Page 1 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

LINCOLN

P ain burns through my veins as I fight against the magic that renders me hopeless, locking me in place while my world threatens to crumble around me.

As I await the call of my name and the announcement of my blood kin, all of it means nothing when hers lingers in the air.

Polaris Beauchamp.

Midnight.

Her name echoes off the walls of the assembly hall, my pulse quickening in my ears as her forced footsteps bring her to a stop beside Ben’s lifeless body.

Dead.

Just like Bianca.

Only, she died at the hands of Blaze, while Ben died at his own hands, in a declaration of love for a vampire who didn’t care.

Would I do the same if it were me?

If my name is called next, confirming Polaris is my blood kin, will I act rationally like I told her to, or will I take matters into my own hands?

I hope I don’t have to find out.

My wolf desperately threatens to break free, as though the only reason he hasn’t is because of the magic binding me to this very spot.

I try to calm him, but it’s impossible as I see a glimmer of nerves flash in Polaris’s eyes.

She gulps, the soft sound audible from here as her attention drops to her wrist.

I spy Blaze bouncing on the balls of his feet off to the side, ready to jump into action if needed, and I make a mental note to high-five the fucker for ending Bianca so perfectly.

She was a wolf, sure, one of mine even, but the hold she tried to impress upon Wylder, combined with the drama she continued to throw at Midnight, leaves no inkling of sadness at her loss.

A flicker of a glow sparks along Polaris’s forearm, pulling my thoughts back to the present as my throat dries.

A vine stretches from elbow to wrist, leaves dancing along her skin, glowing like a beacon in the night.

It almost looks like ivy, a perfect symbol for the woman that she is; pretty, mystical, secretive, and ready to overwhelm your life with one single root.

If you don’t watch your back, I’m certain she’ll coil around your throat, leaving you gasping until there’s no air left.

I glance down at my own arm, envisioning the glow along my skin and preparing for the absolute worst when a cry further down the line ripples through the air.

“No!”

I choke on my breath as my gaze roves over those of us assembled, finding the source of the sound.

I thought I was prepared for the worst, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is it instead. I was terrified I’d have to choose between myself and the woman who has my mark on her flesh, but eyeballing between the woman in question and my sister, that’s something else entirely.

Horror vibrates through my body, claiming me as I watch in disbelief as Minnie takes a step forward.

My sister.

My mate.

Blood kins.

It can’t be. It can’t.

Struggling to breathe, my face heats as my hands tremble. I blink, and blink again, hoping for the scene before me to disappear, but it’s not a figment of my imagination. It’s raw, real, and true.

Polaris collapses to her knees, a move I’m sure I would mirror if magic weren’t holding me in place. Tears stream down her face, terror clinging to every inch of her, and it’s as if the world stills.

The room grows dark around the two most important women in my life.

All I see is them.

I don’t hear a single noise from the room, only the thundering of my heart as I recall the words I said to both of them.

“When your name is called and your blood kin is revealed, do not act. We don't take action. We regroup and think it through after. Nothing changes today.”

Only now I wish I had made the effort to say that to them together, at the exact same time, in each other’s presence, so they knew I meant it to both of them.

Instead, I’m staring at the two of them, the entire scenario out of my control, and all I can conclude is that this is my fault. This is my karma for being a cunt.

I’d rather die than risk anything ever happening to either of them.

I can’t see Minnie’s face, but I can picture the despair that contorts her features, the tears spilling down her cheeks, forever leaving tracks along her skin, just like Polaris.

Devastation claims me as I watch my sister fall to her knees in front of Polaris, the pair of them kneeling as emotion swirls around them.

Polaris’s lips move, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.

I try to take a deep breath to focus myself so I can use my wolf senses, but it’s impossible.

I don’t know if Minnie responds, but a moment later, Midnight shakes her head and mutters something again, but it still doesn’t register in my mind.

There’s no time for it either.

