But it wasn’t.
A gut-wrenching force exploded inside me, snapping my spine like a
twig. I shrieked and dropped to the ground, my vision blurring from the pain.
When I opened my eyes, the moon was no longer visible through the
trees. My body felt broken and wasted, like I’d been beaten to a pulp. I rolled
onto my hands and knees, panting as sweat poured down my forehead,
stinging my eyes.
Everything was wrong.
I’d seen werewolves transform. It happened in seconds, not minutes or
hours. Had those bastards turned me into a freakish aberration? A half-human
science experiment doomed to tear itself apart and die?
Agony struck again, and my back arched as my insides rearranged
themselves, my ribs popping. A scream tore from my throat, stealing all the
air from my lungs. Then the bones in my fingers cracked and shortened. My
wrists couldn’t bear my weight, so I rolled onto my side, wincing at the stabs
in my chest.
Another snap, this time my thigh bone. And then the other one. I cried
out, my voice sounding distant and feral. The pain was too much. My knees
were next, and then my ankles. I didn’t have the strength to scream, so I
whimpered, my tears soaking the ground beneath me. Through my streaming
eyes, I saw that my legs were twisted and covered in fur. My body quaked
with fear and pain.
What had I become?
12
Jaxson
“What are you going to do about Savannah?” Sam asked as she crossed
her arms and leaned back against the railing of Eclipse’s rooftop terrace.
That was the question on all of our minds.
Savannah was confounding. Too independent to do as she was told, and
too mistrustful to let us protect her.
When this had started, I’d thought that she was just an unlucky woman
who’d gotten wrapped up in our business. Now it seemed the opposite had
been true: the pack had gotten wrapped up in hers. She was a creeping vine
that had entangled everything, dragging it down into a twisted mess.
But what could I do?
I swirled the whiskey in my glass and stared out at the moon, which was
low over the horizon. “We hunt down Kahanov. It’s the only way forward.”
Regina was staring out at the same scene, leaning with her hands on the
rail. “The reports of sleeping wolves keep coming in, Jax. We’re at five now.
If we hand her over, this could all end.”
I turned and growled. “We’re not bending to his demands, and we’re not
handing Savannah over. That’s final.”
She winced. “Just saying it’s an option.”
The deep ache in my chest that had started a few hours ago was growing,
and my temper was shorter than it should have been.
“You okay, Jax?” Sam’s brow furrowed as she watched me closely.
Regina also had a concerned expression on her face.
“I’m fine.” I checked my phone. Nothing more from Damian Malek, and
I put it away. “Damian is still raking the Magic Side muck for the Viper, but
last I heard, he thinks she’s in the city. She may know what the sorcerer is
after, or where he’s headed.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Regina asked, her voice low enough to be a
whisper.
“Then I seek a seer or summon the dead, or do whatever the hell it takes
to find him.”
Both women looked away, and I glared out at the moon.
I’d resort to that, but only if I had to. Dabbling in prophecy and
fortunetelling was taboo in our pack. But was it any wonder? The fates were
vile creatures, happy to give you just the right answers to lead you to your
doom.
Two weeks ago, I’d sought a fortune teller to help me track down the
person responsible for the abductions. She’d sent me to Savannah, and now
here we were, in a bigger mess than ever.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to go to the seer.
To answer my questions, the fortune teller had drawn three cards. For my
fate, she’d pulled the Hanged Man, and her reading of it still burned in my
mind: If you find the woman, you will find the answers you seek. But those
answers will destroy you. You will lose that which you love and be parted
from the thing you cannot live without.
Well, I’d found the woman, and I’d gotten my answers. Now my brother-
in-law was dead, and my pack members were dropping like flies.
I could feel the noose tightening around my neck. Literally. I rubbed my
throat.
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in my chest. The glass dropped from my
hand and shattered on the ground as I doubled forward and clutched the rail.
Sam rushed to my side. “Jax!”
Confusion and agony clouded my mind.
A heart attack? Like the one that had forced my father to step down?
No. Something else.
The pain warped into a burning sensation, and then a tightness that felt
like it was gnawing its way out. My vision darkened, and I heard Savannah’s
tortured cries in my head . What was this?
Savannah’s fear and pain wrapped around my heart, tugging me toward
her…and suddenly, like a cloak of darkness being pulled away from the sun,
understanding dawned.
Oh, no. This couldn’t fucking be happening.
I staggered back from the railing and went for the door.
“What’s wrong, Jaxson?” Regina yelled.
Sam rushed after me, but I stopped her in her tracks. “Stay here. Don’t
follow me, that’s an order.”
I hurried downstairs, leaving the shocked and confused women in my
wake.
I burst out of Eclipse and jumped into my truck. The engine roared to life,
and I gunned it, heading west—the direction that the tether around my heart
was pulling.
