Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)

Jaxson

The lion clamped its jaw around my forearm, and bones cracked. His immense weight pinned me the ground, but my rage and pain and fear for Savy sent new strength surging through me.

With a roar, I braced my free hand against its snout and pulled down with my trapped arm, slowly levering its jaws apart. Its teeth sank into my flesh, hitting bone, but my boiling adrenaline dulled the pain. With a gasp and a swift movement, I ripped my arm free, and its jaws snapped shut on thin air. Rolling out of the way of its savage claws, I jumped to my feet and stumbled over to a large block of stone.

Time to end this.

A stabbing pain shot through my forearm as I grabbed the stone block and pulled it from the dirt, but I fought through and heaved the block into the air.

The creature lunged, but I was ready. At the last second, I shifted right and brought the slab down on its head. Chips of rock sprayed, and the feline bellowed as a thin crack appeared along its neck.

It stumbled, and I took my shot again, bringing the stone down onto its skull. Gasping for breath, I struck over and over until its neck finally snapped, and the possessed thing crumbled.

I spun, searching for Savannah.

The last lion had her pinned beneath it and was about to sink its fangs into her throat.

Terror seized me, and I raced toward her, even though I knew it would be too late.

“Use your magic!” I roared.

The beast lunged for her neck, then exploded into a cloud of shrapnel. I shielded my face as rock fragments tore into my chest and arms, but I didn’t stop running.

I dropped to my knees beside my mate, who was staring up at the starlit sky and trying to roll over. Her body was tattered and torn with fresh cuts from the shrapnel, but the wounds were already beginning to heal.

“Sam and the loremaster…” she wheezed.

I stood and shouted for them.

Sam clambered over a pile of rubble. “Alive, mostly. Also pissed.”

Myrto appeared from behind a broken wall and helped the loremaster to her feet. “We’re over here and unharmed, thanks to Savannah.”

I turned back to my mate and slipped my hand beneath her to help her sit up. “Where are you hurt? You look like you got hit by a bomb blast.”

“Pretty much, but I think I’m okay,” she grumbled. “That was a little close for comfort.”

I brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, unable to help myself. “Too close. Next time, blow up the monster before it gets on top of you.”

She grasped my shirt as I helped her up and met my eyes. “It wasn’t me, Jaxson. It must have been the Dark God.”

“That blew the lion up? I don’t understand—I thought those were his creatures.”

She bent her head close to mine. “He’s obviously trying to stop us from calling the Moon, but I think he’s trying keep me alive at the same time. Because of the prophecy, and what I’m supposed to do on his behalf.”

Bile burned my throat. He wanted her for himself.

“Are you guys okay?” Myrto asked, her face wrought with confusion and panic.

“A little worse for wear, but alive,” Savannah said as she stepped back quickly. Then her face went pale at the sight of my wounded forearm. I could sense her discomfort and the instant desire to heal me as her eyes flicked up to mine. “That looks bad.”

It was a wicked sight, with bloody fang marks. The bone was cracked, but it would mend.

I shook my head. “I think we need to get to the temple.”

Sam limped over. We’d tag-teamed the second cat, but it had shattered her collarbone and left a deep gash in her thigh. I gave her an appreciative nod. “You saved my ass back there. Thanks.”

The loremaster dug her walking stick into the dirt and hobbled over. “It seems the Dark God is trying to dissuade us from calling the Moon.”

Savy nodded. “You’re all targets when you’re with me. Are you sure you want to carry on?”

“You’re stuck with us.” Sam dusted the dirt from her jeans. “But that Dark God is really starting to piss me off.”

Savy grunted. “Starting?”

Myrto had gone white as a sheet. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I’d like to get you off this island as soon as possible, for your sake and mine.”

“You do not need to worry, child. The moon mother watches over us,” the loremaster said, and pointed with her cane. “Lead the way to the temple. We’ve got work to do.”

Mytro swallowed and, after a moment of hesitation, led us on. We followed her past the time-worn vestiges of buildings that no doubt had been dedicated to many different gods. Ancient magic thrummed off the stones and columns that littered the ground, attesting to the sacredness of the place.

We were all on high alert. With Savy drained and Sam and me busted up, we were in no shape to weather another ambush.

Finally, we stopped in front of a raised rectangular structure. About the only things still standing were three columns in various states of collapse. “This is it,” Myrto said. “The Temple of Artemis.”

The ground around us was strewn with architectural pieces organized in rows. In the dim light, I could just make out a honeycomb decoration carved into the faces of the stone blocks nearby.

It was entirely unimpressive.

“This is it?” Savannah asked, bewildered.

