Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)

Savannah

As soon as he was done with us, Uncle Pete dashed off to tend to the wounded, and dread writhed in my gut like a sea of snakes.

The longer we spent on our side of the barrier, the worse things seemed. I could see the cracks—overtaxed spells, exhausted wolves, and hurt and barely standing sorcerers. Whatever had happened while we were away had taken its toll, and it was only going to get worse.

The shimmering barrier above us flickered as trails of mist leaked through.

“Is the barrier okay?” I asked my aunt.

Her face took on a dark expression. “It’s failing already. Too many of the sorcerers maintaining the barrier have gone down, and the rest are tiring.”

Casey rejoined us. “I don’t think we can take another charge like that last one. It was twenty or thirty wolves all at once, and they’re regrouping.” He tossed Sam a riot gun. “One shot. Wolfsbane suppression cartridge. You’re going to want to have it. I just wish we had more.”

She started to open her mouth, then snapped it shut.

“Regrouping?” Jaxson asked.

“They come in waves. They’re totally feral for a bit right after they shift, but then they seem to fall under his control—it’s like he’s playing with pieces on a chessboard.”

And if I hadn’t gotten Wolfie back, I would have been his queen.

Casey grimaced. “You guys should take a look at what we’re up against.”

He led us through the blindingly bright barrier and out of the other side, where we crouched down behind a car.

The sparkling mist had risen, though it stopped ten feet short of the wall of light. Further into Magic Side, the dark fog rose above the tops of buildings, massing like a storm cloud in the air—a cloud in the shape of a wolf’s head. All around us, the Dark God’s power vibrated through the city, shaking the very asphalt beneath our feet.

“I don’t think your barriers are just weakening,” Jaxson whispered. “His power is growing. Can’t you feel it?”

I nodded.

“Maybe,” Casey said as he passed over a pair of goggles. “These are infrared. Check it out.”

I pulled them on and popped my head over the top of the vehicle.

There were dozens upon dozens of hybrid werewolves out there, lurking in the glistening fog, maybe even a hundred. All waiting for a final, brutal assault. My gut twisted. “Holy shit.” I sank back down and passed the goggles to Jax. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

How were we ever going to fucking close the rift? There was a sea of feral werewolves and dark magic between us and it—wherever it even was.

On the other side of the barrier, our team wasn’t looking so hot. The sorcerers and werewolves who weren’t hurt were exhausted. On this side, the Dark God’s strength was only growing.

We were going to fail.

My head slumped back against the undercarriage of the car, and I fought through my memories for any solution, or even just a shard of hope. I pressed my fingers against my forehead. What had the Moon said?

She’d warned us about this: He draws his power from the presence of wolves.

Well, he was in Werewolf Central in Dockside, and his mist was making more of his hybrids by the second. It was only a matter of time before it would break through the spells and flood over the city, turning everyone it touched into a monster under his control.

How great would the Dark God’s power be then? Every person that he turned made him that much stronger.

The horror and despair of the moment crashed down on me like a wave, sending my heart tumbling into the churring darkness. And slowly, the horrible truth sank in—fighting the prophecy was futile. Despite everything I’d tried, there was no way to beat it. The words kept repeating over and over in my mind, like a bully taunting me on the playground: In seven days, he will walk the earth once more, spreading madness among the living.

Well, seven days had passed, and the entire city was going mad. But even as I sank further into despair, one phrase burned brighter than all the rest: The twin-soul will steal the wolves from every werewolf who resists them and will leave your people weak before the Dark God.

I still had a part to play. And it was, somehow, to betray everything I held dear.

Bitterness clouded my vision. But then, like the moment you see the other side of an optical illusion, when the goblet becomes two faces, everything changed.

My pulse began to beat faster and faster as the words of my damnation slowly transformed into a terrible glimmer of hope.

It was time to fulfill my fate.

Mind spinning, I staggered to my feet. “We need to talk to Laurel. Right now.”

I didn’t bother waiting for a reply, but rushed back through the barrier, with Casey and Jax on my heels. I found Laurel down the block, working through logistics with Sam and Regina.

