Page 25 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Sixteen

Black talons burst through my fingertips, digging into the mahogany table as alpha power pulsated out of my body and soaked the air. The menacing growl clawing up my throat raised the hair on my own arms as it reached a deafening crescendo.

Gasps circulated the meeting room, and the three non-alpha shifters lowered in their seats, their heads bowed. Saint’s lips twitched before he dropped into his chair, and not because I forced him to. He did it out of respect.

The gold sheen in Camus’s irises melted away, and his jaw tightened as he attempted to keep from bowing under the weight of my will.

“Why is your alpha power so strong?” he asked. “It can’t be because of Fane. He may be incredibly strong, but he’s never been an actual alpha. And his father was only a beta.”

“This is getting good,” Logan murmured. “I wish I had some popcorn.”

Ruin grinned. “There are a few bags of that white cheddar stuff on their little refreshments table. Go grab us some. ”

Before the lovable high demon could stand, Wrath clamped a hand on his thigh. “Let’s wait until after Tate convinces them not to kill my brother.”

“So you do love me, Wrath.” Ruin blew his brother a kiss.

Wrath glowered. “If anyone is killing you, it’s me.”

“Or me,” Fane said, perching on the edge of the table again.

Giving up the fight, Ari relaxed in his chair as he scrutinized me. “How are you still this strong without that demon amulet? You were only bitten a few years ago.”

Gia flipped through more of the pictures of Coltrane’s frantic scribbles projected on the screen. “What else are you keeping from us?”

Sensing my need for encouragement, Valeria nodded, urging me to continue. She’d wanted me to come clean about my lineage months ago, when Barric left the pack.

“My parents are shifters.” I lifted my hand to prevent Camus from pointing out the obvious. “I was born human and then later bitten by Fane.”

“Was one of your parents an alpha?” Ari asked, pushing his glass aside to rest his hands on the table.

“My father.”

Olivia and Ari turned to each other as they spoke through their mental link. Whatever his mate said had the alpha’s head snapping in my direction, his eyes so wide they nearly popped out of their sockets.

“I bet they just figured it out,” Fane murmured, his hand stroking my back.

For someone who wanted me to hate him, he sure was making it difficult.

And I should have shoved him off. I was supposed to hate him.

Olivia’s fingers pressed over her mouth, her chest quickly rising and falling as the color drained from her cheeks. “You look like her.”

Camus angled toward Silver Ridge’s alpha and beta. “Does anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Barric and Tamara are my parents.”

As soon as the confession dropped from my tongue, a thick silence stretched through the room, and the air thickened. I resisted the urge to fan myself. Why was it so freaking hot?

“I-I don’t understand,” Camus sputtered, finally breaking the silence. “I thought Tamara gave birth to a human son who died shortly after. You even confirmed it months ago, Valeria.”

“There was no Anton.” Valeria flicked her silver braid behind her back and lifted her silk shawl to wrap around her shoulders. “And I said Barric didn’t kill the child, which clearly is the case.”

My hand trembled as I gripped my glass and downed the rest of my water. “Tamara and Valeria worked with witches and a few others to hide me. Part of that was making Barric believe I’d been a boy.”

A sad smile curved Wrath’s lips. He had helped with their plan and even dropped baby me off at the hospital. My life would have been completely different if he’d kept me in the Underworld like he wanted.

Gareth motioned his finger toward the tattoo on my neck. “So Fane biting you was just a coincidence? That wasn’t planned?”

A humorless laugh burst out of my mouth. “Nothing in my life has been planned since I was a baby.”

Jasmin, one of the younger council members, tore a cookie apart, ginger locks falling across her pale cheek. “You were obviously meant to be part of this world, though. You were always destined to be Alpha Saint’s fated mate.”

Tension rippled from Fane’s incorporeal body, and he definitely wanted to smack the smile off Saint’s face.

On shaky legs, I stood and marched toward the refreshments table in the corner to refill my drink. “Yeah, well, destiny and fate are assholes.”

Wrath clapped, startling everyone. “So, clearly, Tate does have some authority here, with her father being the former alpha and all. And she doesn’t want my brother slaughtered.”

“But why do you want him alive?” Gia asked, lines developing across her bronzed brow. “He betrayed you and led to Barric getting the Infernal Sol. You should have more reason than anyone to want him dead.”

Ice clinked against my glass as I poured lemonade into it instead of water, ignoring Fane’s smirk. “I can’t tell you why I need Ruin alive. Just trust that it’s important.”

Camus scoffed. “More secrets? How are we supposed to trust you when you’ve kept us in the dark and are still doing it?”

My nostrils flared, and I choked back a growl as I stalked toward the Mohan alpha on the way back to my seat. “You and I still need to have a private conversation, Camus.”

“About what?”

His lips pursed as he studied me, the pendant lights glinting on the silver hairs around his temples. At first glance, I wasn’t that intimidating, and even with the formidable alpha sitting, I was barely taller than him.

“Teague,” Fane warned. “What are you doing?”

I ignored him and leaned toward Camus, pitching my voice low. “You haven’t apologized for the things you and Everette did to Fane when he was a kid. ”

Camus’s mouth parted. “I’m sure Fane knows?—”

“You might be a better alpha now, but I’ve seen the scars.” The glass of lemonade shook in my hand, and I had to work hard to curb the urge to smash it against his skull.

He swallowed hard as some of the color faded from his cheeks. “I thought you and Fane were fighting.”

I snorted. “We’re always fighting. It doesn’t mean you get a pass.”

As I headed back to my seat, Logan stood and wandered to the refreshments table to grab a bag of white cheddar popcorn, earning a grin from Ruin.

