Magic Side: Wolf Bound Complete Series: Books 1-4, page 40
I ran my fingers over the weathered rock, tracing the symbols, which had grown shallow and worn from the rain.
“Those inscriptions on the stone were part of the spell. The ancient magic is spent, so technically, this is just an old rock. But our forebearers were sorcerers, and we work magic with our souls. That means the souls of our ancestors are in this rock. Remember that fact if you ever question whether you really belong in Magic Side. I know this city must seem crazy, but it’s part of you.”
My heart ached at that thought. Of truly belonging somewhere.
Casey slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest. “You have us, your family. We’ll always have your back. Tomorrow, we’ll sit down with Mom and bang our heads together until we figure out what to do about that prick, but now, it’s time to forget all that shit and drink, got it?”
I nodded, pursing my lips to hold in the emotions that wanted to crawl out. I’d only known my cousin for a couple of weeks, and even though he was insane like the rest of the family, he seemed to genuinely care about me in his own twisted way.
Up ahead, the noise from the party filled the air. Dozens of people crowded around several cars that had driven into the park. A Jeep with lifted wheels sat beside a pair of coolers and lawn chairs, its speakers thrumming ’90s R&B jams.
But it was the flames curling from the huge bonfire in the center of the gathering that drew my eyes. They weren’t the normal orange, but instead cycled among a variety of colors—purple, blue, and green.
“A magic bonfire?” Just as I muttered the words, a woman across the way pitched a glowing blue orb into the fire like it was a baseball. The flames arced at least ten feet into the air, and shouts erupted from the crowd.
Casey shook his head as he put the ice in a cooler and pulled out a Coke. “Some of the sorcerers like to show off.”
I raised a brow at him. “You don’t say?”
Though I’d been suspicious that this gathering might be like the keggers I’d attended in high school, there were no keg stands, and the atmosphere was mellow. Most of the people here looked to be in their twenties or thirties.
Casey took the Ramblers and mixed us some tequila cokes. “I keep forgetting that this is all new to you. I’ll introduce you to some friends.”
An hour later, I’d met a handful of people whose names I couldn’t recall. The bottle of Jose Cuervo was nearly empty, and the pop in my cup was flat. Casey was chatting up some woman with pointy ears who genuinely seemed interested in his humor. Shaking my head, I gulped down the last of my drink and set the Rambler beside one of the coolers. Two women exited a stone building that looked like a bathroom and stumbled toward the coolers, laughing.
“Wolf bait.” Behind me, a voice carried above the din of the music.
I spun, meeting the gazes of two guys. “Excuse me?”
Their eyes were glassy, and a cold darkness snaked around them. My skin crawled. Run, a voice deep in my mind said.
The tallest of them stepped forward, staring at me like a piece of candy free for the taking. He was built like Casey but stockier, and his blond crew cut and cocky expression dredged up memories of the bullies from my high school days. “My friend here was telling me that you’re the alpha’s little whore.”
His words cut through the air and drew bile in my throat. My nails tingled, and I balled my fists to keep calm. It took everything I had to fight the urge to kick the guy in the balls, and if this hadn’t been Casey’s crowd, I would have.
The asshole stalked around me, poking and prodding with his eyes. “I told him no, that can’t be right. She’s a LaSalle.” He stopped in front of me, and his eyes narrowed, revealing the hate simmering inside them. “And LaSalles don’t mingle with wolves.”
My heartbeat drummed against my ribs, and my senses heightened. The rustle of the leaves in the trees, the bead of sweat rolling down my spine, and the sour-rank stench of these bastards—a pungent mix of BO and cologne and whiskey that turned my stomach. My head spun. How much tequila had I drunk?
The other guy scoffed and waved his hand through the air, his movement unbalanced, his gaze distant. “She’s no LaSalle, Jared. Let her chase Laurent’s tail. Maybe she likes it doggie style.” With a disgusting expression on his face, he pumped his hips in a thrusting motion.
