Page 2 of Savage Fate

I didn’t want to feed on it like when I was the Infernal Sol’s vessel. It didn’t fill me with hunger or excitement.

That was all gone.

The Infernal Sol was gone.

I was used to dreaming about horrible memories mixed with my guilt over Jayla and my friends’ death. Being chased through unrecognizable streets by unseen monsters was unusual.

“I’m fine.”I’d said those words more in the last few days than I had in my entire life, but I sure as hell wasn’t fine after Nadia yanked the Infernal Sol out of me a week ago.

And Fane knew it.

I passed him back his leather jacket he’d laid on me when I fell asleep on the way to the Silver Ridge compound in Savannah.

“Hungry?” Ephraim, sitting on my other side in the back, offered me a stick of beef jerky. His copper hair had grown a little shaggy recently, but his beard, the same color as a fresh penny, was always neat and tidy.

I gave a forced smile. “No, thanks.”

My stomach churned at the thought of food. I’d barely had an appetite since leaving Ruin’s lab. The absence of the Infernal Sol left a yawning abyss inside, a hole where it used to be. I missed the amulet. And it was terrifying how many times I subconsciously reached for that power, only to remember it was gone.

Camus turned down the music. “We should be there soon. Interim Alpha Ari has already gathered the council and a few visiting alphas, but tensions are high after Barric’s betrayal and the reemergence of The Collective Hunt.” His thick fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “People are wary of outsiders, even you two.”

Fane scoffed. “Tate is a bitten shifter, and she’s the one who helped uncover the deal between Barric and Ruin.” The high demon’s name burst from between his clenched teeth. “Why would anyone think she was on Barric’s side?”

“Fear makes people irrational,” Ephraim said, tearing open the wrapper on his stick of beef jerky. “They’ll come around.”

Camus angled his head to the other male shifter in the front seat. “Have you informed Ari that we’re almost there?”

Beckett, Camus’s new beta, nodded. “I texted him, and he sent Mac and Rachel to escort us into the compound. Their security is extremely tight right now.”

After learning the head alpha was behind all the missing shifters, Silver Ridge was probably locked up like Fort Knox. But like Camus said, enemies could still be within the pack. No one knew who was really involved with The Collective.

Jax had gone with Barric, and so had Wes, his mate, and their rapey son, Torin. A few more had vanished from Silver Ridge and the other packs in Georgia. More probably slipped away from pack in the rest of the country, maybe even the world. We had no idea how large Barric’s reach was.

“I’ll get out first and ensure security protocol is on par with our discussion.” Beckett rubbed his hand over the five o’clock shadow covering his hard jaw. “You’re still a visiting alpha and won’t be treated any less because of your mate’s indiscretions.”

Camus grimaced at the mention of Reese, who had also disappeared from her family’s pack to join Barric. “I appreciateyour conviction, Beckett. Not everyone is so quick to defend me. Some believe because my mate is involved, I am too.”

I choked back a snort. Camus and Reese could barely stand each other. She’d try to murder him if he followed her and joined The Collective.

Beckett checked his phone again, wavy locks of hair falling across his forehead. The fading sunlight glinted on the natural gold highlights throughout the russet strands.

Camus had finally chosen a beta to replace Dorian. Julia, the head healer, was Beckett’s sister, and their family had been part of the Mohan pack for generations. Beckett was the total opposite of Marissa’s mate. Besides being an actual stellar fighter, he was quiet, attentive, and highly observant—at least, that was what Ephraim claimed. I barely knew anything about the guy.

But anyone was better than Dorian.

After checking us through security, the familiar faces spotting the team finally escorted us to the huge conference room in the east wing of Silver Ridge’s compound. My nape prickled as we entered, the atmosphere thick and all eyes cast in our direction with varying degrees of mistrust.

Could I blame them for being cautious? Barric had duped them for decades.

Dark hardwoods stretched across the floor, tan walls surrounded us, and soft golden light fell across the burnished wood furniture. Scents of wood and leather mixed with unease and spikes of fear.

“Explain how you uncovered this horrible plot.” Henry, one of the older wolf shifters in Silver Ridge, sat rigidly in his chair at the opposite end of the massive mahogany table. “I just don’t understand how you, a fairly new shifter, can single-handedly reveal this treachery and save our missing kind.”

As soon as we’d taken our seats, the council assaulted us—or rather, me—with a barrage of questions. Fane vibrated with rage next to me, but before he could lash out again, I rested my hand on his knee under the table.

“There was nothing single-handed about it. I didn’t do this alone. Fane was there, along with a raven and two high demons.” I swallowed hard as the memories of that night in the lab washed over me. “Wrath, Ruin’s twin, is the one who showed me the lab with the imprisoned shifters and demons.”

Ari lifted one of his hands to quiet the murmurs traveling around the table. “Let’s not take our anger out on one of those who helped free our missing members.”

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