Savage Fate (Den of Shadows #5)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

My pulse thundered in my ears, and I could hardly catch my breath, my lungs straining as I sprinted through the dimly lit alley. Jumping over a pile of broken pallets and slipping on unrecognizable sludge slowed me down.

The footsteps behind me gained ground.

Shit .

They were getting closer.

I bolted out of the alley, hoping to find someone, anyone, walking the streets, but darkness coated the town, and not a single light remained on in any of the storefronts. Never had I felt so utterly alone.

Frantic puffs of air steamed in front of my mouth as I stopped and tried one door and then another, my hands trembling and slick with sweat.

“Locked, of course,” I muttered.

This stupid mistake cost me another few seconds.

Ominous laughter curled from the shadows, and figures moved among the buildings like giant monsters poised to rip me to pieces.

“No!”

They couldn’t have me. I didn’t join this world just to be torn out of it.

My legs and arms pumped as I took off down another backstreet to escape. The swishing of fabric, like heavy cloaks fluttering, echoed behind me.

“What do you want? Why are you doing this?”

No answer came.

Instead, the lights winked out, one by one, and icy panic bled through my veins. My sneakers skidded on a puddle of oil, and I tumbled forward, catching myself on my hands before my face slammed into the asphalt.

Tiny bits of rock and glass sliced my palms, but the pain barely registered over the fear.

Could they smell it? Did it have them salivating?

The gold band on my ring finger caught my eye, as out of place as the black strands of hair dangling around my face.

What the hell? That isn’t my hand or my hair.

More sinister laughter drifted on the wind, and I scrambled up, resuming my race toward my car.

Wait. I don’t have a car.

Unshed tears blurred the tall brick buildings trapping me as their presence closed in. They had me surrounded. My chest ached, my ribs closing around my lungs.

“Is this really the end?”

My eyelids popped open as I sucked in ragged gulps of air. I blinked the haziness from my vision and tried to discern where the hell I was.

The tan leather interior of Alpha Camus’s SUV finally registered, the sun setting on the horizon and casting pinks and oranges across the winter sky. The trees and marshlands outside Savannah soaked up the last rays before darkness settled. Soon, the cooler air would make way for spring, and then another unbearable summer would emerge.

The hard pillow I leaned against moved, and a pair of mismatched eyes, one gold and the other vibrant blue, met mine. “Bad dream?”

Fane’s voice swirled into my mind like a soothing balm, washing away the remnants of the nightmare.

But the fear remained.

I didn’t want to feed on it like when I was the Infernal Sol’s vessel. It didn’t fill me with hunger or excitement.

That was all gone.

The Infernal Sol was gone.

I was used to dreaming about horrible memories mixed with my guilt over Jayla and my friends’ death. Being chased through unrecognizable streets by unseen monsters was unusual.

“I’m fine.” I’d said those words more in the last few days than I had in my entire life, but I sure as hell wasn’t fine after Nadia yanked the Infernal Sol out of me a week ago.

And Fane knew it.

I passed him back his leather jacket he’d laid on me when I fell asleep on the way to the Silver Ridge compound in Savannah.

“Hungry?” Ephraim, sitting on my other side in the back, offered me a stick of beef jerky. His copper hair had grown a little shaggy recently, but his beard, the same color as a fresh penny, was always neat and tidy.

I gave a forced smile. “No, thanks.”

My stomach churned at the thought of food. I’d barely had an appetite since leaving Ruin’s lab. The absence of the Infernal Sol left a yawning abyss inside, a hole where it used to be. I missed the amulet. And it was terrifying how many times I subconsciously reached for that power, only to remember it was gone.

Camus turned down the music. “We should be there soon. Interim Alpha Ari has already gathered the council and a few visiting alphas, but tensions are high after Barric’s betrayal and the reemergence of The Collective Hunt.” His thick fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “People are wary of outsiders, even you two.”

