Blood seeped into the water from the black wolf. Billy was dead, and he’d reverted to his original form. Just like the monster who’d attacked me at the Taphouse. Wolfborn. Like Sam. Like Jaxson.
Crouching down, I gripped his wet fur and rolled his body over. Several deep red gashes cut across the wolf’s chest. They looked like…
Nope.
Confusion and panic clouded my mind. I turned away and doubled over, squeezing my knees with my palms.
Deep breaths, Savy.
Billy must have scraped himself on some branches while he was chasing me. That’s why I was covered in blood.
I opened my eyes and saw my reflection in the water, illuminated by the moonlight. Horror rocketed through me. Staring back up at me in the water was me. But my eyes…
Oh, my God.
My eyes were fucking glowing honey gold.
I screamed and tripped, landing hard on my butt. As I scooted away from the lake, ice chilled my veins, and panic took hold. I couldn’t seem to get enough air. I clutched my heart and stared up at the starry sky. My vision blurred, but the vastness of the black expanse above was calming, like the presence of an old friend. After a few minutes, my breathing eased.
I’d just experienced a trauma. Billy had attacked me. I’d pushed him over the ledge, and now he was dead. Shock had made my mind project things that weren’t real. Hadn’t Jaxson told me the same thing the first time we’d met?
And he’d been lying.
I dragged myself to my feet and peered at my reflection. My eyes weren’t a honey color. I sighed with relief but couldn’t shake the dread that had seeped deep into my soul.
It had just been my wild imagination.
45
Jaxson
Though Savannah’s scream had torn through the forest minutes ago, it still echoed in my mind.
Fury coursed through me as I growled and leapt up the side of the gully. Her scent was everywhere, clouding my mind and causing my wolf to panic. I feared that if I shifted now, he’d take over, and I’d lose control.
Why the fuck had she chased after Billy alone?
Protect her.
Anger rippled through my body, and I ran faster than I ever had on two legs. The thought of Billy’s hands on Savannah sent me into a rage, and I couldn’t understand it. She was nothing to me, just a LaSalle. A means to an end.
Lies.
The smells of blood and fear flooded my senses, and I slowed. The forest was dead quiet, apart from Savannah’s breathing…and her heartbeat. I could feel it from twenty feet away, as if it were my own.
The reflection of the full moon shone over the lake, and Savannah moved through the trees toward me. She was wounded, terrified, but underneath it all, her alluring scent called to me.
Her eyes locked on me, wide with fear. “Jaxson!”
With a few steps, she closed the distance and crashed into my arms, her body trembling. I could smell Billy’s scent on her, and my anger spiked anew. “I told you to stay with me.”
She didn’t answer, just buried her face in my chest. I tensed but held her tight, breathing in her intoxicating signature as her pounding heart steadied. My anger dissipated. She was alive. That was all that mattered.
I gently moved my hand up her back and felt the lacerations through her torn jacket. She flinched, and a whimper escaped her throat. Guilt pummeled me, and my body shook with fury. Billy was a dead man.
Taking a slow breath, I listened intently. Two heartbeats. Hers. Mine. And nothing else.
The woods were empty. Billy must have fled.