Magic side wolf bound co.., p.73
Magic Side: Wolf Bound Complete Series: Books 1-4, page 73
“I had my suspicions, but then I found a letter that my dad had written to you. Did you know about me?”
“I don’t understand.” Laurel had stopped breathing, and her eyes turned glassy. “Did something happen to you?”
Her confusion mixed with anxiety, making a heady aroma that burned my nostrils. But it was the underlying hint of affirmation that made me sick to my stomach. She’d known all along.
“Happen to me? No, I was born this way. But my family was too disgusted by what I was, so my parents fled and lied to me my whole life. You’re just as guilty as they were for keeping this from me.”
Laurel’s face had turned pale. “Born this way?”
Her voice rang with the horror of a truth she knew but couldn’t accept.
I slowly extended my claws as I held back tears. “Born. A. Werewolf. Except I didn’t turn into one until I came here to Magic Side.”
For an infinite moment, Laurel stared at my hands in shock. Then she bolted to her feet and pushed back the chair as she staggered away. “How? This isn’t possible.”
“I’m not sure I understand your question. My mom was a werewolf, and I’m a werewolf. I grow fangs and fur and run on four legs.”
And eat rabbits and bacon, my wolf added, snickering.
With her eyes wide and unfocused, my aunt began to quake and clutched the wall for support. “It’s not possible…we bound your wolf. It shouldn’t be possible…”
My head spun as I took in her words. “Bound my wolf?”
Laurel looked at my claws in terror and then wrung her hands. “It’s okay. It will be okay. We can do it again. Your mother and father aren’t here, but I can teach Pete and Casey.”
Oh, my God.
The world around me twisted and warped like it had been demented by a carnival mirror.
She did this to me? And my parents helped?
Laurel approached tentatively. “Don’t worry, Savannah. I can fix this—”
I bolted out of my seat and maneuvered to the far side of the room. “What do you mean, fix this?”
She pressed her hands to her mouth. “You must be so scared. But don’t worry, I can make it go away.”
My wolf surged in my chest, and my fangs sprang out. Traitorous bitch! She’d bind me again?
Confusion and desperation spun in my mind as I tried to maintain control of my wolf.
She could make it go away.
At first, all I had wanted was to make it go away. When I’d thought I was a werewolf because Billy or Kahanov had infected me. But this was different.
I was born a wolf. Wolfborn. And Wolfie was a part of me now.
A part that I hadn’t wanted. But in that moment, staring down my aunt, I knew I couldn’t give her up. That I’d never give her up.
You’d better not! Wolfie growled, still raging and fighting for release.
I backed away from my aunt, who’d betrayed me, who’d lied to me, who’d help tear out a part of my soul.
“Savannah,” she said, reaching out. “Don’t be afraid. I can help.”
My wolf tore at me from within, and hair burst along my arms.
“I don’t want your help!” I snarled in a feral voice that made my aunt’s eyes go wide. “I want to know why you lied to me! Why you did this—why my parents did this!”
Laurel paused and looked at me with terror and confusion. “To protect you. Your parents and I bound your wolf with a spell to keep that half of you a secret. We wanted you to lead a normal life.”
“A normal life?” I scoffed. “Never knowing who I was or what I was capable of? A life without magic? A life with only half a soul? Did you hate what I was that much?”
Betrayal sank its bloody fangs into me, and a sob lodged in my throat.
“None of us ever hated you.” Laurel’s eyes brimmed with sorrow and determination.
“Not my grandfather?”
She froze, and I could sense her panic. “He wasn’t the reason.”
“Then what was?” I growled. “What was so important that you took that half from me without ever telling me the truth?”
My skin itched and tingled, and I could sense a shift coming on.
“You were born just after Dragan died—”
Horror took me as the room spun. I cried in pain as the shift began—as who I was began to melt away into something else.
Dragan. Had they worried I was going to be like him? A monster? Was that the truth?
Were they right?
