Page 27 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

TATUM

T he second I reach the edge of the treeline, I leap, pushing off the ground with all of my strength as my wolf takes control.

By the time I’m back on the ground, my clothes are shredded and fur covers my body.

My paws thunder with every step I take, each one coming faster than the last, until I’m at full speed, eating up the hundreds of acres of forest land that surrounds the farm.

With every step comes a sense of calmness.

With every inhale comes a wave of contentment.

With every blink comes a rush of hope.

Being at one with my wolf is indescribable, especially when it has such a profound impact on me. Sometimes, it almost feels like a chore when it doesn’t settle the thoughts in my mind, but on days like today, when a bubble of serenity wraps around me, it’s utter perfection.

However, if the blood moon pack run were happening before we found Polaris, it would be a completely different story right now.

Polaris.

Polaris fucking Beauchamp.

She’s alive. She’s not quite home in my arms where I want her to be just yet, but we’re a good step closer in that direction. I feel like I’ve lived and ached for a million lifetimes, and it wasn’t even a week.

It’s remarkable how quickly your life can change without notice or warning, but although we’re adapting to a new way of life right now, it’s not permanent. It can’t be. The worry and fear of Polaris being alone in Florida is crippling.

My muscles tense, my body rejecting that line of thinking, and I take a deep breath, attempting to rid myself of the negativity in my mind while reminding myself that my thoughts aren’t always based on facts.

Seeing her tonight, looking nothing like herself, was odd, but I knew it was her. I could feel my mark on her chest, my own mark heating at the reminder. It was carefree and exciting to be able to dance with her. I want a million more moments like that.

I pass a few wolves as I increase my speed, loving the euphoric energy fizzling through my bones, when I quickly realize I haven’t seen Lincoln yet. He’s usually a step behind me, and catching up to my side by this point, always wanting to make sure I’m okay, but right now he’s nowhere in sight.

With uncertainty clouding my vision, I slow my pace and spy Minnie on top of a fallen log, searching through the trees, and I instantly know she’s looking for the same person as me. Our eyes lock and I feel the panic and fear in her eyes.

I nod, a single move with no words, but she understands.

I’m going to find him.

Turning away from her, so the emotions radiating from her don’t take root in my gut, I inhale a deep breath, desperate to catch a hint of his scent. Nothing comes as I prowl through the trees until I’m halfway back to the treeline.

My gut twists, but I take off, following the scent that lingers in the air, guiding me to him. I stop when I spy him in the distance, seated on a tree stump, elbows braced on his knees with his head in his hands.

Fuck.

I shift, desperate to talk. Pushing my hair back off my face, I call out his name and his gaze snaps to mine instantly.

“Jesus Christ, Tatum. Put that thing away,” he grumbles, waving a hand at me. Or, more specifically, my swinging cock.

I roll my eyes at him. We’re wolves, this isn’t the first time he’s seen it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Especially if Polaris has anything to do with it.

I see the desire in her eyes, and I know I’m going to take her with my brothers again one day.

Maybe even Blaze. My cock stiffens at the idea of her spread naked, just like she was when we marked her and claimed her as ours.

“Really, Tatum? Fucking hell,” he grunts, and I shrug, glancing down at my thickening cock while reluctantly thinking of something terrible to distract my dick.

“What’s going on, Linc?”

I don’t want to say it, I don’t want to question whether his wolf is there or not.

That’s for him to put out there in the universe, not me.

I thought it would be better to pretend everything is fine and simply expect his wolf to appear tonight, but looking at the shattered man before me, I might have been wrong.

He shakes his head, looking away from me as he sighs. “I haven’t tried, but… I don’t think it’s there,” he breathes, making my chest tighten.

I crouch beside him, but he still looks anywhere but at me. “What’s holding you back?”

His gaze finds mine, the truth shimmering beneath the surface. “The worry that I won’t find it.”

For the first time in forever, I think Lincoln is… anxious? Scared? Torn? Those are three words often associated with me, but with him? Never.

