Savannah
We arrived in Magic Side in a whirl of wind and magic. I staggered over to the wall and braced myself until the warehouse stopped spinning.
Teleporting with Neve was like skydiving into a hurricane.
Sam placed her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I lied, and shrugged her off.
Jaxson took a step toward me, but I flashed him a vengeful look that told him to stay the fuck back. I couldn’t be near him, and I couldn’t trust my mind or body around him.
I glared at the floor as it kept spinning around. I was still mad at Sam, but I was also wearing another set of her clothes, a track suit that she’d brought in the gym bag.
And she hadn’t even mentioned the fact that I’d lost her favorite shirt in the Dreamlands. That said quite a lot…though potentially, she hadn’t figured that one out yet.
I stood and looked around.
The warehouse was packed with werewolves, and a cheering throng had formed around Neve and Jaxson. Heroes. Word had traveled fast. We’d woken the sleepers. We’d defeated Kahanov.
The pack was safe.
Time to get the hell out of here.
I started to slink toward the shadows, but Sam caught my arm. “Nuh-uh. You just saved the lives of dozens of wolves. The pack is going to want to see you.”
“I don’t wan—”
She shoved me forward, and then, to my shock, she howled.
Howls erupted around me, and my wolf surged in my chest, understanding some unspoken message that I couldn’t. Suddenly, I was surrounded by werewolves, laughing and embracing me and patting me on the back.
What the hell was happening? These people…they hated me.
Sam gave me a shove. “Welcome to the pack. We get rowdy.”
But I wasn’t part of the pack.
My surprise mixed with unease as voices rose around me and people cheered. Not long ago, these people had wanted to string me up. And now, they were treating me like a hero. One of their own.
But I’m not.
Still, something stirred deep inside of me. The same strange feeling I’d felt when I’d met Casey, Aunt Laurel, and Uncle Pete.
We belong, my wolf said.
I shook my head. No.
They were drunk in the moment. None of it was real—a delusion, just like my feelings for Jaxson, and his for me.
Amid the fray, a woman caught my arm and pulled me to her. Did I recognize her face? She took my hands. “I saw you in my dream.”
My cheeks burned under the attention and the avalanche of emotions washing over me. “What?” I croaked.
“That man trapped me in a nightmare. It wouldn’t stop, and I couldn’t escape. But then I saw you in my dream, moving in the shadows. I didn’t know who you were, but in that instant, I knew someone was coming for me, that someone was fighting for me, and that even in the darkness, I wasn’t alone.”
She wiped her eyes and wrapped her arms around me before I could escape. My thoughts drifted from the rejoicing werewolves around us to my own dark dreams and the face of the fortune teller, whispering from the shadows.
Deep down, I knew my nightmare wasn’t over.
I will have my vengeance! The voice of Dragan, the deranged lunatic my aunt had killed, echoed through my mind. I’d cut his soul out, but was he really gone?
Not a chance. But maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t fighting alone.
My gaze drifted through the crowd and landed on Jaxson. He stood apart from them like a lighthouse over the sea. Despite the commotion that surrounded us, his piercing honey-gold eyes didn’t waver from me. Shivers raked over my skin, and my wolf surged toward him.
I felt his irresistible magnetic pull drawing me into his orbit, summoning me to him with every breath I took.
Jaxson Laurent, my fated mate.
I turned and walked away from it all.
I’d find a way to fight this. A way to break the bond and make my fate my own.
