Page 78 of Savage Fate

“Please stop,” a woman begged. “You’re hurting me.”

The familiar scents of the room came back to me, and when I saw the other little girl sleeping in the twin bed next to mine, I knew I was back in one of my foster homes.

A shiver slipped down my spine at the memories rushing forward. My backside throbbed from the frequent spankings I received for just existing.

My foster mother didn’t have it much better than us.

I wanted to hide under my bed, but I was frozen to the spot. If the door opened, he’d find me.

The dim bedroom vanished, and I returned to the woods in a different body. I was on the cold ground, blood dripping down my temple. I couldn’t reach the shifter inside me. My bear wouldn’t respond.

A scream tore out of my mouth as cloaked and masked creatures descended around me, gloved hands reaching out…

I jerked awake,my heart pounding and chest heaving as I lay in the same bed I’d been in earlier, only this time, Fane was curled around me. I angled my head toward him, his steady breaths blowing across my cheek.

These visions were getting mixed in with my usual nightmares.

And the fear—it was even more suffocating.

Choking, paralyzing, debilitating terror.

When I had the demon amulet, I welcomed fear and sucked it down like a giant Slurpee of sweet deliciousness.

I rested my hand on the sun tattoo inking my sternum. The stone’s presence lingered like a bad hangover that refused to leave.

My appetite had improved while at Blackwater Falls, and my hands had stopped trembling. Maybe the side effects really were fading like I told Fane. Unless being so close to the Infernal Sol—seeing it in person—had taken the edge off.

If I could have just held it for a moment, would these side effects have been obliterated?

With my luck, probably not.

Nothing ever came easy, and neither would this.

I sighed and returned my attention to Fane as he slept beside me. Strangely, he hadn’t been swept up in these recent nightmares. Had he tried to peek at them? I almost wished he would so he could help me understand what the hell I was seeing.

Thick, dark lashes fanned across his cheeks, and the moonlight shining in through the windows turned the scars digging into his bronze flesh silvery white. His tattooed arm stretched across me, keeping me close as if he feared I’d vanish.

My getting abducted by The Collective Hunt didn’t ease his anxiety. If roles had been reversed, I would have been a raving lunatic until I found him.

He looked so peaceful and relaxed now, which was rarely something he pulled off when he was awake. Fane was almost always alert, tense even, waiting for the next threat to appear. He couldn’t help it. Life had forced him to be ever vigilant because the moment his guard slipped, something would pounce.

We were alike in that manner.

When I tried to shimmy out of the covers, Fane’s arm tightened around me, unwilling to release me even in his sleep.

I rubbed his bicep and kissed his shoulder. “I’m thirsty. I’m just getting a drink, Maverick.”

Lines developed across his forehead beneath the wild strands of ebony hair, and he gave a faint, throaty whine. A smile tipped the edges of my lips when he sounded like a kid unwilling to give up his toy.

Yeah, I was that toy, but I didn’t mind being his favorite plaything.

I massaged his arm until the frown lines vanished. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

Finally, I managed to slip out of his hold and grabbed the hoodie he brought me from home and my boots. The door creaked as I opened it, but Fane remained asleep.

It took me ten minutes to find the kitchen. Thankfully, no one was awake at this hour, so I couldn’t embarrass myself asking for directions.

I found a glass in one of the cabinets and opened the fridge, smiling when a carton of lemonade appeared front and center. Someone had written my and Fane’s names on it.

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