Page 47 of Savage Hunt

Most of the prisoners in the cafeteria gave me a wide berth as I sat alone at a rickety metal table, and it wasn’t all because of the black jumpsuit. Word had spread about the chaos in the pit, and I was the cause of it. Fane ripping Sorin’s heart out and then me tearing off his head probably had something to do with it too.

I was still a pariah, just for different reasons now.

Speaking of Fane… Knots fisted in my stomach because the guards hadn’t brought him in yet. Every day for the last two weeks, Fane and I had dinner at the same time. We were allowed to sit together, and I hadn’t tortured a single prisoner either. I’d endured enough torture myself, but not from Mykel or Venna. It was your average, standard sessions from prison guards. The guilt over Maddie’s death also did a number on my mental stability.

How many times could I beat myself up over her demise?

Actually, a lot.

The princess and her pet must have been away for a while. Were they back now? Was that why Fane wasn’t here?

Invisible blades dragged down my back as my anxiety heightened. Something was definitely wrong.

“You really know how to make a name for yourself, don’t you?” Knox took the seat across from me while his shifter pack looked on with worry.

Did they think I’d kill him?

Probably.

I jerked my chin toward the group of tables he usually lingered around. “Why aren’t you sitting with them? They look ready to rush over here in case my talons come out.”

He smirked. “They’re protective of their alpha.”

If that was the case, he must have been worthy of that title, unlike Dorian who only wanted the power and glory of it.

The humor vanished from Knox as his eyebrows lowered. “They’re also worried I might get caught up in the middle of something like Maddie did and end up with a silver blade to my heart.

I pushed the chicken around on my tray—at least it looked like chicken. “She shouldn’t have been in that position. It’s my fault.”

“Of course it is.”

My head snapped up at his harsh tone. “I didn’t want this. Things just… I’m no good. In fact, your pack is right to be worried. You should stay as far away from me as you can.”

He shrugged. “You’re right, but I’m not a loner like Maddie. I’m not as easily susceptible to foul play.”

“How long have you been here?” It was a shame to have someone as sincere as him in Heldrok instead of leading a large pack on Earth.

Knox brushed wayward brown strands of hair out of his face. “Time isn’t the same here, so I’m not sure. Maybe decades or maybe only a few years.” He sighed and stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. “Feels like fucking forever.”

It must have been torture for him and all the other shifters, including Fane, not to transform. Did the warden ever remove their sigils and let them roam in their animal forms?

“I was born in the Silver Ridge pack but left because I fell in love with a human.” His gaze cast on his tray as he absentmindedly dragged his fork through the mushy vegetables. “Barric was against me turning her.”

“Why? That happens, right?”

He nodded. “With fated mates, there is no other option, but we weren’t fated. I just loved her.” Knox’s fingers tightened on the fork. “Barric always treated those born and those bitten differently. He thought the bitten ones were beneath him.”

That didn’t seem like the head alpha I’d met. “I was bitten, and he practically begged me to join his pack.”

“Really?” His attention went to the mark on my neck. “I bet he didn’t want Fane to join.”

I snorted. “Not so much. He gave up on asking when he learned we were a package deal.”

“Maybe Barric has changed,” Knox mumbled.

I swallowed another bite of food and finished the rest of my water. “What happened to her? The human you loved?”

“I turned her, and she became a wolf.” He placed his fork down and rubbed the center of his chest. “I assume she’s still with our pack, Greenview, in Virginia.”

---