Page 22 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Fourteen

My gaze remained glued to the glimmering demon amulet, so vibrant in the shadows of the Underworld forest. Blood rushed through my veins as the thundering of my pulse drowned out the surrounding voices.

If I could just touch the Infernal Sol one time, feel the throb of that dark power for only a moment, I could breathe a little easier.

But deep down, I knew one touch would never be enough to satisfy my cravings.

“We need to get the hell out of here,” Hawk murmured under his breath.

Frosty air skimmed my shoulders. Damn it. He hadn’t gone through the portal yet?

“Tate, get back.” Fane gripped my arm and jerked me farther from the amulet.

A snarl slithered out of my mouth, and my boots dug into the hard ground. “Stop trying to control me, Maverick.”

Son of a bitch .

That wasn’t what I meant. I shouldn’t have said that. The damn Infernal Sol was attempting to control me.

I shook the haze from my mind, and the scene cleared, revealing the former head alpha inching closer. The longing for the amulet still burned within me, but I recognized its influence.

As my father lunged for me, Fane moved with lightning reflexes, slamming his fist into Barric’s cheek. Blood flew from the shifter’s mouth and stained a nearby tree.

Arms wrapped around me, and that familiar citrus scent swarmed my senses.

“Get her out of here, Hawk!” Fane commanded.

My heart went into overdrive, and I shoved Hawk’s arms off. “I’m not leaving without you, Fane. I won’t risk being separated again.”

Hawk cursed, knowing I wouldn’t leave without my mate, and he darted forward to help Fane. “How about you get her out of here?”

The raven whipped a dagger off his belt and slashed Barric’s arm. My eyes widened, and panic erupted through my veins as the shifter lifted his claws toward Hawk.

“I’m not leaving either of you!”

As I jumped into the fray and pushed Hawk back, he fell into Fane, the two of them stumbling away. The second I realized my mistake, a twisted smile curved my father’s bloody mouth. I’d gotten too close, within touching distance.

Fuck.

“You’re so easy to control, Tate.” His laugh skittered down my spine. “All I have to do is threaten one of your loved ones or simply dangle the Infernal Sol in front of you.”

Barric reached for me again, his fingers brushing my wrist.

Before he could grab hold, Fane’s arm wrapped around my waist like a steel trap, yanking me against his chest and knocking the breath from my lungs. The portal behind us faltered, its swirling edges slowing as the witches on the other side lost their grip.

Hawk scrambled up just as Barric lunged for me, the blazing amulet giving him a boost of power. Sensing my father’s intent, Fane grabbed the raven’s shirt. But instead of pulling Hawk with us, Fane shoved him at the shifter.

And then we fell through the portal.

“Hawk!” The powerful gateway magic swallowed up my scream and enfolded us as I struggled in Fane’s arms. Electricity crackled over me while my mind became a storm of sorrow and confusion.

And anger.

Did that really just happen? Did we leave my best friend in the Underworld, at the mercy of my evil, psychotic father?

Moments later, the portal dumped us onto the soft grass of Bonaventure Cemetery, the night sky spotted with bright stars and a crescent moon. On either side of the archway, witches chanted, their voices circulating in a haunting melody.

The scent of soil and decay filled my nostrils as we rolled into a crumbling marble headstone covered in moss, Fane’s arms caging me into his body.

But he wasn’t protecting me. He was preventing me from jumping back through the gateway.

I slammed the back of my head into his nose and elbowed his ribs. “Get off!”

The demon shifter finally released me, and I bolted up, racing toward the doorway between worlds. But as the witches let loose the last word of their spell, the churning magic vanished, and the gateway closed.

“No! ”

Heavy silence stretched through the cemetery, my frantic breaths and thundering heart the only sounds as the rustling leaves and branches settled.

“Open it back!” I told Jess, a witch from Maleor Suprema.

Her mouth parted at my vicious tone, and her fingers shook as she fumbled with her long blonde braid. “I can’t. We finished the spell. Nothing can open that door until tomorrow.”

I whirled around to find Fane standing directly behind me. “How could you?”

His jaw clenched, the tiny muscles in his face feathering. “I had to get you out of there.”

Movement in my periphery caught my attention, and Mina stepped toward the closed portal. “Where’s Hawk?”

“Ask Fane.” Venom dripped from my words.

