Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)
Shadow Kissed: Chapter 35

Savannah

Stephanie’s hair was dark and long, pulled over her shoulders, framing a strong yet elegant face. Grief and anger tugged down the edge of her lips, and she clenched her jaw.

My chest rose and fell. Each breath felt like dying. I’d killed her mate, and now, her brother was mine. How fucked up was that?

She stepped forward, and I took a tentative step back, closer to the ridge.

Was she a vengeful spirit?

Billy had hunted me through the woods and dragged me down like a deer. He’d been on top of me, ready to kill me. I’d done what I’d needed to survive, but how could I explain that to her? If someone killed Jaxson, I would never forgive. I would hunt them down and murder them with my bare hands, claws or no.

She took another menacing step toward me.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I know it doesn’t change anything, but I’m so sorry. Sorry for Jaxson, and sorry for you.”

I desperately wanted to say that I hadn’t meant to kill him, or that it was only self-defense. But I could hear the words in my mind, and I knew those would sound like weak and feeble justifications. I’d killed her mate. For her, there would never be anything that could justify it.

Sorry was the only thing I could say.

She glared back at me. “I want to hate you.”

“I understand,” I said, backing up once again. My foot scuffed at the edge of the cliff, and some dirt trickled over the edge, but I didn’t dare look behind me. Not with the ghost approaching, not with the look of fury on her face.

I tried to calm my breathing.

She looked away, then, back to where Jaxson stood. He was far off, and I had no doubt that he was at the cusp of bolting to my aid, though he couldn’t see or hear her.

How was I going to tell him about this?

Still watching her brother, the ghost sighed. “You make him happy.”

I bit my lip, unsure how to proceed. “He makes me happy.”

When she looked back, her expression was softer, but only by a hair. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Savannah. I’m not going to hurt you. If something ever happened to you, my brother would go insane. He’d lose himself just like Billy did. You are my brother’s mate, and there’s nothing that I can do about that.”

I didn’t say anything, or even move a muscle. How could I respond?

She brushed her translucent hair over her ear. “I know my husband attacked you. That he was trying to kill you. I can’t imagine the terror of that moment, and I’m sorry for it. But I want you to know that’s not how Billy was. He was a kind man once. He would have been a fierce father, if we’d ever made it that far.”

She looked to be on the verge of tears, and a deep sadness welled up in me. I guess she’d been only a little older than I was when she died.

So many broken plans, for all of them. Stephanie and Billy. Jaxson. Their father.

“Jaxson said Billy had been a good man,” I replied. “Loyal. I’m truly sorry. It haunts me.” A part of me wanted to bolt and to run as fast as I could—to get away from the ghost, to get away from the bloody memories that I’d shoved deep down.

The other part of me wanted to go to her.

She hardened her expression and wiped away the glistening in the corner of her eye. “He was a monster in the end. I know that. The grief broke him. Kahanov used the cracks to pry him open and corrupt him, just like the Dark God is trying to do to you.”

“I know,” I whispered. “I bound my wolf to stop him. He got so close to taking control…”

She studied me for a long moment, evaluating me with a stern expression. “You’re fierce, but you’re going to fail. That means you and my brother will die.”

The words sank into me like an iron blade, and whatever hope I had left drained from my heart. I stepped toward the ghost. “Please, you’re here to help, aren’t you? There must be a way.”

“You’re not whole. You’ll never be able to defeat the Dark God as you are.” Her words filled me with despair, yet her face revealed no emotion.

I took a step forward. “The Moon told me that the Soul Knife severed a part of my wolf’s soul. That’s how the Dark God is taking control. How do I get it back and heal the wound?”

She pointed to my shoulder. “Your wolf’s shard is here with us. You must come to the land of the dead. That’s why I’m here.”

The land of the dead? Right now?

The forest began to spin around me, and I had to steady myself against the trunk of a slender sapling that was clinging to the cliff’s edge. The poor thing was clutching at the world just as precariously as I was.

In the last month, I’d discovered invisible cities and been to the land of dreams. I’d spoken with werewolves, demons, and ghosts. But entering the land of the dead? For fuck’s sake.

I studied her face, but her expression gave me no clue. She just waited patiently for me to recover my senses.

Was this seriously where my destiny was leading me?

I had to defeat the Dark Wolf God and bring my wolf back, so I had to go after that part of my soul. What other choice did I have?

I took a deep breath and straightened, letting go of the tree. “How do I get there?”

She smiled and motioned through the forest at a path that ran parallel to the shoreline. “Follow me, but not without my brother. You two are mates. If you enter without him, he’ll go insane.”

Fuck. Me going was one thing, but Jaxson?

I knew without a doubt he would follow. I licked my lips. Time for a pretty crucial question. “Is there a way back?”

She smiled. “Yes. Your strands of fate still tie you to the world of the living. That’s why you can return, but I cannot—at least, not in any form more than this.” She gestured to her ephemeral body.

I looked back at Jaxson, and then in the direction of the council. “We need to prepare Magic Side. We’ve made plans with the Order and sorcerers, and we need to see them through.”

She shook her head. “You’ve put everything in motion. They can defend Magic Side. You must defeat the Dark God. And you cannot do that while you’re broken.”

That meant putting it all in the hands of Sam and Regina, of Casey and my aunt. I trusted them, but how would the pack respond without their alpha? Would the council still cooperate? Would they be able to work with each other without me to make peace?

Wolfie would have said, Tough shit. Time they grew up and learned to get along…now come get me out of the fucking Deadlands, already!

Doubt swirled in my mind. Could I trust the ghost? Was she really Jaxson’s sister, or an illusion sent by the Dark God? All my instincts screamed that she was telling the truth, but how could one tell with a ghost? Their expressions weren’t exactly like a living person’s. More distant. And they had no scent, no tells.

As if reading my warring thoughts, Stephanie cast me a knowing look. “This isn’t a trick. Jaxson and I were close. He’ll be able to ask me questions that only I can answer. I’m sorry, but it’s the best proof I can offer.”

Would that work? Or could the Dark God’s magic replicate her memories, too? My head spun. At some point, I’d have to trust my gut, and my gut said, Go with it. How else will you get your soul back?

I looked back at Jaxson apprehensively, and she followed my gaze. “I know that there’s no reason to trust me in this, but the Dark God has no power in our realm,” she said. “He’s trapped in the Dreamlands. But once he escapes, he’ll be able to enter the land of the dead—that’s why our kind have been helping you.”

“How do we replace the shard of my wolf?” I asked.

“I’ll help guide you, but you’ll have to replace your way to her.” Stephanie gestured to where Jaxson crouched, waiting to come to my aid at a moment’s notice. “Get my brother and meet me in the Garden of the Wolves.”

Desperation and indecision muddled my thoughts. I would tell Jaxson, and then we would decide what to do.

I turned and started to walk away, but her voice stopped me. “A warning, Savannah. The journey won’t be easy. You have enemies in the Deadlands, and your wolf may not wish to return. That part…that’s up to you.”

Then she vanished like a rainbow in the sun.

My gut knotted as I walked back to where Jaxson stood waiting beneath the trees. Concern etched his face. “I heard only your half of the conversation. Who were you speaking to?”

My mouth went dry, and my chest constricted so tightly, it became hard to breathe, but I forced myself to meet his eyes. “Your sister.”