I ground my teeth so hard that my jaw felt like it might crack, and my sweaty palms stung.
“What the hell is going on?” Casey shot forward and shoved the jerk in front of me. “Jared, get the fuck away from my cousin.”
Jared stepped back and raised his arms in a non-combative gesture. “Easy, Case. Just getting to know the traitor in our midst.”
Pure, unadulterated rage coursed through me, and my vision shifted. The sound of the music and the clamor of people talking were suddenly overwhelming, and my skin flushed. What was happening to me?
Chest heaving, I glanced down at my hands, which were burning. I blinked twice and jerked back. Blood dripped from punctures in my palms, and where my nails should have been, there were claws.
“Fuck,” I squeaked as fear snaked into my heart.
Casey’s gaze snapped to me and then to the other guy. My cousin had Jared’s shirt in his fists, but he shoved him away. “What’s wrong? Did that other fucker touch you?”
I hid my hands behind my back and shook my head, swallowing the panic in my throat. “Nope. I just need a minute. Alone.”
Turning, I clutched my bloodied hands and jogged toward the bathroom, Casey’s voice carrying behind me.
I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
A beetle thwacked the lightbulb overhead, and I squinted, my eyes burning from the brightness. I took a breath and ambled toward the sink, bracing myself on the cool tile. My vision blurred before clearing. Trails of crimson blood streaked down the white porcelain sink, and my breath quickened as the pain in my jaw throbbed.
Stay calm, Savy. There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, I thought, though deep down, I knew better.
I inhaled and looked up, meeting the eyes of my reflection in the mirror.
A monster stared back at me.
11
Savannah
“Oh, my God, no.” My heart rate and breathing skyrocketed as I braced myself against the sink and studied my reflection in the mirror.
My eyes had gone amber. Auburn hair had sprouted along my forearms, and claws extended from my bloody fingertips, still aching from their release.
This wasn’t PTSD or a trick of the mind. This was real.
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I couldn’t move. The horror of the truth had rendered my body immobile.
There was no pretending anymore. I was turning into a werewolf.
I dug my clawed fingers into the side of the sink as I turned every scenario over in my head. How had this happened?
Jaxson had told me that it was practically impossible to catch lycanthropy from a bite, and while I’d been scratched and clawed and knocked around by werewolves, I hadn’t ever been bitten.
I closed my eyes, recalling the events of the past two weeks. The rogue wolves had hauled me off to an old sanitorium and drained my blood. They’d also injected me with something. I’d thought it was designed to repress my magic, but what if it was something worse?
Had those bastards done this to me? Had they tried to turn a LaSalle into a werewolf?
Fuck.
Trembling, I leaned forward and bared my teeth in the mirror. They looked normal, despite the deep ache in my upper and lower jaw. I used my knuckle to push aside my lip so I could inspect my gums, and…fucking hell. They were swollen and red, and touching them made the pain worse.
This isn’t happening, this isn’t happen—
A jarring noise shook me from my thoughts, and I looked around wildly.
The door handle rattled again as someone tried to get in. I covered my ears as they started pounding on the door. The sound was almost deafening.
“This one’s taken,” I croaked, my throat suddenly drier than a bone. “Use the other!”
I had to find a way to fight this.
Agony exploded through my stomach, and I doubled forward, leaning my weight on the sink. Tears streamed from my eyes, mixing with the blood on the porcelain. I could smell the blood—just one of a hundred scents filtering through my mind, most of them revolting.
I gasped as a sharp pain erupted through my jaw, and I looked up in horror. Blood ran from my lips. I’d sprouted fangs. Fuck!
I had to get out of here, away from these people. If anyone at the party saw this, they’d crucify me. But where could I go? I had no one to turn to. Casey would never understand, and if Laurel found out, she’d kick me out or worse.
Run.
