Magic Side: Wolf Bound Complete Series: Books 1-4, page 52
I bit my lip and nodded. The fear and despair burned away inside me, leaving only embers of determination in their wake.
Emotions shuddered through my body as Jaxson’s power pressed in around me like waters of the deep. His signature was out of control, wave after wave of forest scent rolling over me. It shook the air like an earthquake, and the sounds of icy streams cascading down a mountain slope filled my ears. I could taste the new snow on the air. It was so real, my tongue turned cold.
How I longed to warm it in his mouth.
My mind drained of its senses, and I pushed toward him, trying to reach his lips. But his hands, still clutching my raised arms, locked me rigidly in place.
I struggled and pulled back but couldn’t move. A faint part of me screamed in rebellion against his control. But the rest of me reveled in his power, his mastery of the moment. So I let him hold me there, in silence and stillness.
My world was crumbling around me. A sorcerer was trying to cut out my soul. Dozens of werewolves couldn’t wake because of me. And I didn’t even have control over my own body or magic.
And amid the storm, for one moment, I’d found something steady. Immovable. A rock that I could hold on to. A promise that wouldn’t be broken.
Our eyes didn’t part as we stood in stillness. Finally, I let my arms relax—submitting, no longer pushing back or pulling, but content to just be in his steady grip.
The tension left his body, but he didn’t let go. And then, slowly, his head began to drift downward toward mine.
I beckoned him with my lips, letting them part as I breathed him in. Did I really want this? The kiss of a man who hated my family and despised what I was? A man who had more control over my body than I did?
Yes.
Jaxson’s hands released me, and he gently traced his fingertips down my forearms, around the bend of my arm, and softly up to my shoulders. My skin was flushed and sensitive, and almost burned at his light touch. He pulled me closer as he brought his mouth to mine. Our lips brushed across each other, quietly searching.
My own were soft and dry and desperate for his kiss. We’d done it before in the Michigan woods, in the heat of despair and chaos and barely surviving death. This was everything that hadn’t been, yet the overwhelming sense of rightness was the same. My mouth didn’t just want him—it needed him.
I pressed my lips against his.
He parted them, drawing in everything I had to give. My pulse raced as I kissed him back and let my tongue search for his, wanting nothing more than to taste him, to drink him in.
Heat rose within me as the waters of my body met, and my legs trembled. I needed more. His kiss was too hesitant. Too soft. I bit his lip and pulled him to me. He gave a low, possessive growl that sent shivers along my spine and raised the hair on my skin.
He dug his fingers into my shoulders, and I moaned with delight. He bit my lip in turn, but still, it wasn’t enough. My flesh needed his. We were too far apart.
I shifted my arms and let the towel slip away, though the little dress of shadows I’d woven around myself stayed in place.
As the towel landed at our feet, Jaxson broke off our kiss and met my eyes. His pupils dilated, devouring me.
My arms were pinned between us. I pressed my palms to his chest. His steady heartbeat pounded against my fingertips as his hands began to drift slowly down my shoulders to my back and then down along my sides.
A shiver ran through me, and my skin prickled beneath his gentle touch.
At last, after an agonizingly slow descent, his fingers came to rest on my waist. I licked my lip, and he gently pulled my hips forward. He was hard and unyielding against me, and I wanted everything he could give.
I undid his shirt one button at a time, moving my hands deliberately beneath his steady gaze. Each button was a choice that I couldn’t walk away from. It didn’t matter.
After the last button, I slipped my hands beneath the cotton cloth, parting it so I could drag my fingers over the strong contours of his chest and around to his back. I pressed forward with my whole body, feeling his skin at last against my own in the space where his shirt was opened.
Warmth flowed between us like rays of the sun emerging from the clouds. My breath turned shallow, and I lifted my mouth to his.
A knock sounded from the door. My heart stopped, and suddenly, Jaxson and I were standing five feet apart. Had he pushed back from me, or had I pushed away from him?
It had better not have been him. Not again. Not like the last time. The shame. The embarrassment. The regret.
