Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)

Jaxson

Savannah collapsed into my arms, and for a long time, I just held her: my mate, my love, the woman who had saved my pack.

I combed my fingers through her hair as she quaked from exhaustion. How much time had passed I couldn’t say, but finally she stirred.

“It’s okay… I’m okay,” she stepped back to prove her point, but was unsteady on her feet, and I held onto her arm. “Do you think it worked?”

I smiled. “Listen.”

She paused.

Wolf howls echoed in the distance in every direction—a sound we all knew by instinct: the cry one makes when a lost pup had been found. Our pack members, no longer possessed or bound, and been reunited with their wolves. They were crying out with joy and calling to each other.

A broad grin stretched across Savannah’s face. Fatigue ringed her eyes, but they shimmered with delight and triumph.

My heart leapt at the sight. She was radiant. Beautiful. Everything I had never known I needed.

Like a whirlpool, sudden need pulled my lips to hers, and we were kissing. Bruised, battered, and exhausted, but alive and churning with emotion.

Her mouth moved across mine, searching, needing, desiring. Every motion was a song of relief. I lost myself in her taste and tongue and the completeness I felt when I was with her.

I could barely contain the lightness in my heart. When Savannah was in my arms, it was like a part of me that I hadn’t known I was missing had been found. Somehow, this woman made me whole, in a way I’d never thought was possible.

Finally, needing breathe, I broke away. Chest heaving, Savy leaned into my embrace as I dipped my head to her ear. “It’s over. We’re free. You did it.”

“We did it,” she muttered.

With a growl of admiration, I shook my head. “No. This, this was you. It was your idea to bind the wolves to weaken the Dark God, and your power that set them free. No one else would have been able, or even dared, to do that. You saved our pack. Our city.”

Savannah reddened and I could smell the scent of her embarrassment at the praise. She turned her head to gaze out over the ruins of Dockside.

“The city doesn’t look like it’s been saved,” she said. “If we hadn’t lost so much time…”

Rebuilding would take time. The hallmarks of devastation stretched for blocks—broken glass, crumbled walls, burning buildings.

I gently pulled her chin back to me. “I know it looks bad, but this is a fraction of what could have been. You saw the visions. If we hadn’t stopped the Dark God, this city would be ash and rubble, with half of its inhabitants dead and the other half homeless and running for their lives.”

She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “I know. I just wish we could have done more.”

“We did everything we could. Now, we pick up the pieces of Dockside. There is plenty we can do to heal the wound he left us.”

Savannah tensed. “Sam. She was hurt.”

“She’s okay. She looks a little worse for wear, but she’s already off helping the others.”

A familiar truck pulled up, and Regina bailed out. She ran over and—uncharacteristically—gave me a hug, “Thank fates, you survived.”

“I’m hard to kill.”

She pushed back. “Not for lack of trying—you look like you’ve been through hell.”

Regina gave Savy a hug as well. “Thank you for everything, Savannah.”

Savy nodded and I crossed my arms. “Give me a rundown of the damage. I’m guessing it’s bad since you’re here in person.”

“I had to see you. And yes, it’s bad. A good portion of Dockside is burning. Firefighters are working to contain the flames. But we have a bigger problem on our hands. The people who were bit by the possessed wolves have some sort of lycanthropy, and it’s not gone away. Some are managing to control it, but others are going feral.”

Regina’s words ran through me like ice water, and Savannah sucked in a sharp breath. “You mean, they’re still turning into werewolves? We chained the Dark God and closed off the portal—”

“Doesn’t seem to have stopped it. Some keep partially shifting, others are fighting severe fevers.”

Savannah stiffened and went pale. “Casey?”

Regina’s expression darkened. “We had him moved to the hospital. He partially shifted about twenty minutes ago, and now he’s passed out and sweating a fever. Mira—one of our nurses—is looking after him now, along with a few others. She’s a werewolf so maybe she can understand what he’s going through—but I’m not sure there is anything we can do for him or the others.”

Savy dug her fingers into my arm. “Fuck. He’s got to be going out of his mind. This is definitely his worst nightmare.”

