Page 42 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

POLARIS

“ Y ou told them?” His gruff voice cuts through the air, sending a shiver down my spine.

I wrap my arms around my middle, failing to keep the chill off my skin as I nod, but he doesn’t see. He’s staring at the ground, reluctant to look at me, refusing to let me look him in the eye.

Clearing my throat, I rock back on my heels, hating the distance he keeps insisting on. “I did.”

“They’re on their way?”

Tears prick my eyes as my hands clench. I want to run to his lap, I want to crawl inside of him and take the pain away. It’s clear to see, palpable in the room, and it hurts. I can’t imagine how much it’s ruining him too.

“They are. Are you sure about this?” I must have asked him a thousand times, but what’s one more?

“No, Polaris. I’m not sure of anything,” he rasps, keeping his head dipped so I can’t see his eyes.

All I want to do is lock in on his marbled green and blue eyes, but even if he were to lift his head back, I somehow know I wouldn’t see them. They’re gone. Black, venomous pools have replaced them.

But what cuts me more than anything is the chill to his voice as he says my name. I can’t bear it.

“What’s different?” I breathe, my back pressed against the cool stone wall behind me. As he shakes his head, the elongated nose of his mask moves with him.

“Nothing is different,” he insists, a lie we both know and feel deep in our souls.

“You never call me Polaris,” I rasp, my throat harsh as I try to swallow past the razor blades digging deeper into my soul.

“What else am I supposed to call you? That’s your name.”

I feel hollow inside, staring at the man before me as he flexes his hands, causing the chains to rattle and clang along the floor. They’re there because he insisted.

He hit the floor in his room with a thud , ripping my heart from my chest as The Crow disappeared, and when he woke, he wasn’t the same.

Sure, he was calculated, protective, and obsessive, but in all the wrong ways.

Don’t come near me.

Don’t touch me.

Don’t trust me.

He snarled and raged at himself as he rose from the floor, mask secured permanently to his face, and against his will, he snapped the leather jacket off the floor and draped it over his shoulders before reaching for the daunting hat that completed The Crow’s look.

The Crow.

My crow.

If he’s The Crow, then who is the old crow now?

None of it makes sense. All I know is the pain and despair that now clings to the man I love.

My gaze rakes over the thick chains that are bound around his wrists and ankles, securing him to the wall in the basement of the wolves’ dorm. Apparently, the chains are here for when a wolf becomes unruly, and Asher believes he falls into that category now because he feels unpredictable.

That’s why I called Blaze first. It would take him longer to get here than my wolves. Regardless, we’re not going to be ready for this. Footsteps echo in the distance through the heavy door I’ve left slightly ajar, and I feel the tension ripple through Asher.

I don’t think, I just move. Hurrying toward him, I want to be by his side as he deals with all of this, offering him the silent support he’s always willingly given me, but the second I’m within a step of him, his head tilts back and he snarls.

“Stay. Back.”

I fall to my knees before him. Blinking at him through a watery lens, I keep my gaze locked on his. “Asher, please. You’re not the enemy. Stop treating yourself like you are,” I insist, and he shakes his head disapprovingly.

“Look at me, Polaris. Do you see what I see?” he snaps, his rage all-consuming.

I press my hand to my chest, willing my heart to calm down. “I know what I see, Asher, and I see you. I still see you beneath all of this.”

“Then you’re a fool.” His words cut through the air as I sense the presence of another.

“I did not just hear my brother speak to my woman like that.” Wylder’s immediate irritation is evident, and I glance over my shoulder at him, willing a smile to come to my lips, but I fail miserably.

Asher snickers, the sound dark and hollow, like a flame turned inward, burning nothing but itself, or in this case, himself. “Maybe tell your woman I’m fucking dangerous,” he grinds, and my body deflates at his self assessment again.

Wylder eats up the distance between us, not bothering to offer me his hand as he stops beside me.

Instead, he slips his hands under my arms and pulls me against his chest, my feet an inch or two off the ground as I wrap my arms around his neck.

The second our bodies collide, the dam breaks and I sob.

I allow myself ten seconds to wallow in my shattered world before I suck it up again. As my hold relaxes, so does Wylder’s, and a moment later, he slowly lowers me to my feet. He brushes his thumbs over my cheeks, ridding my skin of the evidence of my tears.

“You’re only a danger if you choose to be, Asher. Remember that,” Wylder bites, and I shake my head.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as that,” I whisper, hating to take Asher’s side, but truthfully, I know it’s not completely him underneath that mask.

Wylder’s mouth sets in a thin line as he draws us back a step. “How did any of this happen? I know you explained a little on the call, but… this is insane.” He pushes a hand through his hair desperately, while Asher’s head slumps forward once again.

“The Crow told him to take the mask. Everything just unraveled from there,” I breathe, and Wylder’s brows gather in confusion.

“For the sacrifice?” he clarifies, and I nod, slipping my hand into my pocket to reveal the six coins that our lives seem to depend on. Only one remains gold, confirming The Crow was right—only Wylder’s remains.