I howled and charged for the door of the drawing room, but Laurel flicked her hand, and it slammed closed.
“You can’t leave, Savannah. It’s not safe. I can help turn you back.”
“I don’t want to turn back!” I screamed. “I want to be who I am!”
I hadn’t fully shifted yet, and I struggled for control. I needed hands to get out of this damned house.
Someone pounded on the door and started shouting. Casey? Panic seized my mind. If he came in and found me as a wolf, would he shoot me on sight?
I summoned every ounce of willpower to keep the shift from taking over, but I could barely think with my wolf raging in my chest. I jiggled the doorknob, but the door was stuck. “Let me out!”
“I can’t let you leave,” Laurel said calmly. “It’s not safe. Not with Dragan out there. This may be the reason he’s after you. Please calm down. You need to stay here with your family.”
White-hot rage flashed through me like a thunderclap, and my body trembled. “You’re going to lock me up? Like you did my wolf?”
Laurel began to cast a spell, and terror clutched my mind.
Was she going to bind me right now?
I tried to channel my magic into the door, but it became a vortex, swirling inside me. Dark shadows moved across the wooden floor, coalescing at my feet. My body jerked, and a cry of pain tore itself from my throat as the shadows poured into me and then exploded out in the form of a black wolf. I threw my arms wide, and the shadow creature lunged forward, tackling Laurel and surrounding her with darkness.
My aunt screamed and crashed to the ground, desperately fighting at the shadows.
Abject horror filled my mind as I stood paralyzed.
An explosion knocked me to the floor as a burst of flames blew the door off its hinges. Casey stormed in, fireballs in both hands. He looked between Laurel and me. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Casey, don’t let her leave!” my aunt shouted as she struggled with the shadows.
She did this to you, a voice said in my mind. Not my voice or my wolf’s, but one that I vaguely recognized. An avalanche of rage drowned out any reason I might have mustered. “No!”
I would burn this fucking house to the ground.
Suddenly, Casey was shaking me. “Savannah, stop!”
I twisted free as his shouts reeled me back to reality.
Laurel was crawling to her feet, and streaks of blood—claw marks—marred her skin. What had I done? Horror hit me like a sledgehammer, and I stumbled back with a gasp. The shadows engulfing Laurel evaporated as Casey ran forward and cradled her. He glared at me. “What have you done?”
Shock and terror cut across his face as his eyes fixated on my hands. On my claws.
On what I had done with my magic, to my aunt.
Stabbing agony settled in my chest, and I tried to speak, but no words came out. Instead, I turned and fled.
18
Savannah
I leapt into my car and drove.
My phone rang a dozen times, but I just drove and drove, looking for a place in Magic Side that wasn’t full of LaSalles or Laurents. Without sorcerers or werewolves. But I didn’t know where that place was.
Normally, when I was distraught, the thrum of the Fury’s engine soothed me, but not tonight.
I could feel my father’s magic—magic that he’d once woven with his sister and my mother to bind my wolf.
Magic wrapped in lies.
The car began to feel like a constrictor, and it became hard to breathe. I’d almost torn my loving, treacherous, protective, deceitful aunt to pieces. I’d seen Casey’s face. There was no going back.
Eventually, I found my way to the Midway Dens and pulled over. I scrolled my phone.
I couldn’t call Jaxson or Sam. They were werewolves, and they’d probably go nuclear when they found out what my aunt had done. And Casey had quickly become my best friend. I kept scrolling and scrolling. Most everyone in it was either a LaSalle or a Laurent—that, or a human with no idea that magic was real.
Like I had been once.
My finger hovered over my godmother’s number. Had she known? What would she even say if she hadn’t? Now I was the crazy one?
Finally, at the very end of the list, I found Zara’s name—the only friend I had who wasn’t wrapped up in this mess.
I dialed, and her voice came across the line. “Hey, Fury, what’s up? Ready for roller derby this weekend?”
