Dark Lies (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 3)

Jaxson

My body rippled with pent-up fury as I downed a finger of bourbon. Savannah Caine was going to send me to an early grave.

The empty glass rang on the countertop as I slammed it down.

After her lunatic cousin had thrown a half-dozen baseless accusations at me, I’d called Savannah to figure out what the hell was going on. But she’d screened all my calls, leaving me with a burgeoning sorcerer–werewolf war on my hands.

I’d nearly lost it.

Clearly, she had. All I could get out of Casey was that they’d discovered she was a werewolf and that she’d attacked Laurel, and they were holding us responsible.

None of the rest of anything he said made one lick of sense. What could have possibly happened?

All Savannah had to do was go to the LaSalles and ask about Dragan. Simple. Instead, she’d outed herself at the worst time possible.

It made me furious. The screened calls. The crazy LaSalles. The fallout. But the thing that had crippled me with anger was having to sit on my hands.

I could feel her sorrow like a noose around my neck. As soon as we’d figured out where she was, I’d wanted to run to her—I could feel her pain pulling me—yet Sam had stopped me.

Made me wait.

Apparently, according to her, I didn’t have the requisite temperament to extract Savannah from her current predicament, whatever the hell that meant.

But I listened to Sam. When it came to Savannah Caine, I knew I was blind and beyond reason.

Savannah’s signature hit me as she and Sam stepped out of the elevator. Citrus trees on a hot summer day. Every sense I had was on alert, and I could hear the swish of her pants and feel the erratic stomp of her boots as she came down the hall.

She was definitely tipsy, a miracle for a werewolf. What had happened?

I poured another finger and tossed it back, setting the glass down firmly as the pair entered.

“Should I give you two a moment?” Sam asked when I rounded the corner.

“Stay.” My voice was rough as I took in the mess that was Savannah. The scent of her shame and grief mixed with the sweet and spicy aromas of tequila and something else. “She’ll fall over if you put her down.”

Savannah stepped forward on her own—somewhat unsteadily—her eyes flashing with defiance. “I’m not sure what crawled up your ass, Jax, but I just had one of the worst nights of my life, so lay off.”

“Is that so?” My jaw tensed, but I remained calm as I prowled around her. She wasn’t just tipsy—she was drunk on bottom-shelf tequila and Jack Daniels.

I gripped the countertop and dug my claws into the underside as another aroma cut the air: demon. Male.

“It smells like you had quite a good time,” I said, having to grind out each word.

Someone has touched our mate, my wolf growled.

My claws and fangs erupted as jealousy tore into me like a wild animal, and Savannah flinched as I leaned in and brushed her hair away from her neck, where the scent of demon was strongest. “A very good time.”

Sam awkwardly disappeared into the kitchen.

Images of the man who’d had his hands—and mouth—all over her made me homicidal, and I had to fight the urge to put my fists through something.

Ours, snarled my wolf.

Fury spiked in her eyes, and she seized the lapel of my jacket. “Screw you! You’ve got no idea, so back off!”

Even as she pushed me, I gripped her wrist and pulled her close. The warm contours of her body pressed into me, causing heat to coil inside. “I have some idea,” I snarled. “But why don’t you fill me in on the details?”

Savannah jerked out of my grip and took several steps back, putting distance between us.

The scent of rage and alcohol boiled from her, but somehow, I knew it was a façade, masking a deeper truth.

I took a deep breath and drew on every sense I had. Pain and regret vibrated from every inch of her body, and I could practically taste the salty hint of tears. Her sorrow churned in my gut like it was my own, and I could feel the ache of blood pounding in her temples. I exhaled slowly and took a step forward.

Savannah took another step back, and I paused.

It was like a knife.

We studied each other in the silence of the room. My mate was broken and in pain, and nothing I felt mattered. Whatever jealousy I had, I slew it then and there.

