Page 46 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Thirty

Unease crackled over my skin as Fane and I walked right through the colossal front doors of Karn’s—now Barric’s—manor. The gothic décor was just as grand and ostentatious as usual, but now every silver and gold adornment shone as if someone had spent hours cleaning and polishing it.

And a massive silver tree with branches and roots webbing out—The Collective Hunt’s symbol—hung high on the left wall, shooting chills down my spine.

We were deep in enemy territory. There was no turning back.

Black and white floors gleamed under the crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the grand room, and dozens of candles burned in iron candelabras, in sconces, and along the food-bearing tables.

Speaking of food, the aroma of freshly grilled and smoked meat perfumed the air. Gold platters lined the tables against one wall, brimming with all types of delicacies, and red wine flowed from a fountain in the corner .

At least I hoped it was wine and not blood. There was no telling how twisted The Collective Nosterium had become.

“There are way too many enemies here for my liking,” I muttered into Fane’s mind, touching the black lace and satin mask covering the top half of my face.

What were the odds that Barric was throwing a fancy masquerade party?

We didn’t need to disguise ourselves with a ton of glamours and spells when we blended right in with masks.

Of course, Jess, a witch from Maleor Supreme, performed an enchantment to cloak our scents and another to change Fane’s blue eye so that it matched his golden-brown one.

He still looked ridiculously hot.

No one knew Fane and I were here except Ruin and Roxie, of course, and Wrath and Logan. The more people involved, the easier it would be for someone to slip up.

We also didn’t tell Saint.

My heart clenched at the thought of him. He wouldn’t want to speak to me anyway, and I rejected our bond to keep him safe. Telling him about this operation would be the opposite of that.

Fane slipped his fingers around my hand and lowered it back to my side. “Stop fidgeting. No one will suspect anything unless you don’t calm your racing heart and stop sweating.”

I flipped him off, ignoring the rumble in his chest. No one stood guard at the door to take our coins, but we wouldn’t have been able to walk through the door without them.

“I had no idea this many shifters were still part of The Collective Hunt,” Fane mumbled under his breath as he took in the guests lingering around the balcony above. “They’ve been flying under the radar for a long time.”

I recognized a few of Barric’s Collective Nosterium members. Onyx buttons gleamed on Wes’s charcoal-gray suit, his silver mask covering only the area around his eyes. He spoke to Amelia, who wore a navy tux. The plain white mask on her face did little to hide her constant scowl.

Logan was devastated when I wouldn’t wear the scarlet gown with flowing silk and taffeta and a gold-beaded bodice. I had to remind him the point was to blend in and that the dress would call attention to me like a neon sign on a dark street.

He pouted for ten minutes before finally throwing me a pair of black leather pants, a corset with red lace, and a leather jacket that covered the tattoos on my arm and neck. The fingerless lace gloves hid most of the delicate designs on my hand.

The combat boots were nonnegotiable. I was wearing them.

My hair was plaited into a long braid down my back, and black satin ribbons twisted through the strands to hide its unique color.

As we moved through the crowd, shifters dressed in finery with an assortment of masks chatted away, sipping drinks and nibbling on food.

Not one of them suspected interlopers in their midst.

But they did look.

Of course they looked. The imposing creature next to me turned heads everywhere we went.

Fane Maverick in jeans and a t-shirt was impressive. Fane Maverick in a fitted black tux with gelled-back midnight locks and an ebony mask covering all but those tantalizing lips was heart-stopping.

Godly, actually.

“Keep looking at me like that, fiera mika, and we’ll have to vanish in a shadowy corner for a while.” Fane’s rumbling voice in my head had shivers racing over my back .

Heat slithered down my back, and a pulse throbbed between my legs with the sudden need to rip Fane’s clothes off. But his next words effectively doused the lust with cold water.

“We need to find Roman.”

My gut clenched, and I swallowed back the bile shooting up my throat.

Right.

I had to kill Roman.

“Let’s head upstairs to get a better view of the entire room,” he said, towing me toward the same crimson staircase I ran up when I came to find the Infernal Sol.

Clearly, I’d come full circle. I was in this forsaken place to steal the demon amulet once again.

Fane and I made it up to the second story without incident, and we loomed in the shadows against a wall.

So many shifters of all types mingled below, and a few leaned against the railing of the balcony.

Gold and silver pins or necklaces bearing The Collective Hunt symbol flashed on most of them, like a badge of honor.

I stanched the urge to sneer. These proud douchebags should all have their asses kicked. Mangling them would be better than having to slaughter Roman. At least the witch realized how awful these shifters and their mission was.

Killing Roman would tarnish another piece of my soul. How much would remain by the end of this? Rejecting Saint and breaking his heart the other night had left a giant stain on it, and I still felt the hole in my chest the fated mate bond left behind.

As if sensing where my thoughts had gone, Fane slipped behind me and held me against him. His hand lay over my heart .

“It will heal, fiera mika,” he murmured, his lips brushing my ear. “I’m still pissed you did it, but I hate you feeling this way. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

I leaned into him, savoring his warmth and inhaling his familiar scent—because this might be the last time I did. As me, anyway.

There was a good chance the amulet would take me over and I, the real Tate, would cease to exist.

“I’m not losing you,” Fane growled, his breaths quickening. “No matter how far gone you are, I will bring you back.”

Tears burned in my eyes, and the lavish room blurred as I bit my lip so hard I drew blood. If anyone could bring me out of the darkness, it was Fane.

But I wasn’t sure it was possible this time.

I choked back the lump rising in my throat and cherished this feeling just a little longer. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, how he owned part of my heart and soul, but I couldn’t get the words out. My mind wouldn’t even form the thoughts to project to him.

