Page 7 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

ASHER

“ W hat do you mean we can’t leave?” My nostrils flare as I glare at the guards protecting the exit. The portal isn’t being generated at all. Not a smidge.

“Not at this time of night,” the guard on the left states, shrugging like we’re not all desperately trying to get the hell out of here.

There’s not much room in here, it’s a passing point at best. But since they’re not letting us through, we’re practically huddled together in the hexagonal room.

The guards stand on either side of the wall where the exit portal usually is, and the door leading into the academy is behind us.

There’s no other way out this late. A protective dome encloses the academy, so attempting to take the road is futile.

The dark mahogany walls are driving me insane. I’ve never paid this much attention to them before. Each nook, every chip and crack, it’s all visible.

“We’ve left at this time before,” Minnie states, her voice remaining calm and delicate, but the sharpness to her jaw tells me it’s taking a lot for her to contain it.

“We have urgent matters to attend to,” Blaze snarls, the thunder on his face revealing his rage, but the guard on the right shrugs along with his co-worker.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but?—”

Blaze is on him instantly, cutting the words from his lips as he wraps a hand around his throat and pins him to the wall. “Unless the next words out of your mouth grant us leave, I’d highly recommend keeping your lips sealed shut.”

It’s a promise. One that makes even my eyes widen.

“Release him, right this minute,” the other guard demands, but Blaze doesn’t look away from the man in his grasp.

This is all going to Hell.

We barreled out of the wolf dorms with purpose, only to get here and be rejected. It really doesn’t make sense. Authorization to leave has never been an issue before. Why now?

Wiping a hand down my face, I try to remain level headed, aware that if we all start throwing our weight around like Blaze, it’s going to go from bad to worse, and fast. Silently, I applaud him, though.

I would love nothing more than to take my frustrations out on someone right now, but I don’t know what I’ll be capable of; what it truly looks like for me to lose control.

If only Polaris was here, she would know exactly how to ease the tension rolling through me.

“I said release him. Now!” the guard repeats, but if anything, Blaze’s grip only tightens.

“This is an urgent matter,” Minnie declares, trying to deescalate the situation as she steps between the free guard and Blaze.

“We just need to leave. That’s all,” she insists, and I nod in agreement, Wylder, Lincoln, and Tatum doing the same, but it doesn’t seem to change the guard’s position on the matter at all.

Blaze growls, his frustrations getting the better of him, and he slams his free hand into the wall beside the guard’s head. A trickle of blood instantly runs down the wall, but Blaze pays it no mind and releases the guard with a huff, running his hand down his face as he takes a step back.

I expect him to ease off, let someone else take the reins, but to my surprise, his attention whirls around to the other guard.

Blaze’s hands ball at his sides, revealing the break along his knuckles.

They were already busted up from earlier, but he doesn’t care.

He cracks his neck from side to side as he stops toe to toe with the guard.

“I’m no longer bound by the blood kin curse.

I don’t even need to be here any more,” he seethes, and I can’t help but agree. He has a point.

“Me either,” Minnie chimes in, and it’s like a swift punch to the gut, one that we all feel if the winces on everyone’s faces are anything to go by.

“We don’t have authorization to open the portal. I don’t know how else to say this to you,” the guard bites, unwavering under Blaze’s intense glare.

“ I’m giving you the authorization as the alpha of the wolves,” Lincoln declares from my left, and the guard turns to him with a pointed look.

“It doesn’t quite work like that.”

“I don’t give a fuck how it works, just make it happen,” I add, frustration getting the better of me, and Wylder pats me on the shoulder. It does nothing to soothe me.

“There seems to be a disturbance. Does anyone care to explain why that might be?”

I spin, following the thundering voice booming from behind us to find Professor Whitmore glaring at us. His crisp white shirt is tucked into his suit pants, his blazer and tie long gone as he waits expectantly for an answer.