“I’m sorry.” Speaking the words made my jaw tic, but it was right. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

She glared at me with a burning hatred that seared my skin like a wall of flame. But then it broke, and she looked to the side with a single tear hovering at the corner of her eye. “I fucked everything up. I attacked my aunt, and now my cousin knows I’m a wolf.”

I nodded. “So I gathered. Casey called me, blaming the pack. What happened?”

She sighed and rubbed her face, the fight in her completely faded. “After you dropped me off, I talked to Laurel. The conversation twisted, and I found out that I’d been born a werewolf, and that she knew.”

My heart stopped for a second, then began to slowly accelerate.

She’d been born a wolf. The implications for our mate bond were staggering. But that wasn’t the most surprising aspect. I reached for my glass, but it was empty. “Laurel…knew?”

That was practically unfathomable. She’d never have accepted Savannah into their house if she’d known…

But Savannah nodded and bit her lip.

“Then why did Casey accuse me of turning you?” I asked, mentally flipping through scenarios. All of them landed on Laurel.

“He didn’t know.” A choked sob escaped her throat before she continued. “It was a secret. Laurel and my parents used sorcery or spellcraft or something to bind my wolf when I was born. I guess she hasn’t told him.”

“What? How’s that even possible? Your whole life—your wolf was bound with magic?” The horror of it tore into me as images of animals in cages bombarded my mind. Stunted, insane from a lack of freedom. A tremor of disgust and hatred shook me. My muscles coiled beneath my skin, and I flexed my fists, feeling my knuckles crack. I’d be paying Laurel a visit tonight.

“I don’t know how they did it. All I know is that my parents fled Magic Side because of what I was: half werewolf, half sorcerer, just like Dragan. I’m a fucking monster, Jaxson.”

She put her face in her hands and started to drop to her knees, but I closed the distance between us in a flash. Shaking, she buried her face into my shoulder.

Her agony was a dagger in my heart, and each silent sob twisted the blade deeper.

I breathed out, long and slowly, trying to get a handle on my heartache and fury. “I need you to listen. You’re not a monster, Savannah. You’re a wolf. There are those who can also work magic, like you. Dragan is different. He’s broken and tainted with evil.”

She shook her head and looked up at me, eyes red and swollen. “No. There’s a darkness inside of me—I can feel it.”

I grunted. “We all—”

But she broke away and began pacing the room. “Laurel tried to keep me at her house, Jax, and said it wasn’t safe for me to leave and that she didn’t want me around you and the pack. When she locked the door, I just lost it.” Savannah wiped her eyes and looked at me with a distant expression. “I hurt her with my magic really badly, and if it wasn’t for Casey…”

I strode over and cupped her face with my hands. “You were in shock. Your powers are new. Being a wolf is new. The same could have happened to anyone in your position.”

She tried to shake her head, but I tipped her face up to mine. “Hey. While you’re a pain in my ass, Savannah Caine, you’re no monster. You’re a good person who’s had monstrous things done to her. Do you understand me?”

Every fiber of my body screamed for me to kiss her, but I knew that wasn’t what she needed, so I fought down the urge with every ounce of strength I had.

Finally, she nodded, but her solemn eyes betrayed her lack of conviction. She was burned out. Spiritually, emotionally, mentally.

She needed someone to take control. And while tequila had been her first choice, I could do a much better job of it.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length, pushing my power into her. “You’ve had your night to grieve a bunch of fucked-up shit. But we have a real monster to fight: Dragan. So tomorrow, you’re going to tell us what you learned about him. Tonight, you’re going to get a shower, get to bed, and sleep this off. I need you fresh. Got it?”

“Okay,” she whispered, relief palpable in her voice.

I spun her and pushed her toward Sam. “Make sure she goes to bed. Give her my room, as usual. I’ll be on the couch.”

“Right, boss,” said Sam.

I grabbed my keys and headed toward the door.

Sam gave me a questioning look. “Where are you going, Jax?”

I paused partway through. “Taking care of some business.”

It was just past one a.m. when I parked out front of Laurel’s house. The neighborhood was quiet, the houses dark. All except hers.

