Page 47 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Thirty-One

The former head alpha exploded out of his human form with such violence that the crystal chandelier rattled. When a horrendous beast, three times the size of Fane, emerged, shrieks reverberated through the room.

Doom clogged my veins like wet concrete while acid burned my esophagus at the stench wafting from Barric. Grotesque brown and tan scales rippled under the lights, and saliva dripped from his serrated teeth.

“Oh, gods!” Hudson stumbled back and fell on his ass, staring up at the approaching monster.

My heart crashed against my ribs, and my knees shook as the monster’s enormous muscles rippled beneath hard, impenetrable scales. Barric’s animal form had always been large and terrifying, but this twisted version of it was something out of a nightmare.

“It’s the Infernal Sol,” Fane said into my mind, his grip on my hips tightening. “All of those dark rituals mutated him even more than his followers. ”

“No shit.” My breaths came in ragged pants. “There’s no way I could take him like this. No one could.”

Fane scoffed. “I could still take him.”

I scowled at him over my shoulder. “His paws are nearly the size of your head. He could swat you across the room.”

Hudson scrambled away on his hands and knees while the guests on the bottom floor scurried back. “What the fuck are you?”

Barric’s massive talons scraped the floor as he advanced on the panther, who seemed so small compared to him now. The candle flames danced in my father’s blood-red irises, giving them an even more sinister appearance.

Sweat coated Hudson’s complexion, now pale and sickly, and fear permeated the grand room. The amulet—and Barric—probably reveled in it, soaking it up like a sponge. Memories of doing the same when I had the stone sped through my mind.

Why didn’t my wolf become a horrifying, mutated beast?

Whispers circulated through the crowd, and plenty of guests looked ready to bolt, but they were all too terrified to make a move.

The click of Barric’s talons on the marble sent frost down my nape. His forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air like a snake. His nostrils flared.

“The amulet is still on him,” I said into Fane’s mind.

“It must be hidden beneath the scales, protected like armor.”

If Barric transformed into this monstrosity after I killed Roman, there was no way in hell I could grab the stone, not unless I sliced the creature’s chest open.

“Get back,” Hudson demanded. “If you kill me, you’ll start a war with my pack. They’ll avenge me and?—”

Hudson’s words sheared off as Barric lunged forward and trapped the panther’s head between his powerful jaws. And then he ripped it off.

Screams echoed as blood splattered the tiles and the nearby table of food, tainting the dessert platters. My stomach clenched at the briny scent permeating the room.

Fear drifted in the air like condensation on a hot summer day in Savannah. Some of the shifters backed away from the balcony while a few brave ones moved toward the hallways, probably hoping to find an exit.

Would Barric let them leave? Were the doors magically sealed?

He dropped the severed head and let it roll toward the crowd lining the bottom level. Hudson’s body fell, arms splayed out and neck spilling a puddle of crimson across the floor. Barric opened his powerful mouth to release a deafening roar.

As soon as the alpha power hit the air, every shifter dropped to their knees, unable to withstand the invisible force pressing on their shoulders.

“Get down,” Fane whispered. “If we don’t, he’ll know.”

I cursed and knelt, Fane following even though we could have stayed standing. “Why do we have to submit to this asshole?”

“It’s only for show,” he said. “We can’t blow our cover.”

You could hear a pin drop as Barric shifted fluidly back into his human form, Hudson’s blood coating his face and chest.

“Well, that was interesting, wasn’t it?” Barric grinned, showing his bloodstained teeth. “Does anyone else want to complain about my methods?”

No one dared to speak or move. Most of the shifters bowed their heads, staring at the wineglasses they were toasting with not long ago .

“Fantastic.” He clapped and then grimaced at his tattered clothes on the floor. “What a shame. I really liked that tux.”

“But it was worth it.” Jax, wearing a delighted grin, snapped his fingers, and Ben scurried over with a bundle of black material in his hands. “That was quite the show, Barric.”

“I did enjoy it.” The alpha slipped into a pair of black cotton pants with a drawstring and tossed on the black t-shirt before pulling the amulet out and stroking it.

“He’s lost his fucking mind,” a female shifter near us whispered, her head lowered and hands shaking.

“They all have.” The male next to her reached for her hand and squeezed it so tight her tendons popped. “We’ll get out of this, Lauren. I swear.”

Her blue eyes cut to him and narrowed behind her glittery white mask. “I never wanted to be part of this bullshit. Our families are sick for bringing us into this when we were kids. But you just had to come to this, didn’t you, Mac?”

His shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you when we get out.”

Lauren scoffed. “ If we get out.”

Had my mother been like Lauren, hating that she was part of this group? Or did she only feel that way once she found out she was pregnant with a human child?

My chest ached as I thought of the woman who sacrificed her life for mine. I liked to think Tamara was a good person who wanted out of The Collective long before I came into existence, but I might never know the truth.

Barric motioned his hand in the air, stealing my attention away from my mother’s memory. “You can all stand now. I have a lot more in store for the night.”

Fane and I climbed to our feet as the others slowly did the same. They were breathing heavily, most definitely regretting their decision to visit the Underworld.

“Oh, gods, we’re all going to die,” an older male on Fane’s left murmured.

The former head alpha of Georgia used the handkerchief Ben handed him to finish wiping the blood off his face. “The ritual I have planned, which is what I was trying to explain when Hudson so rudely interrupted, will eradicate every bitten shifter in the realm.”

Forced smiles and a slow start of applause rounded the grand room. The rest of The Collective was less excited about Barric’s news now that they’d seen the real monster behind his mask.