But this time, the only thing in his eyes was shock. Perhaps frustration. He glanced up and down at me and almost smiled.
The knock came again. “Jax?”
It was Sam.
My brain started working again, and I snatched my towel off the ground. The only thing I had under my makeshift robe of shadows was flesh, and it was suddenly very drafty in the penthouse.
There was no way around it. Sam was going to give us hell.
I pulled the towel tightly around me like a suit of armor. Jaxson paused at the door while he buttoned his shirt. He didn’t meet my eyes.
What had I been thinking? Jaxson fucking Laurent? Attracted to a werewolf? It was madness.
This is your doing, you hussy, I thought furiously at my wolf.
Nope. That was all you, you horny harlot.
I gasped at the foul-mouthed and foul-minded wolf.
Jaxson raised an eyebrow at my outburst, and I shook my head.
Swallowing hard, I let a long litany of denials flood into my mind. I was not a werewolf. I didn’t have to listen to the savage beast inside me. And I was not getting wrapped up with Jaxson Laurent. I plopped down on the couch, tightly crossed my legs, and let the towel and shadows settle around me.
With a click, Jaxson unlocked the door and swung it open.
Sam stepped in and cupped her hand to her mouth, covering a wide grin. “What did I interrupt? It smells like a Brazilian steakhouse in here, and you are a very rare steak, Savy!”
The scarlet drained from my hair and flooded across my face as my very soul withered.
Oh. God.
I should have let the sorcerer kill me.
Sam clapped her hands, laughing. “Oh, shit, I am so, so sorry, you two.”
Jaxson closed the door behind her with a wry smile.
My neck burned with embarrassment and rage. Where had her enthusiasm been when we’d kissed the last time? She’d ripped me a new one.
But I hadn’t been a werewolf then. Just a dirty, expendable LaSalle. Now I was some sort of half-breed. Did that really make things better?
Sam gave me a wicked grin and waved the spare clothes at me. “Are you sure you still need these? Should I come back later?”
“Cool it, Sam,” Jaxson growled. “We’re in fucking trouble, and we need a plan.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I was just excited because you seem to be embracing the m—”
Jaxson gave Sam a look that practically made the walls of the penthouse shake. My skin chilled as his power washed over us both, and I was certain the temperature had dropped twenty degrees.
She shrank back. “Right. Sorry.”
What the hell had that been about?
Clearly, I didn’t understand a fucking thing about these wolves.
31
Savannah
I grabbed the clothes from Sam and rushed into Jaxson’s bathroom while the two of them muttered about what to do next. It was hard not to eavesdrop with my keen hearing. Sam was distraught about the sleepers.
They were also talking around something else that they didn’t want me to know about.
Ears burning, I tried to think of what to do as I slipped into Sam’s clothes. Even though she was more toned, we were a decent enough size match. I zipped up and admired myself in the mirror. While Jaxson had seen my bare ass from plenty of angles now, I liked how taut it looked in Sam’s skinny jeans.
I smiled when I unfolded the shirt. The front had an illustration of a derby skater beside big bold letters that said, Warning: I Hit Like a Girl. I flipped it over, and my smile melted. Bitches With Bite. 2018 Derby Champions. You Can’t Skate With Us.
My canines started to inch down, but I held them back and pulled the shirt over my head. It was plenty tight, and as I didn’t have a bra, Jaxson was going to see exactly how ready I was every time I got near him.
I sighed. He could smell it, anyway. I had to figure out how to mask it or get used to constantly being a horny beacon.
I returned to the kitchen and sat down on a stool at the high-top counter, trying not to look at the powerfully built man as he stepped up right beside me and poured me an espresso. “Have you eaten?”
I blushed. My wolf had stolen a snack of bacon strips off someone’s plate at an outdoor café. Did that count?
“Sort of?” I breathed in the rich aroma that wafted up from the cup, though it couldn’t mask his scent. “This is what I really needed. Thanks.”
