28
Jaxson
One moment, the Dark Wolf God was beating his fists through Laurel’s magic ring of protection, and the next, he was gone.
His absence left a vacuum that my shame, guilt, and anger readily filled. The flames that had been whipping around the room seconds ago were extinguished, and the shadows had dissipated, but not those that were still inside my heart.
Ashes drifted to the floor outside of the circle of runes, which had lost their glow.
“Holy shit,” Casey said as he dropped to his knees, spent. Laurel looked gray and completely drained. How much power would it take to keep a god at bay?
Almost too much. I’d almost lost Savannah to him. I’d done what I had to, and I’d never forgive myself for it.
I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes locked on mine. “She’s gone. I will never be okay until my wolf is back.”
I nodded and pulled her onto my lap, cradling her as she buried her face in my shoulder. Her tears dampened my shirt, and the aching hollowness in my chest spread through the rest of me like a sickness taking root.
My wolf had gone silent, but I felt his anxious pacing in my soul.
I’d seen the Dark God take control. I knew that it had to be done. But I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for not finding another way.
For a long time, no one spoke as Savannah’s emotions poured out. But finally, she wiped her cheeks and reluctantly climbed to her feet. “I’m going to fucking destroy him,” she swore. “I’m going to get my fucking wolf back.”
Her eyes were hard and her fury burning, but that couldn’t hide from me what was really in her heart: defeat, grief, and loss.
“We’re here for you. We’ll get you through this,” Casey said, squeezing her shoulder. “And when this is over, I don’t care if you go back to being a wolf or not.”
Savannah smiled weakly and pulled her cousin into her arms. “I’m going back. Don’t get used to this.”
Sam still knelt at the side of the circle, brooding in her thoughts.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
As if I’d just pulled her from a dream or nightmare, she blinked the fog from her eyes. “The Dark God…what the fuck, Jax? That was…”
I’d never seen Sam this disjointed before, and she’d seen some shit.
“A close one.” Laurel finished. “He wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“His chains are loosening,” Sam whispered. “If we’d just recharged the last seal…then—”
My fists clenched as frustration seeped into my veins. “It doesn’t matter. The past is the past. We need to lick our wounds and find a way to stop him.”
“I agree,” Laurel said. “I didn’t realize how powerful he was. We must act quickly. Together. If he truly is returning to Magic Side, we’ll need the help of the Order.”
“He’ll attack Dockside,” Savy muttered. “He draws power from wolves. It’ll be there, where he’s strongest.”
“We can speak to the archmages, come up with a plan,” Laurel said. “We’re not on good terms, but we can bury the hatchet to protect the city.”
“So can the pack,” I growled.
Casey whistled and cocked his head sideways. “Wait a second, is the alpha of Dockside agreeing to work with both the LaSalles and the Order? I never thought I’d see the day…”
I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Savannah’s idiotic cousin. I grabbed my jacket from the corner and gave him a passing glance. “Careful. You might not.”
Savannah strode to the other side of the room and held out her hand.
My blood turned cold as the bronze Soul Knife materialized in her palm. She rammed it down into a crack in the stone, and walked back to her aunt. Holding out her hand, she said, “I need you to break the spell that connects me to the blade. I have to get rid of it.”
Laurel took Savannah’s wrist in hers and began to trace lines over her skin. Glowing spirals of symbols appeared on Savy’s palms, and then, with a flash and the sound of swarming bees, they dissipated into curls of nutmeg-scented smoke.
Savannah threw her arms around her aunt. “Thank you.”
“I wish you didn’t have to carry so much,” she whispered. “I wish that I could do more.”
Eventually, Savy slipped out of her arms. “You’ve freed me from the Dark God and the Soul Knife. That’s enough for one day.”
Savannah turned to retrieve the blade, then hesitantly looked toward me. “Can you take it until the archmages can put it in the Vault? I’ve carried it long enough.”
I would carry anything for her. Whatever she needed.
As I wrenched the knife out of the crack, its sinister energy tingled along my arm.
Evil.
It was the blade that had wounded her, that had let the Dark God in.
Not wanting to touch it any longer than we had to, I slipped it through my belt. “The sooner we get rid of this, the better.”
“Hold on.” Laurel scooped up the spell she’d placed on the floor earlier, folded it, and handed it to Savannah. “Take this. For when you’re ready to unbind your wolf. Between the two of you”—her eyes flashed to me—“you’ll have no trouble at all.”
Of that, I wasn’t so sure.