Page 61 of Savage Blood
The moss-covered headstones and unnerving statues of angels and cherubs blurred as unshed tears pooled in my eyes. Hawk had already been through so much, and now, because of me, Barric had him. My father would use Hawk to force my return. Barric would torture Hawk, violate him, and break him.
But he wouldn’t kill him, not until he had me.
I stormed past Fane and Saint and proceeded directly toRuin. “Can you make sure Roxie does everything in her power to keep Hawk safe?”
A soft smile tugged at Ruin’s lips as he grabbed my hands in his huge ones. “It would bemy pleasure.”
The high demon didn’t bother hiding the glint of satisfaction in his gaze. He knew this gave extra protection, and I wouldn’t let a soul harm him.
“Thank you, Ruin.”
He nodded.
I glared over my shoulder at mymate. The pain and anger rushing through my body, through our bond, was enough to burn whole cities to the ground.
“Iwillregain my strength and get better, Fane.” My hands curled into tight fists, my knuckles turning white. “But I’ll do it all on my own.”
The beanbag chairI’d tossed into what should have been my nursery at Silver Ridge squeaked as I shifted positions, resting my boots on the floor. I flipped to another page in the photo album and studied the pictures of a young Tamara.
She must have been around my age or maybe a little younger—before she met Barric. Valeria had checked every album and removed any pictures of my douchebag father. Tamara’s strawberry blonde hair shone in the sunlight as she lounged on a beach. Freckles spotted the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks.
I ran my finger along my own freckles, which were in the same location as hers. We really did look alike. If Barric didn’t believe Tamara had a son, he might have put two and twotogether sooner. Of course, the enchantment that concealed me from him helped keep that from happening.
A knock tapped on the doorjamb, and Valeria entered the pale-blue room with a small vial of green liquid. “I have your tonic.”
“Oh, goodie.” A grimace spread over my lips as I sat up and took the glass bottle from her.
A few weeks had passed since we’d returned from the Underworld—everyone except Hawk—and I’d been staying at Silver Ridge. Even though Mohan Wilds was more my home than anywhere, the thought of living there with a constant reminder of Fane made my stomach knot.
Of course, the separation anxiety tore my nervous system apart. He’d been sneaking around the pack house, so my unease wasn’t as bad as it could have been. A few nights, he’d come into my room, sat by the bed, and watched me. I pretended to be asleep because if I’d so much as laid eyes on him, I would have caved.
But the fury still boiling through my bloodstream kept me from reaching for him, no matter how much I wanted to.
How could he sacrifice Hawk for me?
I uncorked the vial and tossed it back, the foul concoction gliding down my throat like slime.
Every day, Valeria gave me those potions for the cravings and the sickness that continued to attack my body. Since I’d started drinking that crap, the black veins hadn’t returned to my skin.
“Are you sure you don’t want to see Fane?” she asked. “If I called him, he’d race over here.”
I scoffed and passed her the empty bottle. “No, thanks.”
When things between Fane and me went well, somethingalways ripped us apart. He’d finally told me he loved me, and not long afterward, I told him to fuck off.
Fate was a cruel, evil bitch.
Were we doomed to repeat this cycle, never finding more than a few moments of happiness?
Saint stopped by the house regularly, and since he had no part in sacrificing Hawk, I let him hang out for a while. He really couldn’t help the urge to at least attempt to heal me. And even though I swore to do this all on my own, the sooner I regained my strength, the better.
Enid would be ecstatic if I somehow figured out a way to break my bond with Fane and mated with Saint. At least Alicia remained neutral, telling me not to do anything rash. She had left Savannah to return to her pack and to Knox, who would probably never let her out of his sight again. Those two had already been separated enough.
“Have you received another update from Ruin?” Valeria asked, grabbing a wooden chair from the corner and dragging it across the floor.
Bloodstains still colored the wooden planks from the fight Barric and I had when he finally learned who I was.
“Hawk is fine, imprisoned in the dungeon, but he’s not being starved or tortured.”
