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?
It didn’t matter. I just needed to get to her, and then I’d deal with the rest.
I could feel her agony with every fiber of my being. Her mind was on the verge of shattering. Whatever was happening was fucking bad.
Hearing her screams in my mind had made me want to kill. But now there was only ominous silence. It was a mercy, but dread filled the quiet void. I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white, as I fought the urge to rage.
The burning tightness under my ribs intensified as I drew near West Shore Park, the largest wooded park in Magic Side.
Why had Savannah come here in the middle of the night?
Murderous thoughts flashed through my mind, and I cursed. Tires screeching, I pulled into the empty north lot. I parked and sprinted into the woods, letting the sensation in my chest guide me. I’d only made it a few yards before Savannah’s shriek echoed through the forest.
My blood surged, and my senses sharpened to a razor. She was alive, but in pain and barely conscious. Perhaps a mile away. That would be near the border with the Indies.
She must have been attacked by the sorcerer. I knew that fucking cousin of hers couldn’t keep her safe.
Sweat dampened my shirt as I leapt over rocks and wound through the trees. My wolf surged inside me, wanting loose, but if Savannah was inside the Indies, I didn’t want any trouble with the LaSalles, and right now, my wolf would unleash a hell storm. I’d never felt him so agitated, and I struggled to keep him restrained.
I pressed on until Savannah’s signature dulled all other senses. Her sobs wrapped around me, each whimper digging into my already aching soul. I slowed and stepped around a tree and froze.
It couldn’t be.
Lying on the forest floor, crumpled and broken, was Savannah. Half woman. Half wolf.
My mate.
My fucking mate.
Her pulse was low, her breathing shallow. She was dying.
My wolf roared, demanding freedom, but I fought him down, though my bones cracked from the strain. He couldn’t help her like I could.
I rushed forward and knelt beside Savannah’s broken body. She was naked, her skin caked in blood, sweat, and dirt.
From our lore, I knew that the mate bond gave me the power to heal her. But I couldn’t be certain I wouldn’t kill her in this contorted half-human, half-wolf state. She was stuck in limbo and needed to shift all the way before she could heal.
When I touched her back, a tingling force shot up my arm, and her body jerked.
My mind burned with rage and denial and fear. It was impossible. This couldn’t be happening. But it was.
I gently lifted her, cradling her in my arms. “Savannah, it’s me. Open your eyes.”
She needed to complete the shift soon, or she was going to die. Her skin already looked pale, and her pulse was erratic. I brushed a strand of her scarlet hair off her forehead. “Savannah, I need you to wake up.”
She moaned, and her eyes fluttered open. “Jaxson?”
Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were a rich amber gold. Beautiful. My wolf reared up again.
“Help me,” she whispered weakly.
My chest calved in two, and I wanted to tear the world apart. But I had to focus. I cupped her cheek and rubbed away a tear. “You need to finish your shift, or you’re going to die.”
She pressed her eyes closed. “I can’t. There’s something wrong with me.”
My heartbeat accelerated. What if that was true?
“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re strong. Finish the shift.”
She opened her eyes, and I saw the fear in them. I could sense she was resisting the change, rebelling against the transformation.
Of course she was. We were monsters, and she was a LaSalle. But resisting would kill her.
She shook her head. “I’m not a…”
“You are. And you’re a fighter. The most stubborn woman I know—but the only way to win this fight is to give in. Let it happen. Or you’ll die.” I kept my voice calm and pushed my power into her.
She ground her teeth, fighting it again, but she finally whimpered. Too exhausted to fight any longer, she submitted to the change. Her body jerked, and she cried out.
My heart tore. “Easy, Savannah. Let the pain flow through you. It’ll pass,” I whispered, silently praying to the fates for one little mercy in the chaos they’d caused.
I felt her bones cracking and sinews lengthening and twisting beneath my hands. She screamed but let the transformation continue.
God, how long had she been fighting this?
I gently placed her on the ground and gave her some space. I could help guide her with my magic, but she needed to do the shift on her own. It was our way.
Her body jerked and arched, and I fought back the fear that had settled in my soul. For born werewolves, the first shift was painful, but according to our lore, the first shift was ten times worse for humans who caught lycanthropy. Not all made it through.
Would she survive this?
If she didn’t, would my mind break? Or would I slowly descend into madness, like Billy had? That would destroy the pack.
Savannah cried out and clawed the ground, and I pushed all other fears and doubts out of my mind. Nothing but her mattered now. I just had to get her through this.
“Don’t you dare give up,” I ordered. “Let the shift take you.”
Growling, she rolled onto her stomach and climbed to her knees. Her spine arched, and her legs and arms snapped and bent as her hands became paws and her face lengthened. Agony by agony, she completed the shift, until all that was left was a beautiful gray and auburn wolf.
She whimpered and shook her body, and my wolf rumbled in my chest, demanding to be set free. He wanted to meet his mate, but now was not the fucking time.
“Savannah.” I slowly took a step forward, hands spread. “Savy.” She snapped her head to me and growled, baring her teeth.
You did well, I said in my mind, testing our bond. She narrowed her amber eyes but didn’t respond.
Perhaps that would take time.
“Easy.” I took another step, sensing her pain. She was weak and favoring her left leg, and she snarled, limping backward. She was afraid and confused, and she wouldn’t be able to heal on her own yet.
I crouched low and spoke softly, letting my alpha presence wrap around her. “You’re safe, Savy. Let me help you.”
It felt wrong using this magic on her, especially during her first shift, but I couldn’t risk her bolting off into the woods. Wolves normally shifted for the first time with their pack in a safe place where they could run freely and learn what it meant to let their other half take control. They also grew up with a community of support. Savannah hadn’t, and the gods only knew what she was experiencing right now.
“Easy. I’m going to help you, okay?” I stepped forward with my hand outstretched. I paused, my fingertips a few inches from her nose.
Her bright eyes bored into me, reading my intentions. But then her shoulders relaxed, and she sniffed my hand. Her ears flicked up, and she brushed lightly against my fingers.
For a second, a smile tugged at my lips, but when she carefully lowered herself to the ground and began to whimper, that deep ache in my throat returned.
Her emotions overwhelmed my senses. Pain. Fear. Exhaustion.
I stepped forward and scooped her into my arms. “You can rest now. I’ll take care of you.”
She didn’t fight me but nuzzled her face into my shoulder and closed her eyes. Her coat was soft and smelled like her—tangerines and sunshine. It was all I wanted to breathe in the world.
I carried her back to the truck, my mind churning. What the hell was I going to do?
My mate was Savannah Caine.
And she was a wolf.