Before I can answer his question, the door creaks open farther, and everyone hurries inside. Lincoln is first, tension rippling from his body as he blinks at his friend, while Tatum remains a step behind him, eyes wide in disbelief as he soaks in our new reality.

Minnie darts to my side immediately, pulling me into a tight hug as a sob breaks her lips, and for the first time, I hold it together. Acting as Minnie’s pillar of strength, I let my attention fall to Asher, hating to see him so defeated.

The second Minnie steps back, I glance at the door to find Blaze standing beside his mother, Beatrice. Blaze cocks his head to the side, his silent come closer command, but before I can take a single step, his mother makes a beeline for me.

“Polaris, Dear,” she breathes, arms outstretched as she tugs me against her chest, hugging me tight. She rocks us from side to side, soothing me as she runs her hand up and down my back.

“Beatrice, is that you?” Minnie asks, making us pause, and I follow Beatrice’s line of sight as I watch them both assess each other.

“Oh, Minnie. It’s so good to see you.” She releases me to embrace my best friend as the rest of the room looks on in confusion.

“Is anyone going to explain how my mother knows your sister?” Blaze grunts, still standing by the door.

Beatrice waves him off. “She’s Kristy’s daughter, you fool.”

Blaze’s jaw falls slack, but it’s Lincoln who speaks next. “You’re telling me, my mother’s best friend is Blaze’s mother? I think I might be sick.”

Beatrice cackles. “You boys were always this dramatic when you were small too. That’s why we decided to keep you separated, so you didn’t interrupt our girl time,” she states, like it’s as simple as that.

Blaze and Lincoln glare at one another, but nothing changes between them as Beatrice turns her attention to Asher.

“This is bizarre to say the least. Someone please catch me up to speed,” she insists, and Blaze sighs, stepping closer.

“You don’t need to be here for this, Mother.”

“I can help.” She cocks a brow at him and he rolls his eyes.

“You can’t.”

“Blaze Williams, I will whoop your ass to Timbucktu if you don’t stop underestimating me.” The standoff between them is impressive. She doesn’t wither under his glare. If anything, I can see where he gets it from.

Eager to get to the matter at hand, I clear my throat. “I told you the majority of it on the call, but The Crow said something before he left,” I explain, gaining everyone’s attention but Asher’s.

“What?” Lincoln asks, standing right beside his chained-up friend without question.

“He said Wylder needs to find Sian, and whatever we do, don’t lose Bryony.”

Wylder shakes his head, irritation making his nostrils flare. “Yeah, about that, she’s gone.”

“How?” Minnie blurts, and I don’t miss the way Blaze turns to his mother.

“Care to explain the matter to them, Mother? Since you’re so helpful,” Blaze grumbles, but there’s no real anger in his voice. If anything, it looks like Beatrice is hiding a smirk on her lips at his outburst.

“I can rectify this,” she states. “But first, how about we address the elephant in the room. Like, why is he chained up?”

“He thinks it’s for the best,” I admit, toying with the hem of my hoodie, worried someone is going to be mad at me for following his command.

“He doesn’t seem himself,” Minnie breathes, eyes fixed on the man in question.

“I don’t think he is,” I whisper, admitting the painful truth out loud.

He rears his head back, mask on full display as he bares his teeth. “How wonderful of you to talk about me like I’m not sitting right fucking here.”

“If you opted to acknowledge our presence, then maybe we wouldn’t,” Blaze grunts, and Asher laughs, but it’s filled with anything but humor. It’s more like the sound poisons the air.

He tugs at the restraints, the clanging of chains making my back stiffen. “Leave it to the vampire to face off with me while the wolves do nothing.”

His words hang thick in the air, continuing to poison those around him.

Minnie clears her throat. “Yeah, there’s something dark in there.”

“Come closer and you’ll find out,” he snarls, but before anyone can leap to Minnie’s defence against the growly man before us, he slumps forward, his tension under the restraints easing as he almost goes limp.

“Can you all leave?” he whispers, his voice soft.

“It hurts,” he adds, making my heart thunder in my chest.

“What does?” Beatrice asks, sympathy in her tone as she rubs mindlessly at her chest.

“Fighting against myself,” he says with a weighted exhale, and I shake my head.

“I’m not leaving you,” I insist, and his eyes meet mine. Still black, still lost, but still Asher.

“It’s safer.”

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. I don’t want that to be the answer. It can’t be. I refuse.

Sensing the turmoil thickening around us, Wylder claps his hands, gaining everyone’s attention.

“How about we split up, find Sian, and recapture Bryony,” he offers, and the others nod as though it’s a good idea.

“Then what?” Tatum asks, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and Wylder shrugs.

“I don’t know, but something tells me we’re close.”

Glancing around the room, my instinct is to dig my heels in, refuse to leave Asher like this, but the reality is, we are closer. We only have one more coin to change. I don’t know what will happen then, none of us do, but there’s only one way to find out, and it all rests on Wylder’s shoulders.

“Okay,” I breathe, and Wylder blinks at me in surprise.

“Okay?” he repeats, and I nod.

“It’s time for us to figure out your sacrifice. It’s time for you to guard the light.”