Savage Fate (Den of Shadows #5)

Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

Hooded figures danced through the shadows along the room’s edges, candlelight flickering over white masks beneath the ebony fabric.

Chains bound my arms and legs to a hard table. I couldn’t move.

“What do you want from me?” My heart slammed into my ribs, attempting to break out of my chest. “Why are you doing this?”

No one responded as they moved around like horrifying phantoms in a nightmare. Strange symbols covered the crimson walls, and the briny, metallic scent of blood choked the air.

So much blood. And fear.

The stench of it clogged my nostrils and seared my veins. Was it my fear?

Faint whispers rose from the mysterious shapes, making my skin crawl. The sinister atmosphere intensified as they slinked closer.

“What are you going to do to me?”

Still, no answer.

I swallowed hard, feeling sweat running down my neck.

Where was my wolf? I couldn’t feel her inside.

As ominous laughter echoed, I shivered against the table.

“Someone, help!” The binds seemed to tighten like magic infused them as I fought to break free. “Help!”

But as the dread pressed against my trembling body, I sensed that help would never come…

A quiet gasp slipped out as I woke up, back in Fane’s bedroom, tucked safely beside him in his bed. My tossing and turning must have woken him, and he abandoned his stupid pallet on the ground. He rested on his stomach, his hand curved around my thigh as if to make sure I didn’t disappear. His torso slowly expanded and contracted while he peacefully slept.

Unlike me.

I dragged my hand over my sweaty forehead as the images of that nightmare, similar to the one I’d had in Camus’s car, simmered forward. The fear still clung to me as my heart hammered and limbs shook.

My nightmares had taken a sick and twisted turn that had nothing to do with my horrible childhood memories.

Still, cloaked and masked figures skulking around some satanic altar with a sacrifice strapped to a table wasn’t much better, especially when I felt every ounce of panic and fear as if I was bound to that table.

Unwilling to close my eyes and return to the horrible scene, I gingerly sat up, trying not to disturb Fane. He let out a soft groan and turned onto his back, unveiling the taut muscles, tattoos, and scars. The urge to trace over every inch of him ignited in my veins, but it would wake him, and he’d sense the unease coiling within me.

That and the longing for my amulet.

Not even these nightmares could banish the craving for the Infernal Sol. It still pulsated within me, and I could only choke it down for so long. If it didn’t subside, Fane would eventually feel it.

Maybe I needed an exorcism. Or rehab.

I’d witnessed plenty of people go through hell while living on the streets and even in foster care. If I could compare this feeling—nauseous, dizzy, shaky, and angry sometimes—to anything, addiction was the closest thing.

It would fade, though. I just had to get through it. The worst was over.

The first night after Nadia removed the Infernal Sol, I spent most of the time with my head in Fane’s toilet, puking my guts out. I would have been more embarrassed if I hadn’t felt like complete and utter shit.

Thankfully, the elixir Logan had given me worked through my system before I got sick, or my wounds wouldn’t have continued to heal so well.

I carefully slipped out of the covers and tiptoed across the room, grabbing one of Fane’s hoodies and the fuzzy boots Nora gave me. Since I was the only other girl in the house, she planned to spoil me rotten no matter how much I protested.

A smile curled my lips. Was that what having a mom was like? Would we be against the boys during game nights and whatever else families did? Would Tamara have been as kind and warm as Fane’s aunt or his mom?

One day, I’d get the courage to find out who Tamara Hartwell was. Whatever the outcome, I still owed her my life. She stood up to her fated mate to save me. Even if she’d been part of The Collective Hunt, she’d loved me more.

Cold, crisp winter air enfolded me as I headed outside, sprinting across the backyard and into the woods surrounding the neighborhood. Now that the amulet was out, my inner wolf had no problem expressing the desire to run.

Well, my desire to run. Sometimes, it felt like she was a separate entity, and others, her thoughts and emotions were simply part of my personality.

She was definitely happy not to have to fight the Infernal Sol for dominance.

Despite her joy, I still wanted it back.

Once we found Barric and took it from him, would it want me back too?

Just stop!

When I made it a few feet into the forest, I kicked my boots off and shed my clothes. I really had to stop thinking about this damn cursed amulet. I should be happy it wasn’t still inside, poisoning me with madness and evil urges. At least now, I didn’t run the risk of turning people crazy, sucking on their fears or souls, or inhaling any demon essence.

The bright side. Look on the bright side.

The transformation took over in seconds, and a pair of paws landed on the soft, cool pine needles and leaves blanketing the ground. I rolled my head and stretched my lupine form, getting used to the feel of it.

I needed to thank Fane again for passing his graceful shifting skills to me.

My scarlet and ebony fur danced as the wind blew, leaves swaying and tree branches creaking. The scent of a squirrel caught my attention, and I took off, following its trail. I wouldn’t eat it, of course. Maybe just play with it.

The amulet’s absence and effect on me fell to the background for a while. The need to find Barric, tear his throat out, and steal the Infernal Sol didn’t plague my thoughts. Joy burned in my veins as I let my wolf instincts take over.

This was the happiest I’d felt since finishing the mate bond with Fane.

Speaking of the sexy-as-sin demon shifter, his presence hit my senses, and I halted as he slinked through the trees in his demon wolf form, hunting me like prey.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, pawing at the ground.

His black fur blended in so perfectly with the shadows he was almost invisible. “I woke up, and you were gone.” A low growl vibrated his huge body, his mismatched irises glowing too brightly.

