Page 95 of Savage Blood
Reese sat in the chair as her long, midnight locks stirred behind her in the gentle wind. Her expression was blank. Nothing lay behind that vacant stare. Last time I saw the female wolf, manic energy erupted out of her like a geyser as she stabbed me with that dagger.
But now?
There was just—nothing.
“Speaking of fated mates, where’s Saint?” Marissa asked, stealing my attention away from her parents.
“He and Fane are in the wood, racing to see who gets to sleep with me tonight.”
Her mouth opened, lashes fluttering as she blinked. “You’re joking.”
I downed the rest of mylemonade. “Am I?”
She propped her hand on her hip and scoffed. “Fane would never share a mate. He’s too possessive for that.”
“Maybe.” I tossed my cup into the trash and marched by her. “And maybe he just loves me that much.”
The string of insults and despicable names Marissa snarled as I sauntered away brought a smile to my lips.
Camus, realizing I was headed in his direction, stood in front of Reese. “She’s not a threat. You can’t?—”
“I’m not here to hurt her. I only want to talk.”
The tension in his broad shoulders loosened, but he shook his head, raking his hand through his dark locks. “Other than gibberish, Reese hasn’t spoken since I brought her back.”
Marissa’s mom had been Barric’s closest confidante in The Collective until he used her to lure Fane and me into a trap. After I tortured her for hours, she stabbed me with a mystical knife to speed up the sickness growing within me from the Infernal Sol.
Since then, she’d gone from mad to catatonic. She didn’t even move when I waved my hand inches from her nose and snapped.
What the hell had Barric—or, more likely, the Infernal Sol—done to her?
“Can she hear us?” I asked.
Camus nodded and folded his hulking frame into the seat next to her, the chair creaking under his weight. “More or less.”
I knelt in front of Reese, peering into her green eyes. “You don’t have to be loyal to Barric. He did this to you. Once your job was complete, he tossed you aside. And he’s not coming back for you.”
The whole time I was in his captivity, he never mentioned Reese. None of them did.
“I’ve tried telling her that,” Camus said, grabbing a cup ofwhiskey beside his chair and staring pensively at the amber liquid. “Barric used her.”
“He’ll use all of them to get what he wants,” I said, standing. “He doesn’t care how many members die. Or how many he corrupts with the Infernal Sol.”
As soon as the demon amulet’s name dropped from my mouth, Reese’s gaze swiveled in my direction, burning with recognition.
She was still in there.
“I’m going to steal it from him, Reese,” I whispered. “And then I’ll kill him.”
Why was I even telling her this? She probably still believed he would come for her.
My neck tattoo crackled, and my attention shifted across the field just as Fane marched toward the tree line—with Marissa next to him.
What the ever-loving hell?
“I have to go,” I muttered and then trailed after them, my pulse spiking.
Fane wouldn’t… I mean… right?
