Page 76 of Savage Hunt

Carter shrugged and released his grip, my head bouncing on the threadbare carpet. “Whatever.” He plucked the cigarette from his teeth, flicked the ash, and pressed the tip against my side again.”

Fire erupted over my ribs, and I cried out, my throat tearing in half. The room blurred, and black spots popped around the edges of my vision. Soon, I’d pass out, and there was no telling what they’d do to me while unconscious…

I gasped awake, the memories of that foster home still clawing at my mind and trying to drag me back. Phantom pain throbbed on my side where those circle scars spotted my ribs. Bile oozed into the back of my throat as I tried to shove those images back into their cage in the depths of my mind where I kept the nightmares that haunted me.

Where the hell am I?

Fancy gold and black wallpaper stretched above glossy wainscoting, and shiny hardwoods gleamed in the crimson streetlights pouring in through the windows. A blood-red velvet couch sat in front of an unlit fireplace.

As I tried to turn, chains rattled and cold metal pressed against my ankles and one of my wrists.

A giant boulder plummeted to the bottom of my stomach as memories floated to the surface. Fane had captured me and brought me to Venna’s house in Vlehull. The thought of the demon shifter had my body vibrating, and a sudden prickle registered over my neck tattoo.

My head swiveled to the right, and I flinched as Fane loomed by the edge of the large bed, glaring down at me with glowing eyes full of loathing. “What are you doing?” I rasped, my throat scratchy from screaming in my sleep.

Harsh lines cut into his face as he glared down at me. “What the fuck was that?”

I brushed the hair away from my sweaty cheeks with my free hand, the chain sliding across the soft covers. “Can you be more specific, Maverick?”

“Those two boys attacking you.” His lip curled into a sneer. “What was that? How did that get into my head.” He crushed two fingers into his temple.

“Oh, that.” I yawned and turned on my back, staring at the tray ceiling. “You can see my nightmares.”

Fane’s brows slammed together. “Why?”

“Like I said, we have a bond because you fucking bit me.” I angled my head to show him the mark that matched his tattoos. “You’ve been able to get inside my head and see shit I’d rather you not since you turned me into a shifter.”

A shifter who couldn’t change.

“Stop lying.” As he leaned over, that warm spice and leather scent permeated the air I breathed. “The Infernal Sol is screwing with my mind.”

A bitter laugh slipped out. “The Infernal Sol is the cause for a lot of the craziness in my life, but it can’t fake a connection. I know you feel it.” I tried to reach for him, but the chain kept me from getting more than a few inches away. “We wanted to hate each other. It didn’t work. The rage and anger between us weren’t enough.”

His movements were a blur as he jumped onto the bed and straddled me. “I wouldn’t bite you and would never allow a connection to form.”

“I didn’t want this any more than you did,” I hissed. “I was a raven, and you destroyed my life when you bit me—against my will.”

Fane curled his fingers around my throat as his head lowered. “If you don’t start making some sense, I’ll choke the life out of you, my payment to Venna be damned.”

“We both broke into Karn’s to steal the Infernal Sol, but I snagged it while you were preoccupied.” Acid shot up my throat as images of Ziva seductively running her hands over him sped through my mind. “Long story short, you found me bleeding to death in a temple in the Underworld, but before you could get the amulet, it burrowed inside of me.”

He shook his head and rapidly blinked like he was trying to sort through chaotic thoughts. “None of that happened. Why would I want the Infernal Sol?”

“Ruin hired you to find it in exchange for breaking your mother out of Heldrok,” I said. “He did that. Not Venna.”

A low snarl curled out of him, and his pupils lengthened. “You’re lying. I’d remember making a deal with Ruin.”

Not if a powerful witch spelled him.

“I was still dying, so you bit me to keep me alive and save the Infernal Sol.” I bared my teeth as hot fury laced my veins. “You turned me into a demon shifter hybrid. The Infernal Sol isn’t the only demon magic in me. Thanks to you, I have lots.”

Fane ripped my shirt up, snapping his teeth as he ran his fingers over the scars Warin gave me. “You deserve to suffer for killing Warin.”

The damn spell kept him from connecting the dots. Venna’s twisted tale didn’t make sense, but he refused to see the obvious picture my words painted.

“Warin attacked me!” I bucked my hips against the unmovable mountain of solid muscle and raw power of the demon shifter. “He’d already killed four of my friends, and I walked in on him sucking the soul out of the little girl I was supposed to protect. I didn’t know what he was, and I didn’t care. I went into survival mode because that’s all I knew. Survive.”

“Warin would never hurt anyone.” His brows furrowed. “And if you were a raven, you would have known exactly what my brother was. You just concocted a reason to kill him.”

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