Page 140 of Savage Blood
Barric wouldn’t allow his party guests to watch the Admordum Nexia Covenant, since seeing the extent of the demon powers involved would freak them out. They’d know just how far gone Barric and the rest of them were as they chanted, drank blood, and danced around their sacrifice.
Me.
Dozens of candles burned on the fireplace mantel, along shelves, and on the wooden tables. The scent of wax and old blood perfumed the air.
The smell of death did too.
Someone, probably Roman, had fixed the destruction those sub-demons caused when they burst into the manor. Did Amelia kill that deranged bull?
“We’re going to figure this out, fiera mika,”Fane said into my mind when they led me out of the grand room, leaving everyone else behind.
Wes pressed his palm into my back and pushed me so hard, I stumbled halfway across the room and slammed into the table. The Malbraxis manacle Barric had forced me to wear on each wrist clanked against the wood.
“This has been a long time coming, Tate.” The menacingsmile curving Wes’s lips made my flesh prickle. “I can’t wait to watch you scream and beg for mercy.”
I choked back the bile oozing up my throat. Wes wanted to do a lot more than watch.
He strode across the room, a sadistic glint in his eyes, and gripped my leather jacket. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
The shifter wrenched the jacket off me and then pinned me against the edge of the table, his erection rubbing against my belly. Wes planned to take advantage of the short time we had before the others arrived.
His mate Patricia just watched, licking her lips like she wanted to join.
“You’re both sick creeps,” I snarled. “And when I get out of this, I’m going to make sure you die a slow, torturous death.”
Wes wrapped my long braid around his hand and jerked my head back, grinding against me. “The only ones dying today are you and that mutt Fane. But before you meet your maker, I’m going to enjoy?—”
“Get the fuck off her.” Ruin stormed into the room and yanked Wes back by his jacket. “She’s not your toy.”
Wes pulled out of Ruin’s hold. “She’s about to die anyway. Why not get her a little dirty first?”
The high demon gave him a look of utter disgust. “You’re pathetic.”
“Hey!” Patricia stalked forward. “Don’t talk to my mate that way. And what are you even doing here?Weare supposed to continue setting up.”
Ruin marched to the other side of the room and grabbed an ancient leather-bound book from a table. “You can’t even understand the words in this book. Only Barric and I can. And he wants things done right, so he sent me to take care of it.”
“But we’re?—”
The high demon waved his hand, shooing them out. “Bye now. You don’t want to anger Barric, or he’ll bite your head off.”
Once the two shifters finally left, Ruin moved across the room and kicked the door closed.
“I can’t believe I trusted you.” Fury throbbed around me like a toxic cloud. With any luck, it would poison him if he got too close.
Ruin spun and hurried back to me, all the humor gone from his expression. “We don’t have much time.”
“No shit.”
He withdrew a small vial from his pocket and pressed it into my palm. “Drink that. Hurry!”
The swirling white mist within the bottle made my head jerk back. “What is this? Part of a soul to prepare me for the ritual?”
Ruin gripped my shoulders and gave me a little shake. “Do you really think I’d side with Barric after all he’s done? He tortured and used me for months. And then I had to watch him do it to you.”
The air fled my lungs as I studied the demon, a vein throbbing in his neck. “I don’t understand.”
“I would never betray you again.” His head lowered, those haunted electric blue eyes searing into mine. “That was all a ruse, a fucking show. I’mhelpingyou.”