The former lord of Savannah looked ten times better than he had in the Underworld, but the haunted gleam in his eyes still shone within their electric blue depths.

“You really refuse to reveal why you need Ruin alive?” Ari ran his scarred hand over his cropped black hair.

It would be so much easier if I just told them the truth—that Ruin had a bond with Roxie—but I couldn’t risk it.

Too much unsettled energy rattled within me, so I remained standing, sipping my lemonade and savoring the sweet and sour flavor. “I agree he deserves punishment, but instead of death, he should remain in Wrath’s custody.”

Garreth scoffed, his light green irises shifting to gold. “Wrath is his twin brother. I doubt Ruin will get much of a punishment from him.”

Ruin lifted his shackled wrists, the chains rattling and bouncing against his gray sweatshirt. “My imprisonment is not a cakewalk. I’m locked in a cell day and night with no comforts other than food, a lumpy bed, and a toilet.”

Captain Gia angled toward the three demons, her long caramel braids swaying. “You expect us to believe you won’t eventually soften to your brother and allow him freedom, Wrath?”

The new high demon lord of Savannah clenched his hands into fists. “Wrath is responsible for the death of the person I loved the most in this world. You can believe that I won’t soften toward my brother. He deserves to die, and if Tate didn’t need him, he’d already be rotting six feet under.”

All the humor had faded from Ruin, and his head bowed, his shoulders drawing inward. If he hadn’t given Warin his experimental Soulvation and allowed him to leave the lab, Fane’s brother never would have killed my friends and Jayla.

And I wouldn’t have slaughtered him.

No matter the part Ruin played, I still hated myself for being the one to take Warin’s last breath.

“Other packs will be furious when they learn we’re allowing Ruin to live,” Ari said. “How am I supposed to explain that?”

I shrugged. “You’re the alpha. I’m sure you can come up with something to justify it.”

“That’s just it.” Ari rubbed his five o’clock shadow. “ You should be the alpha of Silver Ridge.”

A laugh exploded out of my mouth. “Not in this lifetime.”

Ari ignored my outburst. “If you’d been born in this pack, you could be in line to take the position when your father stepped down—unless someone challenged you. It’s rightfully yours.”

“I have no interest in being the alpha of anything,” I said.

The shifters gaped at me like I was nuts for turning down the position. But for what? Just because I was Barric’s daughter. If anything, that should make them leery of me.

“You’re Tamara’s daughter, too,” Fane said, his knee brushing my hip as he remained perched on the table. “And they know you’ve fought and sacrificed for shifters. You’re selfless, and you aren’t afraid to stand up to others.”

“Would you at least consider becoming the beta?” Olivia asked. “I’m only acting in the position until Ari can find a permanent replacement.”

Her mate nodded. “That would be great. And then you might come to see how much you want to be alpha. I can train you and?—”

I lifted my palm, interrupting him. “That’s not happening. I can’t be your alpha or beta.”

Who was to say I’d even live long enough to take over the Silver Ridge pack?

Saint cleared his throat. “I think Tate is trying to say she has to focus on facing Barric. She can’t do that while taking on a position of power in the pack. She needs time to heal.”

My shoulders relaxed, and I silently mouthed a thank-you.

“So, we can all agree that Ruin will remain alive and in Wrath’s custody, right?” I asked, reverting the subject to Ruin’s fate.

Ari, Camus, and Captain Gia nodded while the others murmured in agreement.

“Great.” I pushed away from the table and headed toward the door.

Surprisingly, no one tried to stop me from leaving, not even Fane. He didn’t follow me into the hall either.

A shaky breath burst out of my lungs as I marched down the plush burgundy carpet. When I’d charged into that meeting, I had no idea I’d end up spilling my guts. Part of me felt lighter now that I wasn’t keeping so many secrets bottled up.

The other part was terrified. If I healed from this sickness and defeated Barric, would the Silver Ridge pack still want me to be their alpha? Would everyone in the pack be so welcoming once they found out who my father was? Or would they think I’d become just as psychotic and evil as Barric?

As a million thoughts whirled through my mind, I missed the figure looming in the shadows. When a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, a squeak burst from my mouth.

Someone dragged me into a dark room, slammed the door, and shoved me against the cool wood.

Just as my claws extended, a familiar face finally registered. Electricity popped within my neck tattoo, traveling down the ones on my arm all the way to my hand.

“Fane.”

I must have been really distracted if he could sneak up on me.

“Tate.” His real body brushed against mine, his touch like a drug.

Had his physical form been lurking in the hallway while his consciousness was in the meeting this whole time?

The bond roiled with excitement and longing. Heat seared my veins as his intoxicating scent inundated every inhale. My knees threatened to buckle.

“What do you want?” I hissed, trying to let anger override my desire. “Didn’t you annoy me enough at the meeting?”

His nostrils flared as his hand slid up my arm and rested on my neck. “Why aren’t you letting Saint heal you?”

I scoffed. “What do you expect me to do, Maverick? Sleep with him?”

A snarl slithered between Fane’s teeth at the very idea, and I couldn’t stop a smirk from spreading over my mouth.

“You can’t have it both ways, Fane. You want me to push you away and let Saint in, but you get possessive when he barely touches me. ”

“I don’t want you to be with him.” His eyes flashed scarlet. “But you need it.”

“How about I decide what I need?”

His pupils elongated as his head dipped forward, his hot breath branding my lips. “Then tell me what you need.”

The bond was at it again, pulling us together even when we wanted to be apart. We’d stretched it too far, and like a rubber band, it was snapping back with a vengeance.