Page 59 of Savage Fate

Why wasn’t Barric killing me? He’d been on the verge of tearing my throat out in Ruin’s lab, so what was suddenly stopping him?

“Perhaps we can have a little fun with her first.” Wes, Torin’s father, gave a sickening smile, the scars on his neck glinting inthe sunlight. “You really shouldn’t have embarrassed my son. He deserves a little personal retribution.”

My stomach soured, but I kept my shoulders back and head high. “Your son deserves to get his face smashed in.”

Wes bolted toward me, claws extended and teeth gnashing in a sudden, violent motion.

I darted out of his path at the last second, pivoted, and crushed my foot into his shin. He went down with a snarl, and before he could counter, I slammed my fist into his cheek and kicked his chest.

Bloodlust permeated the atmosphere as the rest of the crowd converged on me, but unlike Wes, none of them went for a kill shot.

Barric didn’t want them to fatally wound me. Maybe he wanted to take me to his hideout, torture me for a while, and then rip my throat out.

Pain unexpectedly lanced over my back as Amelia’s claws sliced through my sweater and carved into my flesh. A growl burst from me, and I spun, dragging my talons through the air.

She darted away just as another set of claws whipped across my leg.

Damn it!

There were too many of them to take at once, and even though Barric didn’t want them to kill me, I didn’t trust their control.

And to prove just how precarious my situation was, Reese, Camus’s mate and Marissa’s mother, lunged at me with a murderous rage in her green eyes.

“Fane!”

Before I could even finish yelling his name, he appeared, cursing in a demon language.

“What the fuck!” His nostrils flared as he took in The Collective Hunt members attacking me and Barric standing off to the side wearing a sadistic smirk.

I ducked a hit from Reese. “No time to explain. Just get here.” I staggered and fell on one knee, a throb racing up my leg.

My energy was waning.

“Everyone in the pack is distracted,” Fane said. “Hailey never showed up at the healer house, and no one can find her.”

My head jerked in his direction. “She’s missing?”

Fane gave a grim nod. “We assumed the Nosterium had gotten her, but since The Collective is here, they may have her.”

Son of a bitch.

“Where’s Hailey?” I demanded, ducking another hit from Wes.

Barric’s laughter filled my bloodstream with fire. “You’ll find out sooner rather than later.”

Maybe it was better that The Collective had her instead of a mysterious group of demons who may or may not be sacrificing shifters to gain more power.

“I can’t figure out where you are.” Fane rested his hand on my shoulder, taking my pain and pouring his energy into me. “I can find you in this form, but your location gets muddled when I try to physically get to you.” He looked around for any kind of recognizable marker.

The Infernal Sol was probably blocking the location. That ability would have been useful when I’d had it.

“I ran west, I think.” I grabbed Amelia’s claw as she attempted to shred my flesh off, and with Fane’s energy revitalizing me, I broke her wrist.

Her scream tore through the forest, and Fane’s head jerked.

“I heard that.” He shoved more energy into me. “I’m on my way?—”

His ghostly form suddenly vanished as if something had yanked him out of my reach. I ducked a hit and rolled across the ground, tripping a few members.

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