The front door opened, and the devil herself strode out, arms crossed. “Where is she, Laurent?”

I stopped at the edge of the front lawn, my wolf and my fury reined in on a tight leash. “With her pack. Where she belongs. Meanwhile, you and I need to talk.”

Anger flashed across Laurel’s face, and she stormed down the front stairs. The air in front of me cracked, and a patch of sod near my feet was torn loose and hurled fifty feet away.

My lips curled, muscles flexing. “Was that a threat?”

“You’d better believe it. If you think you can turn her against her family, then you’d better prepare yourself for fucking Armageddon.”

My gaze lingered on the pulsing artery in her neck. It would only take half a second to close the distance and tear it out. She’d be dead before she even realized it.

I bent my head and growled low. “It seems that you’re doing a fine job of turning her against her family on your own.”

My wolf surged in my chest. She stole our mate.

Laurel shot a blast of green lightning toward my feet, leaving a pattern of jagged seared lines across the grass and sidewalk. “Don’t test me, Jaxson. I want my niece back here, ASAP. And I don’t want her to have any more contact with you or your kind.”

“My kind?” My claws slipped out as rage rippled over me. “Savannah is my kind. And she’s my mate, so there will be no negotiating. She stays with me.”

Laurel sucked in a razor-sharp breath and froze mid-step. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not.” My words were iron.

In the beginning, I’d fought against it. I’d seen how the bond destroyed Billy and my sister. I’d tried to convince myself that Savannah wasn’t a true wolf. That the bond was somehow false.

But I knew it to be true, now, without a doubt.

Savannah Caine was mine.

Laurel’s face contorted in a tortured expression, and her voice was hushed. “Are you certain?”

“As certain as the sun rises in the east,” I growled.

She froze for a moment, then dragged her hands through her silver hair. “Those damned fates!”

I bared my teeth as my temper threatened to boil over, but my words were slow and hard. “I’m going to ask you a question, Laurel, and I’ll know if you’re lying, even in the slightest. Did you use sorcery to take my mate’s wolf away from her?”

Hatred and murder burned in her eyes, but finally, she forced out a confession. “Yes. Her parents and I did it to protect her.”

My fury turned cold and brutal, like the wind in the arctic. “For whatever reason, Savannah still cares for you. But if I ever hear you’ve cast such a spell on her again, my pack and I will burn the Indies to the ground. There won’t be a sorcerer left in Magic Side.”

She didn’t flinch, instead locking me with an unyielding stare.

I turned to go, but she grabbed my arm. I spun, claws out, but the pleading in her eyes stopped my hand.

“We did it to protect her from your father.”

My heart froze as the words sank in. I didn’t lower my hand. “What?”

“Jaxson, if she’s anything more to you than something to possess, if you care about her in the least bit, you need to listen to me. Savannah is in danger, and so are you. We bound her wolf because of what your father might have done if he found out about her.”

I paused, my confusion and anger rising. “Savannah said that it was your father who was the danger.”

Laurel waved her hand dismissively. “Simon was a bastard who hated wolves and a good many more people, but he’s dead, and he’s not coming back. But mark my words, Jaxson, Alistair must never know who or what Savannah is.”

I grunted, unsure of how to react. I could smell the truth of her words, which only meant she believed her own delusions. While my father hated the LaSalles as much as Simon LaSalle had hated us, would he really harm Savannah if he knew she was a wolf? That she was my mate? Impossible.

I turned to go, but her voice caught me.

“I can see you don’t believe me, but trust me in this, if nothing else in life. Ask him about Dragan. Ask him about the prophecy,” she said. “And whatever you do, don’t mention anything about Savannah. Ever.”

Silently, I walked away.

“I want my niece back, Jaxson,” Laurel called after me. “She’s safer with us than with you. And if you ignore me, you’ll learn the truth far too late.”

“Never chain a wolf again,” I snarled as I got into my truck.

But as I turned the key, my mind was on her warning. I only knew of one prophecy.

The prophecy of the Dark Wolf God.