Saint closed the distance between us. “What happened?”

“It was Barric, wasn’t it?” Ruin asked. “Roxie lost sight of him.”

Rage poured through my veins as I shoved Fane’s chest, but he barely moved. “He threw Hawk at Barric so we could escape.”

Fane’s lips flattened out. “I told Hawk to take you first. He wouldn’t listen. One of us had to distract Barric, and you wouldn’t go without me.”

My jaw dropped as tears burned in my eyes. “Are you blaming this on me?”

Fane gave a noncommittal shrug as if he didn’t care. As Saint pushed toward me and rested his hand on my shoulder, an invisible fist punched my gut.

He wouldn’t…

The realization of Fane’s underhanded ploy sent me reeling, and I stumbled backward. Luckily for me, Saint was there to keep me from falling.

Just like Fane wanted.

“You did this on purpose, Maverick.”

“Obviously. You saw it happen,” he said.

I shook my head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. You didn’t even try to save Hawk because you wanted me to hate you.”

Absentmindedly, Saint brushed circles over my shoulder with his thumb. “That’s not true, Tate. Fane would never?—”

“Except he would.” I shrugged Saint’s hand off. “Fane thinks that if I hate him, I’ll break our bond and mate with you.”

According to Cirilla, the link created between us when Fane bit me couldn’t be broken, but I had no idea about our mating bond.

Could Fane sever that, allowing me to mate with another?

Enid cursed, understanding the situation before everyone else, even her son. “That’s risky, Fane.”

“He would rather release his claim on me than watch me suffer and possibly die.”

Fane didn’t deny it. He just stared at me, his gaze searing every part of my shattered heart.

Saint’s mouth parted, and I felt a tiny sliver of hope bloom within him, proof that our bond had deepened even though we weren’t together.

“You want me to mate with her?” he asked the demon shifter

“He sure does.” I sneered. “And he sacrificed Hawk.”

“Break our mate bond or don’t,” Fane hissed. “But I’m not stopping you from spending time with Saint.”

A manic laugh slipped out of me, and I jerked my hand toward the portal. “I won’t be spending time with either of you. But I am going to jump through that portal the moment it opens to rescue my friend.”

“I’ll go with you.” Mina turned her glower on Fane. “Asshole.”

Ruin pushed off the massive angel statue he was leaning against. “Tate, you can’t go back into the Underworld now. Barric needs you, and in this state, you won’t stand a chance. You and Hawk will be stuck there.”

“Then I’ll go by myself.” Mina folded her arms.

“You won’t be able to get into the manor without a Collective Nosterium member or Tate.” Ruin rubbed his forehead. “If you try to go after Hawk now, Tate, you’ll sacrifice your chance to take the Infernal Sol away from Barric and save the bitten shifters.”

Enid scoffed. “Like you care about shifters.”

Ruin ignored her snide—and well-deserved—remarks. “You need to heal as much as possible before even thinking of returning to the Underworld to face Barric.”

A lump closed my throat, and I could barely breathe through the agony unfurling in my chest. “But it’s Hawk.”

Kourtney, sitting on an ancient tombstone a few feet away, ran her thumb over the rune on her transformative weapon to deactivate its blade. “Hawk is a big boy, Tate. And as a raven, he knew the risks of this mission. We all did.”

The moss-covered headstones and unnerving statues of angels and cherubs blurred as unshed tears pooled in my eyes. Hawk had already been through so much, and now, because of me, Barric had him. My father would use Hawk to force my return. Barric would torture Hawk, violate him, and break him.

But he wouldn’t kill him, not until he had me.

I stormed past Fane and Saint and proceeded directly to Ruin. “Can you make sure Roxie does everything in her power to keep Hawk safe?”

A soft smile tugged at Ruin’s lips as he grabbed my hands in his huge ones. “It would be my pleasure .”

The high demon didn’t bother hiding the glint of satisfaction in his gaze. He knew this gave extra protection, and I wouldn’t let a soul harm him.

“Thank you, Ruin.”

He nodded.

I glared over my shoulder at my mate . The pain and anger rushing through my body, through our bond, was enough to burn whole cities to the ground.

“I will regain my strength and get better, Fane.” My hands curled into tight fists, my knuckles turning white. “But I’ll do it all on my own.”

