Jaxson
My heart raced as my eyes drank in Savannah Caine. She was beyond beautiful, with a gray and auburn coat the likes of which I had never seen before.
I drank deeply of her scent, so different than when she was a woman. Richer, deeper, and utterly mesmerizing.
I wanted her to run, and to hunt her endlessly through the dense woods that surrounded the gardens. But there was no time.
She is ours. We should claim her.
Our mate connection was far stronger, but I knew it was a lie. She wasn’t a wolf. She was a LaSalle.
Bitterness wound around my heart. The fates had ripped my sister from me and given me Savannah in return, making me relive the memory of what her family had done every time I looked at her.
Sorrow crushed in on my chest, and when I could bear it no longer, I tilted my head back and howled a long, mournful cry that tore its way out of my lungs.
Savannah sat up and tilted her head back, revealing the soft white fur of her neck. She howled, too. The thread between us pulled tighter, and my own howl caught in my throat.
She is one of us now. Part of the pack.
A voice echoed from the portal. “Jaxson!”
Amal was striding toward us.
Savannah’s wolf went over and immediately sniffed her. I snarled, and Savannah looked at me, confused. We were definitely going to talk about manners.
Amal laughed it off. “Nice to meet you, too, Savannah, but we need to get going. Ready?”
She nodded.
Amal’s eyes flashed gold, and a breeze of magic surrounded her, hot like the desert wind. Her signature flowed around us—a scent of fresh dates and apricots, and a taste like rich wildflower honey.
In a blur of radiance, she transformed into an Egyptian wolf, the dark fur along her back tinged with highlights of gold.
Unlike wolfborn, shifters like Amal transformed through magic, clothes and all. It meant she didn’t have to lug equipment around, and she could shift almost instantly, without pain. Very useful for an assassin—though the senses, strength, and healing of wolfborn were far superior. We thought differently as well, so I kept advisers from both species in my inner circle and used teams of mixed operatives to exploit our different talents.
I was glad we had Amal with us tonight.
I lowered my head and snagged the strap of my gear pack. Savannah looked at Amal and then at her bag with a huff.
Yes. There were times where I was also a little jealous of magic shifters, too.
Heretic. You should be thrown from the pack, my wolf teased.
I laughed inwardly. Bite me.
With a burst of acceleration, Amal ran into the forest, and we raced after.
The thrill of the chase rose within me, and I glanced at Savannah. I could smell her elation.
This is what we’re meant to do.
We dashed along faint game trails and wound our way through the hills, though I kept my eyes peeled. I could smell the traces of ancient things in these woods—ogres and goblins and worse. At least the soft light of the moon filtered down through the dark branches of the trees and lit our way.
After an hour, we crested a forested hill that overlooked a wide confluence of valleys. Our destination was an isolated plateau topped by a dense cluster of stone buildings. The mage’s tower loomed above the edge of the town, a spire of golden-gray stone lit by the waning moon.
Our descent was heinous. It had rained recently, and cloying valley clay quickly caked around our paws. By the time we reached the base of the plateau, Savannah was wet and smeared with sticky gray muck from snout to tail.
She caught the laughter in my eyes and snarled. At least there had been a small drainage at the edge of town where we were able to wash off.
Amal paused as we neared the village and shifted into her human form again. The mud-coated Egyptian wolf disappeared, leaving a gorgeous dark-haired woman with bright yellow eyes in its place. Her clothes and boots were as clean as a whistle—another boon of her shifter magic.
Savannah looked down at her own feet and whined.
“We better proceed on two legs. They might shoot at wolves here,” Amal whispered.
I dropped my filthy bag on the side of the road and shifted while Amal kept a lookout. I pulled on my boots and clothes and tucked my pistol in the back of my jeans.
Savannah was pacing back and forth, pretending not to watch me dress. I crossed my arms. “Time to shift back.”
She planted her feet, arched her back, and growled. No!
Amal raised her eyebrows.
Apparently, Savannah in wolf form was just as obstinate as normal. I stepped up and released some of my alpha presence. “We need to get moving. Shift.”
She sank to her paws and whined.
I gripped her by the scruff and used my alpha power to force the transformation.
She snarled, then began to thrash as her arms and legs lengthened, and the fur withdrew into her skin. I looked away, but I didn’t let go.
Finally, the contortions stopped.
“Jaxson, if you don’t take your hands off of me this second, I’ll claw your damn eyes out.”
Good ole Savannah, same as ever.
I released my grip and quickly moved to Amal’s side. Just feeling Savannah’s bare skin beneath my hands had made me stiff, and the scent of her sweat-soaked body was driving my mind wild with lust and desire.
“Don’t look,” she said. “I still need to change into my clothes.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Lie.
I closed my eyes and tried to blot out the subtle sounds of lace sliding along her skin. My breath quickened.
What the fuck was wrong with me? She wasn’t a wolf. Or at least she wouldn’t be for long.
