Page 28 of Savage Fate

“Me too.” Will jerked his chin toward a table in the back pilled with refreshments. “Try these sausage things Constance made. They’re delicious.”

Fane wrapped his hand around my hip and tugged me into him. “Let’s find a spot.” I let him tow me across the room toward the back so we weren’t the center of attention.

Hell, we still were. People couldn’t help but stare at the intimidating demon shifter.

After what felt like an hour, Camus stood at the front and finally started the meeting, discussing recent events. Everyone knew about Barric and The Collective Hunt, but since rumors about the dead shifters already circulated, Camus had to address that.

He didn’t mention the shifters had their hearts cut out.

“We don’t know if The Collective is responsible for these murders,” Camus said, his new beta sitting close to the front. “We can’t rule it out, but we also can’t assume it’s them.”

“But the victims were bitten shifters, right?” Torrance, one of the older council members, asked from his spot near the front. “That would suggest The Collective.”

Camus lifted his hand to settle the whispers and speculation. “It could also be a coincidence.” He rubbed the stubble on his jaw as he weighed his words. “There are no claw or bite marks on the victims, and the cause of death was a stab wound from a knife. That doesn’t suggest shifter at all.”

Unless The Collective wanted to throw us off, but why would they go through that much trouble when we already knew they existed?

The large room suddenly grew out of focus and then completely faded away…

Instead of leaningagainst Fane’s chest with his arm wrapped around me, I felt a hard table pressed against my back.

Not this again.

When I tried to move, metal restraints tightened around my wrists and ankles.

My pulse spiked as I looked down at the unrecognizable frame in baggy black jeans and a gray sweatshirt.

“What do you want from me?” My voice, deep and masculine, trembled. “Who are you?”

Chanting arose from the edges of the dark room, candlelight flickering across ruby-red walls. My breaths came in ragged pants as I tried to break free from the binds.

They weren’t silver, but I still couldn’t reach my animal. My leopard side was silent, barely stirring within.

What the hell were they doing to my leopard? How could they muffle my connection?

The chanting grew louder, and shapes emerged from the shadows. Several figures in black cloaks slinked forward, white masks obscuring their identities. Their words blurred together in hushed whispers, so I couldn’t even tell if they spoke English.

A tall, broad one—obviously male—stepped forward. “This will hurt. I encourage you to scream.”

Sweat slid down my temples, and several bursts of laughter mixed with the chants.

As adrenaline poured into my veins, I bucked and fought against the restraints. If I could reach my leopard, I could break out of this.

The large figure moved toward the table. “There is no escape.”

I fell against Fane,but his arms already encircled me, keeping me from falling.

“What the hell happened, Teague?”

The room in Camus’s basement returned to focus, and thankfully, no one noticed my freak-out.

“I had another vision.”I swallowed hard and wiped a fine layer of sweat off my forehead. Were these actual events, or were these someone’s nightmares?

I described the red room and the people in cloaks and creepy white masks. If only I’d been able to figure out what they were saying.

“I don’t know what to make of that.”Fane tucked me against his chest in a firm, comforting embrace.“But it seems like you have a connection to fears or maybe just fears from shifters.”

The Infernal Sol had screwed me up and left a permanent mark. For all I knew, these scenes could be a fabrication of my own mind—or something the demon amulet planted to drive me nuts.

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