Page 85 of Savage Claim

This had to be the worst time to be stuck as a wolf.

As we turned a corner, a door opened a few feet away, and Valeria stuck her head out. “In here.”

Fane peeked at me. “Do you trust her?”

“Yes.” We really didn’t have much of a choice.

The old healer ushered us in and then shut the door. “There’s a tunnel.” She hurried to the bookshelf and slid it aside. “Quickly, before they backtrack and follow your scent. This leads right to the street at the back of the compound.”

Fane darted into the dark tunnel but stopped when I hadn’t budged. “What are you doing?”

“Ask her if she knows who I am.”

A frustrated sigh hissed from his mouth. “Do you know who Tate is?”

Valeria nodded and lowered to one knee to bring her closer. “I knew the moment you stepped into this house.”

All of the strange, lingering glances made sense now.

“Tamara knew you’d return, so I stayed.” She brushed a hand over my fur, studying the strands. “You were born with copper hair, but the spell changed you. The enchantment made you look so unique while simultaneously hiding you, keeping you under the radar and washing your presence from people’s minds.”

The spell that had hidden me had also given me my little talent to go unnoticed.

“Tate, come on,” Fane snarled, losing his patience. As if he had any. “We have to go.”

I turned back to her, silently urging her to come with us.

She shook her head, understanding my silent plea. “I can’t move that fast. I’ll only hold you up. Barric doesn’t suspect I’m involved because he used his alpha power to keep me quiet.” She smirked. “Of course, there are ways around it.”

Fane rested his hand on my back. “They’re going to find us if we don’t go now.”

His gentle tone shocked me and finally knocked the sense back into me. I turned and followed him through the tunnel, much to his relief. After a few minutes, we emerged onto the street, and the door slammed shut, vanishing into the brick wall.

I looked left and right, waiting for a gang of shifters to materialize. “Now what?”

“We need to get as far from this street as possible. Running around with a black and red wolf will draw attention.” Fane jerked his chin toward an alley. “Let’s cut through there, and then we’ll steal a car.”

He couldn’t see my flesh, but he could sure damn feel the flood of embarrassment through the bond. I finally shifted—and got stuck. Why couldn’t I ever do anything normal?

“It happens,” Fane muttered, peeking at me out the corner of his eye. “It was your first time.”

Something like pride swelled from him, and my steps lightened, my talons rhythmically clicking along the concrete.

He tried to mask his smile. “You’re a pretty wolf, Tate. No need to strut.”

“I’m not strutting.”

I was totally strutting.

Just as we exited the alley and turned down an empty street, a black SUV swerved and screeched to a stop in front of us. My heart jumped in my throat as the door swung open. I expected Barric or Jax, but a familiar face with porcelain skin and navy hair peered out.

“What are you waiting for? Get the fuck in.”

How did Ruin know we were in trouble?

Fane shoved me into the back seat while he jumped into the front. As the car peeled down the road, he scowled at the high demon. “Should I even ask what you’re doing out of Heldrok?”

His words had me lurching forward, my head between the front seat, analyzing the demon.

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