Page 3 of Savage Claim

Forever didn’t mean shit once I’d crossed enemy lines.

“No reason,” I muttered and resumed my stroll, my steps heavier than before. The demon shifter didn’t remember anything about Hawk or that he’d ripped my heart out. Fane had been the one to comfort me the night the ravens turned on me and Coltrane kicked me out. He convinced me to walk out with my head held high while he remained by my side, lending me strength.

He had no idea how much that meant to me.

Grunts and growls suddenly echoed on the icy wind cutting through the trees, and Fane and I angled toward the source.

“Teague, don’t even think of getting involved in whatever that is.” Fane’s jaw ticked as he anticipated my protests because he knew damn good and well that I would.

I pursed my lips as more battle sounds tore through the night. “Yeah, that’s going to be a no.” I pivoted and dashed off, Fane cursing up a storm behind me.

Chapter

Two

As a battle raged in the distance, I followed the commotion with little regard for my own safety. What if Princess Venna was setting a trap for me, knowing I’d rush into danger? Her demons could surround us any minute.

“Why are you so fucking stubborn?” The demon shifter easily caught up to me with his long legs. “I could stop you if I really wanted to.”

I jumped over a low brick wall and then ducked under a thick branch. “Whatever, Maverick. Don’t act like you wouldn’t enjoy a little violence.” Being cooped up in the Silver Ridge compound with the person he was enchanted to kill but couldn’t probably did a number on his control.

Of course, no one forced him to follow me to Silver Ridge when Barric insisted I stay with his pack. Fane didn’t have to pretend to be my mate. That was all his idea. Even though he claimed he couldn’t stand me, he wouldn’t allow any other male to steal me away.

“I’m going to regret not throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you back into the compound,” Fane grumbled as he effortlessly kept pace with me.

As we dashed through a grove of trees and into a clearing on the edge of Drayton Street, two black-clad figures came into view with ashen gray sub-demons that resembled giant scorpions encircling them.

Fane cursed. “What the hell are fortyno demons doing on Earth?”

If the Infernal Sol had been a little more awake, I might have recognized the demons too. “Are they poisonous?”

“No, but their stingers hurt like a son of a bitch and can render you unconscious.”

“Good to know.” My heart thumped in an erratic beat as the two ravens stood back-to-back, facing an impossible battle. It didn’t matter that they kicked me out of their group and even hated me. I couldn’t stand by without helping.

The female sliced at a fortyno and then stabbed her sword through his chest, releasing a fountain of black blood. But it barely fazed the creature. “I don’t think these assholes feel pain,” she shouted at her partner.

I’d recognize Kortney Tran’s sardonic voice anywhere.

“The head, Teague,” Fane said into my mind as he darted to the left to assist the male raven while I went straight for Kortney. “You’re strong enough to rip it off with your hands.”

A shiver raced down my spine every time he spoke through our link. “Got it. No sword necessary.”

Good, because I hadn’t brought one.

My senses sharpened, and talons burst through my fingertips as I reached for the mystical power within me. The lethal combination of shifter and demon magic that Fane’s bite gave me answered, but it didn’t take long for the Infernal Sol to stir from its slumber and join the fray.

Hello, my old friend.

Time for bloodshed, I see.

Hold your evil horses. I’m still in control.

Whatever. Let’s have fun.

For shit’s sake. I needed to stop talking to myself.

As my preternatural abilities intensified, my pupils lengthened into diamonds, the night brightened, and every tiny hair and scale on the sub-demons became visible. Kortney’s shriek pelted my eardrums, making me wince from the shrill cry.

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