Page 98 of Savage Claim

“Fane, honey, why don’t you have a seat and join us?” Nora tilted her head to the empty spot next to me.

“You don’t have to sit next to me if you don’t want to.” I didn’t want him to feel forced.

The demon shifter stomped in my direction and folded onto the log beside me, warming my side more than the fire did. “Don’t tell me what to do, Teague.”

“Don’t act like a prick, and I won’t have to.”

Fane grabbed the stick Preston passed over and skewered a marshmallow on the end, holding it near the fire with mine. “I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I, but he just looks so sad most of the time.” I bumped his shoulder. “Why is that?”

“It’s either a ruse to make us feel sorry for him and let our guard down or…” He shrugged. “Maybe being around my mom and me reminds him of Warin.”

My brow arched. “Your brother?”

“They were really close.”

Wrath had claimed he was helping us because of Warin. The topic of Fane’s brother always brought warring feelings to the surface. On one hand, he’d killed Jayla and my friends and turned my life upside down. I was forced to kill a monster I didn’t understand at seventeen.

But Warin had been a person before that moment. He was a brother and someone’s son. And a best friend.

Kesa’s laugh brought me out of my thoughts. “You and Warin were the cutest little devils, running around Vlehull and chasing all the girls.” She shook her head, her raven locks flowing around her narrow shoulders. “Ruin didn’t do the chasing, though. He waited and lured them in.”

Wrath chuckled. “He’s always been a sneaky bastard.” His blue gaze flicked to mine. “You never know what’s really going on in that mysterious head of his.”

Frost crystallized over my spine, and I shivered. Was the high demon trying to send me a message about his twin? He didn’t believe Ruin was as good as he pretended. He’d said as much in Heldrok. He’d even had the balls to blame his brother for the crazed demons.

Fane leaned closer as if he felt the chill take hold and wanted to warm me. Was it a subconscious move, or had he done it on purpose?

“I remember when you and Warin brought a stray vumra demon to my house.” Kesa pulled a graham cracker out of the box and placed it on the napkin in her lap. “You boys thought I wouldn’t notice all the food missing or the barks coming from Warin’s room.”

Wrath shrugged as he turned his marshmallow in the flames. “Brutus was just so cute. We couldn’t stand leaving him on the street without food or shelter. He needed us.”

“He needed a place to slobber.” She broke the graham cracker in half and nibbled on the edge. “I came home one day to a drenched couch. You boys pretended you spilled juice on it but forgot to hide Brutus. He was sitting in the corner, wagging his tail and drooling while you lied through your teeth.”

Laughter traveled around the fire.

“It was Warin’s idea!” Wrath tossed his hands in the air as he smiled, the sadness gone from his expression. “He was confident that we could keep Brutus a secret. I just went along because he was so determined. Warin didn’t have the heart to put him back outside.”

Kesa sipped her water and sighed. “He was such a sweet one. Warin had a heart of gold.” She dragged her fingers through her long raven hair, the firelight glinting on the scars running down her face and neck from Fane. “He was always bringing home strays. That’s how he met Logan?”

“Warin found him in a pile of trash after Logan got his ass kicked by a bunch of jerks.” Wrath grabbed a cracker from the box and a piece of chocolate to make his s’more. “Warin dug Logan out, took him home, and cleaned him up. And Ruin and I went back to that establishment and beat up the demons responsible for hurting our new friend.”

Invisible strings wrapped around my heart as they reminisced about Warin, the demon I killed. After a few more minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore and stood. When they all looked at me, I grabbed my empty glass.

“I’m out of lemonade.” I hightailed it back into the house, their conversation echoing behind me.

From what Fane and the others had said, I knew Warin wasn’t the monster he’d been that night. Like the demons now, something happened to make him crazy, but hearing how kind and sweet he really was tore my soul to pieces.

I’d taken him from this world. He was as much of a loss as Jayla.

A throb pulsated in my forehead by the time I made it into the kitchen. I set my cup down and rested my elbows on the white marble island, rubbing my temples. My neck tattoo tingled as Fane’s presence emerged behind me.

He had every right to be angry that his brother was gone, but I couldn’t take his icy temperament now or his cutting reminders that I’d ripped his one and only sibling from him.

“They weren’t trying to make you feel bad.” His low, gruff voice vibrated my back as he stood so close his cinnamon and amber scent drifted into my nose. “They just want to remember him.”

I choked back the sob that wanted to burst from my lips, relieved Fane hadn’t flipped his switch to pick mode. “I know,” I whispered, unable to speak any louder.

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