A flash of silver suddenly shimmers in Polaris’s hand and I frown, watching as a content smile spreads across her face despite the tears staining her cheeks. Her lips move again, but everything happens in a warped sense of time.

Fast but slow.

Elongated, but over too quickly for me to react.

With the crimson-tipped blade aimed in her direction, Polaris plunges the weapon at her chest, the serenity fluttering in her eyes unwavering even as she pierces her flesh.

A roar snaps from my jaw, my entire body alight with disbelief as I watch my mate fall limp to the floor. Blood pools around her as a high-pitched scream bites through the air, breaking through the sound of my racing heartbeat, and I realize it’s coming from Minnie.

I need to reach her, I need to get to both of them and take it all back, but I’m defenseless against the magic around me. The dark hue that wraps around the pair of them fades away, the rest of the room coming back into view, and movement to my left catches my attention.

Blaze growls, trying to claw at the three men holding him back, and I envy him. I envy the fact that he’s not trapped inside himself. I envy the ability he has to wreak havoc on those around him.

Pain claws at me and my eyes dart to my right, searching the front row of wolves, and I immediately find who I’m looking for.

My pack, my brothers, my family.

They’re not in their seats, though. They’re on their feet, desperate to enter the center of the space, but once again, they’re being held back.

It doesn’t make sense. I’ve seen many people participate in the blood kin ceremony, or whatever the fuck they want to call this sham of an event that pits people against one another, but no one is ever held back.

If anything, Professor Whitmore looks as if he takes far too much enjoyment from the carnage that has been created.

Wylder’s face is bright red, anger claiming every inch of him, while Asher stands stoic, nostrils flared as his eyes remain wide, set on the center of the room.

Tatum, however, is as white as a ghost. He might be one at this point.

His pupils are blacked out, his jaw slack, and his arms limp at his sides.

Devastation.

He can’t suffer any more pain, not after what he’s already lived through. He just can’t.

Anger, terror, and disbelief quickly morph in my mind, revealing layers of emotions I can’t control or even bring myself to acknowledge.

I close my eyes, inhaling deeply before turning my attention back to the middle of the room, hoping with all that I am that I’ll find Polaris and Minnie embracing, the horror from moments ago turning into a cruel joke, but I’m not so lucky.

Minnie sobs, face buried in her hands as she leans over Polaris, while the glowing mark withdraws from their skin as though it never existed.

This can’t be real.

She can’t be gone.

I didn’t…

We didn’t…

I refuse.

I fucking refuse.

The ache thrumming through my chest as I fail to fight against the magic is unbearable, but I don’t stop or ease up. I can’t. It’s ingrained into me at this stage.

“Foster Graham.”

The guy to my right grunts as he steps forward, the move out of his control.

My jaw tightens as my irritation reaches new heights.

How are they already calling the next name when my sister is still on her knees, crying her heart out, while my fucking mate remains lifeless beside her. We need time to deal with this, to bring her back, to… fuck.

Mourn.

My face scrunches up in distaste, the word like ash on my tongue.

Two women appear, placing their hands on my sister’s shoulders, trying to move her out of the way, but before I can combust with rage, Blaze swoops in, tucking his arm behind her knees and bracing his other arm around her back.

She’s in his arms a moment later, face tucked into the crook of his neck as he stares at me.

There are no words passed between us, there are none to say, but he quickly moves out of the center, his steps too hurried for them to be actions of his own.

More magic?

Fuck if I know.

With my nostrils flared and the tingling of something at the back of my eyes, I make a mental note to begrudgingly thank him for being delicate with her as I turn my attention back to Polaris, but she’s… gone.

What the hell?

My eyes dart around the room desperately, but I come up empty.

My heart races so fast I’m certain I’m going to fucking die.

My instinct is to turn to my brothers, my pack, but I can’t bring myself to see Tatum so shaken again.

It only leaves me more broken, and one of us has to hold it together right now.

I’m Alpha. That means it has to be me.