Sighing, I take a step toward him to explain, but to my shock, Tatum beats me to it. “We have an urgent matter offsite to attend to. One that can’t wait, hence the use of the word urgent,” he states, folding his arms over his chest, and a ripple of pride runs through my body.

He might be filled with agitation, rage, and desperation right now, but I’d rather that be fueling him than the sadness.

Fuck knows when the sadness takes hold it’s soul destroying, and we’re all hurting in our own way right now, dealing with our own demons at the loss of our fucking center, our queen.

None of us have the capability to keep ourselves on our feet, let alone anyone else.

We need inner strength.

We need to work as a team.

We need to fucking believe in ourselves.

Whitmore tucks his hands into his pockets, tilting his head to the side as he stares at Tatum. “As much as I understand that, Son, I?—”

“Don’t call me that,” Tatum interjects, nostrils flaring as his eyes narrow, and I want to smash Whitmore in the face right now.

It’s no surprise when Whitmore waves him off, unbothered. “As much as I understand that, Tatum, you won’t be leaving campus tonight. Maybe if you come back in the morning, we can readdress the?—”

“It technically is the morning,” Tatum interjects again, and I bite back a smirk.

When he’s focused and determined, he doesn’t mind who he tramples in the process. I’m just thankful Whitmore calling him son didn’t send him spiraling. Instead, it seems to have stoked his fire even more.

“ Later in the morning,” Whitmore reiterates, increasing the frustration among the group. “Maybe after classes. You still have much to learn,” he insists, offering a pointed look around the group.

“How about you cut the shit and authorize our exit,” Blaze demands, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with Tatum, but as expected, Whitmore shakes his head.

Can’t he see that we’re working together as a team? Wolves and vampires. Who would have thought it? Or, maybe that is the issue. I recall the comments he made to Polaris about us. About factions staying in their own lanes.

Does he know what we’re up to?

Does he know how connected we all are?

Does he know we’re looking for her?

Would it matter?

He wouldn’t be able to piece it together, surely.

“In the morning,” Whitmore repeats, and I can’t take it anymore.

Rage coils inside of me as my wolf rushes to the surface, and I turn, slamming my fist into the closest wall as I will the anger to subside.

My gaze narrows, my wolf impossibly close to breaking free as I stare Professor Whitmore down, but he doesn’t falter.

“Do you want to find yourself in a cell?” he asks, cocking a brow at me, and I snarl.

“We have those?” Minnie asks, redirecting the situation, and he smirks.

“Do you want to find out?” He’s goading us.

Fucker.

“No,” she replies softly, folding her arms over her chest as she takes a step back. Lincoln is at her side instantly, draping an arm around her shoulder as he aims his finger at the professor, but he speaks before Lincoln has a chance.

“Then morning. If you’re not going to attend classes, you’ll have to wait until I say you may leave. It would do you all well to remember who is in charge here,” he snaps, turning for the exit without a backward glance.

My heart thunders in my chest as we watch him stalk off, and the guards stand back at their posts, ignoring our existence.

“What do we do now?” Minnie asks, eyebrows furrowed with worry, and I shrug.

“We wait right here.”

My knees are bent, my forehead resting against them as I will time to pass.

I meant it when I said we weren’t leaving.

It hasn’t made a difference. Regardless, I still refused to head back to my room, or even the wolf dorms in general, because I’ll be damned if I’m going anywhere when we have a lead and the only thing standing between me and my Silver is this fucking mess.

The rage has subsided and the sadness threatens to take hold.

At the thought, I lift my head just enough to check on Tatum, who is thankfully whispering in the corner with Minnie.

We’re all propped up against the wall, the guards continuing to ignore us, when the door opens to my right. I jolt to my feet, desperation and eagerness taking hold, but I stumble to a halt when I see it’s Bryony.

“Hey,” Minnie murmurs, rising to her feet, and Bryony offers her a hug as she nervously looks around at the rest of us.