Sam put her palms on the counter. “Forget coffee. We’re fucked and need a new plan. You got lucky when you caught up with Kahanov in Italy. And even if you find him again, he could slip away like last time. Meanwhile, each night, dozens more wolves will likely go to sleep and not wake up.”
I cleared my throat. “It might not be wolves for long. If the pack doesn’t hand me over, he might target someone more pliable. Vampires. Demons. Other…crime families. Anyone he could pressure to take me out. We need a way to break the spell.”
Jaxson nodded. “I had a curse diviner look at the sleepers this morning, and I also called some folks in from the Order. They’re still researching. Dream magic isn’t well understood, and the best source of information was apparently that stolen grimoire.”
“We’ve got to do something,” Sam protested.
I chewed on my lip. “How old is the grimoire? Is the witch who wrote it still alive? Could we go directly to the source and ask her what to do?”
Jaxson and Sam both stiffened. He flexed his fist. “That would be…unwise. If the witch is still alive, she’s probably not someone we want to risk dealing with. She could be worse than the sorcerer.”
“Why? Because a powerful woman wrote a book?” I scoffed.
Sam leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “Grimoires aren’t just books, Savy. They’re tomes of dark, sinister magic that practically have a life of their own. Some are written in blood and wrapped with human flesh.”
My skin prickled at the sudden chill that crept over me. I could smell the danger in her words, and I shivered.
Shadows crossed Jaxson’s face. “Wolf legends say that witches and warlocks write grimoires to snare the souls of curious readers whose lust for power is greater than their common sense. Anyone who would create a thing like that wouldn’t hesitate to trap us with their magic. It’s too dangerous.”
The two looked down at the table, and I swallowed hard. A long silence stretched between us.
I tightened my fists. “The clock is ticking, and we can’t wait. If she can tell us how to undo the curse, it’s worth the risk. Who knows? If this witch is really as bad as you assume and she’s trying to snag powerful souls with that book, then maybe she’ll help us just to get Kahanov’s.”
Jaxson frowned. “I don’t think—”
“Anyway,” I interjected, “you wolves have a pretty skewed sense of the dark arts—a label that seems to include a broad array of things like scrying and my own magic. So let’s maybe ask someone less superstitious and see how crazy an idea this is.”
“We don’t even know if the witch is alive,” he said, a knife edge of protest in his voice.
I raised my hands. “Who do we ask, then?”
Jaxson bared his teeth as he studied my face. Finally, he gave a reluctant grunt. “Fine. Sam, call Neve. She was the one looking into the book. See what she knows or can find out.”
Sam pulled out her cell phone and stepped away as Jaxson drummed his fingers on the table in irritation.
I took a deep breath. “In the meantime, I have a stopgap plan.”
“What is it? Make a deal with a devil? Summon the minions of hell to hunt him down?”
I froze. I hadn’t thought of that. My aunt could summon demons, and I wondered…but no. I shook my head. “My aunt made a circle of protection around my bed to keep the sorcerer out of my dreams. Maybe we could make a big one where wolves could come sleep to protect them from Kahanov.”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure wolves would be willing to sleep in the middle of a sorcerous enchantment, particularly one made by the LaSalles. They’d assume it was a trap.”
“You’re alpha. King Wolf. Can’t you make them? By the second night, everyone would know it worked.”
His eyes flashed gold, and I smelled his frustration and mistrust. His canines dropped and claws began to push from his fingertips. “Yes. The pack will do as I say, but I can’t make Laurel do anything, and she won’t help us. There’s been too much bad blood over the years.”
“Maybe not my aunt, but I might be able to twist my cousin’s arm.”
Jaxson gave a bitter laugh. “The lead distributor of wolfsbane in the world? I guarantee he’s not going to help, if he even knows how to do anything else but blow things up.”
Images of the weapons manufacturing operation flooded my mind, and my stomach twisted. But I knew deep down that my cousin was better than that. He had to be. I’d seen it.
I could make this happen.
“You don’t know him,” I growled defensively.