Fane scoffed. “Tate is a bitten shifter, and she’s the one who helped uncover the deal between Barric and Ruin.” The high demon’s name burst from between his clenched teeth. “Why would anyone think she was on Barric’s side?”

“Fear makes people irrational,” Ephraim said, tearing open the wrapper on his stick of beef jerky. “They’ll come around.”

Camus angled his head to the other male shifter in the front seat. “Have you informed Ari that we’re almost there?”

Beckett, Camus’s new beta, nodded. “I texted him, and he sent Mac and Rachel to escort us into the compound. Their security is extremely tight right now.”

After learning the head alpha was behind all the missing shifters, Silver Ridge was probably locked up like Fort Knox. But like Camus said, enemies could still be within the pack. No one knew who was really involved with The Collective.

Jax had gone with Barric, and so had Wes, his mate, and their rapey son, Torin. A few more had vanished from Silver Ridge and the other packs in Georgia. More probably slipped away from pack in the rest of the country, maybe even the world. We had no idea how large Barric’s reach was.

“I’ll get out first and ensure security protocol is on par with our discussion.” Beckett rubbed his hand over the five o’clock shadow covering his hard jaw. “You’re still a visiting alpha and won’t be treated any less because of your mate’s indiscretions.”

Camus grimaced at the mention of Reese, who had also disappeared from her family’s pack to join Barric. “I appreciate your conviction, Beckett. Not everyone is so quick to defend me. Some believe because my mate is involved, I am too.”

I choked back a snort. Camus and Reese could barely stand each other. She’d try to murder him if he followed her and joined The Collective.

Beckett checked his phone again, wavy locks of hair falling across his forehead. The fading sunlight glinted on the natural gold highlights throughout the russet strands.

Camus had finally chosen a beta to replace Dorian. Julia, the head healer, was Beckett’s sister, and their family had been part of the Mohan pack for generations. Beckett was the total opposite of Marissa’s mate. Besides being an actual stellar fighter, he was quiet, attentive, and highly observant—at least, that was what Ephraim claimed. I barely knew anything about the guy.

But anyone was better than Dorian.

After checking us through security, the familiar faces spotting the team finally escorted us to the huge conference room in the east wing of Silver Ridge’s compound. My nape prickled as we entered, the atmosphere thick and all eyes cast in our direction with varying degrees of mistrust.

Could I blame them for being cautious? Barric had duped them for decades.

Dark hardwoods stretched across the floor, tan walls surrounded us, and soft golden light fell across the burnished wood furniture. Scents of wood and leather mixed with unease and spikes of fear.

“Explain how you uncovered this horrible plot.” Henry, one of the older wolf shifters in Silver Ridge, sat rigidly in his chair at the opposite end of the massive mahogany table. “I just don’t understand how you, a fairly new shifter, can single-handedly reveal this treachery and save our missing kind.”

As soon as we’d taken our seats, the council assaulted us—or rather, me—with a barrage of questions. Fane vibrated with rage next to me, but before he could lash out again, I rested my hand on his knee under the table.

“There was nothing single-handed about it. I didn’t do this alone. Fane was there, along with a raven and two high demons.” I swallowed hard as the memories of that night in the lab washed over me. “Wrath, Ruin’s twin, is the one who showed me the lab with the imprisoned shifters and demons.”

Ari lifted one of his hands to quiet the murmurs traveling around the table. “Let’s not take our anger out on one of those who helped free our missing members.”

He’d always seemed calm and levelheaded when we stayed in Silver Ridge. Ari never once complained when Fane stole his food for me in the middle of the night, and his mate had never joined in with the other females to whisper when I walked into a room. The scars on his hands and neck made it clear he’d been in some serious fights.

The council picked Ari for a reason.

If someone challenged him and he wanted to keep the position of alpha, he could definitely handle himself against some formidable opponents.

