Page 128 of Savage Blood
“I would love to give you a demonstration.” Barric motioned for the panther to approach. “Please come closer.”
The hairs on my arms rose as if static electricity crackled in the air. My father looked like a spider luring a fly into his web.
Hudson downed the rest of his wine and placed the glass on a table on his way toward the winding staircase. The arrogance in his every step would disappear once Barric revealed his true face.
Would he suck Hudson’s soul? Use the amulet to draw out the other shifter’s fears?
I would have done both.
And laughed about it.
Once Hudson reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed the gleaming floor, the slow smile spreading Barric’s lips sent ice across my shoulders.
“This won’t end well,” Fane murmured, his firm grip still on my hips.
Hudson held his hands out. “So, what is it, Barric? What do you want to show us?”
Heat enveloped the room as steam rose from Barric. All the moisture evaporated from my mouth as I realized what was coming.
Barric was finally shifting.
Chapter
Thirty-One
The former headalpha exploded out of his human form with such violence that the crystal chandelier rattled. When a horrendous beast, three times the size of Fane, emerged, shrieks reverberated through the room.
Doom clogged my veins like wet concrete while acid burned my esophagus at the stench wafting from Barric. Grotesque brown and tan scales rippled under the lights, and saliva dripped from his serrated teeth.
“Oh, gods!” Hudson stumbled back and fell on his ass, staring up at the approaching monster.
My heart crashed against my ribs, and my knees shook as the monster’s enormous muscles rippled beneath hard, impenetrable scales. Barric’s animal form had always been large and terrifying, but this twisted version of it was something out of a nightmare.
“It’s the Infernal Sol,”Fane said into my mind, his grip on my hips tightening.“All of those dark rituals mutated him even more than his followers.”
“No shit.”My breaths came in ragged pants.“There’s no way I could take him like this. No one could.”
Fane scoffed.“I could still take him.”
I scowled at him over my shoulder.“His paws are nearly the size of your head. He could swat you across the room.”
Hudson scrambled away on his hands and knees while the guests on the bottom floor scurried back. “What the fuck are you?”
Barric’s massive talons scraped the floor as he advanced on the panther, who seemed so small compared to him now. The candle flames danced in my father’s blood-red irises, giving them an even more sinister appearance.
Sweat coated Hudson’s complexion, now pale and sickly, and fear permeated the grand room. The amulet—and Barric—probably reveled in it, soaking it up like a sponge. Memories of doing the same when I had the stone sped through my mind.
Why didn’t my wolf become a horrifying, mutated beast?
Whispers circulated through the crowd, and plenty of guests looked ready to bolt, but they were all too terrified to make a move.
The click of Barric’s talons on the marble sent frost down my nape. His forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air like a snake. His nostrils flared.
“The amulet is still on him,”I said into Fane’s mind.
“It must be hidden beneath the scales, protected like armor.”
If Barric transformed into this monstrosity after I killed Roman, there was no way in hell I could grab the stone, not unless I sliced the creature’s chest open.
