: Chapter 26

Jaxson

People dove out of my way as I barreled through the fair on all fours.

I had to get the wolfsbane off. Savannah might still be in danger from the rogue wolves and demons—or even my pack, after what she’d done.

I didn’t have time for this.

Chemicals burned my skin, and my eyes stung so badly, it was nearly impossible to see. But that was nothing compared to the rage boiling in my veins.

Wolfsbane, of all things. After we’d saved her from the demon and the white wolf, she’d sprayed us with that.

Of course she did. She was a LaSalle. How could I imagine that she was any different?

Wolfsbane was toxic to werewolves. It blinded our senses, burned our flesh, and stopped our ability to shift and regenerate. It was a curse from the gods.

So was she.

I rounded a corner and growled as I spotted a dunk tank game. It would have to do.

The terrified dunkee jumped off his platform as I leapt through the air and dove into the water. From the instant relief, I knew that at least the version she’d blasted at me was water soluble.

Once I’d sufficiently thrashed around in the tank, I leapt out and shook, spraying water over anyone foolish enough to stand nearby. My wolf was pissed and wanted to bite the LaSalle woman.

They killed our sister. With wolfsbane.

My body trembled with fury. Just having the residual scent of it on me made my wolf want to rip throats. It had taken all my control to back off when I saw the canister in Savannah’s hands. That shit had killed my sister. I would never forget. Never forgive.

And gods, I wanted revenge.

Yet, when my sister died, I’d been the one who’d had to bring the pack in line to prevent all-out war with the LaSalles. I’d had to swallow my anger to do the right thing. And I’d have to swallow it now. I needed the cursed woman alive.

I started running back toward where I’d left her. With my wolf enraged, I’d need to shift to get control.

That was going to be a problem. When I’d heard Savannah screaming earlier, I hadn’t bothered to take my clothes off to shift—I’d just let them shred. I needed something to wear before I shifted so that I wasn’t running around the fair stark naked. I’d never admit it to my wolf, but there were times I envied regular shifters.

I passed a vendor selling clothes. With a snap of my jaws, I yanked a pair of trousers off the rack and left the merchant woman screaming bloody murder behind. My wolf didn’t care about ideas like property, just territory.

I slipped out of sight behind a tent and shifted back. My bones snapped and muscles stretched, my jaws shrank, and my fangs retracted. I gritted my teeth and gave a low growl. Shifting had never hurt like this.

Fucking LaSalles and their wolfsbane.

I snarled as I buttoned the trousers.

Human again, it was time to find the damned woman. Even with thousands of people milling around the fair, I could smell her. That was surprising, but clearly, the danger had attuned my human senses somehow.

Despite the rampaging wolves and demons, the fair hadn’t descended into complete chaos. Magic-Siders were reasonably accustomed to demonic outbreaks and haywire magic. It was just a natural part of having a population made of spellcasters, shifters, vampires, demons, devils, and a dozen other magical species. Shit went crazy pretty often. It was a miracle that the city was still standing.

But there was no doubt about where everything had gone down. Blue lights flashed off the trees, and Order agents were swarming everywhere. One demon and one wolf were dead. Their accomplices would be long gone by now, including the she-wolf who had originally attacked Savannah.

We’d been so fucking close, both to triumph and disaster. Once again, Savannah Caine had gotten very lucky.

When I reached the flashing lights, I encountered a forlorn scene. Agitated cops. Miserable wolves. And in the midst of it all, the traumatized LaSalle woman, sitting on a curb.

She was a magnet for disaster, but I was relieved she was okay. I would do what was needed to protect her, but after what she’d done to us, I didn’t feel one ounce of pity for her current predicament.

Well, perhaps a little pity. Three days ago, she’d had no idea that werewolves or demons were real. Tonight, she’d been nearly killed or abducted by both.

Savannah leapt to her feet as I approached. “That was you—the gray wolf that killed the man!”

Her eyes darted to my bloodied chest, and heat rose in her cheeks.

“The wolf that saved your ass,” I snarled. “After which you sprayed me with wolfsbane!”

She bared her teeth almost like a wolf would. “I wasn’t sure it was you! And it looked like you were about to attack me! You were snarling and had blood dripping from your goddamned mouth.”

“I would never hurt you, but apparently, that doesn’t go both ways.”

She stepped up, but three cops intervened and pulled us apart. One started grilling me on the shifter that I had put down. What a disaster.

Sam had partially regained her senses. She was on the phone with my lawyer, by the sound of it. Thankfully, the dead man was a shifter, and we were subject to pack law. Still, there would be paperwork and interviews and reports, but they knew better than to restrain me.

It didn’t matter. The Order was going to just squeeze us harder after this.