I followed his movements as he circled me. “I couldn’t sleep.”

A cloud of hot air puffed from his flaring nostrils. “Wake me next time.”

“Do you really think I’ll get into trouble running around Mohan Wilds?”

The spikes soaring down Fane’s spine and across his paws gleamed in the moonlight as he continued to encircle me, closing the gap with each pass. “You can get into trouble blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back.”

I made a chuffing sound despite knowing he spoke the truth. “What can I say, Maverick? Maybe you should have thought twice before claiming such a menace.” Bitterness dripped from my words, and the fur on the back of my neck ruffled.

Fane only claimed me to save me from vanishing within the Infernal Sol’s power. Did he regret it? Examining his behavior—icing me out and keeping his distance—I’d say he did.

His lips curled back, teeth baring. “I seem to remember you claiming me as well, fiera mika. Have you changed your mind?”

“You’ve barely touched me these last few days,” I hissed. “Not in any sexual way.”

Fane snapped his jaws together. “I’m trying to protect you! That’s my job. It takes precedence over any urges, and trust me, I feel them all the fucking time.”

Heat poured off him now that he was close enough to almost touch. The fur around his spikes bristled as fury pulsated through the bond.

“I can protect myself, Maverick.” My head remained high, unwilling to be intimidated by his size or the power throbbing off him.

“Not from me.” His wolf form towered over mine, and as his eyes burned, challenging me, my legs trembled. “If Kaspin’s spell took over, I could easily kill you. I’ve come too close to doing just that.”

“Kaspin’s spell could take over any time and not just during sex. Why aren’t you completely staying away from me?”

Of course, we’d run the risk of experiencing that separation anxiety since our bond was still so new. He could simply remain in the same house as me, though. He didn’t have to torture himself by sleeping on the floor in his room or attempting to watch my every move.

Fane stepped closer, his hot breath blowing down my face. “Because I have very little control when I’m buried inside of you, whether it’s my fingers, tongue, or cock.” His nose traced the side of my head and then nestled in my neck, inhaling me. “You have no idea how much effort it takes to have even one rational fucking thought.”

Shivers scuttled down my back, and heat infiltrated my bloodstream. If he was trying to scare me off, he was doing a horrible job.

Mine .

He was fucking mine.

And I wanted him.

My shifter instincts raged at me to take what was mine, mixing with the demon side I inherited from Fane. A vicious snarl slithered between my teeth, and before Fane could move, my head darted forward, and I bit his neck in a show of possession and dominance.

“ Mine .”

The coppery tang of his blood settled on my tongue.

“Damn it, Tate!”

As soon as I released Fane, he drew back, red flashing in his irises. The air shimmered around him, and I felt his shift coming through the bond. A few snaps rebounded as he smoothly rose on two feet, the onyx spikes vanishing and the fur making way for tattooed and scarred flesh.

I followed him, and we faced off in our human form, completely naked.

Air fled from my lungs as I studied his marvelous form. Tousled ebony hair was wild around his flushed cheeks, the moon glinting on the scar along his left cheekbone and the one by his right ear. Crimson smeared his corded neck from my bite. His two-toned eyes glowed through the darkness like beacons drawing me in.

Fane’s chest heaved with heavy breaths as he took me in from head to toe, a mixture of fury and lust ricocheting within the bond. My nipples hardened, and goose bumps prickled my skin under his intense scrutiny.

When I licked his blood from my mouth, a threatening growl rolled off his tongue.

He was fully erect, every muscle taut.

“I think you should run, fiera mika.” Danger wrapped around each syllable that dropped from his sinful mouth.

I scoffed. “I’m not running from you.”

“You better if you want to see the next sunrise.” His fingers curled into fists, and his muscles rippled. The delicate lacy tattoo that appeared over his heart after we claimed each other seemed more prominent than usual within his scars and slashing black ink.

Or maybe I just wanted it to be.

When I didn’t heed his warning, Fane bared his teeth in a snarl and then pounced. His fingers tangled in my hair and yanked my head back so hard I whimpered.

“You have no idea of the beast you’re provoking.” His mouth crashed on mine, and his tongue thrust inside, licking and swirling in a possessive dance.

A moan echoed between us, and moisture collected at the apex of my thighs as I longed for him to fill me. As he rocked his hips against mine, his hard length thick and heavy between my legs, I raked my nails down his back. The scent of blood spilled into the air.

“You are the literal death to my control.” He nipped my lip and then dragged his teeth down my throat, licking the mark his bite had given me.

My husky laugh turned into a gasp. “Like I said, I can protect myself, Maverick.”

“Have you learned nothing from the few times I’ve nearly killed you?” His fingers slipped between my slick thighs and plunged into my throbbing center, yanking a cry from me. “I’m already fantasizing about the gasping sounds you’ll make while I’m choking you as I take you roughly in the dirt.”

Instead of scaring me, his threat sent a bolt of fire right to my clit as he worked it with his thumb, and my knees almost gave out.

Maybe I should have taken his warning seriously.

Then again, the dangerous side of him always drew me in like a moth to a flame. I’d rather burn than turn away from him.

As a shudder ran through him, he released his harsh grip on my hair, and his fingers vanished. “You need to run.”

I licked my lips while my pulse thundered as intensely as the aching in my center. “I told you I wasn’t?—”

“Run!” Scarlet flashed over his irises again, and every hair on my nape stood on end.