A deep dread filled me for what I would find.
My mate.
I’d heard stories about this from my sister, about what it felt like when a
wolf’s mate was close. Only it wasn’t supposed to happen to me. Not like
this. Not with her.
“Fuck!” I roared.
I could almost hear the cursed fates laughing. A LaSalle and a Laurent,
entwined in a dance of self-destruction.
My heartbeat raced, and it was impossible to resist the pull. Savannah’s
pain was like an anchor dragging me toward the bottom of the sea.
I floored the accelerator and wove through traffic as confusion flooded
my mind. Why had I only now realized this? Something had changed. What?
It didn’t matter. I just needed to get to her, and then I’d deal with the rest.
I could feel her agony with every fiber of my being. Her mind was on the
verge of shattering. Whatever was happening was fucking bad.
Hearing her screams in my mind had made me want to kill. But now there
was only ominous silence. It was a mercy, but dread filled the quiet void. I
gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white, as I fought the urge to rage.
The burning tightness under my ribs intensified as I drew near West
Shore Park, the largest wooded park in Magic Side.
Why had Savannah come here in the middle of the night?
Murderous thoughts flashed through my mind, and I cursed. Tires
screeching, I pulled int
o the empty north lot. I parked and sprinted into the
woods, letting the sensation in my chest guide me. I’d only made it a few
yards before Savannah’s shriek echoed through the forest.
My blood surged, and my senses sharpened to a razor. She was alive, but
in pain and barely conscious. Perhaps a mile away. That would be near the
border with the Indies.
She must have been attacked by the sorcerer. I knew that fucking cousin
of hers couldn’t keep her safe.
Sweat dampened my shirt as I leapt over rocks and wound through the
trees. My wolf surged inside me, wanting loose, but if Savannah was inside
the Indies, I didn’t want any trouble with the LaSalles, and right now, my
wolf would unleash a hell storm. I’d never felt him so agitated, and I
struggled to keep him restrained.
I pressed on until Savannah’s signature dulled all other senses. Her sobs
wrapped around me, each whimper digging into my already aching soul. I
slowed and stepped around a tree and froze.
It couldn’t be.
Lying on the forest floor, crumpled and broken, was Savannah. Half
woman. Half wolf.
My mate.
My fucking mate.
Her pulse was low, her breathing shallow. She was dying.
My wolf roared, demanding freedom, but I fought him down, though my
bones cracked from the strain. He couldn’t help her like I could.
I rushed forward and knelt beside Savannah’s broken body. She was
naked, her skin caked in blood, sweat, and dirt.
From our lore, I knew that the mate bond gave me the power to heal her.
But I couldn’t be certain I wouldn’t kill her in this contorted half-human,
half-wolf state. She was stuck in limbo and needed to shift all the way before
she could heal.
When I touched her back, a tingling force shot up my arm, and her body
jerked.
My mind burned with rage and denial and fear. It was impossible. This
couldn’t be happening. But it was.
I gently lifted her, cradling her in my arms. “Savannah, it’s me. Open
your eyes.”
She needed to complete the shift soon, or she was going to die. Her skin
already looked pale, and her pulse was erratic. I brushed a strand of her
scarlet hair off her forehead. “Savannah, I need you to wake up.”
She moaned, and her eyes fluttered open. “Jaxson?”
Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were a rich amber gold. Beautiful. My
wolf reared up again.
“Help me,” she whispered weakly.
My chest calved in two, and I wanted to tear the world apart. But I had to
focus. I cupped her cheek and rubbed away a tear. “You need to finish your
shift, or you’re going to die.”
She pressed her eyes closed. “I can’t. There’s something wrong with me.”
My heartbeat accelerated. What if that was true?
“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re strong. Finish the shift.”
She opened her eyes, and I saw the fear in them. I could sense she was
resisting the change, rebelling against the transformation.
Of course she was. We were monsters, and she was a LaSalle. But
resisting would kill her.
She shook her head. “I’m not a…”
“You are. And you’re a fighter. The most stubborn woman I know—but
the only way to win this fight is to give in. Let it happen. Or you’ll die.” I
kept my voice calm and pushed my power into her.
She ground her teeth, fighting it again, but she finally whimpered. Too
exhausted to fight any longer, she submitted to the change. Her body jerked,
and she cried out.
My heart tore. “Easy, Savannah. Let the pain flow through you. It’ll
pass,” I whispered, silently praying to the fates for one little mercy in the
chaos they’d caused.
I felt her bones cracking and sinews lengthening and twisting beneath my
hands. She screamed but let the transformation continue.
God, how long had she been fighting this?
I gently placed her on the ground and gave her some space. I could help
guide her with my magic, but she needed to do the shift on her own. It was
our way.