I could hide in the shadows. I just had to slip into the park without being noticed, then I could disappear into the woods and wait for this to pass. It would pass, right?
Of course it would. I’d seen my eyes turn this color before.
Having a plan gave me courage. Gut throbbing, I staggered over to the door and listened, but I could barely make sense of what I heard. My ears were drowning in noise. The light above buzzed incessantly, and the music sounded like someone had parked a loudspeaker right outside.
Even with all that, I could still hear the conversations of people by the bonfire.
The bathroom door beside mine opened and slammed with a reverberating thud as someone left. I could hear the soft padding of footsteps crossing the grass, though it was like the walker was stomping through hay right next to my head.
I shouldn’t be able to hear that.
Gripping the handle, I unlocked the door and slipped outside and around the building. Casey was talking to some people, his back turned to me. Hopefully, he’d assume I’d left and wouldn’t come looking.
I tried pulling the darkness around me, but my magic didn’t flow. Too much noise. Too much pain. I gasped and shuddered as a piercing ache shot through my shoulder blades.
It was now or never. This wasn’t going to stop.
I scrambled frantically for the deep shadows of the park, fear biting at my heels. My feet thundered over the ground, but when I looked back, no one had turned around.
Another bout of sickening pain hit me, and my vision skewed. When I looked up, the shapes of the trees and the leaves on the ground were brighter and clearer than they should have been. I could make out details of things that should have been impossible to see at night.
The scents of the forest were so overwhelming, I nearly gagged. Hundreds of plants and animals that I could barely identify. Traces of creatures and people that had passed by hours or days ago. The aroma of ripe berries and dead animals and rotting vegetation.
Mind whirling, I pushed deeper into the woods with no idea of where I was headed, just that I had to get as far away from the bonfire and those people as possible.
The moon peeked through the leaves above. I ran and ran, stumbling every time the agony returned. My skin felt raw, and even the lightest breeze was too much.
This couldn’t be how Sam and Jaxson experienced the world, could it? They’d go mad.
A wave of nausea hit me, and I doubled over and choked.
Deep breaths, Savy. You’re a badass bitch, and you’ll get through this.
Would I?
Gasping, I pushed forward into the trees, but the chafing of my clothes against my skin became unbearable. I yanked off my shirt and shimmied out of my jeans, cursing as they rubbed like sandpaper. My breathing came in huffs, and tears streamed down my face. I slowed, too exhausted to continue.
The buzzing of cicadas, the scurrying of an animal in the underbrush, and the creaking of branches—it was all deafening. I cupped my hands over my ears and craned my head upward, silently praying for this all to be a nightmare.
But it wasn’t.
A gut-wrenching force exploded inside me, snapping my spine like a twig. I shrieked and dropped to the ground, my vision blurring from the pain.
When I opened my eyes, the moon was no longer visible through the trees. My body felt broken and wasted, like I’d been beaten to a pulp. I rolled onto my hands and knees, panting as sweat poured down my forehead, stinging my eyes.
Everything was wrong.
I’d seen werewolves transform. It happened in seconds, not minutes or hours. Had those bastards turned me into a freakish aberration? A half-human science experiment doomed to tear itself apart and die?
Agony struck again, and my back arched as my insides rearranged themselves, my ribs popping. A scream tore from my throat, stealing all the air from my lungs. Then the bones in my fingers cracked and shortened. My wrists couldn’t bear my weight, so I rolled onto my side, wincing at the stabs in my chest.
Another snap, this time my thigh bone. And then the other one. I cried out, my voice sounding distant and feral. The pain was too much. My knees were next, and then my ankles. I didn’t have the strength to scream, so I whimpered, my tears soaking the ground beneath me. Through my streaming eyes, I saw that my legs were twisted and covered in fur. My body quaked with fear and pain.
What had I become?
12
Jaxson
“What are you going to do about Savannah?” Sam asked as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the railing of Eclipse’s rooftop terrace.
That was the question on all of our minds.
