Chapter Thirteen
A chilling scream erupted from the house.
Ginny.
Jaxon raced for the house, sprinting across the driveway. He bounded into the kitchen, but the room was empty. He hurried farther into the house, his booted heels echoing loudly against the hardwood floor.
“Ginny!”
“Jaxon.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.
He entered the dining room and his stomach turned. His gaze landed on her small form lying on the floor. She was lying on her side, facing away from him. Blood dripped down her shirt and onto the floor. Something silver was sticking out of her back
Nausea and fear curled in his gut.
A silver fork.
He couldn’t find her just to lose her all over again. It would destroy him. He wouldn’t let this happen. He couldn’t.
He knelt by her side and brushed the hair out of her face. “What the hell happened? Did John come back? Did he do this to you?” How had he missed John coming into the house? He’d been watching the gate so carefully. Maybe there was a second entrance that he didn’t know about.
“No. My. Mother…” she struggled to say. She pointed. He turned and followed her gaze to the dining room wall, where her mother was pinned to the wall. Dead.
Fuck. He sucked in a breath but didn’t say a word. He didn’t give a shit that the mother was now dead. The bitch had tried to kill Ginny. He was glad she was dead.
He turned back to her. “I need to get this out of you.”
“Wait.” She gripped his hand preventing him from pulling out the utensil.
“It was an accident, Jaxon. I didn’t mean for her to die.” Tears swam in her eyes and rolled across her cheek onto the floor, mingling with the blood.
“I know, sweetheart,” he said softly.
“I stumbled into her and she fell against the antlers.” She struggled to speak and breathe.
“Shush. Stop talking and let me get this out.”
“I’m going to die for this. Jaxon. It’s the law.” Her fearful eyes met his.
“No, you’re not. You only face the death penalty for purposely killing your parent. This was an accident.”
“No one will believe me.” She closed her eyes.
“I believe you. And trust me when I say you’re not going to be killed for this.” He knew the werewolf law dictated that the punishment for killing one’s own parents was death. He’d never seen a Tribunal where a Were was found innocent. They had all been found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
Not Ginny. He had to find a way to get the Tribunal to see she was innocent. He had to.
“This is going to hurt.” He tightened his grip on the fork and pulled it out in one swift motion.
Ginny screamed and slumped to the floor. She’d passed out from the pain.
He took a deep breath. He was racing against time. He had to get them out of there before her husband showed up.
“Well, well, well,” a male voice called out from behind Jaxon.
Jaxon stood and spun around, ready to face John.
A slow smirk crossed John’s evil lips as he met Jaxon’s glare. “Ginny’s right, you know. She’s going to die for killing her mother. I’ll make damn sure she does.”
“It was an accident.” Jaxon stood and curled his hands into fists.
“Not if I say it wasn’t.” His smirk slipped. “I’ll have that bitch skinned alive before I put a bullet in her head.”
“Not if I kill you first, fucker.” Jaxon rushed John. His instinct to shift to wolf and kill was so powerful it made his body hum.
Jaxon lunged in midair, shifting into wolf form as John braced himself for the impact. They collided with such force it rattled Jaxon’s teeth.
Jaxon sunk his teeth into John’s shoulder. John screamed in pain and hit Jaxon in the head. Jaxon released his hold. He wanted to sink his teeth into the fucker’s throat so he could rip it out.
John threw his head back and shifted into wolf. He was larger than Jaxon, but size didn’t matter to Jaxon. He was going to kill John for laying his hands on Ginny. He was going to make him suffer like never before.
Jaxon lunged, aiming for John’s throat. John leapt through the air and twisted his body, catching Jaxon on his shoulder with his teeth.
Pain blazed through Jaxon’s body as muscle tore and bone broke. He’d been in fights before, been bitten by other wolves before, but this pain felt different. It was like it was draining him, weakening him.
“His teeth, Jaxon,” Ginny screamed.
He cut his eyes in her direction. She had managed to sit up and was struggling to get to her feet.
“His teeth are silver.” She met his gaze. Fear scraped across her beautiful features. Her eyes widened, and he could see the loss of hope in her blue eyes.
The fucker had silver teeth. No wonder the pain was so intense.
He wasn’t going down like this. No way. No how.
He threw his weight back against the Were. John loosened his hold on Jaxon’s shoulder and fell to the floor.
Jaxon blinked and shoved back the burning pain in his shoulder and the weakness filling his veins. The silver wasn’t in his body, but he’d still feel the effects of it until after his body had a chance to heal.
Jaxon glanced around, looking for a weapon just as effective as John’s teeth. His gaze landed on the table. He rammed into it. The plates and silverware crashed to the floor. He bent his head and grabbed a knife between his jaws and spun around to face his attacker.