The loremaster shot her a piercing glare. “Hush now, child, lest the moon mother hears you.”

Sam smirked as Savy pursed her lips.

“Actually, the sanctuary is dedicated to Apollo, Artemis’s twin, so her temple is a minor feature,” Myrto said.

“So typical. The man gets the sanctuary, and his sister gets a shrine,” Savy whispered.

She wasn’t wrong.

“If you’re okay, I will leave you to it,” Myrto said, fretting with a tiny tuft of her shirt. “Can you find your way back to the portal?”

Unease pulsed off her, and I sensed her urgency to get the hell away from us. “We’ll manage,” I said. “Thanks for your assistance.”

“Hey,” Sam said, “Are you going to be okay going back alone?”

“Thanks, but I know this place like the back of my hand. And I can move fast when I want to. Anyway, I’m pretty certain that if more of those things show up, they’ll be looking for you, not me.”

Myrto forced a smile before turning and hurrying off.

The loremaster climbed the two front steps, and Sam darted forward to help her. I stepped up beside Savy, inhaling her citrus sunshine scent. Reaching out, I picked a fleck of stone that was embedded in her neck.

She flinched, and her eyes dropped to my lips. “Let’s hope the Moon shows up.”

Sam took up a spot as a lookout on the stairs, while the rest of us headed toward the back of the temple. The inside of the sanctuary was, frankly, more disappointing than the outside, just a patch of crumbled stone that was probably smaller than the living room in my penthouse.

The loremaster shooed us out of her way as she lit a bundle of sage and sweetgrass and wove it through the air. “I’ve never tried to call the Moon like this—a full apparition. So prepare yourselves, because I have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Savannah gave me a nervous glance.

The loremaster raised her arms to the sky and spoke in an unfamiliar language. “Matrem lunarem invocamus ut se ostendat.”

She pounded her walking stick on the stone once, twice, and on the third time, the air around began to vibrate like a swarm of bees—a low drone that reverberated unnaturally around the space. Then she began to pace in a circle, moving her staff and chanting, her voice in harmony with the atonal drone.

For a moment, there was no change, but then a strange and unfamiliar power began to swell beneath our feet—the magic of the temple.

As it intensified, I took a step closer to Savy, and I caught the sign of subtle movement—not within the temple, but in the sky overhead. It began to spin. We looked up in amazement as stars began to spiral above us, a whirlpool of light. Then the stars faded into pure darkness as a white light crept overhead, bathing us in a silverly glow—the Moon.

Energy pulsed, and a blast of wind rushed past us. I grabbed Savy’s arm to hold her upright. My eyes adjusted to the new light just in time to see a woman in a flowing gown materialize before us. Her magic was dense and rich, like an exotic bloom on a hot summer night, and tasted of vanilla.

“Where the hell am I?” Her silvery blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders as she took in her surroundings—namely us—and she frowned. “Oh.”

Shock rolled over me. We’d actually summoned the Moon.

“Moon mother.” The loremaster, practically panting with exhaustion, bowed her crooked frame. “Thank you for blessing us with your presence. We called upon you to ask of your assistance.”

The Moon looked at us with an expression that betrayed a strong sense of doubt. She twisted her hair.

“I’m flattered that you thought to call on me, but I’m afraid I don’t do blessings for just anyone. Who are you?” The goddess’s pale eyes flicked to the floor, searching. “And where are my offerings? Are there no sacrifices?”

The loremaster balked but moved in stride. “Of course, my goddess. Offerings. Each of us has brought you a favored possession.” Casting me a sharp glance, she hobbled forward and set a stone on the pavement. “This is my lucky stone.”

I arched my brow. Fuck. Apparently, some details of the pagan ritual hadn’t made it all the way down through werewolf lore.

I had nothing important on my person, and the two things I cherished most were here with me now. Savy glanced up at me, and something inside my chest tugged.

Sam stepped forward and placed a bead bracelet on the floor. The loremaster scrutinized it, but Sam just shrugged. “It’s very special.”

I hoped the goddess couldn’t smell lies.

I pawed around in my pockets and withdrew a crumpled hundred-dollar bill. The loremaster nodded with mild approval and looked to Savy, who looked flustered.

With a sigh, Savy kicked off her Swiftleys, shooting me a look that said, I can’t believe I’m doing this. She placed the boots beside the other offerings. “These are my second most sacred possessions.”

The loremaster grunted. “Precisely what is required.”

Savy glared at Sam and me, muttering under her breath, “You’re buying me another pair as soon as we get home.”

I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips. I didn’t let anyone make demands from me, but Savy could ask anything, and I’d give it to her.