Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)

Savannah

I gaped at the pages of symbols and incantations that Laurel had spread on the table. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Nonsense,” Laurel said. “Don’t be intimidated. We’re sorcerers, not mages, so we cast with our souls, not with books and overly complex spellcraft. These are just notes to help you see how the spells work together. But you won’t have to memorize much—you have to feel it.”

“It feels like this is going to be complicated.”

She shook her head. “Sorcery is about intent and willpower. Even if you’re not perfect with the spell, as long as you know exactly what you want, you will achieve it.”

As long as I knew what I wanted…but did I really want to chain my wolf?

Aunt Laurel took my hand. “Savy, you’re headstrong and have more force of will than just about anyone I’ve ever met. It’s time you put that strength to use.” She slid a page across the table and tapped it with her fingers. “Now concentrate as if your life depends on it, because it very well might.”

An hour later, my brain felt like a lemon smashed in a press.

“I think you’ve got it,” Laurel said.

I rubbed my temples. “God, I don’t think I even remember my own name anymore. My head is swimming.”

“Oh, I know it’s a lot to download, but you need to understand how it works. How to bind and unbind. They’re two sides of the same coin. Do you think you can do it?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I could see each page of notes perfectly in my mind. I’d always had amazing recall, but this was putting it to the test.

Sweat slicked the palms of my hands.

This was going to be the most horrible thing I’d ever done—betraying my own wolf. But I had to. No matter how much the risk or how she might resent me, I was almost certain that she would hate me more if I did nothing, if I let the Dark God turn her into a weapon against my family and friends.

Even now, when I looked at my aunt, I could still see her lying in the hallway at home, covered in blood.

Had that been his influence, even back then? How long had he been pulling my strings, subtly manipulating my actions?

It had to end.

I rose. “I think I’ve got this. Let’s do it now, while I’ve still got my nerve.”

Laurel led me to the small office where Jax, Sam, and Casey were waiting. Jaxson’s eyes instantly locked on mine, and I nodded. It’s time.

His expression was hard and impatient, and unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he’d cooled off much.

“We’re ready,” Laurel said in a hushed voice.

“Finally!” Casey belted. “I was getting so tired of these two yakking on about wolf stuff.”

“I don’t think you stopped talking for more than a minute the entire time,” Sam moaned.

Jaxson stood and took my hand, and we all followed Laurel into her “workshop” downstairs. Prickles skated along my skin as I gazed across the black stone floor that was elaborately etched with runes.

The last time I’d been inside was just under a month ago, for demon training. Man, how had my life gotten so complicated? I thought it had all been too much then, but now I was so in over my head that it felt like I was on a one-way trip to the bottom of Lake Michigan in concrete boots.

Laurel strode across the room and set her cloth satchel down, taking out a brown glass bottle and a burlap bag.

“What the hell is this place?” Sam asked, looking around the room. Between my nerves and Jaxson’s simmering anger, the tension in the room was combustible.

“Laurel’s workshop,” I whispered.

Jaxson took it all in, resentment evident on his face. “You’ve been here before?”

I shrugged, ignoring his burning gaze. “Once. She summoned some demons to teach me how to use my magic.”

“Wonderful,” he said dryly.

Laurel started walking, flicking her bottle and spraying droplets of liquid on the floor.

Sam began to move around the edge of the room, and Casey was beside her in a second. “Don’t touch anything.”

“The only thing I’ll be touching is your balls when my boot connects with them,” Sam growled.

“Feisty.” Casey smirked and turned on his heel.

My anxiety was already mounting, but Jaxson’s unease and ire pulsed off him like a sun flare, making me even more nervous. I could tell that he was using every ounce of his restraint. He didn’t want me to do this. Hell, I didn’t want to do this. But some part of me, deep down, knew that it was necessary. I had to believe that somehow, Wolfie would understand…wherever she was.

“Casey, set up the braziers,” Laurel said as she finished splashing holy water, or whatever the hell it was, around the room.

My cousin positioned four braziers within the outer circle of runes. He filled each one with honey-colored pieces of kindling, then tossed a handful of sticky crystal gravel on top. Then, with a wink at Sam, he launched four successive fireballs into the braziers. Flames roared to life, licking the ceiling.

Show-off.

Sam scoffed. Casey was definitely enjoying this.

Laurel, who was untying the burlap bag, shot him a sharp look over her shoulder.

“Dirt?” Jaxson arched his brows at Laurel. Holding the bag, she’d begun pouring a thin line of dry dirt in the shape of an oval.

“This is a circle of confinement. It will focus and direct the magic of the spell.” She tossed the empty bag beside her belongings and retrieved several sprigs of dried leaves. Crushing them between her palms, she sprinkled them into the dirt oval.

“We wouldn’t want to accidentally bind your wolves,” Casey added, looking between Jax and Sam with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

A muscle in Jaxson’s jaw twitched, and I placed a hand on his arm before he took a step toward my idiotic cousin. “He’s just joking.”

Still, doubt tugged at me. Images of the files Laurel had on each of the packs in North America flashed in my mind, and my gut twisted.

Laurel glanced in our direction, preoccupied. “You think I’m foolish enough to start a war? Anyway, I doubt I could bind your wolves without your permission. The only reason we were able to bind Savannah’s was because she was a baby.”