Amelia strode across the floor with a wineglass, passing it to Barric. “Let us toast to the Admordum Nexia Covenant.”

The shifters raised their glasses to the ritual for fear Barric would slaughter them like he did Hudson.

Barric downed the entire glass, handed it back to Amelia, and waved her off like she was a servant. She gave a tight smile, clearly displeased with his dismissive treatment.

“This ritual will allow me to destroy every bitten shifter—in one single moment.”

Shock throbbed through the room, and a tiny flare of excitement rippled despite most of the guests being scared shitless. The shifters clapped, some of them genuinely pleased at Barric’s announcement.

Disgusting assholes.

“I only need to perform one more sacrifice,” Barric said, nodding toward Wes and Patricia, who stood by the set of doors on our left. “And you will all bear witness to it.”

The air catapulted from my lungs as my father’s words sank in .

He wouldn’t.

Saliva collected at the back of my mouth while the grand room spun in a sickening whirlwind. If Fane wasn’t standing behind me, holding my waist, I would have collapsed.

Barric planned to sacrifice a shifter, cut out his or her heart, and mutilate the body right in front of us.

Wes banged his large fist on the onyx doors, and a few moments later, they opened with a slow, eerie creak. Torin and a woman I couldn’t recognize through her gold mask dragged in a female shifter bound in chains.

My heart dropped, and I clamped my jaw shut to keep from screaming.

No!

“Get your hands off me,” she snarled, the chains rattling as Torin and the masked woman led her forward. “You won’t get away with this.”

Blood spilled from a cut on the blonde shifter’s face, and bruises darkened her flesh. Her jeans were torn and bloodied, as was her pink tank top. The Malbraxis manacle around her wrist wouldn’t allow her to shift, but even if she could, she didn’t stand a chance against them.

“It’s fucking Charla,” I hissed through cold, numb lips.

My blood iced over, and the room tilted as Charla tried to elbow Torin, but he angled out of her reach, chuckling at her feeble attempt. Her bloodshot brown eyes turned on Barric, her teeth baring and fury pumping out of her.

When did The Collective Nosterium grab her? They couldn’t have had her for long. No one at Silver Ridge had reported her missing.

“You won’t get away with this, Barric.” The sheer contempt and disgust radiating from her voice made the shifters uneasy, as if her clear disobedience put them in danger. “ You are the stain on our race. All of you!”

Once they reached Barric, he lifted his hand and gently stroked the blonde hair away from her face. “Sweet Charla Campbell. You’re stronger than I thought. You survived your first round of captivity, but unfortunately, this is the end of the road for you.”

“Go the hell,” she spat. “I might die tonight, but you’ll meet your end soon too. And I’m betting it will be a slow, horrifying death that will have you screaming in pain like a scared little boy.”

Pride swirled through me as Charla put up a fight even with the odds stacked against her.

My nostrils flared as I glanced at Fane, knots forming in my chest. “I can’t let them do this.”

His pupils shrank to slits, and his irises gleamed red as I fought his tight hold. “You can’t reveal yourself.”

“So you expect me to do nothing? You expect me to watch her die?”

Too many people had met their ends because I couldn’t save them. I wasn’t adding another to that damn list.

Fane’s arms tightened around me, and he’d probably squeeze me until I passed out if he thought it would keep me from going after Charla.

It wouldn’t.

“You will fuck up the entire plan,” he hissed. “Not only will Barric have his last sacrifice, but he’ll have you, and not one single bitten shifter will survive, including Charla.”

He was right. I knew he was right.

But watching them mutilate her and listening to her screams would break me.

Once Fane read my mind and realized I’d fall apart if I had to endure watching Charla’s murder, some of his anger faded. “We have to stop Barric before he kills her, then.”

“We need to find Roman,” I said.

He reached up, gripped my chin, and tilted my head toward the left. Roman stood against a wall across the balcony, beneath a painting of the fire regions of the Underworld.

My breath faltered. Roman’s ebony suit made his complexion look even paler, and he didn’t bother with a mask, showcasing the dark circles beneath his eyes. The sconce to his right cast a glow over his blonde hair and glinted on the crescent moon earring he always wore.

The witch looked depleted, like all his life was slowly being sucked out, leaving an empty shell behind.

Frost converged over my entire body. “How long has he been there?”

“He slipped upstairs after Barric killed Hudson.”

I spun around, still captive in Fane’s arms. “And were you going to tell me?”

“Yes.” He sucked the small hoop piercing his bottom lip as his reluctance poured through the bond. “I just wanted a few more minutes with my mate before we ring a bell that can’t be unrung.”

Once I killed Roman, nothing would stop me from taking that amulet.

“I don’t have a choice, Fane. We can’t let Barric continue this destruction, and I won’t watch Charla die.”

He gave a curt nod. “Let’s do this.”

Killing Roman without drawing attention would be our best course of action, so we planned to lure him down one of the hallways.

Witches were magical creatures, but anything could kill them if they weren’t able to heal in time. Ripping out Roman’s throat would be quick and quiet. Just breaking his neck would be better. The transformative hilt in my jacket pocket would do the trick too.

All the moisture evaporated from my mouth again, and numbness crawled through my limbs as we proceeded toward Roman, the witch oblivious to the clock ticking down the minutes until his death.

He sided with Barric in the beginning. The former head alpha wouldn’t have escaped Ruin’s lab with the amulet if not for Roman’s assistance. There were consequences for his choices and for what he helped Barric do.

I kept repeating those thoughts, hoping they would rid me of the guilt.

It didn’t.

The crushing weight would remain on my chest as I ripped out Roman’s last breath.