“Hey, Zar. Um—” My voice choked up. “Look, something really bad has happened, and I don’t know who else to talk to. I don’t know where I can go, and I need a drink, preferably without any LaSalles or Laurents around.”
“Hey, hold on there, waterworks. Are you okay?”
I nodded, though she couldn’t see me, of course. “Yeah. Just need to talk. And drink.”
“Meet me at the Rift on Razorback?”
I sniffed. “Yeah, I’m close. Thanks.”
“See you in five. I’m already on my way.”
It only took me a few minutes to get to the Rift, but finding parking was hell. In the end, I had to walk four blocks through the cool night air.
Casey kept calling, but I muted him. I just couldn’t face what had happened. Not yet, not sober.
If I could take what had happened back, I would. But I couldn’t.
The Rift was in a building constructed from dark glass cubes. It had an animated neon sign of a sexy she-devil dancing above the door that reminded me a lot of the jammer of our derby team, Rayne.
The hulking blue-skinned demon outside the door just waved me through. Sometimes, it was good to be a girl.
The pulse of the music worked into my bones as I pushed through the grinding bodies. My hands were shaking, and though I felt disconcertingly numb, deep down, I knew I was a bomb ready to detonate.
I wedged myself into a spot at the bar to wait for Zara and motioned to the bartender, who strolled on over. He was handsome and ripped and had two gray horns protruding from his forehead like Zara’s, though hers weren’t always visible. “Two tequila shots, please.”
He nodded and poured the tequila as I looked around. The bar was covered with car racing paraphernalia and filled with every kind of Magica I could imagine. A mouthwatering scent of barbeque filled the air, and between the flow of people and alcohol, it seemed like a good place to get lost, which was just what I needed for a while.
Most importantly, I didn’t see anyone I knew.
Screw werewolves. Screw sorcerers. And screw Dragan and my aunt and my parents and all the shit they were wrapped up in.
The bartender slid the shots across the bar, and I noticed the wicked tattoo under his sleeve—a bird of prey. The colorful feathers on its wings were striking against his blue skin, and they shimmered like they were reflecting the sun.
I handed him my credit card. “Nice ink!”
He glanced down at his arm and grinned. “Alana at Devilish Inks is the best in town. Looks like you could use some more.” He gestured toward the tattoo on my arm. “She works just down the street.”
I’d always wanted another tattoo.
“Maybe. Thanks for the tip.” I downed the first shot, wincing at the burn.
At the far end of the room, a curvy woman with a tail was hanging upside down from a stripper’s pole. She was really flexible.
Hell, I kinda liked this place.
As soon as I saw Zara pushing through the crowd toward me, I downed the second shot and ordered another round for us both, as well as a double whiskey on the rocks.
The bartender slid it and the four shots across the granite top as Zara shoved the guy next to me aside to make room for herself. She eyed the two empties and the four full tequilas. “Rough day?”
“You could say that. Help me celebrate.”
Zara downed a shot and nudged one over to me. “What happened?”
I tossed it back. “Well, this afternoon, I nearly beat an asshole to death in a biker bar, and then I ended the evening by finding out that I’ve been a werewolf my whole life, except that my parents bound my wolf to hide what I was, and my aunt was in on it. I nearly killed her on accident and then fled, but not before revealing what I was to Casey—an absolute fucking monster.”
“Shit. That’s a pretty fucked-up day,” she said, and shot another tequila.
“Pretty much. How was yours?”
“Same.” She motioned for another round. “I visited my dad in prison today. Parents are shit.”
“Damn, I’m sorry.” The fourth shot went down easier than the first three had. “What’d he do?”
“Oh, you know, summoned a demon army and tried to take down the world. And he was the well-adjusted parent.” She grabbed my wrist and towed me into the crowd. “Come on, fuck today. Let’s dance.”
Well, at least I wasn’t the only one with a totally fucked life.
Clutching my whiskey, I followed her to what I presumed was the dancefloor. The crush of bodies and thrum of the bass dulled my senses, and before I knew it, I’d lost myself in the music.