I place my hand on his thigh in comfort, but the pointed look he offers me in return makes it clear that, while I’m naked, I should keep my hands to myself. I roll my eyes at him in response.

“Don’t let fear control you, Lincoln. Look what it’s done to me. You’re stronger than this.”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “I don’t fucking feel it.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I offer, and his nostrils flare for a second as his eyebrows rise, but he shakes his head.

Typical Lincoln to be stubborn, even now.

“It won’t hurt you to. You always encourage me to talk,” I nudge, and he sighs.

“You’re a survivor of pain, Tatum, there’s a difference,” he insists, and my eyes widen in surprise. Is he joking right now?

“Are you forgetting the part where you literally died to go in search of the woman we love?” That’s other-worldly in comparison if you ask me, yet he shakes his head dismissively again.

“It’s different.”

“You’re damn right it is. I carry around my sadness from the loss of my parents being killed, but you were literally unalived yet live to tell the tale. That’s not going to be easy, and it’s definitely going to take its toll.”

Silence blankets us, stretching out as our words settle, and he once again avoids my stare for what feels like an eternity before he finally glances back at me.

“I don’t feel him.”

“Could you be blocking him out?” I ask, unsure how that’s possible, but I’ll clutch at whatever straws I can get my hands on to remain positive for him.

“I thought with the mark on my arm I was still whole,” he breathes, letting his chin hit his chest as he sighs in defeat, and even under the moonlit sky, the pain is visible.

“You’re whole regardless, Lincoln. I promise you that, but I also promise you that we’ll figure this out.”

He offers me a tight and hollow half-smile. “We’ll need to figure out an alternate alpha since you guys didn’t do it in my absence,” he states, and I nearly fall backwards.

“No way!” I blurt, rushing to my feet in an attempt to keep my balance.

“We have a fucking alpha. The best at that, and I—” Movement in the distance catches my attention, a fluttering of shadows so inconsequential, I almost dismiss it, but the rustling of leaves follows and I know it’s more than an animal.

“Did you see that?” I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper as my blood runs cold.

“See what?” Lincoln asks, slowly standing as he eyes me with confusion. He follows my line of sight, and I’m certain there’s nothing to see until a flicker a little farther to the left regains my attention.

“I saw that ,” he mutters, swiping a hand down his face, and my gut twists.

“Something’s not right,” I rasp, my muscles continuing to tense.

Lincoln hums in agreement. “I could have sworn that it was one of The Crow’s men.” I snap my attention to him, panic flooding my veins. He must sense the same thing as I do because he mutters one single word before we both take off running.

“Midnight.”

Stumbling through the forest with bare feet isn’t the best idea, but Lincoln doesn’t shift, so I opt to stay at his side until we alter our direction slightly to the right and he glares at me.

“What do you plan on doing with your dick swinging?” he grunts, and if it were any other time I would laugh. The remnant of it vibrates in my chest, but I quickly redirect my attention, adding a little extra height to my next step as I shift into my beast.

With my added speed, I approach the shadows more quickly than he does, and I have to slow my pace so I can hide among the trees. It’s only when they break through the treeline that I recognize where we are.

The campfire burns to the left, dwindling down, but the only person who matters holds all of my attention. My gaze latches onto Polaris immediately, seated at a picnic table with her back ramrod straight and her pulse vibrating so much I can sense it from here.

My heart drops as I spot the familiar black leather coat draped over the man across from her, his top hat and mask in place.

The Crow.

What the hell? Where is?—

A whimper from my left tears my attention to the makeshift bar Wylder has been manning all night to find Bryony huddled inside, fear forcing her into hiding. Sighing, I get ready to leap from the trees to protect her when a snarl cuts across the space, drawing my gaze to an angry vampire.

Blaze.

He’s carrying a tray of food, but it’s quickly forgotten when it clatters to the ground and he takes off running toward Polaris. I should join him, but I don’t want to lose the element of surprise that we might need.

Blaze makes it two steps away from the table, eyes zeroed in on Polaris, when Finch appears out of nowhere, holding him captive as The Crow’s voice booms through the air.

“Restrain this cunt while I try to manage an intellectual conversation with the beautiful woman before me.”

