Page 95 of Savage Hunt

Preston’s face paled, but he didn’t back down. “You’re my family, and I love you, so I’ll try to talk some sense into you first.” He flicked his hand in my direction. “You would never hurt her. You would murder anyone who tried.”

“I’m sick and tired of everyone telling me I wouldn’t hurt the woman who murdered my fucking brother.” The demon shifter’s hands curled into tight fists as his inner beast drew closer. “Ruin tried to convince me of this bullshit earlier. How she was able to screw with his mind is beyond me. It looks like she got to my family too.”

“You’re the only one under a spell, Maverick.” I shot to my feet and slipped around Preston, bringing my toes to Fane’s boots. “Why can’t you see that? Venna had her personal witch, Kaspin, enchant you. Don’t you sense the holes in your memory?”

“Fane, buddy, let’s just calm down.” Logan sped down the stairs with Ephraim and Nora on his heels. “I’m sure you’re really confused.”

Dylan must have woken everyone up.

A string of curses bolted out of the demon shifter’s mouth, and he backed away, shoving his hand through his black locks. “Why are you all protecting her!” The rage wrapping every syllable punched me in the gut.

“Because you would want us to.” Ephraim slowly approached his seething nephew and lifted his palms in surrender. “She’s your mate.”

“Whoa, not exactly.” I scratched my neck, suddenly feeling hot. “We aren’t mates as in wolf mates.”

Ephraim scoffed. “Might as well be. I know you two have some kind of bond, and to everyone in the pack, he’s laid his claim on you.”

“You do still smell of him,” Preston mumbled with a shrug.

“Can’t you detect that, Fane?” Nora asked, tightening the belt on her plush white housecoat. “Haven’t you noticed how she smells?”

His brows slammed together. “Well, I just thought…” He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought it was a trick or something. It has to be. I would never betray Warin like that.”

“It’s no trick, honey.” Nora motioned to the right side of the room where framed pictures of the family sat on the bookshelf. “She’s been here with you.”

My jaw slackened at the new pictures of me with Fane and the Anders. When were those taken?

Lines deepened across Fane’s forehead as he studied the photos, his chest heaving. “That’s not…”

My throat tightened at the confusion thrumming through him. The urge to take away his emotional distress shredded my insides apart. I lifted my hand but dropped it at the last second. He’d freak out or assume I was using magic on him.

Nora plucked another frame off the wall and slowly walked toward Fane. “I took this last time you were here.” She showed him a picture of the two of us outside in the yard. We were arguing when Fane tackled me into a pile of leaves. He laughed as he plucked them from my hair.

His eyes had rarely looked so full of life and happiness. It only lasted a moment, but Nora managed to capture and preserve it.

He took the picture from her, searching for signs it had been tampered with like this was one big conspiracy. “It’s not possible.” As his grip tightened, the wooden frame creaked from the pressure.

Logan snagged it out of his hand. “You bit her. You can’t deny that just like you can’t deny your connection.”

Fane toyed with the bloodstone necklace he wore. “But she killed Warin.”

I twisted my hair around and tossed it over my shoulder. “I didn’t have a choice. You understood that before. Venna’s spell is making you forget everything we’ve gone through, and all you can focus on is your hatred for me.”

Ephraim stepped closer and rested his hand on Fane’s shoulder. “You brought Tate here. She’s a part of you, and she’s become part of our family. We won’t let you hurt her. You would never forgive yourself if you did.”

Blood thundered in my ears, and I could barely breathe as Ephraim’s words settled in. I was part of a family? Their family? Did he really mean that?

Fane’s gaze snapped toward mine as he felt the intense swell of emotion building in me. “None of this makes sense. It’s like I’m living in another reality.” He analyzed the tattoo on my neck, his fingers twitching.

Did he want to touch it? Or did he simply want to strangle me?

“You can believe Venna is evil enough to put a spell on you to make you forget, right?” I asked, resisting the urge to reach for him.

“She’s a piece of work, so anything is possible.” He cursed and palmed the back of his neck. “It still doesn’t mean I believe you and I are mates.”

“You will.” Preston sidled up to me and rested his arm over my shoulders. “Or you can watch some other wolf with her.” His lips twisted into a sinister grin.

Provoking Fane right now was not in his best interest, but Preston liked living dangerously. Obviously.

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