Page 114 of Savage Claim

The air catapulted out of my lungs as he finally acknowledged my confession. I wasn’t an idiot. Fane hadn’t claimed me because he was so madly in love he couldn’t bear to be without me, but he couldn’t deny that he cared about me. I felt it deep in my soul.

“Those words from you pulled me out of that and back to reality.” He skimmed a finger across my cheek, catching a stray tear just as it fell over. “I have to do this.”

Ruin released Fane’s shoulder and stepped back as if he sensed that Fane had made his decision. “She’s safe with me.”

I might have been safe, but I couldn’t say the same for Ruin. There was no telling how the Infernal Sol would react if the demon lord attempted to extract it from me. Would the amulet view him as a threat?

Chapter

Forty

A heavy sense of déjà vu enfolded me as I sat on a cold metal table in Ruin’s lab, my feet swinging back and forth as nerves turned me jittery. Or that might have been a side effect of the mate bond.

Fane warned me that completing it and being separated so soon after would irritate the link. It wanted us together and would poke and prod until we were.

Did he feel the same unease coiling through his veins?

I longed to be wrapped around him, inhaling that addicting leather and spice scent. Instead, I was trying not to gag on the heavy cloud of disinfectant choking the air. The astringent odor had been magnified now that I could fully shift. My eyes had taken several moments to adjust to the blindingly white walls and floors and the way the fluorescents glinted on the stainless-steel counters and cabinetry.

Estella, Denton’s assistant, flipped through the screens on her tablet and glared at me from the left corner. Her emerald braid rested over one shoulder, and the white lab coat was tailored to fit snuggly around her curves.

That demon definitely hated me. She despised how Ruin doted on me when she clearly had a giant crush on him.

Denton, the head alchemist, typed on his computer, shooting me looks every few moments, just dying to ask for a blood sample. The contrast of his dark skin and vibrant blue irises was probably the only interesting thing about him. He was all work and no play. Ruin stood beside him, reading notes in a journal, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

When the demon lord noticed my stare, he lowered the notebook and crossed the lab to my side. “I haven’t really had a chance to ask how you’re doing after learning about your biological parents.”

My lips thinned into a tight line. “Part of me wishes I could forget it. I don’t want to be related to that asshole.” My mother was a different story, but I couldn’t forget that she could have been involved in The Collective until she discovered she was carrying a human child. “I can’t believe he’s the one behind the missing shifters, all because he’s a racist prick.”

“At least you weren’t raised by him,” Ruin pointed out. “You’re nothing like the sneaky bastard.”

Of course the demon lord would find the glass half full.

“Have you told the ravens about his involvement?” I asked.

He winced and dragged his hand over the stubble coating his jaw. “Without any proof, I’m worried Barric will weasel out of it and twist the blame on me. Most of the ravens already distrust me, so it wouldn’t be difficult.”

I slumped on the table, disappointed but knowing he was right. “What do you think he’s doing with these shifters? Do you think any are still alive?”

“I wish I had all the answers, Tate, but I’m hopeful these victims are still alive, or bodies would be turning up, right?” Ruin rested his hand on my swinging legs to halt them. “Don’t be nervous about this spell. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I’m not nervous,” I lied. I was more than nervous and worried about Fane. What if they couldn’t break Kaspin’s enchantment? What if something went wrong?

Instead of voicing my fears, I jerked my chin to the notebook. “Once you have the Infernal Sol, will it help you finalize your formula for Soulvation?”

Ruin nodded. “I have a working formula now, but it’s not perfect, and some test subjects have experienced a few side effects.”

“What kind of side effects?”

“Nothing major. Just increased hunger.” He tossed the notebook on the table and leaned his palms on the cold, silver surface. “The synthetic soul in this form can only satiate most demons’ hunger for a short time. It needs to be longer to truly be effective because I couldn’t manufacture enough to make much of a difference.”

If only more people knew how hard the high demon lord was working to find a way to help demons better coexist on Earth with humans. He cared deeply for his people and wanted them to have a choice in how they lived.

Ruin wasn’t perfect, but he was one of the good ones. You couldn’t fake that.

I reached out and squeezed his arm. “You’ll get the amulet, and you’ll be able to perfect the formula.” How this ancient power could be used for good was beyond me, but Ruin knew more about it than I did. He’d been studying it for years and had a whole team of nightworlders secretly helping him.

It was crazy to think that Captain Coltrane had been the one who wanted to use it for selfish, malicious reasons instead of the high demon lord.

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