Page 114 of Savage Blood
Hot water cascaded over me,loosening my muscles as l leaned into Fane. His fingers massaged my scalp, and his calloused hand skimmed down my back. I groaned at the pleasure rippling through me.
A growl vibrated his throat. “Keep making noises like that, fiera mika, and we’ll miss the whole meeting.”
My arms wrapped around his waist as exhaustion weighed heavily on my shoulders. “I’m sure someone can fill us in.”
“Don’t you want to know what Reese has to say?”
“Oh yeah,” I grumbled. “Shedidmake it sound kind of important.”
After Barric fled the club, the last remnants of control and confusion the amulet had over the dux demons evaporated. Two demons and one vampire died, but no human casualties occurred. Of course, there were plenty of injuries to go around.
My teeth clenched at the deaths, even the demons’. This wasn’t their fault. They had no control over their actions.
It was Barric’s fault. He had to be stopped.
When Fane vanished from the balcony, he went to free Ruin to help Wrath gain control of the demons. Apparently, they ran into sub-demons, and Fane chased them outside only to find more. Now, blood covered him, and we both reeked of sex, so taking a shower while everyone gathered at Wrath’s house for a meeting sounded like a great idea.
“I’m sorry,” Fane murmured into my ear.
“For what?”
The demon shifter pulled back, shadows and sorrow darkening his stare. “For what happened, for what I did to Hawk.”
“Oh.”
“I’d still make the same choice.” He pushed wet strands of hair out of my face. “You come before anyone. But I’m sorry he was caught in the middle, and I’m sorry this is hurting you.”
My throat tightened until I could hardly breathe through the lump in it. “I was so pissed at you that I couldn’t see beyond my anger.”
If Barric had caught me then, escaping again would have been impossible. He would have used my blood to speed up the timeline of the Admordum Nexia Covenant, and the bitten shifters could all be dead now.
Hawk’s capture was my fault too. I shouldn’t have let Barric use the amulet to lure me in. It was my damn downfall every time.
“Of course, remembering the time you and Hawk hooked up in the raven library while I helplessly watched made my guilt a little easier to swallow.”
Wincing, I pressed my forehead to his chest. “So you remember that too?”
“Yep.” Fane lifted my chin and brushed his lips over mine. “We’ll get him back, Tate.”
“I know. I just?—”
Faint black lines suddenly branched across my skin, and any remaining humor faded from Fane as the sight reminded us of the poison within my veins.
The demon shifter ran his thumb over my shoulder to trace the lines, his nostrils flaring. “We'd better get out there.”
By the time we entered Wrath’s private living room, Reese, Ari, Wrath, Ruin, Logan, and Saint were gathered around the soft, tawny leather couches, already discussing the AdmordumNexia Covenant. We’d decided it was time to let Ari know how much danger the bitten shifters were really in.
To say that Ari wasn’t happy we’d kept the truth from him would be an understatement, but Ruin stood by his advice that revealing it would only cause panic. Some of the rage simmering in the shifter’s eyes dimmed. He must have realized the high demon was right.
While Fane and I had showered, Wrath met with Captain Gia to fill her in on what happened at the club. Once she learned of Coltrane’s involvement, she gathered a team of ravens and led the search for the former captain.
But Anna Coltrane was too sly to be caught. She escaped the headquarters in Chicago, for shit’s sake.
Would Coltrane give up her mission for the Infernal Sol now that she knew it was impossible to take from Barric?
Doubtful.
Saint’s gaze attention shot in our direction as we passed by the long wall he leaned against, which contained built-in shelves that held ancient tomes and mysterious trinkets. With the slightest tilt of Fane’s head toward me as a signal, the alpha of Blackwater Falls approached the couch Logan and Wrath had saved for us.
