Page 57 of Burn of Obsidian

“You know I can’t leave her.” Taking a deep breath, Faye seemed to swallow her fear, straightening her spine as she met Jax’s hostile gaze. “We don’t have long. I need to get the venom out.”

Gentle fingers sunk into the fur at his back. Stroking. Calming. “Jax?” Thea rasped, her voice rough with pain.

Jax tensed, his beast knowing nothing more than violence, sex, and hunger. He didn’t understand the conversation, or the consequences. The stench of fear and Thea’s vulnerability had put him in defence mode, and that was making it harder for Jax to stay present, to not let himself sleep so his beast could take control. They’d always been in perfect sync, but not then.

Beast snarled, forcing the sound out before Jax could strangle it. Enough! he snarled, forcing his beast to the back of his mind. Pain shot through his head, but it was nothing compared to the sharp ache of his other wounds. He couldn’t shift back. There was too much damage. Fuck’s sake. Exhaustion called to him, but he needed to remain awake for his mate.

Chapter 22

Thea

Thea couldn’t let go of the knife, her hand clamped so tightly her fingers seemed locked to the metal. If Jax had noticed his blade, he hadn’t said anything. Not that he could, being a large, fluffy beast and all.

Thea chuckled to herself, which got her a puzzled look from the witch, Faye.

“Looks like the spell’s kicked in.” She pulled out a few glass vials from a pocket in her dress. “She’s delirious.”

“Am not,” Thea said with an impressive snort, which only made her laugh harder.

Faye looked over Thea’s shoulder. “I need her to stop moving.”

Jax grumbled at her back, two of his tails tightening around her waist and pulling her deeper against his fluffy chest.

Why the fuck does he need so many tails? she thought, side eyeing the great beast that stood like an overprotective bear at her back. His size ate up the space, posture aggressive as he stood over her with giant paws holding each side of her hips. His head was canine, but twice the size of any shifter wolf she’d ever met. He had an identical scar cutting through his left eye, slicing across his muzzle to finish at the bottom right, slightly distorting his lip to reveal large fangs.

Did wolf-like creatures have lips?

Jax cocked his head, the silver in his irises glinting even in the limited light. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Jax in his alternative form, but there was a subtle difference that had her wanting to frown.

He held more intelligence in his eyes, an awareness that definitely wasn’t there the first time he stood as a fluffy beast in front of her. As if this was Jax, and the other time, it wasn’t.

The thought made her curious until his blue/black fur ruffled in the wind, forcing her attention down to trace the pale, silvery lines that seemed similar to the tattoos he had as a man.

He was beautiful, as well as absolutely fucking terrifying in a ‘why, what big teeth you have,’ kind of way.

So pretty, she thought, only for Jax to stiffen slightly. “Wait, did I say that out loud?”

Faye nodded hesitantly. “There may be some side effects to the pain relief.”

“Side effects?” Thea frowned, remembering her shoulder had been swiped by some nasty claws. It had hurt like hell, but since Faye had muttered a strange word over the wound, it wasn’t so sharp, just a dull ache. “Your spell sucks,” she muttered beneath her breath before realising she’d said that out loud, too. “Shit, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Faye dipped into her pocket dress once more, and Thea decided she needed the same dress in every colour of the rainbow.

Because who doesn’t want pockets?

“The majority of the damage was done by claws,” she said, continuing to explain to Jax, rather than her. “The fang must have only grazed, but even so, most people would be already dead.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Thea said with a little rumble of her own. “Talk to me, not Mr Grumpy.”

Faye frowned. “You shouldn’t even be conscious.”

Thea nodded, the movement much more dramatic than she’d intended. “Well, clearly I...” She sucked in a breath, the sting radiating down her shoulder when Faye touched a particularly sensitive part.

Jax growled, vibrating against her. It was like a chainsaw, the sound somehow both threatening and soothing at the same time.

Flinching, Faye’s skin paled, highlighting the nasty red burns on her face. It was as if someone had tried to remove her eye with a hot poker, leaving behind very little in the socket. What was left was clouded white.

Trying not to speak every thought, Thea licked along her bottom lip. “Ignore him; he’s really a big cuddly teddy bear.”