“But Tate is at the center of a lot of these conflicts.” Gerry, the female alpha who had visited Mohan Wilds before, folded her arms over her chest. Her caramel bob swayed just under her sharp chin. “Why is that? What’s so special about you?”

Nothing anymore.

I shook the errant thought off before Fane could feel my dark emotions. “You’d have to ask Barric or Ruin. One is dead, and the other has totally vanished.”

No one in this room knew I was Barric’s daughter except Fane and Valeria, and I’d like to keep it that way. Despite Valeria claiming the pack would welcome me because of my mother, I’d rather not open that can of worms.

“And you’re sure the high lord is dead.” Olivia, Ari’s mate and acting beta, asked. “He’s powerful and cunning. Could he have faked it and disappeared with Barric to assist in plans with The Collective Hunt?”

My stomach clenched as flashes of Ruin’s demise flooded my mind. I hated that I missed him and mourned the loss of my friend.

But that friend had never existed, had he?

Sensing the sadness creeping around me, Fane’s hand rested on mine. Even though he wanted to tear Ruin apart, he understood my grief. He’d also lost a friend.

“Ruin is dead,” I said, swallowing back the lump in my throat. “He exploded right in front of me and vaporized. Nothing was left.”

Fane cracked his neck, his tattoos twitching. “Instead of accusing Tate of any wrongdoing, maybe you should all be thinking of a way to find the former head alpha. Or even better, you should thank her for nearly dying to save your lost pack members.”

“Fane’s right.” Saint Grimstone, the young and incredibly sexy alpha of Blackwater Falls, glared at the shifters who’d been giving me hell since I walked in the door. “She and Fane may not belong to any pack, but they’ve helped us more than most of you. They’re the ones who put their lives on the line and went against a demon lord and head alpha. Can any of you say the same?”

Most council members and visiting alphas lowered their gazes after being chastised by Saint. Ephraim smiled while Ari nodded in agreement. Fane, on the other hand, scowled at the alpha coming to my defense.

For shit’s sake, Fane’s possessiveness had no bounds. Was he seriously jealous that he wasn’t the one who got to bash the council in my honor?

“You can still growl at everyone for how they’re picking on me, Maverick.”

He rolled his eyes. “Saint is such a show-off. I’m the one who’s supposed to be pissed. Why would he care?”

I shrugged. “Maybe because he’s an alpha and wants to focus on the real threat.”

Ari sipped his glass of water, ice clinking against the sides, and set it back on the napkin. “Saint is right. Tate and Fane aren’t our enemies. Barric is. We need to focus on locating him. Now that The Collective Hunt has reemerged, I doubt they’ll stop this horrendous plot to eradicate bitten shifters.”

“I just can’t believe Alpha Barric is really involved in this.” Jasmine, one of the younger female shifters on the council, raked her fingers through her ginger hair with a shaky hand. “He’s always seemed so kind and compassionate.”

“He’s not kind or compassionate.” My voice was low, but it traveled through the room as everyone quieted. “I’ve seen who he really is, and he’s a monster.” I absentmindedly rubbed my throat where his talons had been, seconds away from killing me.

Jasmine’s shoulders lowered. “I didn’t mean to imply you were lying. It’s hard to reconcile the man I knew with the one secretly running The Collective Hunt and handing over shifters to Ruin Bacchus. I just—are you sure he was doing this of his own free will? There’s no way the demon lord could have influenced him?”

Valeria straightened in her chair on the other side of the table, her silver hair twisted into a long braid over her thin shoulder. “I saw Barric’s true colors long before he was involved with Lord Ruin. He killed his own fated mate because she birthed a human child.”

Shocked gasps traveled around the table while some, like Ari and Olivia, remained stoic. Valeria must have already told a few in the Silver Ridge pack. Word of his horrific act would soon spread.

Bits and pieces of the vision I’d had in the nursery upstairs bubbled forward. I’d seen what that son of a bitch did to his mate—all because she’d tried to protect me.

