Chapter 43: : Chapter 43

I pulled into the crowded parking lot of the strip mall, my frustration mounting. Why was this small town so packed? Who’d ever heard of Forks?

I ground my teeth.

Savannah was close. The bond between us was taut and pulling uncomfortably in my chest.

I had to get to her. She was hurt and alone, and it was all my fault. I’d let my guard down. I’d lost my focus while drunk on wine and lust, and I’d let her fall asleep. After she’d disappeared, I’d nearly turned Cavra’s revel into a bloodbath before getting a hold of Sorsha and exiting the Dreamlands. I’d woken in the tent, but Savannah was gone.

I’d been almost overcome with relief when I’d heard her voice on the phone. She’d survived, but that didn’t absolve me of anything.

“Do you think she’s still here?” Neve asked. As soon as I’d gotten off the phone with Savannah, I’d grabbed Sam and headed to Neve. She’d used her planes-walking powers to teleport us to SeaTec airport, the closest location she was familiar with.

“Yes, she’s here,” I growled as I wedged the rental SUV into a handicap spot.

Sam raised her eyebrows and glanced at Neve. “Somebody’s in a rush. I think we’ll give you two a mo—”

I was out of the SUV and striding across the lot before she finished.

The bell of the door rang as Savannah stepped out of the Subway. She was barefoot and dressed in black leggings and a poorly fitting sweater. Her gaze instantly locked on me, and my heart missed a beat.

She’d known I was here. Was she also feeling the pull of our bond?

I wove through the parking lot. A car slammed on its brakes and squealed to a halt in front of me as I crossed the street. The driver blared the horn, but I paid him no attention.

Savannah leapt into my arms as the driver gave one last defiant honk. I shot him a look that stilled his heart and had him throwing his car into reverse. I pulled Savannah close, burying my face in her hair. Her familiar scent wound around me, and my wolf stirred, excitement filling us both.

“Glad you’re here,” she whispered.

I set her down, and anger surged through me when I noticed the swollen red welt on her cheekbone and the scrapes on her skin.

“Are you hurt?” I gently cupped her cheek. My voice was ragged, strained by the emotions flooding through me—relief, contentment, desire, anger. And most of all, guilt.

Fuck, it was too much.

“Just a little bruised and tired.”

Exhaustion pulled her shoulders down, and I could tell she was lying about the severity of her wounds.

My chest churned with guilt and shame. I should have been more careful, should have protected her.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry—sorry you had to face Kahanov alone, sorry I let my guard down, sorry for what happened in the fore—’

Her cheeks flushed and she lowered her eyes, cutting my words short. “So that happen.”

My pulse raced.

Gods, the woman was getting under my skin. What had happened between us couldn’t happen again. I knew I was playing with fire, and I needed to shut this down before it got any more complicated.

We’d deal with Kahanov, then we’d cure Savannah. Once she was no longer a wolf and the mate bond was broken, we’d be free of these irrational emotions.

“The Dreamlands is just that—a dream that’s best forgotten. Kahanov almost got you, and every second we linger, he might slip away. Come on.” I nodded toward the SUV and walked away. She trailed behind, and I could smell her offense and anger.

Good. It was better if she hated me. It’d be easier for both of us.

The SUV’s taillights went on as we approached, which meant Sam had slipped into the driver’s seat, forcing me to share the back with Savannah.

Shit. It wasn’t the time for her to play matchmaker. The emotions flooding me were too intense, and I needed space. That, and I needed to heal Savannah, and sitting side by side wasn’t going to make that any easier to deal with.

“Wait.” I turned and stopped Savannah as she approached the SUV. I placed my hand on the small of her back, and she gasped as I poured a short burst of healing magic into her. Though it weakened me each time I used it, it would cure a few of her cuts, and hopefully, her exhaustion.

Her eyes dilated with surprise, and I could smell her undeniable arousal. “Did you just…heal me?”

“You need to be on your A-game for what’s coming. I could tell you weren’t.”

Savannah’s eyes turned cold, and the scent of her desire waned. Good. It was going to be hard enough to think just sitting in the same car as her.

I opened the door for her, and she slipped into the back seat without sparing me a glance. I kicked Sam out of the front, loaded up, and gunned it out of the parking lot.

We headed out of town, looking for the place where Savannah had been picked up. My fists tightened on the wheel at the thought of her hitchhiking alone, but I pushed it from my mind.

Sam hefted a cheap gym bag onto Savannah’s lap. “I brought you some spare clothes.”

“Thanks,” she said as she met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “I don’t think I’ll change right now, but I’d kill for some shoes.”

“There’s a pair of old sneakers.”

