Page 19 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Hearing his words in my head nearly made my legs buckle, and tears turned the forsaken city blurry.

“You’re here, Fane? You’re really here?”

“I will always find you, Teague. No matter what.”

He wasn’t alone either. My heart swelled as Wrath darted to his brother’s side and helped him take out a giant bear shifter. A black wolf—Saint Grimstone—fought next to Enid, driving back a pair of scaly leopard shifters.

Fane’s head tilted back as he released a bone-shaking growl that rattled the surrounding buildings, bits of debris raining from the dilapidated structures. The Collective Nosterium halted at the appearance of a real hybrid, one of the most dangerous creatures alive.

And the energy in the square changed.

With Fane, Saint, and Wrath here, the odds were no longer in The Collective’s favor.

Roman hit Fane with a blast of magic, just missing him and demolishing the beheaded statue in the fountain. Fane’s snarl poured ice down my back as he slinked toward the witch.

“Don’t kill him,” I said into his mind. “He helped us escape. Barric is forcing his hand.”

Fane’s nostrils puffed, and the spikes running down his spine appeared bloodred under the lights. “I can’t let him take you—even if that means killing him.”

The witch met my eyes, attempting to pass a silent message. As he shot another blast of magic at Fane, who ducked, Roman made his hand into a claw and motioned toward his side.

“Pretend to attack him, Fane. Make it look real enough to fool Barric into thinking Roman was too injured to stop us from running.”

“Oh, I’ll make it look real.”

Unease twisted through my gut at the threat wrapping his words. “Don’t hurt him too much.”

As the large beast darted toward Roman, the mutated shifters scurried out of his way to avoid challenging him.

Fane collided with the witch and raked his talons down his side. Roman’s wail of pain was real, and so was the blood flowing down his torso.

“I told you not to kill him!”

“He’ll be fine.”

Roman threw a power ball at the demon shifter to force him off, and Fane played along, rolling across the cracked cobblestones. Once he climbed lithely back to his feet, he took off in my direction, leaving the witch bleeding on the ground.

“Run as fast as you can, Teague. The others will be right behind us.”

Alicia now stood with Enid and Saint while Ruin and Wrath fought back-to-back like a well-oiled machine.

Seeing the demon twins together always gave me whiplash.

When Fane reached my side, I spun and bolted across the square, letting him lead. “What if they chase us?”

“Now that they’re losing, Barric would have commanded them to retreat.” The red in his irises flashed brighter. “But they will come for us eventually.”

I was nearly out of breath by the time Fane and I crawled through a busted window of an abandoned tavern far from the town square. Just enough of the boards covering the hole had been removed to allow Fane’s gigantic animal form to fit through.

We made our way among the broken tables and chairs cluttering the space while shattered glass glittered beneath the lights peeking through the cracks in the boards. Fane walked ahead of me, using his paws to clear a path so I didn’t slice mine .

According to him, his were tougher.

“I can smell your blood and feel the cuts and bruises all over you.” His voice rumbled through my head. “Who do I need to kill for those?”

I scoffed. “I can handle my own battles, Maverick. Besides, one of the two shifters is dead.” The foul taste of the coyote still lingered in my mouth.

“They did taste weird,” Fane said, picking up my thoughts even when I didn’t project them. “Death and decay.”

He led me up a narrow flight of wooden stairs, and I shoved back the anxiety small spaces usually caused. I did not have time to freak out.

When we reached another door, Fane transformed into his human shape, all tattoos, scars, and sculpted muscles. And that perfect, quarter-bouncing ass.

Sensing my shifting emotions, he glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. “See something you like, fiera mika?”

“I see lots I like.”

He chuckled and unlocked the door, revealing a small apartment.

A layer of dust coated nearly every surface, tickling my nose.

The wooden floor, worn and scuffed with age, groaned under our steps.

The boarded-up windows, nailed haphazardly like the occupants had been in a hurry, let in a few slivers of light.

“Come on, I brought you some clothes just in case.”

Thank the gods for that. I really didn’t want to walk around in the buff. Even though I was a shifter, I wasn’t comfortable being naked in front of everyone.

In a cramped bedroom at the end of the hall, Fane padded to a duffel bag on the small bed and withdrew a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for himself .

Too bad. I would have liked to admire his bare form a little longer.

“Whose place is this?” I asked as he pulled out clothes for me.

A wooden dresser, covered in dust and grime, sat against one wall. On a rickety table next to the tiny bed, a few unlit candles collected dust.

“Just a friend’s. He left shortly after Princess Venna took over.”

Once I shifted into my human form, he hissed at the blood leaking down my side.

“I’m fine,” I said. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Adrenaline still pumped through my veins while happy energy hummed within my body now that my mate and I were together. The pain was nothing.