Regina’s eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. “He has been—difficult. Apparently, he keeps moaning ‘I don’t want to eat people. Do people taste okay?’ Let’s just say it hasn’t won him any sympathy from the hospital staff. Mira deserves a sainthood.”

“There must be something we can do,” I growled.

Savannah bit her lip. “Alia was going to try to make a Lycanthropy cure for my condition. Maybe she knows what to do.”

That was one potion, for one disease. Mass disease was an entirely different story. “Any idea how many are infected?”

Regina shook her head. “No firm count but brace yourself for the worst—I’m certain it’s going to be in the hundreds, not dozens.”

I pulled out my cell, and although the screen was shattered, it still worked. “Fuck. Okay, I’ll call Alia now.”

Savannah looked over to where her aunt was sitting on the curb, her head drooped between her knees. “I need to go tell Laurel and Uncle Pete about Casey. I don’t want them getting a call from the hospital. It should come from me.”

“Do it.” I dialed Alia.

The potion maker picked up in half a ring. “Jaxson? What the hell is going on in Dockside? Local news has been blacked out, and I can’t get a straight answer. My demons tell me all the werewolves have gone rabid and are running all over town.”

“Your demons are idiots,” I growled. “But I do have a werewolf problem. Can you make a lycanthropy cure? For hundreds of people?”

“Shit. It’s true—”

“Whatever you heard is certainly not true. I’ll explain everything when there’s time. Right now, I need you brewing potions. Whatever it costs.”

She released an exasperated hiss. “It’s not that easy Jaxson—brewing is going to take time. It’s got to be in small batches, and I’m going to need to reduce a shit ton of wolfsbane.”

I glanced over at Savannah and Laurel. “I can get you all the wolfsbane you could imagine. The LaSalles will be very motivated to expedite the process.”

“Okay, I can have the first batch done in three days if you get me the ingredients tonight. But it will only be fifty or sixty doses.”

“Are you willing to teach Pete LaSalle? I’ll make it worth your while. This is an emergency. Name your price.”

There was a pause. “I’ll teach him. But giving up a recipe to that family, that’s going to be expensive.”

“Send me an invoice and a list of what you need. Get going now, and I’ll let you know how many infections we’re talking about but think in the hundreds.” I hung up and pocketed my phone.

Regina raised her eyebrows.

“Don’t look so worried. The hard part’s over. We’ll get through this.”

She nodded. “I know.”

I grasped her arm. “Thank you. For stepping up while Savy and I were gone. For protecting our pack. I know I put a lot on your shoulders.”

“I can take it,” she grumbled. “But dealing with the LaSalles was like herding cats. Big, bad tempered, sabretooth cats.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Did the council give you any help?”

She shook her head. “Not much. Camila and Mac sent people. Not many of the others—but it was for the best. Their wolves got possessed, just like ours. With a bigger response, the city might have been overrun before you got back.”

“That doesn’t matter. They’re fucking cowards,” I snarled, balling my fists. “We put out a call for help, and they turned their back.”

Rage clouding my vision, I called Camila.

“Jaxson?” She answered, a tremor of fear in her voice. “What’s happened? I’m getting conflicting reports.”

“It’s over. Savy got her wolf back and defeated the Dark God. We sealed the rift that he’d opened and chained him in the Dreamlands for good. But it was fucking close. And if we had fallen, if Savannah hadn’t stepped up, the Great Lakes would have been overrun with thousands of blood-thirsty wolves. Not one of you would have stood a chance.”

“Fates,” was all she could muster.

I tried to keep my voice steady, but I wanted to rage. “Regina tells me your people were here and helping. Thank you. I won’t forget that. But I won’t forget that you are the one who put Savannah and me on trial.”

“I’m sorry for that, Jaxson. But if what you say is true, then I think the council should no longer have any problem with either you or your mate.”

My fingers tightened around the phone. “Oh, they have a problem. The fucking Dockside alpha is pissed. I think they’ve all forgotten who I am and what part of their livelihood I control. Call a meeting for three days from now. There will be a reckoning.”

