Page 91 of Savage Hunt

“I’m going to shift into my wolf form and sniff you from head to toe.”

My head jerked back. “Seriously?”

Her laughter gently rang through the room. “I’m kidding.” She picked up a tray with a needle and tube. “Let’s start with a blood sample first.”

“Oh.” I gave a dry laugh and leaned into the cushions. Julia was one of the few council members who didn’t hate Fane. She also didn’t immediately jump on the bandwagon to punish me when Dorian spewed all those lies.

“You’re not afraid of needles, are you?” Julia dragged a chair up and placed the tray on the coffee table.

After being poked and prodded by Ruin’s alchemist for months, I’d been desensitized. “Not at all.” I held my arm out so she could wrap a rubber band around it to bring the veins on my inner elbow to the surface.

“Ephraim told me about the situation with Fane.” Julia slid the needle into my arm.

Heat flooded my cheeks. “Was there a pack meeting to announce that Fane wants to kill me?”

“Of course not.” Crimson liquid slowly filled the tube. “Ephraim and the alpha informed some of the council members about the royal demon who imprisoned you two and the spell she had cast on him. They only want to ensure your safety.”

Maybe they should consider their own safety with me here. I was a danger all on my own, but a psychotic demon princess was also after me.

“If we see Fane in pack territory, we’re to alert Camus and Ephraim.” Julia withdrew the needle and capped the vial of blood.

Fane wouldn’t be seen by anyone unless he wanted to. He could easily slink through pack territory without a single soul being alerted to his presence.

“I’ll run some tests on your blood to see if I can do anything to help ease your shifter into transforming.” She leaned forward and held her hands out. “Now I’m going to try something a little less medical and a little more mystical.”

The moisture left my mouth, but I didn’t move as she gently rested her fingertips on my temples. Her eyes glowed as her wolf pushed toward the surface. The air around her pulsated with a fierce and wild nature that I’d barely glimpsed within myself. My chest ached, and I envied her connection to her wolf side.

She hadn’t always had it, though. Julia was a bitten shifter. I could sense it as her energy twined around me.

After a few intense moments, she backed away and blinked the glow from her irises, smiling. “She’s in there, and she’s not going anywhere. I can feel her.”

“Her?” I knew she meant my wolf side, but thinking of her as a separate entity was weird.

Julia shrugged. “You’re one and the same, but something is keeping you from fully joining.” She stood and walked to a large wall of cabinets. “I have something that may help settle the discord in you.”

The dark powers roiling in me were a little more than discord.

Julia retrieved a small glass vial and made her way back to me. “Take two drops of this before bed.”

I took the bottle, my lips pursing as I examined the green contents. “What is this?”

“You’re better off not knowing, but it’s nothing that will hurt you.” She laced her fingers together as her head tilted. “There’s nothing magic or unnatural in it, and it won’t exacerbate any conflicting mystical energies in you.”

Had she sensed the demon amulet inside of me?

“I knew you’d return before the next full moon.” Cirilla, the mysterious wolf with fae blood, slinked into the room, her tan dress brushing her bare feet. “Didn’t I tell you, Julia?”

The healer gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes, Ciri, I know. You said it a hundred times.”

“Well, I was right.” She scrutinized me from head to toe until I squirmed. “Don’t be upset I called it, and you didn’t.”

Footsteps hit the hardwoods, and I tensed as Camus’s intimidating form appeared from the long hall, alpha power throbbing from him. He’d never been terrible to me, but he wasn’t always so calm and nice. The scars on Fane proved it.

Would he grill me on why a demon princess was after me? If he knew about the Infernal Sol, would he simply kick me out, or would the alpha want a piece of the amulet’s power like most?

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

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