Page 29 of Savage Claim

I grimaced, but it was hard to mask the tiny bit of joy I found in Fane threatening such a morbid thing in my honor.

Wes and Torin definitely seemed like the types to be involved in a hate group, if it still existed. But Barric defended Fane’s action and was pissed I was attacked. He didn’t share Wes’s views. At least, he didn’t appear to.

People often lied, a lesson I’d learned many times over.

I needed to get to the bottom of this. I had a sinking feeling I’d only scratched the surface of sinister secrets within Silver Ridge. Why would that symbol be on Barric’s painting or drawn on his son’s death record?

Chapter

Eleven

I pulled open a drawer in Barric’s desk, rummaging through the papers for anything that might give me insight on the head alpha. Was Barric as kind and fair as he pretended? Or was something dark and ugly swimming just beneath his exterior?

Most people wore masks, and Barric’s could be hiding a frightening monster.

After the first two drawers were a bust, I sat in his chair and started on the left ones. I overheard Jax say that they were meeting with Coltrane to discuss the excess of sub-demons crashing Savannah. I sure as hell hoped Barric was gone long enough for my scent to fade from his office.

There was no real evidence that the head alpha was part of this Collective Hunt bullshit, but better safe than sorry. I’d rather come out looking like a paranoid idiot than a gullible one.

Valeria, the old healer who pointed out the symbol in his painting, was never here when I tried to hunt her down. I wasn’t sure she would be much help anyway. She’d seemed a little out there, even more than Cirilla.

My lips pursed as I sat back in Barric’s comfy chair, examining his desk. Something carved into the wood poked out beneath the large calendar, so I moved it and some other papers aside. Ice crawled over my heart as that damn tree symbol stared back at me, etched into the glossy surface. As my breath quickened, I ran my fingers over the network of roots within the circle.

What if this was all just a coincidence? Maybe the head alpha inherited this desk from the previous one, and he was in The Collective.

Or maybe I was kidding myself, and Barric was just another asshole disguised as a good guy.

As I pushed the calendar back into place, a small leather-bound notebook caught my attention. I plucked it from the corner, unwound the leather straps holding it closed, and flipped through the manila pages. The lists of names didn’t mean much until I recognized a few who had vanished.

Barric must have been keeping a log. There was nothing weird about that.

My eyebrows slammed down my forehead at Charla Campbell’s name. Had she gone missing? I hadn’t heard about anyone in Silver Ridge mysteriously disappearing recently, and the pack liked to gossip.

My scalp suddenly prickled, and the faint shuffle of footsteps echoed in the hall. A rich, resonant voice flowed through the thick oak door.

Oh, shit!

My heart spasmed as I scrambled away from the desk and dove onto the brown leather couch on the right side of the room moments before the door opened. Barric’s tawny eyes instantly landed on me, deep lines creasing his brow.

“Tate, what are you doing in here?” He could no doubt hear my hammering heart. “Pack members aren’t allowed in my office alone.”

“Oh, um, sorry.” I cleared my throat and sat up straight. “I wanted to talk to you and figured I’d wait.” A tight smile stretched across my lips, baring my teeth.

Barric hummed as he scrutinized his office, looking for anything out of place. Hopefully, I hadn’t left a drawer open. “If it’s about what happened with Torin and the three other males, I want to apologize again. They were punished and sent to another pack for a few weeks.”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that,” I lied. Fane told me two days ago. Barric was wise to send those douchebags away. If I had to look at those pricks any time soon, I’d lose my shit and tear them apart.

Fane definitely had the same sentiment.

The head alpha sighed and dropped into the chair behind his desk, the frame groaning under his weight. “You’re supposed to be safe at Silver Ridge, but you were attacked under my watch.” He dragged his scarred hand through his dark hair, his mouth pressing into a grim line. “I never thought anyone here would be so stupid.”

“It’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me.” I gave a dry laugh, thinking of all the shit life had dumped on me.

“Still, it shouldn’t have happened.” Barric removed his phone from his pocket and set it on the desk. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

My gaze struggled not to rest on the leather-bound book with the list of names. “Have you seen Charla Campbell lately?”

He quirked a brow at my random question. “I just passed her in the hall. Are you two becoming friends?”

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