Sam, who was still on the phone—but apparently monitoring our conversation—just rolled her eyes.
Jaxson rose and stalked to the side of the room. “I know enough.”
Pangs of protectiveness shot through me, and I snarled. “It literally can’t hurt to ask. And if he doesn’t know how to do it, maybe he knows someone who does.”
I held my breath as Jaxson considered. His pack wasn’t going to like this. They were in danger because of a LaSalle, and now the only way they were going to be able to sleep safely was in the middle of a LaSalle’s hex.
Finally, Jaxson stirred. “Do it. Ask.”
“Give me your phone.” He handed it over, and I dialed Casey as I swiveled around on my stool.
Ragged breathing came across the line as he picked up. “Laurent, you motherfucker, is Savy with you?”
What was Casey doing? Running a marathon?
“Hey, Case, it’s me. I’m borrowing Jaxson’s phone.”
“Where the hell are you?”
I put my finger in my ear to block the sounds of Sam on the other line, talking to Neve. “I’m in Dockside. And I need your help with some magic.”
“Cool. Great. Let’s play a different game. Do you know where the hell I am?” he wheezed.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. “In my room, rummaging through my shit like a drugged-out badger, by the sound of it.”
“Close. I’m on a ladder trying to get to your open window to check if you’re dead or not. Unfortunately, it’s a little short and pretty unstable.”
I leapt off my stool. “Are you nuts?”
“You weren’t answering your phone, and your door is locked. When I saw the open window, I was worried you’d been abducted or something!”
“I’m fine!” I snapped. “I’m in Dockside with Jaxson and Sam, and we—"
Casey made a strangled sound. “Oh, my gods, Savannah, you didn’t have him over last night, did you? I thought I heard a man snoring this morning. It was like a lumberjack choking to death on a muffin. Tell me you two weren’t—”
“No! Seriously? I got up early and left. I locked my door without thinking and then couldn’t get my cell.” I thanked God that we were talking on the phone and that Casey never seemed able to pick up my lies.
“Okay. Good. Because Mom would kill you. What are you doing in Dockside, anyway?”
I ran my hand through my hair in exasperation. “Shit is going down up here, and we need your help. That circle of protection that Aunt Laurel made around my bed, do you know how to make one of those?”
“Yes. But I’m not making one for your wolfy love den, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“No! Damn it, get your head out of the gutter.” My fingernails were beginning to itch. I tried to steady my voice. “Last night, the sorcerer put twenty-one wolves to sleep, and we don’t know how to break the spell. He’s going to keep doing it. We need a way to protect these people while we bring him down. Could you make a giant circle of protection in like, I don’t know, a gymnasium? Somewhere a lot of people could gather.”
Casey paused, and I could hear him gently sucking on his teeth. “Shit, Savannah. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure they want to skin me alive up there.”
“Tell the little punk he still owes us for the damage you two caused during your car chase,” Jaxson snarled.
I bared my teeth at Jaxson and made a chopping motion in front of my neck to cut him off, but it was already too late.
“Was that Jaxson in the background? Tell that creep to shove a stick up his ass! He already stole our container to cover it! Screw this.”
Casey hung up.
I growled and felt my fangs erupt. “Damn it! I’m handling this, Jax. Keep your mouth shut!”
Sam’s eyes went wide, and Jaxson bristled at my command. “I told you he wouldn’t help. He’s a wolf-hating creep. He’s probably laughing his ass off at the moment.”
“Stay quiet this time!” I snapped. Sam cringed again at my blatant disrespect for her alpha, but I didn’t care. I dialed Casey back.
He picked up. “No.”
“Casey! Please.”
He was breathing hard, and it sounded like he was climbing down the ladder. “No way, Jose! I’m not dealing with Jaxson and not coming to Dockside.”
Jaxson looked ready to wolf out, so before he aggravated the situation further, I stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. “Look, Case, I’m sorry about Jaxson. Please, do this for me, if not for the wolves. They’re suffering because of me. Protecting them protects me.”