Savannah was confounding. Too independent to do as she was told, and too mistrustful to let us protect her.
When this had started, I’d thought that she was just an unlucky woman who’d gotten wrapped up in our business. Now it seemed the opposite had been true: the pack had gotten wrapped up in hers. She was a creeping vine that had entangled everything, dragging it down into a twisted mess.
But what could I do?
I swirled the whiskey in my glass and stared out at the moon, which was low over the horizon. “We hunt down Kahanov. It’s the only way forward.”
Regina was staring out at the same scene, leaning with her hands on the rail. “The reports of sleeping wolves keep coming in, Jax. We’re at five now. If we hand her over, this could all end.”
I turned and growled. “We’re not bending to his demands, and we’re not handing Savannah over. That’s final.”
She winced. “Just saying it’s an option.”
The deep ache in my chest that had started a few hours ago was growing, and my temper was shorter than it should have been.
“You okay, Jax?” Sam’s brow furrowed as she watched me closely. Regina also had a concerned expression on her face.
“I’m fine.” I checked my phone. Nothing more from Damian Malek, and I put it away. “Damian is still raking the Magic Side muck for the Viper, but last I heard, he thinks she’s in the city. She may know what the sorcerer is after, or where he’s headed.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Regina asked, her voice low enough to be a whisper.
“Then I seek a seer or summon the dead, or do whatever the hell it takes to find him.”
Both women looked away, and I glared out at the moon.
I’d resort to that, but only if I had to. Dabbling in prophecy and fortunetelling was taboo in our pack. But was it any wonder? The fates were vile creatures, happy to give you just the right answers to lead you to your doom.
Two weeks ago, I’d sought a fortune teller to help me track down the person responsible for the abductions. She’d sent me to Savannah, and now here we were, in a bigger mess than ever.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to go to the seer.
To answer my questions, the fortune teller had drawn three cards. For my fate, she’d pulled the Hanged Man, and her reading of it still burned in my mind: If you find the woman, you will find the answers you seek. But those answers will destroy you. You will lose that which you love and be parted from the thing you cannot live without.
Well, I’d found the woman, and I’d gotten my answers. Now my brother-in-law was dead, and my pack members were dropping like flies.
I could feel the noose tightening around my neck. Literally. I rubbed my throat.
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in my chest. The glass dropped from my hand and shattered on the ground as I doubled forward and clutched the rail.
Sam rushed to my side. “Jax!”
Confusion and agony clouded my mind.
A heart attack? Like the one that had forced my father to step down?
No. Something else.
The pain warped into a burning sensation, and then a tightness that felt like it was gnawing its way out. My vision darkened, and I heard Savannah’s tortured cries in my head. What was this?
Savannah’s fear and pain wrapped around my heart, tugging me toward her…and suddenly, like a cloak of darkness being pulled away from the sun, understanding dawned.
Oh, no. This couldn’t fucking be happening.
I staggered back from the railing and went for the door.
“What’s wrong, Jaxson?” Regina yelled.
Sam rushed after me, but I stopped her in her tracks. “Stay here. Don’t follow me, that’s an order.”
I hurried downstairs, leaving the shocked and confused women in my wake.
I burst out of Eclipse and jumped into my truck. The engine roared to life, and I gunned it, heading west—the direction that the tether around my heart was pulling.
A deep dread filled me for what I would find.
My mate.
I’d heard stories about this from my sister, about what it felt like when a wolf’s mate was close. Only it wasn’t supposed to happen to me. Not like this. Not with her.
“Fuck!” I roared.
I could almost hear the cursed fates laughing. A LaSalle and a Laurent, entwined in a dance of self-destruction.
My heartbeat raced, and it was impossible to resist the pull. Savannah’s pain was like an anchor dragging me toward the bottom of the sea.
I floored the accelerator and wove through traffic as confusion flooded my mind. Why had I only now realized this? Something had changed. What?
