Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)

Savannah

Blue flames flickered over the Dark God’s skin, and he pressed the stake against my mate’s exposed throat.

“Finish the spell—” Jaxson croaked.

No.

I couldn’t live without him.

Jaxson had become my world. It wasn’t just the mate bond, but with every single moment we’d shared in the short time we’d been together. I knew for certain that Jaxson was mine, and I was his. I was head over heels in love with him, and there was no way I could give him up.

“Drop the stone!” the Dark God roared, as he swung his arm back for a killing blow.

The stone quivered in my hand, and pain ripped through my chest as if my ribcage had been torn open and my heart pulled out. A guttural scream tore from my throat as my body jerked back and a blindingly fast blur leapt out of me—my shadow wolf.

I’ll protect our mate, shouted the fearless little voice I’d come to know so well. You save our pack.

In two strides, my shadow wolf rammed into the Dark God, snapping at his throat. He stumbled back and released Jaxson. She tore into the Dark God with all the anger and fury I’d ever felt.

My twin soul was a little wolf no longer, but a snarling monster born of legend. Black shadows poured off her like flames, and her claws were savage and cruel.

Go! Wolfie shouted in my mind.

Time slowed as the Dark God’s minions burst from the trees, charging toward me as Jaxson, Sam, and my wolf fought off the Dark God.

I had one chance to save them all.

Heart pounding, I spun and charged toward the orb with wolves on my heels. I leapt and landed on the side of the tower. Pain jolted through my knee, and my angle was off. The air expelled from my lungs in a gasp, and I immediately began to slip off.

No, no, no.

My claws sank into the soft stone, and I dragged myself up. I had to get to the top. My pulse was off the charts, and panic filled my chest. I just had to get the moonstone in place. If we weren’t going to make it out of here, at least we’d trap the Dark God in his realm forever.

It took every ounce of strength I had to leap onto the orb and pull myself up and over the curved surface. Howls echoed through the forest, and I heard Sam’s cry of pain.

Holding on with one hand, I pulled the moonstone out of my bra and swung my arm up, slotting the enchanted stone into the oval nook at the top of the orb.

It clicked in.

For an eternal moment, there was nothing.

And then, there was light. The orb pulsed with unimaginable power, and a blinding column of light burst into the sky.

A shockwave of magic raced through the forest, knocking the wolves at the base of the turret over. Lightning bolts crackled from the orb, drifting across the meadow. Searching, hunting for the wolf they were meant to bind.

The Dark God.

Jaxson, Sam and my wolf had him cornered, but even though they fought together as a pack, they were overmatched. The Dark God was too fast, too powerful, and charged with magic.

And now he was desperate. He roared and lashed out with his claws sending Jaxson flying back, then unleashed a spell into my wolf.

I felt her pain as she howled, and I nearly fell off the orb.

I had to get to them. But around the base of the tower, the Dark God’s servants were staggering to their feet. Shit!

A desperate plan formed, and I called what little magic I had left. Like icewater flowing through a pipe, two ribbons of smoke snaked out of my palms, and my idea sprang to life.

I blanketed the clearing in shadows to confuse the wolves and cast a ribbon toward the top of the tallest tree, where it coiled around a branch several times. I tugged on it to make sure it was secure, and then, taking a breath, I stepped off the orb.

Hold on to your tits, ladies.

My ribbon caught me, and I swooped over the clearing like Tarzan on a vine. Pain burned in my arm where the shadows were rooted, as if they were bound to muscle and bone. But I lost altitude fast, and my ribbon gave way just as I made it into the forest.

The impact was hard, and sent me tumbling, but I quickly scrambled to my feet, claws out, but drained.

Whatever I had left to give, I would.

The Dark God turned on me, eyes burning with fury. ‘What have you done?”

In answer, a lightning bolt burst from the orb and blasted into the Dark God’s chest, as if called by the very sound of his voice. He gasped and staggered back, but the lightning did not disappear. It formed into chains of electric light that snaked around his ankles and wrists.

