Dark Lies (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 3)
Dark Lies: Chapter 40

Jaxson

We emerged from the Magic Side portal onto a stone platform overlooking an open, shrubby landscape.

“What is this place?” Savannah asked, her voice lost in wonder as she slowly turned and took in the sprawling ancient complex.

“Cañada de la Virgen,” Damian said.

But the ruins meant nothing to me. I couldn’t take my eyes off her in that fucking red dress as she turned. It hugged her curves too closely and made me want to devour every inch of her.

At last, I forced my gaze away from the woman to assess the scene. We stood on the highest platform of a step pyramid, illuminated by the warm glow of the fading light. Our vantage point revealed that the whole complex was oriented east to west, to the rising and setting sun.

“It must be ancient,” Savannah said, her voice tinged with awe.

Damian smiled. “It’s an astronomical complex that was built by the Otomi peoples fifteen hundred years ago. We’re standing on the House of the Thirteen Heavens.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean, I’ve only left the States twice.”

“You should visit when you’re not trying to shake down a vampire.” Damian laughed. “The place is actually a tourist attraction, though the park is closed to visitors after three p.m. That allows Magica to use the portal undetected as long as we arrange it ahead of time with the landowners. This way, now. The car should be waiting.”

Damian headed down the long stone staircase. It descended to a sunken patio covered in sparse grass and surrounded by raised walls and another staircase at the opposite end.

Savannah glanced at me quickly and followed.

With her red hair flowing over her pale shoulders and her crimson dress clinging to her hips, she was like the setting sun, yet more captivating by far.

I gave a low growl and followed, not liking how easily she ensnared my mind.

Shrubby trees and newly sprouted grass covered the sprawling landscape. A black limousine with tinted windows pulled down a dirt road. We couldn’t have been more out of place if we’d tried.

The limo wound through old roads until fifteen minutes later, we entered the small town of San Miguel de Allende. Historic buildings in various hues of red and orange lined the cobblestone streets. It was a wonder how the driver navigated through the narrow thoroughfares.

At last, we came to a stop in front of a deep russet mansion. Not just a mansion, I reminded myself, but a vampire’s lair.

A man in a tuxedo stepped up and helped Savannah out of the limo. I drank her in as her dress slid over her skin.

The man in a tuxedo noticed the alluring effect as well.

Jealously flared within me—that, and doubt.

Parading her in front of a vampire dressed like that was probably a bad idea. Werewolves were already after her for her blood. And while most vampires were civilized, they were all blood addicts. It would be like offering a crack addict coke on a silver platter.

She shouldn’t have come along.

I glared at the man in the tux and, taking her arm, I leaned into her ear. “I want you to stay close to me tonight.”

What I meant was, If someone touches you, I’ll gut them.

Her fiery beauty and unconscious flirtations had a way of bringing out my murderous side, and once unleashed, there was no telling what would happen.

More men in tuxedos escorted us through a pair of carved wooden doors that opened into an ornate reception area with a double staircase and central dome. The place was bustling with pretentiously dressed men and women, who pretended not to watch us as we came in. Most of them were Magica, but a few didn’t have signatures, which meant they were humans. An interesting and potentially problematic mix.

Damian checked us in with the auction organizer while I scanned the space, memorizing the exits and the guards who patrolled the balconies of the second floor.

“For your convenience.” A young man in a double-breasted tuxedo handed Savannah and me a silver phone-sized tablet. “Please enter your financial information. If you see an item that strikes your interest tonight, simply select it and enter your bid.”

I grunted and scrolled through the items for sale. A surprising collection of art objects and people.

Savannah tensed as she examined the auction listings, and I could sense the bitter tang of her sudden shock and outrage. “There are people on the menu.”

Despite all that she’d experienced over the last month, she was naïve and far too innocent.

I gestured to the artists working around the reception hall. “Contracts, I’m guessing.”

Though I suspected some might be more than that.

We passed through a hall lined with Greco-Roman statues that led to an open-air garden surrounded by a candlelit portico covered in vines. The place was flamboyant and ostentatious.

I could only imagine how conceited Rivera had to be to live in a place like this.

“It’s gorgeous,” Savannah muttered, eyes lingering on the fountain in the center of the garden.

“I think you mean garish,” I said, scanning the guests.

She shrugged. “I like what I like.”

I gave a noncommittal grunt. We couldn’t be more different, and yet, something kept pulling me to her—more than just the power of our mate bond. A taste of all the things I couldn’t be. Impetuous. Free. Completely herself and uncorrupted.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” a voice boomed from above, drawing my gaze to a second level balcony where a man in a black suit scanned the garden like a lion. Alejandro Rivera.

The asshole was just as I’d imagined.

The bloodsucker wore a flashy smile and tailored linen suit, the top three buttons of his shirt left open to reveal his muscled chest. Rings adorned the hand he rested on the stone railing, and his manicured nails and gelled curls screamed pomp.

A pretty brunette hung off his arm like the year’s newest fashion accessory, and more groupies hovered behind.

Everything about him and the entire place revolted me.

“Welcome to my home, my friends. Please make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the refreshments while you peruse the pieces and people on sale tonight. The auction will begin at the top of the hour, and as always, I promise this night will be one to remember.”

For one moment, before he turned away, his eyes rested on us. But I knew it wasn’t me he was looking at. His gaze was lecherous and made me want to throttle him.

I grabbed a glass of tequila from a passing waiter and downed it while Damian broke off to replace the brooch.

“Nervous?” Savannah raised her brows as she took a sip of champagne. Several men around us were watching her closely, and the scent of their lust burned in my throat. My muscles tensed.

“I’m eager to get what we came for and to get you out of here,” I said as I felt the heat of the room’s eyes on her.

What Alejandro noticed, everyone noticed.

My wolf struggled in my chest.

Savannah’s eyes dilated, and I knew she’d sensed the change in my signature. She gave me a sly grin. “What are you worried about, Jaxson? Alejandro? Or the other men?”

And why shouldn’t I be?

My mate was a feast for the eyes. Fiery and beautiful, and more than any man could tame. But she hadn’t accepted our bond and did whatever she wanted, unpredictable as an autumn leaf on the wind.

I couldn’t stand being so close to her and not having her.

“You are my mate, and my wolf is the jealous type.” I stepped closer, pressing my hand to her lower back, causing a shiver to work down her spine. Blood flushed her cheeks, while for me, it travelled somewhere else.

Almost instantly, she clamped down the overwhelming scents of her delight and arousal and fixed me with an iron stare. “I’m not yours, Jaxson. I am my own.”

She tilted her glass back to down the last of her drink, and the pale skin on her exposed throat drew me helplessly in. “You have no more claim on me than anyone here. Now, I’m going to go look at the things that are available for sale.”

With that, she snatched another glass from the waiter and pushed into the crowd.