Fane kissed my cheek and then buried his face in the crook of my neck, pushing aside the leather jacket that hid the mark. “You don’t have to say the words for me to know what you’re trying to say, Teague. I feel it.”

A booming voice cracked the comforting bubble around us, and frost crawled over my flesh despite the warmth from Fane’s body.

“I’m so glad to have so many allies and friends in attendance tonight.” Barric sauntered into the center of the room, his black tux barely containing his broad shoulders and thick muscles.

My pulse spiked, and I fought the urge to bolt forward as the Infernal Sol gleamed in the center of his chest like a scarlet flame dangling from the gold necklace. Fane lowered his hand to my stomach, right over the sun tattoo.

The black ink seemed to warm as if it knew the amulet was close by, out in the open and ripe for the taking.

Of course, it wasn’t. I couldn’t take it until I killed Roman.

“While I enjoy seeing all of you, I brought you here for a reason.” Barric’s grin spread across his face, shooting ice through my bloodstream.

Was he too good to wear a mask?

He probably thought so.

“You all know how hard I’ve been searching for a way to eradicate the undesirables in our lines. And I’ve finally found it.”

As applause drifted around the room, hot rage pummeled my insides at the scent of their intrigue and delight.

They were clapping at the thought of killing thousands of shifters.

If I still had the Infernal Sol, I’d make every one of them fall to their knees while I plucked their fears out and tormented them.

They deserved that and much more.

“Easy, fiera mika,” Fane murmured. “Your fury is spilling through the air, clashing with the contented emotions around us.”

I gritted my teeth and forced the anger down. “I want to tear that asshole’s throat out.”

He chuckled. “Can I watch?”

“Thanks to my inner circle and help from a powerful ally”—Barric stroked the amulet— “I’ve discovered exactly what we need.”

A huge panther shifter, dressed in a black and white tux, interrupted another round of applause as he parted the crowd lining the balcony and lifted his hand.

“I’ve heard some wild stories about your recent methods, Barric.” The shifter’s voice held a slight Southern twang. “Maybe too wild, even for our group.”

Nothing friendly resided in the smile my father adopted. “Hudson, so glad you could attend tonight’s special event.”

Hudson lifted his white mask, revealing a handsome face marred by a few scars.

He ran a hand over his mussed black hair, and a dimple appeared in his cheek as he grinned.

He looked to be in his early thirties, and even though he was much leaner than Barric, his body was still a block of hard, chiseled muscle.

“I was surprised by the invitation, considering you and I haven’t been on the best terms these last few decades.”

My brows rose. Hudson was definitely much older than he looked.

Barric gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I figured it was time to bury the hatchet. Your attempt to steal control of The Collective Hunt is water under the bridge now.”

The panther chuckled, his smoky gray eyes hardening. “Well, you did steal it from my father first. Technically, the leadership position should have been mine.”

“Barric won it in a fight.” Jax strolled across the polished black and white tiles to his alpha’s side, the gold mask covering most of his face except for his hard jawline. “Jerome couldn’t defeat him. You’re lucky he let your father live.”

Unease twisted through the room at the beta’s words, and some of the attendees seemed to be on Hudson’s side, casting covert, narrowed glares at Barric and Jax. If they knew the crazy shit Barric and his inner circle had been up to, they’d flee the manor as fast as their feet could carry them.

Hudson’s fist tightened on the crystal goblet of wine he held. “My father didn’t turn the society into a hellish cult of fanatics. We had respect then. ”

Respect? They hunted down bitten shifters and killed them.

Barric unbuttoned his blazer and shrugged out of it, passing it to Amelia as she scurried over to take it. “I’ve done what was necessary to achieve our goals, Hudson. That is something your father was incapable of doing.”

“What’s necessary?” Hudson scoffed and motioned the wineglass around the gothic grand room. “You’ve got us celebrating in a demon lord’s mansion—in the Underworld, for gods’ sake. We’re shifters.”

A few murmurs of agreement traveled through the crowd. At least some of them found it odd they were in the demons’ domain, and not everyone seemed happy about Barric’s unconventional methods.

“How would they feel if they knew he was cutting out hearts and drinking blood?”

Fane smirked. “Seeing their animal forms with scales and horns would have a sobering effect.”

Barric lifted his palms toward the crowd, something unsettling flashing over his expression as he stared at Hudson.

“I’ll be the first to admit that things do seem a little strange from the outside looking in.

But that’s why I’ve brought you all here—to tell you exactly what The Collective Hunt is all about and to prove that I will accomplish our mission. ”

The panther shifter smirked and leaned his forearms against the balcony. “Then please enlighten us.”

My flesh crawled at the danger suddenly pulsing from Barric. Hudson didn’t sense it, or maybe he just didn’t realize how unhinged the former head alpha of Georgia really was.

“I would love to give you a demonstration.” Barric motioned for the panther to approach. “Please come closer. ”

The hairs on my arms rose as if static electricity crackled in the air. My father looked like a spider luring a fly into his web.

Hudson downed the rest of his wine and placed the glass on a table on his way toward the winding staircase. The arrogance in his every step would disappear once Barric revealed his true face.

Would he suck Hudson’s soul? Use the amulet to draw out the other shifter’s fears?

I would have done both.

And laughed about it.

Once Hudson reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed the gleaming floor, the slow smile spreading Barric’s lips sent ice across my shoulders.

“This won’t end well,” Fane murmured, his firm grip still on my hips.

Hudson held his hands out. “So, what is it, Barric? What do you want to show us?”

Heat enveloped the room as steam rose from Barric. All the moisture evaporated from my mouth as I realized what was coming.

Barric was finally shifting.