Rage burns through my veins. I should search to see where Lincoln is, but I refuse to take my eyes off Polaris.

She’s not in immediate danger—well, that’s a lie, but it almost feels like The Crow isn’t going to attack her.

I don’t even know how I know or feel that, but it’s there, taking up space in my gut.

I inch closer as Polaris clears her throat. “Maybe you can get to the point of your visit then, Crow.”

She intertwines her fingers, resting them on the table as she cocks a brow at the man in question, and I can’t decide whether she’s filled with enough confidence to win a war or whether she’s poking at a bear who’s ready to strike.

“You owe me a deal,” The Crow states, not pushing back on her attitude, and I know there’s something at play here. He’s not this calm and accommodating without reason.

“I don’t owe you anything,” she insists, and The Crow tilts his head.

“How do you figure that?”

“You showed me the chalice; I collected the coins. That was our deal.”

The Crow shakes his head. “Really, Polaris? I thought you were paying more attention than that. That’s why you’re here right now, looking like this. Am I right?”

I feel Polaris’s gulp from here.

“You offered me the information on what happens to those who lose to the blood kin curse.”

The Crow claps obnoxiously loud. “There’s the smart girl I was banking on.”

“I’m also the girl you isolated based on a bargain with my parents, so forgive me for not believing there’s anything else I’m required to offer you. I’ve suffered enough at your hands,” she snaps, and pride surges through my veins.

“Now, now, Polaris. I was taking care of you,” he insists. “I understand it may not be the most heartwarming lifestyle, but you’re here now, and with your parents no less. Surprise.”

My teeth grind together in anger as I put one paw in front of the other, ready to pounce.

“Let her go, motherfucker,” Blaze snarls, arms banded behind his back by Finch, who kicks at the back of his knees, forcing him to the ground, but Blaze remains defiant, nostrils flaring as he glares at the man in charge.

“I believe your part of our bargain was to kill the first one to mark her,” The Crow snarls back, turning his beaked mask in Blaze’s direction, and the vampire frowns in confusion.

“Your letter confirmed that it was no longer necessary,” he bites back, but The Crow scoffs, waving his hand dismissively in his direction.

“You shouldn’t believe anything that doesn’t come directly from my mouth,” The Crow offers before nodding at Finch. “Finish him.”

The world around me drapes in black as Polaris’s scream echoes through the trees, and I’m moving.

I take the longest, fastest strides my wolf has ever reached, pounding the ground with unwavering focus and determination, jaw wide as I approach. Leaping as high as I can, my teeth sink into Finch’s neck before I even realize what it is I’ve committed to.

His howl rings through the air, quickly turning to a gargle as his hold on Blaze releases and he hurtles to the ground, but not before a sharp pain burns through my side. I can’t stop, though. The pain is no match for my rage.

Ripping, tearing, shredding.

It’s only when a firm hand splays across my forehead that I blink, pulling from the trance I’m caught in. A growl burns up my throat at first, but when I tilt my head, it’s Lincoln I find above me.

“It’s okay, Tatum. It’s done. It’s okay. It’s done. It’s okay. It’s done. It’s okay.” He repeats the words over and over again, his hand slowly brushing through my fur as I give him my focus.

“Tatum.” The sweet angelic voice of Polaris meets my ears, and I glance past Lincoln to see her eyes wide and jaw slack.

“Everyone’s okay, Tatum. Relax now. Come back to us,” Lincoln breathes as I feel a pool of liquid at my feet. Looking down, I startle at the sight of Finch’s lifeless body, mangled beyond repair at my doing.

I take a step back, but it’s wavering. I feel sluggish.

“You’re going to pay for this.” I’m certain the snarl comes from The Crow, the acid venom familiar, but my vision blurs and the sound is distorted as my legs give out.

My face lands an inch from Finch’s as Polaris cries out my name.

A shadow looms over me, but it’s not really a shadow, not a normal one at least. It’s light and beautiful. It’s her. I know it is, but I can’t see. All I can sense is whispers of I love you before the world goes black.