Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound 4) - Page 125

“A little house cleaning?” he asked, looking at the three boxes on the sidewalk beside him.

“Sort of.” Laurel took a hesitant step forward. “These are for you, Jaxson.”

He lifted the lid off one, and his expression darkened as he flipped through the files. For the first time in a week, I saw some of the old anger and frustration creep back into his posture. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“My father collected data on all the North American packs. You know the hate he harbored for wolves, and…” She paused. “I kept these files and added to them over the years because I was afraid, and I needed insurance.”

His fists tightened around one of the files. “So why are you giving this shit to me?”

“Because I want to start fresh. A clean slate, and that means letting go of the past. Savy binds our families together. Let’s build a new future that we can be proud of. And for everything in the past—your sister, my father, all the anger and distrust—I’m sorry, Jaxson. I really am.”

My stomach churned as the silence stretched. So many terrible things had passed between our families—would he really be able to forgive her?

For a while, it felt like no one breathed, but then Jaxson finally spoke, his voice strained. “Thank you.” He shoved the lid back down on the box. “The Laurents aren’t blameless, either. I must also apologize for my actions, but also for those of the pack and my father. It’s high time we set things right.”

Relief tugged on my aunt’s features, and she let out a deep breath.

I looked between her and Jaxson. “We’re good?”

Laurel nodded. “All good.”

Jaxson met my gaze. Affection and devotion flashed in his eyes. “I’m tired of holding grudges. Besides, I can’t be at war with my in-laws.”

“I agree,” Laurel chuckled.

Wait—what did he just say? Wolfie asked.

In-laws? Was he subtly asking Laurel’s permission to…propose?

My heartbeat shifted into fourth gear. I wasn’t ready for marriage—yet. There was still a whole lot of being not married with him that I was looking forward to. Besides, we were fated mates, for God’s sake, so why would we need to get married? Also, I didn’t need a man to ask anyone permission for my hand. That was between him and me, so if he was going to damn well ask someone, it had damn well better be me.

Jaxson gave me a devilish grin, acutely aware of my agitation. Bastard.

At the same time, I couldn’t deny the warmth that spread through my chest.

“Casey,” Jaxson said, gesturing to the boxes, “could you load these into my truck?”

“Glad to get rid of them. Having them around makes me feel like a spook.”

Laurel handed me the bag of goodies she’d prepared for us as she walked me to Jaxson’s truck. “Best of luck with finding your mother’s family. Just don’t forget that you’ve got family right here who are eager for you to come back.”

“I’m just grateful that the fates, no matter how fucked up they are, brought me here in the first place.”

“Me, too.”

Jaxson opened the passenger door for me. “Ready?”

I gave Laurel and Casey hugs and promised to keep in touch, then climbed in.

As we rumbled through Dockside, I admired the work we’d done. There was hardly any trace of the hellstorm the Dark God had unleashed. The pack had really pulled together.

Sam met us as we pulled up out back of Eclipse.

Jaxson began unloading the boxes of files, and she peeked inside. “Wow, I didn’t think there would be this much when you texted. You sure you want me to destroy all of these? Information like this could be worth a pretty penny.”

“Burn them,” Jaxson growled.

Sam sighed. “All right.”

While they shifted the files into Eclipse, I loaded our bags into the back of my Fury. It had taken a rather heated debate to convince Jaxson to take my car—not to mention a heated make-up session—but it was the only way I wanted to see the world.

Thank God, we’re finally hitting the open road, Wolfie said.

I traced my fingers over the chipped paint on the side of the door and across the hood. My father’s enchantments flickered like pulses of energy under my fingertips, and a mix of sorrow and delight and pride filled me.

The back door to Eclipse closed, and I looked up.

Tags: Veronica Douglas Magic Side: Wolf Bound Fantasy
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