I heard a zip as Savannah opened the bag. “Thank God, my feet are killing me and super gross. You’re a saint, Sam. I owe you…like, a new wardrobe.”

“Deal. We kill the sorcerer, and then you take me shopping. But for now, tell me how you lost your clothes in the first place.”

As Savannah yanked on Sam’s old sneakers, she gave us the details of everything she’d seen and what Kahanov had said.

“Apart from Kahanov and the sleeping shifters, did you see anything or anyone else in the cave?” I asked.

Savannah shook her head. “No, but I wasn’t in there long. It looked like the place might go quite a ways back, though.”

“If he’s expecting us, I’m betting he’s summoned some backup,” Neve said.

I tightened my grip on the wheel. “He’s expecting us.”

The bastard had been one step ahead of us the whole time. I hated going into his fucking lair, but I had to find my pack members before he learned the extent of what Cavra had done.

About thirty minutes down the road, Savannah leaned forward. “This looks familiar. I think I saw it on my way into town.” She’d unclicked her seatbelt before I even finished pulling over. “Once we get to the beach, I should be able to find the cave again. It was crazy looking.”

We climbed out, and I reined everyone in. “Okay. Backup is on its way, but for the moment, it’s just us. We need to go in quietly and take him out as quickly as possible, or drive him back further into the caves, away from the sleeping wolves. Savannah, can you cloak us in shadows once we’re inside?”

She nodded and led us past a few cabins along the forested slope toward the ocean. I could have followed the path just as easily myself. Her wolf had come this way, and the scent drove my own wolf to the edge of madness.

Savannah slid down a sandy rise onto a deserted beach. Stacks of sun-bleached driftwood scattered the waterline. After we’d walked at least a quarter mile down the rocky, empty stretch, she whispered, “There it is.”

A chill ran up my spine.

A twisted, storm-hardened tree clung to the eroding coastal bluff, its roots framing a dark cave that looked like a hole leading to the heart of the earth. A steady breeze blew onshore, smelling of kelp and fish, and Savannah shivered as she stared at the entrance.

“I hate caves,” she said.

Sam snorted. “You and me both.”

But this place wasn’t just a cave. It was an entrance into something far worse. I could feel the magic radiating from the opening—a low, hypnotic pulse. I’d felt a similar pulse in the Dreamlands.

It was some kind of portal or rift between that strange realm and our own. It had to be, and that must have been how Savannah was able to physically exit the Dreamlands.

We began to move toward the cave, but I held up my hand and froze. A sickly-sweet scent of rotting fruit burned my nostrils, and my adrenaline surged.

I knew that smell all too well. A noctith demon.

In the darkness of the cave entrance, a shadow twisted and unfolded.

“Watch out!” I grabbed Savannah’s waist and yanked her aside as the dark shape burst out of the cave.

Sam cursed and dove out of the way, while Neve launched skyward.

The monstrosity reared up on its six legs, and its head split open, revealing rows of pointed teeth. A pink gas billowed from its throat and spread across the ground.

I pulled Savannah along. “Sleeping gas! Run!”

Sam scrambled to her feet, but just as the gas was about to consume her, a wind tore across the muddy beach.

Neve. She floated in the air, hands outstretched, and called a gale.

Flying sand and grit cut into my skin, and I had to brace myself to hold us upright, but the gas dissipated instantly.

The noctith demon staggered back and dug its clawed feet into the earth. Then it shrieked into the howling wind.

Savannah clutched her ears and doubled over in agony, and as my eardrums burst, I felt a warm trickle of blood seeping down the side of my neck.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I ran and leapt into Neve’s torrent of wind and sailed through the air. The second I landed on the demon’s back, I sank my claws into its segmented carapace. The thing was momentarily shocked by the impact, but then it let out another shriek, and its body thrashed.

I dug my claws deeper and began tearing off pieces of its hard exoskeleton. It screeched louder and bucked, and one of its hairy legs reached up and gripped my calf. I snarled as its claws tore into my muscles. My grip loosened, and I was thrown sideways. I slashed one of the beast’s wings before I hit the ground hard, my shoulder screaming.

The demon tilted its head back and opened its razor-lined mouth, but its shriek was cut short.

“You guys go! I’ll take care of this thing!” Neve roared. Her voice shook the air like a thunderclap, and her eyes burned with fury. Her hand stretched toward the demon, whose neck was throbbing and spasming. She slammed the beast down onto the ground, and it clawed at the sand and rocks with its legs and tail.

She was suffocating the thing with her magic.

Savannah gaped in horror. I grabbed her hand and towed her into the cave after Sam.

Darkness enveloped us.