I’m sure it has nothing to do with the tequila, my wolf quipped.
Touché. Though ever since my wolf had been released, it had been much harder to get drunk.
This was what I needed: a moment to forget all the shit that had unfolded. And I had to, because tomorrow, there’d be bigger problems to face. Like figuring out what Dragan was up to.
My aunt and parents were assholes for what they did, but Dragan was the fucking root of it all. I could feel it in my bones. Once I killed him—or whatever that equated to when you were already dead—I could try to put the pieces of my life back together. If Casey or my aunt would ever speak to me again. If I could bring myself speak to her.
Just dance.
After another round of shots, I was blissfully unaware of my troubles.
I let my body move me and soon found myself grinding up against a guy who I was pretty sure was a demon—but not the ugly, bloodsucking kind. He had hot horns, silver and black hair, and an open shirt that displayed his muscles. All in all, he was pretty attractive, though not my type. I apparently only liked dangerous, possessive alpha holes.
Plus, the demon was getting a little handsy.
I shoved him off and wound through the crowd. My thoughts began returning to Laurel’s words—we bound your wolf—which only meant one thing: I needed more tequila.
I ordered another shot and checked my phone. In addition to the barrage from Casey, I had three missed calls from Jaxson, two from Sam, and a slew of messages. I opened the first of Jaxson’s:
Your cousin called, blaming me for turning you into a wolf. Where are you?
The image of Casey’s shocked face bombarded my mind, and I fought back a sob. He’d never forgive me for what I was or for what I’d done to his mother.
I’d just lost my best friend.
I downed the tequila and disappeared back into the crowd, unable to face any more reality than that.
Head spinning, I stumbled a little. Hands gripped my waist and pulled me in. The demon I’d been dancing with slipped his hands around my ass and began grinding against me. Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes, but I went with it until he nuzzled his face in my neck, and his hot tongue traced my skin. “What do you say we get out of here?”
Rage tore through me, and I stomped my boot down hard on his foot. “Not interested. Now get your hands off me!”
If I’d wanted a booty call, I knew just the wolf to hit up. But for one moment, I didn’t want to be a wolf or a sorcerer or a nice piece of ass. I just wanted to exist in a space where none of what had happened was real—to dance and forget everything.
Unfortunately, the creeper didn’t appreciate my reaction, and he shoved me back. “Bitch!”
Before I could react, a blonde woman stepped up and slammed him to the ground.
“Sam?” I yelped as I lost my balance and landed on my ass.
She gripped the demon’s neck and leaned close to his shocked face. “If you ever touch her again, you’ll be a dead man.”
What the hell was Sam doing here?
The room spun, and I had to blink to focus on her. She was frowning, but she looked hot, and—oh, my God, I’m going to puke.
My head buzzed.
Did I say that out loud?
Sam and Zara scooped me up and pushed through the crowd. The next thing I knew, I was doubled over and retching on the sidewalk. Once I’d emptied my stomach, Sam handed me a travel-sized bottle of mouthwash.
“Thanks.” I swished my mouth out and spat it on the street. The minty flavor stung my cheeks.
Sam opened the passenger door of Tony’s Jeep. “Get in.”
Drunk though I was, I knew better than to argue.
“How’d you find me?” I asked after a few silent blocks.
“Zara called. Said you were on a bender and that she couldn’t reach your cousin.” She glanced over at me, the oncoming lights of a car highlighting the irritation on her face. “You’re lucky that I was the one she called and not Jaxson. Fuck, Savy, what the hell happened?”
God, this wasn’t how I’d wanted this night to end. I tried to dry my eyes with the back of my wrist. “The truth caught up with me, and I made a mess of everything.”
Before she could speak, Sam’s phone rang, and she picked up. “I’ve got her. I’ll bring her right over.”
Even drunk out of my mind, I recognized the voice on the other end of the line. Jaxson.
I put my face in my hands. It seemed my evening parade of humiliation wasn’t over.
19
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.