I skidded to a stop, and she looked up in surprise. “Savy, what’s wrong?”

Sam, Jax, Casey, Regina, and Laurel. Their eyes were all on me. Chest heaving, I looked from one to the next. “Our position is hopeless. There are too many. They’re going to break through.”

From the expressions on their faces, they knew it was true.

“We have one chance, but it’s going to take an enormous amount of power,” I continued. “We’ll need all the sorcerers, and even then, I don’t know if that’ll be enough.”

“What are you talking about?” Laurel asked.

The horror of the words sitting on my tongue was almost too much to bear. I met Jaxson’s eyes. “We need to bind their wolves—all of them. A massive spell, to encompass all of Dockside.”

Their faces froze in shock.

Casey whistled. “Holy shit, Savy.”

“You can’t be serious,” Jaxson said, his voice practically failing him.

“I am.” I took his hand in mine and begged him to listen with my eyes. “The Moon warned us that the Dark God draws his power from wolves. He’s possessed half of Dockside. If we bind them, we free them from his control.”

“This is madness!” Regina said.

I didn’t look away from my mate, the only one whose approval mattered. “The prophecy said I would take the wolves of our people and make them weak before him. Well, in doing so, we take away his army and his power. Maybe without them, he won’t have the strength to come through the rift.”

Jaxson’s churning emotions were an open book: shock, horror, and despair. “Savy, this—”

“I know exactly what I’m asking, Jaxson, and how horrible of a choice this is. I’ve lived through it.” My eyes welled up as the truth sank in. “I think fate has been preparing me for this moment my whole life. I know how to cast the spell, and I know how to reverse it. I know what it’s like to have my wolf taken, and I know that it can be undone.”

Comprehension dawned, and shadows of deep sadness fell across his face. He entwined his fingers with mine but couldn’t find the words to speak.

“I have to become the monster of the prophecy to save our pack, to save us all. This is the path the fates ordained for me. I can feel it. Trust me.”

His jaw hardened while his fingers tightened. “I trust you to the ends of the earth, in this world and in the next.”

“You’re alpha. It’s your pack. But I believe it’s the only way we can hope to weaken him, and the only way to stop the barriers from being overrun.”

“You’re certain you’ll be able to reverse the spell?” Jaxson asked, his voice so flat, I knew he was repressing all emotion.

“I can. I’ve done it before. But you need to understand, if you have any doubt—those people out there have already lost their wolves to him. He’s the one in control, not them. We’re taking their wolves to give them back.”

Finally, Jaxson nodded. “We must do it. I’ll explain it to the wolves here in a way they’ll understand.”

Sam wiped her eyes and silently agreed.

Regina looked at me, and I held my breath. Finally, she nodded. “No way I let some fucking god take control of me or my wolf.”

I let out a long and shaking sigh.

My aunt crossed her arms and knotted her fingers in her shirt. “To cast a spell that large, we’ll need everyone here. I don’t think we’ll have the strength to keep maintaining the barrier after that.”

I shook my head. “We have to risk the barrier—it’s failing as it is. Even I can see that.”

Dark expressions shaded everyone’s faces except for my cousin’s, which sported a giant grin. “Okay, this is a batshit crazy plan, and there are major consequences if we fail—so I love it. However, there’s a big problem. This barrier keeps all magic out, not just his. If we leave the barrier up—which I highly fucking recommend—then we’ve got to go into the mist on the other side to cast the spell.”

Shit.

What we needed was a windstorm. Unfortunately, Neve wasn’t answering her calls, and I was pretty certain that the Order had their hands full with their barrier.

“Are any of your people really good with wind magic?” I asked.

Casey scratched his chin. “Yeah, I know a couple of folks who are windbags. What, we just fan the mist away and hope we don’t get overrun with wolves?”

“Yes.”

He looked to the others. “This sounds like a fucking fantastic way to die. I’m in.”

One by one, they all agreed.

Aunt Laurel touched my arm softly, compassion in her eyes. “I’m sorry that we have to do this. That you must carry this.”

I clenched my hand around Jaxson’s. “Don’t be. This is my fate. It always has been.”