Fane vanished for a few moments and returned with a damp towel to wipe off the blood coating my side. A lump clogged my throat, and I grabbed his jaw, forcing him to meet my eyes.

“I still can’t believe you’re here.” My voice cracked as my vision blurred from unshed tears.

Fane tossed the towel aside and pulled me to him. “Of course I’m here. Did you really think I wouldn’t find a way to get to you?”

I nuzzled his bare chest, inhaling his warm scent, letting it infiltrate my lungs like a drug. If time wasn’t an issue, I’d make him hold me for the next hour.

“But how did you expect to get into the manor?” I asked.

He got lucky we had already escaped.

Actually, he got too lucky.

I drew back to see his wry smile. “You knew, didn’t you? ”

He gave a noncommittal shrug. “Roman contacted Zane at Maleor Suprema, and he passed along the information to us.”

“So you knew Roman was on our side, but you nearly killed him anyway?” I pulled out of his embrace and punched his shoulder. “What the hell, Fane?”

“Roman still helped Barric get the Infernal Sol and abduct you.” He grabbed a black t-shirt off the bed and stuck his thick arms through the sleeves. “He deserves a little pain, way more than I gave him.”

After throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, voices carried from downstairs, spiking my pulse.

Fane lifted his hand for me to calm down. “It’s the rest of them.”

A few moments later, as I sat on the bed to lace up a pair of boots Fane had also brought, Saint popped his head into the room. Once his silver gaze found me, the worry faded from them, and he let out a breath of relief.

“You’re okay.”

Tension thickened the air, and I could feel Fane fighting the urge to slam the door on Saint. Having a fated mate and an actual claimed mate would never be easy.

“I’m fine.” My voice came out as barely more than a whisper. “Is everyone else okay?”

The Blackwater Falls alpha nodded and eased into the room. He wore a pair of jeans and nothing else, displaying his sculpted chest and colorful tattoos. Blood splattered his flesh, but most of it wasn’t his.

Fane’s eyes narrowed at my fleeting appreciation of Saint’s physique.

“How’s your mom?” The guilt that Enid was used because of me would eat me alive .

“She’s fine.” Saint dragged his hand through his messy black locks, sighing. “Just some minor injuries.”

Fane yanked a gray t-shirt out of his bag and tossed it to Saint. “You can borrow that.”

Saint caught it, giving a sharp nod. “Thanks.”

The demon shifter rested his hand on my shoulder, his thumb skimming my neck tattoo and making me shiver. “I’ll search for some bandages for those cuts on your side.”

“Don’t be gone long,” I whispered, hating to be away from him for even a few minutes.

A soft smile chased his lips. “Never again.”

After Fane vanished from the room, leaving the door open, Saint strolled toward me while yanking the shirt over his head.

“I’m so sorry about Enid.” My bottom lip quivered as a lump swelled in my throat. “You must hate me.”

His head jerked back, and he closed the remaining space between us, resting his hand on my arm. “I could never hate you, Tate. You’re my, well, you know.”

His fated mate.

“And even if you weren’t, I could never hate you.” He squeezed my arm gently before sliding his hand down to grip mine. “None of this is your fault.”

I quickly wiped a tear off my cheek. “The Collective Nosterium only went after your mom so they could use her to control me. It is my fault.”

Saint pulled me into him, and I let him, burying my face against him like I’d done to Fane a few minutes ago. Although Saint’s embrace didn’t have the same effect, it wasn’t horrible.

Actually, it was nice.

“No, it’s Barric’s fault.” Saint rested his chin on my head and stroked my back. “You can’t be responsible for what that psycho does, Tate. ”

I sniffled and tightened my arms around his waist. “Why do you have to be so nice? Can’t you just yell at me? Or maybe give an angry growl?”

“Grrrr. Is that mean enough for you?”

“Not even close, Saint.” I chuckled. “You weren’t even trying. Besides?—”

A sudden wave of fury slammed into me, and I stumbled out of Saint’s arms, expecting to find Fane glaring at us. But he wasn’t in the room. As his anger continued to flow through the bond, I realized it had nothing to do with Saint.

“Ruin,” I hissed and then bolted out of the room, Saint on my heels.

In the chaos of escaping and then fighting the mutated shifters, I forgot Fane would face Ruin after learning the high demon caused Warin’s death.

“I made a promise to find my brother’s killer.” Fane slammed Ruin against a wall so hard the entire building shook.

The high demon coughed, black blood oozing from his mouth. “I don’t think you want to kill me just yet. There’s something?—”

My heart plunged to the bottom of my gut as Fane’s onyx talons extended, going straight for Ruin’s throat.

If he killed him, we’d lose our spy in The Collective Nosterium. And we might never get the chance to steal the Infernal Sol from Barric.