“She was helpless, you mean. Unable to object to your sorcery,” Jaxson said sharply.

Laurel squared her shoulders but didn’t take the bait. “You’re here because I allowed you to be here, Laurent. Don’t forget that.”

“You think I’m afraid of you, LaSalle? Just give me a reason to rip out your throat.”

Casey tensed, and flames flickered to life in his palms.

Damn it all to hell.

Sam’s claws slipped free. I knew her well enough by now to recognize by the straightening of her shoulders that shit was about to get real in here.

“Enough!” I stepped forward, standing between the four of them. “You need to put aside your differences. What I’m about to do is messed up on so many levels. I need your support. All of you.”

Laurel sighed and offered Jaxson her palm. “She’s right. This is a dangerous spell. We need our minds focused. I’ll put aside my differences if you will.”

Jaxson looked at her for several long breaths, then finally shook her hand.

Casey took half a step toward Sam, but she turned. “Nuh-uh, fire boy.”

“Let’s get on with this, then.” Laurel locked eyes with me and gestured toward the dirt oval in the center of the runes.

I tightened my hands in fists to keep them from trembling and stepped into place.

“What’s with the creepy circles?” Sam asked.

“For your protection,” Casey answered. “In case things get a little hairy.”

The four of them positioned themselves inside the outer circle of runes. Laurel raised her palms, and two ribbons of light snaked out, moving across the symbols on the floor. They looked remarkably like the ribbons I’d fashioned with my shadows, only hers were made of light. As they touched the strange sigils, each illuminated until a ring of glowing runes surrounded us. The air crackled with magic, a sound curiously like Rice Krispies in milk, and my ears popped.

“This is a circle of protection,” Laurel said. “As long as you’re within it, nothing outside of the circle can harm you. Don’t leave.”

Sam gave me a what the fuck have you gotten us into look.

Laurel pulled a sheet of weathered paper from her back pocket. She unfolded it and glanced at the cursive writing and symbols before placing it on the floor beside her.

My heart thudded. “Notes? Why’d you make me memorize it?”

“It’s been decades since I’ve performed this spell. I know it well, but it never hurts to have the instructions. Are you ready?”

Absolutely not.

I tried reaching out to my wolf one last time. Wolfie? Is this okay?

No response.

I’m doing this to protect you, I said into the silence.

As if reading my mind, Laurel took my hands and smiled. “Long ago, your mother, father, and I cast this spell to protect you. Today, Casey and I are going to help you protect yourself. You can do this, Savannah.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Now lie down. You won’t want to fall.”

“Fall?”

She shrugged. “The binding might get a little rough.”

Okay, what the hell was I getting myself into?

With a final wary glance at Jaxson, I took what might have been my last breath and leaned back onto the cold stone floor, resting my arms at my sides.

Laurel took her spot. “Clear you mind of everything but your intention, then summon your magic and begin the spell. We will help you shape it, but you’ll have to form the bonds yourself.”

Even though my nerves were failing me, I tried to calm my racing heart with long, deep breaths. Finally, when I began to feel a modicum of control, I called my magic.

Icy chills spread over my skin as shadows began spiraling around me. As the power built in my chest, I began to chant the words of the spell that my aunt had taught me. Hard words, to make my shadows like iron.

Then I wasn’t the only one speaking. Laurel’s whispers moved through the room like a breeze. The flames in the braziers flared, and the scent of nutmeg burned my nostrils. Her whispers turned into chanting, and light poured out of her hands as she held them in front of her.

Nausea rooted in my gut as the room outside of the circle of protection began spinning. Or was it the shadows that were creating the illusion of spinning? It felt like we were in the eye of a hurricane or tornado.

Although I knew how to cast the spell, I realized that I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

Not breaking my chant, I glanced at Jaxson and Sam—she was either in shock or awe, but Jaxson’s gaze was fixed on me. I locked onto it, like a beacon in a storm. I knew how much this didn’t sit right with him, but in the end, he’d left the choice up to me. And he was going to stand by it, no matter what. Something about that made my stomach flip.

A rising wind tore at my hair.

“Casey, join your power with ours!” Laurel shouted over the gust. “Savannah, you will need to open yourself up to our magic. Let us in.”

Fire and light swirled around me, blending with my shadows. I called it all to me and into me. Like a smith at a forge, I was the iron, while they were the heat and hammer, molding and shaping the power I called forth. The shadowy ribbons of my magic suddenly grew hard.

I gasped, and my back arched off the stone as an unexpected wave of sorrow rose from the depths of my soul and flooded my chest. A choked sob escaped my throat as every muscle fiber clenched and my vision darkened. I couldn’t see Jaxson, but I felt his presence reaching for me.

“She must do this alone! Do not risk breaking the circle.” Laurel’s voice echoed through my warring mind.

I fought against the rollercoaster of dread, sadness, and deep heartache that pulsed through me, tearing apart my insides like a cyclone. I gritted my teeth as my mind felt like it would break. What. The. Fuck. Was. Happening. To. Me?

My skin began to crawl, and a low rumbling rose around me. Could the others hear that?

The rumbling grew into a growl that shook the building to its core, and my heart seized as the wound in my shoulder began to burn.

The Dark Wolf God had arrived.