She hesitated a second. “Understood.”

“Tell them that if they want to start making amends, to send workmen and supplies. I’ve got Dockside to rebuild.” With that I hung up and took in the scene around me.

Savannah.

She was like a brilliant flame in the dark of night, calling to me. Brave. Beautiful. Triumphant.

She sat with her aunt, holding her hand. Giving strength to one more person, after she’d given everything she had to the city.

I didn’t deserve a woman like her. But somehow, the fates had given me a chance to earn her love. A chance I wasn’t going to fuck up.

I started toward them, but halted at a familiar scent, and scanned the surroundings.

A werewolf stood in the shadows of an alleyway, watching me. A muscular form, but tired. I knew the silhouette anywhere.

My father.

Not what I needed right now. I strode into the darkness. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to help,” he growled.

‘Why? Because you thought we couldn’t handle it. Or because you realized you’d fucked up.”

“Because I was wrong, Jaxson, and I’m trying to make amends. I shouldn’t have brought you up before the council, but I was afraid that you and that woman were bewitched by the Dark God.”

“That woman is my mate. She’s a LaSalle, but you will speak with respect.”

He looked away in submission. “Trust me, Jaxson, for what you two accomplished, I have all the respect in the world. For both of you. Regina told me you had to enter the Deadlands to stop this.”

A chill filled me, but I nodded.

He sucked in an unsteady breath, and the scent of distress was strong.

After a long pause, he spoke. “You were gone three days, and I swear to the fates, there wasn’t a minute I didn’t regret every word we’ve exchanged in the last five years. Your mother and I weren’t sure you were coming back, and it felt like my soul was breaking. I’ve spent so many years dwelling on losing Stephanie that… I can’t lose you, too.”

“Well, I’m still here,” I grunted.

“I’ll fix things between us, Jaxson. I’m going to try. I’m sorry for everything. For leaving you on your own, for dropping the pack on you, for being distant. Inaccessible.” He put a hand on my shoulder, and I tensed. “I’m here. In the time I’ve got left, I need to focus on the son I have, not the daughter I lost.”

Anger pulled at me, and I didn’t try to hide it. Why had it taken nearly dying for him to see this?

I looked away, until I got control of my emotions. Finally, I was calm enough that I could meet his eyes.

“I saw Stephanie,” I muttered.

My father stiffened and shock dilated his eyes as the implications struck home. He was speechless, and I didn’t break the silence between us.

At last, he forced out a hoarse whisper. “You saw her in the Deadlands?”

“She led us there,” I said, measuring every reaction.

“Is she…” He swallowed hard and licked his lips. Pain shown in his eyes as he searched for the right words. “At peace?”

I crossed my arms. “She is with Billy. They run together with the ghost wolves. I think she’s found a peace that she didn’t have when she was alive. We spoke a long time.”

My father turned away, every muscle in his body coiled with tension and anguish. After a long moment his shoulders drooped. “I’m glad. That’s all I want for her.”

I started to walk away, but his hand stopped me. “Jaxson.”

He met my eyes. “I know this isn’t the right time, but I hope that someday you can forgive me. For abandoning you. For losing myself. For being such a shit father when you needed me to be there. I’m going to do everything I can to earn back your trust.”

I shook my head. “There is someone whose trust you need to earn first.”

He followed my gaze to Savannah, who was helping move a wounded man to the truck.

“She’s my mate. My other half. When you’ve made peace with her—if that is even possible after what you said—then you and I can talk.”

My father nodded. “I understand. Whatever I must do, I will.”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Good. Now I need you on the West Side at the hospital. They’re triaging people infected with the Dark God’s lycanthropy. They’ll need an alpha to help guide the new wolves, and I can’t be everywhere at once. The rest, we’ll talk about later.”

“Of course.” He turned to leave but paused. “You did good, you know. I would have failed this test. The pack is lucky that they had you.”

“They were lucky to have had Savannah,” I growled as I walked away from my father and the pain of our past, and back toward my mate. Toward my future. Toward my strength.

My fate.