John threw his head back and growled, revealing two large silver canines. He was a lethal weapon to any werewolf walking.
He ran toward Jaxon, baring his silver teeth.
Jaxon bent his head, feigning submission. His muscles tensed and his heart pounded as he waited for the perfect moment.
John leapt in the air. He landed on Jaxon.
Jaxon tightened his hold on the knife and rammed the blade into John’s heart.
John stumbled back and looked down at his chest. Jaxon knew what the werewolf was thinking. He was going to shift back into human and pull out the knife. In wolf form he couldn’t pull out the blade with his paws.
Jaxon still couldn’t shift back, not yet. The silver from the bite had taken its toll on his body. He’d have to heal from the bite before he could shift.
John growled and forced his body to shift back into human form.
Jaxon jumped and landed on John, shoving the knife farther into his enemy’s chest. John, now fully human, screamed and wrapped his hands around the handle of the blade, but Jaxon was faster. He bit down on his throat, ripping the tissue and cartilage.
Blood spurted and pulsed, dripping onto the expensive hardwood floor. Jaxon jerked his head back, ripping out John’s throat and tossing it on the floor.
John blinked, shocked at Jaxon’s move, and tried to pull the knife out. The properties of the silver were keeping John from healing and were slowly poisoning him to death. With his throat gone, death was only seconds away.
John’s wide-eyed gaze frantically searched the room. When they landed on Ginny, he narrowed his eyes.
Jaxon felt his body weakening. It had taken all his strength to stay on top of the knife. He slipped in the blood. If John got that knife out, both he and Ginny were done for.
John bucked Jaxon off his body and grabbed the knife with both hands.
Jaxon roared and forced himself on his feet but slipped on the blood.
John looked at him and grinned. He slowly pulled the knife out of his chest. He scrambled to his feet and held the knife above his head, ready to strike Jaxon.
What a fucking way to die, Jaxon thought to himself.
“I won’t let you hurt him, John,” Ginny said.
“Shut up, bitch, and watch while I kill your wolf.” He snarled, not even bothering to turn around to face her.
“Not today.” She brought a flash of silver down across John’s head. He blinked and then crumpled to the floor as the silver antler sconce implanted in his skull.
John lay motionless as the blood dripped from his head, forming a red puddle on the floor. Ginny ran to Jaxon’s side.
She nuzzled his furry neck and clung to him as tears fell from her face onto him.
Jaxon closed his eyes, feeling his strength return to his body. When he finally had enough energy, he shifted back into human form.
He opened his eyes. He found Ginny staring back at him.
“I thought he was going to kill you, Jaxon.” She sobbed.
He pulled her into his embrace. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m all right.”
The pain in his body was intense, but holding Ginny in his arms made the pain bearable.
“Everything is okay now. You’re safe,” he whispered against her ear. “What about the baby? Is the baby okay?” He pressed his hand to her stomach.
“Yes.” She pulled back and stared at him, horror etched into her features. “But you’re wrong. I’m not safe. Not now.” Her tearstained gaze swept the room, first locking on the impaled figure of her mother against the wall and then her dead husband sprawled on the floor with the second antler sconce sticking through his skull.
“Ginny…”
“Jaxon.” She pulled out of his embrace and stood on shaky feet. “There’s no turning back from this. There’s no reprieve for me.” She shook her head. “No one kills their mother and their husband and lives.”
He gritted his teeth, forced his legs under him, and stood. Pain shot through every cell, setting his body on fire. “I need you to trust me on this, okay? I need you to do what I say and everything will be okay.”
Since their failed wedding day, he had gone through life existing, not really living. They had only a few more hours, days at best, before the evil that had pulled them apart was going to hunt them down and force them to pay up.
He knew what he must do. This time he was going to make sure Ginny was safe. Even at the cost of his life.
“You don’t…”
“I don’t what? Understand?” He cocked his head. “I know that you were married to a ruthless man and that your father is the most depraved Were there is. But the Pack Master in Arkansas is good. He has done miracles, stood in the gap for his Guardians. When we go there, I will explain what happened. That this was all self-defense. That you were abused.”
She dropped her gaze to the ground.
“And when Barrett knows the whole story, he will do everything possible to make sure you are found innocent. That you won’t be harmed. I promise you this, Ginny. I promise you this on my life.”
Her gaze met his. A flicker of hope flashed through her eyes like a candle flame.
He knew Barrett would do whatever he could to help them. He also knew that he was willing to pay the price for Ginny. The rules of the werewolf law were very strict. Almost unbreakable. He knew that blood had to be spilt to satisfy the code.
He wouldn’t let Ginny get hurt. Not again.
He was willing to sacrifice his life, using his blood to pay her debt.