His eyes went wide with horror. “No! I will not be bound again!”

My heart skipped a beat. It was working!

The chains of light pulled the Dark God back toward the orbs, and though he raged against them, they held like iron. His corded body strained against the golden bonds. Sweat glistened on his skin, and his strange tattoos blazed.

He was striking and terrifying, but I knew now that the Moon’s magic was stronger. That we had been stronger.

“It’s over asshole,” I said, my voice sharp and cold. “Enjoy eternity in the company of yourself and furry friends.”

“Seize them!” the Dark God howled as a lightning storm filled the sky above us. Then with a crack, he was gone, pulled back through the trees by the Moon’s spell, leaving a trail of broken branches like the wake of a tornado.

Holy shit.

He was gone. It was over. Hope flickered in my chest, and—

My shadow wolf darted past me, colliding midair with a brown wolf charging from behind.

Sam screamed, and I whipped around. A giant wolf was trying to drag her into the woods.

My palms tingled, and sucking in a breath, I channeled my magic into my rage. Casting my hands forward, I released a blast of magic at him. The ball of shadows struck the wolf head-on, and his body flew twenty feet back into a large oak. He didn’t rise.

“Badass,” Sam grunted as she climbed to her feet. Her left arm hung limp, and her shoulder was tattered where the Dark God had scarred her.

Wolfie growled behind me. Two wolves lurked at the edge of the trees. But then, with a snarl they turned and fled.

Yeah, I thought so, Wolfie muttered after the fleeing beasts.

I dropped to my knees beside Jaxson. Blood was everywhere, and a broken branch still protruded from his shoulder. The Dark God had barely left him breathing.

The ground quaked, and I felt a deep tremor of magic surge through the earth.

“The rift is collapsing,” Jaxson choked, agony on his face. “Get Sam, Savy. Promise me you’ll go through the rift.”

“No. We’re getting out of here together. Hold still while I take these out.” My voice was steady and calm, the exact opposite of the emotions that were tearing through me.

He was bad off. I needed to heal him, but I was so drained.

You’re running on fifty percent power, Wolfie said. Let me help.

My fearsome shadow wolf limped over. She was battered and wounded, but there was no hiding the triumph in her eyes.

Still, seeing her hurt pained my heart. Uh, Wolfie… you were absolutely incredible, but you don’t look so hot right now. Are you okay?

She gave me a toothy grin. Nothing that being back together won’t be able solve.

With that, my shadow wolf leapt back into my chest, expelling the air from my lungs. I gasped in pain as her sensations merged with my own.

Oh, I hurt a lot, by the way, she said.

But despite the pain, strength flowed through me—her strength, filling me with power and life.

Our strength, she said.

I gripped the stake in Jaxson’s right shoulder and pulled it free. He growled, but his gaze never left mine. “Savy—”

I ripped the left one out before he could finish, and he growled with pain.

Then I kissed him. Our mouths entwined, and I poured my magic into him as he groaned in agony and desire. Life and power and love, burning though us—healing me even as it healed him. It was pure ecstasy.

But suddenly, the ground shook again.

“Guys?” Sam said, her voice pitched an octave too high. “As hot as it is to watch you make out, I think something’s happening to the rift. It’s time to go.”

I looked up. A plume of magic spiraled into the sky to the west where we’d come from.

Shit. Would the rift completely collapse without the Dark God’s power? Or was Aunt Laurel losing control? What would happen to everyone on the other side?

I pulled Jaxson to his feet, and the three of us charged back the way we’d come.

As we burst from the cover of the woods, I took one glance behind my shoulder, and my stomach churned.

The pillars of magic rose high above us. But behind them, a dark cloud grew—a cloud in the shape of a black wolf. Lightning cracked through the air as the dark shape pushed against the bonds of the spell, but it held.

A roar of anger shook the land as we neared the rift, which flickered and rippled with unstable magic.

Time to get the hell out of here and lock that bastard away for good.

Grabbing Sam’s hand with my right, and Jaxson with my left, we barreled through the silver-black tear in the sky.