Page 84 of Savage Claim

But nothing happened. I didn’t feel myself changing back at all.

Oh, hell.

I was stuck!

As Barric and Jax drew closer and panic settled in, a tingle crept over my neck seconds before the door crashed open.

Fane burst inside, and his mismatched gaze went straight to me, unsurprised to find me as a wolf. He’d probably felt the change through the bond.

I sagged in relief, thankful that he came for me.

“Fiera mika, always getting into trouble, even as a pretty wolf.”

If I could flip him off, I would.

When Fane’s nose lifted in the air, breathing in the scent of my blood, dark shadows descended over him, and the onyx tattoos visible on his arms, hands, and neck violently twitched. His snarl started low and deep, building with every passing second as he stalked closer to Barric and Jax.

The floorboards shook beneath my paws, the vibrations traveling up my legs and bones. By the time Fane was a foot away from the two shifters, his growl had reached a crescendo, and I gritted my teeth when he finally let the roar loose.

Jax dropped to his belly first, and then Barric finally stumbled back, hitting the ground as the weight of Fane’s power crashed over him.

“Did you really think you could hurt her and I not retaliate, Barric?” Long, lethal talons protruded from Fane’s fingers, and his teeth extended, the fury pulsating around him palpable.

A storm of footsteps echoed in the distance, my wolf ears detecting them faster than my human ones would have.

“Fane, we need to leave before we’re trapped!”

His head cocked to the side, hearing the approaching pack members.

He gave Barric one last death glare before bolting toward the door with me on his heels. Fane wanted to kill Barric, and he could have. But killing an alpha had consequences, and he had no intention of being an alpha or challenging anyone for the position.

Would I become the alpha if Barric died?

That was the last thing I wanted.

As we rushed into the hall, a group of shifters stormed after us. Fane cursed and motioned me to the right. We took off down the hall as shouts erupted behind us.

“Stop them!” Barric yelled, his voice garbled as he tried to transform into his human form. “Kill him but keep Tate alive.”

Kill him.

A lethal combination of panic and fury tore through my bloodstream as we ran, searching for the quickest exit out of the house. Fane’s life held no importance to Barric, and he either wanted to hand me over to his mysterious partner, or he simply wanted to kill me himself.

“I can’t change back,” I told Fane through our mental link as we dashed down a flight of stairs.

“I know.” He cursed when another group of shifters appeared at the landing. “Jump!” Fane effortlessly tossed me over the railing, my paws hitting the ground a few moments after his boots.

We took off running, a mob of shifters on our heels.

“Barric’s my father.”

“That I also know. You pulled my mind into the room but were too preoccupied to notice.”

How could that man be my father? All the times I spoke to him, sat across from him and never knew. Neither one of us ever suspected. That enchantment had obviously worked wonders. Shifters could usually recognize their own children by their scent.

“Stop!” Two male wolves blocked the hall, but Fane and I didn’t stop. We barreled right into them, shoving them aside as we carried on.

“They’ll have the place surrounded by the time we make it outside. We’ll have to fight our way out.” He peered at me, frowning.

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