Page 7 of Savage Claim

I ducked, pivoted, and severed his tail with one swipe of my talons.

“Stop getting distracted,” Fane hissed into my mind. “Do it again, and I’m dragging you out of here.”

“Not happening.”

Black blood dripped from my claws as I forced my way through the hell spawn toward Hawk. He cursed when a fortyno sank his teeth into his shoulder.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, mixing with rage and protectiveness. I leaped into the air, jumped on the fortyno, and dug my talons into his neck. I tore his head off, spraying black blood on Hawk and me, and jumped to the ground as the monster fell.

“What the fuck?” Hawk mumbled, staring at me like I was a stranger with six heads and eight arms.

I could only imagine what he saw—talons, slitted eyes, and speckled in blood.

Movement behind Hawk caught my focus, and I yanked him forward as a sub-demon’s stinger lashed through the air where he’d just been. When he looked down at me, for a tiny moment, it was like old times when we were partners, tackling the beasts of the city together.

Hawk and me against the world.

He almost smiled. And then reality crashed down, and he jerked out of my grip.

“Don’t touch me,” he sneered, staggering back. He used his forearm to wipe demon blood off his harsh face.

Sharp pains ripped through my chest as if his words were blades gutting me. The anguish must have been powerful enough to snatch Fane’s attention, fear spiking across our bond.

“Teague? Are you hurt?”

Fane thought one of the demons had injured me. I would have rather fought the pain of their claws, stingers, or teeth than have the guy I’d been in love with for years treat me like scum on the bottom of his boot.

“I’m fine.”

But on the bright side, the demon shifter was actually worried about me.

As I turned, Fane’s gaze flicked between Hawk and me, and his expression darkened once he realized what had caused the intense bolt of agony. Was he pissed that Hawk intentionally hurt me or that I was upset over another guy?

These days, it could be anything.

I shoved the whirling thoughts away and focused on dispatching the sub-demons as quickly as possible so we could leave. Having Axel and Hawk—I expected it from Roxie—treat me like trash had me longing to return to Silver Ridge.

Once the last fortyno fell, Fane stalked in my direction. The sight of the huge man covered in blood, scars, and tattoos would have most cowering. Not me. The beast had my knees shaking from something other than fear.

“An ex-lover of yours?” He jerked his head toward Hawk as Axel gave him an earful about acting like a reckless superhero.

Was that jealousy flowing through the demon shifter?

If only Fane knew I’d slept with Axel and not Hawk.

The rumble of an engine hit the air as a sleek black SUV drove around the corner, slowing as it neared the carnage of sub-demons scattered across the sidewalk and road. We would have had a major problem if humans occupied the vehicle, but the front license plate marked it as one of Barric’s.

Great. The head alpha must have realized I snuck out.

Hawk marched forward like he planned to attack the newcomers, but Axel grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

“What the hell are you doing?” He jerked his chin to the SUV. “That’s from Silver Ridge.”

The tinted window on the driver’s side rolled down to reveal Jax, Barric’s beta, his golden curls rippling in the wind as those amber eyes focused on me.

“You leave the compound, and I find you in the middle of a massacre?” His gruff voice vibrated my bones, but the edges of his lips twitched as he stepped out of the SUV, displaying long legs, a trim waist, and powerful muscles. “Fane, you’re supposed to keep her from doing this sort of thing. Don’t tell me she overpowered you and ran away.”

Fane gave a lazy shrug. “She’s bound and determined to cause trouble.”

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