Untamed Fate (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 2)

Savannah

I screamed in terror as I fell, the wind buffeting my clothes.

The night sky spun in circles around me as I tumbled downward. I caught flashes of stars. Of the misty valley. Of the garden far below.

I was going to die.

Not if I can help it, the wolf inside me snarled, and she seized control.

My body twisted, and my arms flailed out. The claws of my right hand ricocheted off the tower, then raked down along the stonework. Suddenly, they sank into the wooden lintel of a window. I gasped as my body jerked to a stop. My shoulder wrenched out of its socket, and an unbearable jolt of agony shot down my spine as my body slammed into the stone wall.

The Soul Knife slipped from my belt.

For a second, I watched it fall. Then the lintel split, my hand slipped, and gravity took hold once more.

I thrashed wildly. There was one brief moment of clarity when I saw the clouds and stars whirl by overhead, but then my body erupted with pain as I crashed into the bushes. Twigs ripped into my skin, and I howled as I rolled out onto the grass.

I groaned and wiggled my fingers. My shoulder was screaming, but at least my legs worked. I glanced up at the gaping hole in the tower high above. How was I even alive?

You’re a werewolf now. We heal fast, and we’re damned hard to kill.

It was a goddamned miracle.

A shadow drifted over me, and a new wave of adrenaline brought me to my senses. I rolled to my side and looked up. High above, a monstrous four-winged shape circled in the air, descending quickly.

The noctith demon.

It was coming for me. Could I find cover in the tower? I looked toward the caves, where light glinted from the shattered doorway, and my gut clenched. Was the basilisk still in there, lurking in the shadows? I was trapped between a demon that could put me to sleep and a monster that could turn me to stone.

Think.

Heart pounding, I looked around wildly. Where was the Soul Knife?

Something glinted in the middle of the garden.

Whimpering in pain, I pulled myself to my feet and staggered forward. I grasped the Soul Knife by the hilt and headed for one of the dark openings in the face of the cliff, praying the basilisk wasn’t lying in wait. As I hobbled forward, I called the shadows around me. I just needed enough time to get inside.

The demon screeched above, and I could almost feel its wings vibrating the air around me. With as much speed as I could manage, I turned and ducked into the caves.

The earth shook behind me as the noctith demon landed at the edge of the garden. On its back sat Kahanov. That fucker.

Though I was certain he couldn’t see me, he looked toward the caves where I was hiding. “Savannah…you should be more careful. I need you alive. Let’s not make this more painful than it needs to be.”

The noctith demon shrieked and swung its strange head left and right, searching the garden with its hundreds of eerie, glowing eyes. I bit my lip until I tasted blood to keep from screaming, and pulled the shadows closer.

“Fine,” the sorcerer called. “We can do this multiple ways. Nighty night.”

The demon emitted another piercing cry and exhaled a plume of pinkish gas toward the caves. I looked around in desperation as the cloud billowed toward me. Did I have to inhale it, or would contact alone knock me out?

I searched the cave hopelessly. The only cover was the pool. I ran over, gulped in the biggest breath I could manage, and slipped beneath the water.

Closing my eyes, I began to count. Each second that passed was a prayer that the noxious gas would dissipate. I tried calming my mind, but every cut and gash in my body stung, and fear pressed in, heavier than the water around me.

My lungs began to burn, but I fought down my instincts. Every time a second passed, I vowed to stay one second more. Finally, when I could stand it no longer, I lifted my head slowly above the water.

The cloud of gas was gone.

While every nerve in my body wanted me to gasp in relief, I sucked a breath in through my teeth as slowly and quietly as I could.

The earth shook again as the noctith demon shifted position and released another plume of sleeping gas down the path outside.

A little relief trickled through me. They didn’t know where I was. How could they not hear my heartbeat? It was practically ripping out of my chest.

Then my pulse skipped a beat as something scraped on the wall behind me—massive claws scrabbling on stone.

My stomach sank.

Death was coming.