“Whitmore said I might find you here,” she states, and I frown.

“Where is he?” I ask, and she points over her shoulder with a shrug.

“I saw him near the dining hall,” she explains, but her nose wrinkles just a touch. “What’s going on?” she asks, redirecting the conversation as her eyebrows rise in question.

Is she acting a little strange or am I beyond tired?

Maybe it’s both.

“We’re waiting to leave,” Minnie offers, lacing her fingers with Bryony’s, and we all nod in agreement.

“Is everything okay?”

It’s clearly not, but I opt to keep my mouth shut.

“Yes, Whitmore is just making it a little difficult,” Minnie answers, and Bryony frowns.

“How come?”

“We’re just waiting to gain authorization to leave,” I interject, answering before Minnie can. I don’t say why, and I can’t stop anyone else from explaining without drawing attention to it, but something feels off with her.

I don’t know what, maybe it really is the sleep. Fuck if I know.

Minnie eyes me with a hint of uncertainty but she turns to Bryony with a tired smile. “Is everything okay with you?”

Bryony hums, a defeated sigh making her shoulders slump with defeat.

“Yeah, the coven is crumbling, and it’s just… a mess, but it’s fine,” she insists, waving her off.

She’s not going into much detail either.

Is she keeping something from us?

I’m definitely overthinking.

I need Polaris, then sleep, then sex, then food.

All in that order, and it all depends on getting off this fucking campus because without her, none of the rest of it matters.

“What are you guys doing anyway? Where are you going?” Bryony asks, and I look away. I can’t watch as someone gives her an answer when my overbearing brain is in hypervigilant mode questioning every breath she takes.

“Trying to find Polaris,” Tatum states, seemingly not getting the same vibe as me, and I try to brush it off.

“I don’t know, you guys, I think we need to accept what happened yesterday,” she breathes, and Lincoln scoffs.

“Are you looking with us or not?” he snaps, the anger instantly coming off him in waves, and I jerk my attention in his direction to find the same hint of curiosity in his gaze that I feel deep in my soul.

“Lincoln,” Minnie says with a gasp, glaring at her brother in irritation before she turns to Bryony with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, he’s hot-headed,” she mutters, trying to ease the tension rippling around us.

“And you’re forgetting that she’s also his blood kin,” Blaze grunts, calling out the elephant in the room.

“She’s either on board or not. If there’s any inkling that she’s not here to work with us, to help us, your brother is going to snap.

It’s only natural when your own life hangs in the balance too.

Look at Bianca. I snapped her like a fucking twig because that’s what needed to be done.

Ben did what his heart told him to, just like Polaris did.

If Bryony doesn’t want to get on board then that seems odd to me because it wasn’t one of us she spoke her final words to, it was you, Minnie.

I can’t help but wonder why Bryony wouldn’t support her girlfriend after something like that. ”

Well, fuck.

Maybe having the vampire around isn’t so bad after all.

Both girls gape at him before Minnie turns to cautiously face Bryony. The latter glares at the vampire, tightening her hold on Minnie’s hand as she bites out her response. “I’m on board, I'm just dealing with a lot.”

“Aren’t we all?” I ask, tilting my head at her, and she sighs, looking down at her feet for a moment before she focuses her attention on Minnie.

“I’m sorry, Professor Whitmore asked me to encourage you to change your mind,” she admits, and my pulse only runs hotter as I narrow my eyes.

“Why?” I ask, but it’s overshadowed as Minnie shakes her head.

“Never.” It’s a promise, one that fills my soul.

With a reluctant sigh and a tight smile, Bryony glances past us all to focus on the guards, offering a curt nod, and a moment later, the portal appears.

“Why are the guards lifting the veil at your command?” I bark, feeling the same intensity burning from the others too, but she simply shrugs.

“I don’t know. Whitmore just told me what to do.”

“And why would he tell you?” I push, but Blaze grunts before I can get an answer.

“Are we leaving or what?”