Her body jerked and arched, and I fought back the fear that had settled in
my soul. For born werewolves, the first shift was painful, but according to
our lore, the first shift was ten times worse for humans who caught
lycanthropy. Not all made it through.
Would she survive this?
If she didn’t, would my mind break? Or would I slowly descend into
madness, like Billy had? That would destroy the pack.
Savannah cried out and clawed the ground, and I pushed all other fears
and doubts out of my mind. Nothing but her mattered now. I just had to get
her through this.
“Don’t you dare give up,” I ordered. “Let the shift take you.”
Growling, she rolled onto her stomach and climbed to her knees. Her
spine arched, and her legs and arms snapped and bent as her hands became
paws and her face lengthened. Agony by agony, she completed the shift, until
all that was left was a beautiful gray and auburn wolf.
She whimpered and shook her body, and my wolf rumbled in my chest,
demanding to be set free. He wanted to meet his mate, but now was not the
fucking time.
“Savannah.” I slowly took a step forward, hands spread. “Savy.” She
snapped her head to me and growled, baring her teeth.
You did well, I said in my mind, testing our bond. She narrowed her
amber eyes but didn’t respond.
Perhaps that would take time.
“Easy.” I took another step, sensing her pain. She was weak and favoring
her left leg, and she snarled, limping backward. She was afraid and confused,
and she wouldn’t be able to heal on her own yet.
I crouched low and spoke softly, letting my alpha presence wrap around
her. “You’re safe, Savy. Let me help you.”
It felt wrong using this magic on her, especially during her first shift, but
I couldn’t risk her bolting off into the woods. Wolves normally shifted for the
first time with their pack in a safe place where they could run freely and learn
what it meant to let their other half take control. They also grew up with a
community of support. Savannah hadn’t, and the gods only knew what she
was experiencing right now.
“Easy. I’m going to help you, okay?” I stepped forward with my hand
outstretched. I paused, my fingertips a few inches from her nose.
Her bright eyes bored into me, reading my intentions. But then her
shoulders relaxed, and she sniffed my hand. Her ears flicked up, and she
brushed lightly against my fingers.
For a second, a smile tugged at my lips, but when she carefully lowered
herself to the ground and began to whimper, that deep ache in my throat
returned.
Her emotions overwhelmed my senses. Pain. Fear. Exhaustion.
I stepped forward and scooped her into my arms. “You can rest now. I’ll
take care of you.”
She didn’t fight me but nuzzled her face into my shoulder and closed her
eyes. Her coat was soft and smelled like her—tangerines and sunshine. It was
all I wanted to breathe in the world.
I
carried her back to the truck, my mind churning. What the hell was I
going to do?
My mate was Savannah Caine.
And she was a wolf.
13
Jaxson
I gently set Savannah down in the passenger seat and texted Sam as I
slipped behind the wheel. 911. Meet me behind the apartment. Clear the
guards up to my penthouse. Don’t tell Regina.
Sam was waiting for me fifteen minutes later when I pulled up out back.
“What’s this about?” she asked as I got out of the truck.
What could I say? I just opened the passenger door and pulled out the
exhausted auburn wolf.
“Who is…” Sam sniffed the air out of instinct, and her eyes went wide.
“Oh. My. God…that’s…”
“Yes, it is, and don’t say a word. Get the door. I’m taking her up to the
penthouse.”
“Your penthouse?” she asked as she opened the door and called the
freight elevator.
“It’s warded with spells, I can put a dozen guards out front, and nobody
will ask questions. You’re going to stay with her tonight.”
Sam lived in the building and served as my eyes and ears in the pack. She
was the only one I trusted to handle a sparking stick of dynamite like this.
The elevator binged, and the doors rolled opened. We got on for the long,
awkward ride up. Sam’s heartbeat was racing, and I could smell her distress.
I pushed my presence toward her. “This is going to be a shitstorm, but
we’ll ride it out, like always.”
She swallowed and nodded. “How could this have happened?”
“I have no fucking idea. It has to be lycanthropy. But Savannah never told
me she’d been bitten. Would she have covered that up? Did she say anything
to you?”
Sam shook her head. “What about after the battle in the woods? Could
Billy have been a carrier? Savannah was pretty beat up and left immediately
after. I never checked her wounds…or what about when we were captured?
Billy had access—”
“I don’t know.”
Could my brother-in-law have done such a thing? He was a bastard, but
this…
Old memories tore at me, and silence lapsed between us.
When the doors opened at my penthouse, the normal guards were gone,
waiting for Sam’s word to return. I carried Savannah up to the magically
warded door, which unlocked at my command and swung open. Hurrying
through the house, I gently laid her on my bed—a beautiful red and grey wolf
Untamed Fate (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 2) Page 9