The beanbag chair I’d tossed into what should have been my nursery at Silver Ridge squeaked as I shifted positions, resting my boots on the floor. I flipped to another page in the photo album and studied the pictures of a young Tamara.

She must have been around my age or maybe a little younger—before she met Barric.

Valeria had checked every album and removed any pictures of my douchebag father.

Tamara’s strawberry blonde hair shone in the sunlight as she lounged on a beach.

Freckles spotted the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks.

I ran my finger along my own freckles, which were in the same location as hers. We really did look alike. If Barric didn’t believe Tamara had a son, he might have put two and two together sooner. Of course, the enchantment that concealed me from him helped keep that from happening.

A knock tapped on the doorjamb, and Valeria entered the pale-blue room with a small vial of green liquid. “I have your tonic.”

“Oh, goodie.” A grimace spread over my lips as I sat up and took the glass bottle from her.

A few weeks had passed since we’d returned from the Underworld—everyone except Hawk—and I’d been staying at Silver Ridge. Even though Mohan Wilds was more my home than anywhere, the thought of living there with a constant reminder of Fane made my stomach knot.

Of course, the separation anxiety tore my nervous system apart.

He’d been sneaking around the pack house, so my unease wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

A few nights, he’d come into my room, sat by the bed, and watched me.

I pretended to be asleep because if I’d so much as laid eyes on him, I would have caved.

But the fury still boiling through my bloodstream kept me from reaching for him, no matter how much I wanted to.

How could he sacrifice Hawk for me?

I uncorked the vial and tossed it back, the foul concoction gliding down my throat like slime.

Every day, Valeria gave me those potions for the cravings and the sickness that continued to attack my body. Since I’d started drinking that crap, the black veins hadn’t returned to my skin.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see Fane?” she asked. “If I called him, he’d race over here.”

I scoffed and passed her the empty bottle. “No, thanks.”

When things between Fane and me went well, something always ripped us apart. He’d finally told me he loved me, and not long afterward, I told him to fuck off.

Fate was a cruel, evil bitch.

Were we doomed to repeat this cycle, never finding more than a few moments of happiness?

Saint stopped by the house regularly, and since he had no part in sacrificing Hawk, I let him hang out for a while. He really couldn’t help the urge to at least attempt to heal me. And even though I swore to do this all on my own, the sooner I regained my strength, the better.

Enid would be ecstatic if I somehow figured out a way to break my bond with Fane and mated with Saint.

At least Alicia remained neutral, telling me not to do anything rash.

She had left Savannah to return to her pack and to Knox, who would probably never let her out of his sight again.

Those two had already been separated enough.

“Have you received another update from Ruin?” Valeria asked, grabbing a wooden chair from the corner and dragging it across the floor.

Bloodstains still colored the wooden planks from the fight Barric and I had when he finally learned who I was.

“Hawk is fine, imprisoned in the dungeon, but he’s not being starved or tortured.”

Ruin, currently imprisoned in Wrath’s lab, checked in regularly, and was keeping the pressure on Roxie to ensure Hawk’s well-being. According to Roxie, Barric needed to gather more power before he could attempt the Admordum Nexia Covenant. Without Ruin and me, that process would take a lot longer.

At least that gave me more time to heal.

Kourtney, Mina, and the witches who helped temporarily close the portal in Bonaventure Cemetery were sworn to secrecy about my true identity and the Infernal Sol. None of them wanted to cross Fane or any of the high demons.

The truth would eventually come out, though. The shifters deserved to know what they were up against.

I rolled my shoulders and stretched my legs as an ache settled into my limbs again. A while had passed since I’d touched Fane physically, and the mate bond wasn’t happy.

Valeria frowned as she checked her watch. “Didn’t Ari invite you to a meeting? It started five minutes ago.”

“I’m not going.” The thought of being around a bunch of people right now sounded like hell. “I haven’t had any meaningful visions, the only reason they want me in there.”

She mumbled a curse under her breath. “They didn’t tell you the reason for this one?”

“No.” I arched a brow, noticing her rigid body. “Why?”

“Ari called a meeting to discuss Ruin,” she said. “They will determine his fate.”

My stomach dropped as an arctic wave crashed against my back. The shifters wanted him dead, especially the ones in Silver Ridge. And if they executed the high demon, our link to Hawk and The Collective Nosterium would be extinguished.