An arrow glows on Foster’s forearm, and I plead for the same to appear on my skin so I can kill the prick and get the hell out of here. Instead, the husky wolf snarl that follows isn’t my own, but that of Dylan Daniels.

I barely hear the noise before he’s launching through the air, barreling into the witch with more ease than I expect, and before I can even take a breath, his teeth are at his throat.

The witch falls to the floor, tattered and torn, while the wolf makes a run for it.

Fucker. That’s what I wanted to do.

I shake my head, emotions swirling inside of me, but I swallow them down, hating the burning at the back of my throat. I’m quickly distracted by the calling of my name.

“Lincoln James.”

My movements are stilted, the magic working overtime along my tense body until I’m brought to a stop in the center of the room. The moment I’m where they want me, the hold slackens and I’m no longer a puppet under their command.

A snarl tears from my lips as I attempt to take a step toward the direction Blaze went with Minnie, but my muscles don’t respond.

Fuckers.

Heat flickers along my forearm, distracting me, and I look down to see my mark take shape.

Slowly, a spear appears, pointing from my wrist to my elbow, with a fletching on either side.

My lips purse at the sight of it, but I truly don’t care, not when my sister needs me, and not when I’m still reeling at the loss of my mate.

The ache grows in my chest at the thought of Midnight, and it takes everything in me to mask the pain that threatens to burst out of me.

Maybe I should just let my kin win, let them bring me to my knees so I can be with her instead.

A curse ripples through the room and my eyes track the sound until they land on a replica marking on my blood kin’s forearm.

Fuck.

Bryony.

She moves toward me, tears gathering along her eyes as helplessness settles like a weight inside of me.

If I react quickly and end my blood kin’s life, it will cause Minnie pain.

If I do nothing and let Bryony take the victory, it will cause Minnie pain.

No matter which way I look at it, it’s only going to cause my sister more pain than she’s already dealing with.

Looking away from Bryony, unafraid of her actions, I spy Blaze at the back of the room, leaning against the wall by the exit with his arm awkwardly wrapped around my sister’s shoulders as she sobs against him.

Wylder, Tatum, and Asher are standing with him too, an array of emotions on their faces that I can’t even begin to try and process.

Despite my hatred for vampires and fury at someone giving me an order, I take it.

Not for me.

Not even for Minnie.

But for Midnight.

“Lincoln?” Bryony whispers nervously, and I shake my head, opting not to look at her.

“You’re good, for now,” I grunt, storming through the crowd toward my family.

There are two people left, waiting to meet their fate, but that’s none of my business.

Blaze nods for me to join them.

Chatter flutters through the air around me, and as I approach him, he whispers something into my sister’s ear and she quickly turns to face me.

“Lincoln,” she sobs, throwing her arms around my neck, and I soak her in.

I’m sure I’m squeezing too hard, but I don’t give a fuck.

The relief is real, but it’s quickly joined by overwhelming pain too.

I love my sister with all that I am, but looking at her, knowing the sacrifice we’ve all witnessed, is going to be hard.

“We need to leave. Now,” she states, forcing herself out of my hold as she wipes the tears from her cheeks.

“What’s the point?” I retort with a scoff, pushing a hand through my hair.

I need to do something. I’m not sure what, but the trembling is almost uncontrollable. All of the emotion coiling inside of me needs to be released.

“The point?” Minnie says, confusion etching her words, and I frown at her, watching as her face morphs from sorrow to determination.

“The point is, my best friend looked me square in the eyes and killed herself to save me.” I’m not the only one who gulps.

My senses are coming back, we’re all struggling the same.

Hearing it out loud doesn’t make it any better.

“But not without her parting words,” she adds, determination and hope blossoming in her stance.

“What parting words?” I ask, sensing the same uncertainty from the others as Bryony nervously comes to stand a step to my left, silently joining us despite our current predicament, but none of it matters when Minnie speaks again.

“Come find me.”