“Barric killed Tamara?” The blood had drained from Gerry’s face, and her hand trembled as she reached for her glass of soda. “What about his son? Did he really die of a mysterious illness, or did Barric slaughter him?”

Valeria’s gaze flickered toward me, searching for any sign that I wanted the truth revealed. When I didn’t give her one, her head bobbed. “Barric did not murder the child.”

Technically true.

“That’s got to be the most despicable thing I’ve heard about him to date,” Saint muttered.

“Yes, Saint, I agree.” Valeria glared around the table, waiting for someone else to stick up for my deplorable father. “Instead of questioning Tatum, you should thank her for opening everyone’s eyes to the real Barric Hartwell.”

After a heavy pause, Ari cleared his throat and turned to Camus. “You’ve had no contact with your mate?”

The Mohan alpha grimaced at the subject change. “I’ve neither spoken with nor felt anything from Reese. She’s completely blocking me somehow.”

Fane’s thumb drew circles on the back of my hand. “Roman is with them. He may be casting a spell to keep you from connecting and discovering any vital information.”

“That’s possible.” Gareth, Jax’s former assistant, pressed his palms into the table. “Roman’s capable of powerful spells, but he can’t keep this up forever. He’ll burn out.”

Unless Roman wasn’t responsible for hiding Barric, Reese, and the other members. Fane and I traded glances, thinking the same thing. The Infernal Sol had powers I’d barely tapped into. No one really knew what the amulet was capable of, even in the hands of a shifter.

After sitting in the council room for an hour, I excused myself to get some fresh air before I went nuts pretending to be perfectly fine in front of everyone. As usual, Fane sensed something was off, but he didn’t press the issue. He would later when we were alone.

As I stepped into the courtyard and leaned my hip against one of the wrought iron tables, I inhaled a deep breath, hoping it would loosen the tightness in my chest. Maybe the Infernal Sol had stolen my sanity and tarnished me too much to ever return to normal.

I groaned and dragged my hand down my face. Maybe I was simply going crazy.

A full moon hung in the sky, so faint in the glow of city lights you could barely see it. But I sure as hell could feel it. My inner wolf wanted to push through and run free for hours.

“Tate?”

I spun as a blond female barreled into me and nearly popped my ribs from hugging me so tightly. “Uh, hey, Charla.”

She drew away, grinning from ear to ear. “I heard you were back.”

“I’m just visiting.” I extricated myself from her arms. “Fane and I came to the council meeting with Camus.”

Her smile dimmed. “Is it about that asshole Barric?”

“Kind of.”

Charla was doing well for someone who’d been in captivity not long ago. She looked much better than when I found her in that cell. Her face was still a little gaunt, and faint circles bruised beneath her eyes, but she wasn’t on the verge of passing out.

“I hope he’s imprisoned and tortured in a cell like we were.” She pushed her glasses up her nose, her grin returning. “I also heard you and Fane are officially mates.”

A flush rose into my cheeks simply thinking about the demon shifter. “Yep.”

Charla scoffed. “Yep? That’s all you have to say?” She leaned closer. “If you thought he was protective before he claimed you, just wait. Girl, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“You aren’t mated, are you?” As far as I knew, she wasn’t.

She shook her head while dramatically fanning her face. “I’ve been around enough newly mated couples to know how it goes. And I bet you guys can’t keep your hands off each other.”

That would be the case if Fane’s stubborn ass wasn’t so worried about Kaspin’s spell.

Could I blame him?

Something terrible always seemed to ruin any peace or happiness we found.

A shrill scream suddenly tore through the quiet night, piercing my eardrums like a high-pitched whistle. I winced and clenched my teeth as my skull throbbed.

What the hell was going on now?

I whipped toward the brick wall enclosing the courtyard as a commotion erupted on the other side.

“That came from the street,” Charla said, lifting her nose and sniffing the air. “There’s blood.”