d met her, she’d been an unassuming waitress who had run down a werewolf on the road. She’d had no idea magic was real. Yet…she’d hunted werewolves and demons, rescued Sam and Madison, and now, somehow, she’d managed to take out the third strongest member of my pack. On her own.
It shouldn’t have been possible.
What the hell was she? A beautiful, perilous mystery—that much was certain.
My wolf pitched in my chest, desiring to run to her. But the heat between us had been wrong, a tragic slip. I was the alpha. I couldn’t let my carnal needs cloud my judgement. I had to be stronger. She was a LaSalle, and the woman who’d killed my brother-in-law. It had been self-defense, but she’d taken justice and answers from me. I had loved him once.
I couldn’t let myself forget any of that.
Sam watched me from above. “I’m sorry, Jaxson.”
My heart ached with regret and failure, but I buried my emotions. “Billy betrayed the pack. He signed his own death warrant.”
She nodded. “There’s something more you need to see back at the cabin.”
I scooped Billy’s body up, then froze. Several claw marks cut through his chest. He must have been wounded in the fight earlier. But he hadn’t healed, which was…impossible.
Suspicion settled over me. I could practically taste Savannah’s apprehension, the worry she’d tightly wound around the secret she was concealing.
I tossed Billy over my shoulder and met Savannah’s blank, emotionless stare.
She was hiding something, and I was going to unravel it.
Savannah
I followed Jaxson and Sam through the forest. The two were silent. Jaxson carried Billy’s body draped over his shoulder, and though I tried my hardest to focus on the ground, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Billy’s lifeless form.
Jaxson’s demeanor was cold and distant, and I mirrored it.
What had I bee
n thinking?
When I’d seen Jaxson coming toward me in the woods, relief had dulled my senses. I’d fled into his arms, my soul aching and broken, as if his touch could soothe my shattered spirit. And then suddenly, for one fucked-up second in my fucked-up life, everything had been right. It hadn’t mattered that psychopaths were trying to drain my blood and kill me, or that I’d killed a man, or been shot at, or hunted by monsters. It didn’t matter that I was covered in blood and that everything was wrong.
That moment had been right, and my body knew it. My hands and lips had moved on their own accord, compelled by his scent, his strength, and that golden light burning in his eyes.
And I’d devoured every second.
I touched my bruised lips. He’d tasted so good. That kiss had been everything, and I’d wanted him so badly—a heat that had driven me to madness. Dread coiled in my chest.
What was wrong with me?
Clearly, a lot.
I’d seen it in his eyes, and I could practically smell it on him now. He’d been ashamed that he’d kissed me.
Who wouldn’t be? I’d killed a man with my bare hands, and then I’d kissed his brother-in-law.
Sam’s shocked and revolted look had told me everything I needed to know: I was the real monster in these woods. I was just a filthy, wolf-murdering, bloodstained LaSalle, and though I’d thought that maybe Jaxson had seen through all that, that he’d seen something more, the only things he felt for me now were regret and shame.
Bastard.
My chest constricted, and heat flushed my neck. I clenched my hands and stalked along behind.
Why couldn’t life let me have one moment?
It didn’t matter. This was for the best. Jaxson Laurent was a freaking werewolf and my family’s sworn enemy. Hell, his brother-in-law had tried to kill me, and it seemed like half the werewolves in the state were okay with that plan.
It was screwed up.
Jaxson and I could never be together. Period. I knew toxic when it hit me in the face.
The three of us stepped out of the forest onto the road. Headlights blinded me as a truck pulled to a stop, and Tony emerged.
Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1) Page 31