I glared at the body. I hadn’t meant to kill him. But Savannah had been in danger, and I wasn’t sure if more wolves were going to attack, or more demons. I’d made a quick decision—the wrong one—and we’d missed our chance to get answers. Now there was no way to get information out of him without a necromancer, and that was a line no one in the entire city was willing to cross. Not even the LaSalles, monsters that they were.

My nostrils flared. Fear.

I spun and spotted Savannah. Though flanked by two cops, she was as white as a ghost. Now what?

Leaving my own interrogator mid-interview, I headed over.

A cop waved the unmarked canister in her face. “This is wolfsbane. It’s highly illegal, and we’ll be confiscating it. How did you get it?”

She looked from one cop to the other. “I had no idea! I thought it was mace or some kind of pepper spray. I’m new to town…I didn’t know any of this was real until a few nights ago! What the hell is wolfsbane?”

The cop clipped the bottle to his belt. “Wolfsbane is a chemical weapon and riot control agent. It is illegal for civilian use. I’m going to ask you once again, where did you get this?”

She shrugged. “Found it. Someone dropped it at the fair. I’d lost my mace, so I picked it up and kept it.”

The second cop stepped up in her face. “This will go easier on you if you tell us the truth. Who gave it to you?”

The woman had authority problems and looked about ready to slap him, so I stepped in. “Her family.”

Savannah shot daggers at me with her eyes, but as far as I was concerned, the LaSalles could collectively go to hell.

The overbearing cop crossed his arms. “Is that true, ma’am? If you don’t tell us, we’ll have to book you.”

She set her jaw, and her eyes burned with hatred. At least she was loyal. That, I could admire.

“Okay, ma’am. We’re going to need to take you downtown.” The cop turned to me. “Do you and the pack want to press assault charges, Jax?”

Her eyes went wide. “Assault charges? I was the one who was attacked by a damn monster and that asshole over there!” She pointed at the body, trembling.

I could smell her rage and fear.

My wolves watched eagerly, waiting to see how this played out, hoping the cops threw the book at her. I could smell their hatred, and I owed my pack justice. Savannah should rot in jail for a month for what she’d just done.

But we needed her to stop these abductions and clear the pack’s name. The seer had told me that Savannah would lead me to the answers I sought, and I hadn’t gotten any yet.

I waved the cops away. “Let me talk with her.”

The officers stepped back, and Savannah’s body tensed as her eyes widened. I smiled as if to say, Yes. I have sway here. They’ll do as they’re told.

“Are you going to have your corrupt cops lock me up, Jaxson?” she spat.

“You’d be safer there, so I’m considering it.”

She jabbed a finger into my chest. “Bastard. You’re the one who murdered someone.”

“Someone who was coming after you. Don’t forget that.”

Her lip curled up in frustration, and she balled her fists. “Fine, so you’re my savior. What are you going to do with me?”

Such gall. “I need your help, so I’m not going to press charges. But there are conditions.” It took all my restraint to spit out the words without growling. My wolf struggled in my chest in protest, and the way in which the other wolves slunk away told me the pack would be angry. Not surprising, but it wasn’t the alpha’s goddamn job to make everybody happy. It was my job to protect the pack.

The woman crossed her arms. “What conditions now? I’m already risking my life to help you.”

I stepped close so she had to crane her neck to meet my gaze. “Never touch that shit again. Wolfsbane.” Even the word burned my lips.

“And how do I protect myself, then, from the freaking werewolves trying to kill me?”

“Pepper spray. Something else. It’s non-negotiable.”

She ran her hands through her hair. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Second, you have to make it up to the pack.”

Her eyes widened. “How?”

“That’s for you to figure out. But know this: they will hate you now if they didn’t before.” I turned to walk away.

“Jaxson!”

The pleading in her eyes stopped me in my tracks. “What?”

She wrapped her arms around herself and joined me. “What was that thing that attacked me? Did you kill it?”

“We killed it, yeah, but I have no idea what it was. A type of demon I haven’t encountered.”

She swallowed hard, and I could smell the terror rising from her. And determination. “I need to see it. If I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life, I want to see it for real.”

Impressive. My wolf grudgingly agreed.

I shook my head. “Unfortunately, that’s not possible. As soon as you kill a demon, their body melts away. This one left a sticky patch of black blood before it boiled away into nothingness. It’s going to be difficult to identify off a description alone.”

Her shoulders drooped. “At least it’s dead.”

It wasn’t truly dead—demons just went back to the underworld. But I didn’t want to explain that to her at this point, given what she’d faced that night, so I just shrugged. I was beginning to suspect she had a knack for knowing when I was lying. Perhaps I had some kind of tell. I’d need to work on that.

Before I could step away, she grabbed my arm. “Will there be more?”

“Maybe. Probably.”

“Where do they even come from?”

I drew a long breath and met her eyes. “They’re summoned from the hells. By sorcerers.”