Page 97 of Claimed By Blood

Draven’s eyes meet mine, and the thrall bond pulses with possessiveness at the grip the hybrid has on me. The wound on his temple is no longer bleeding, and the puncture wounds on Silas’s neck explain why.

I scan the area, making sure none of my thralls have serious wounds before checking on Immy—who miraculously seems unharmed—and finally searching for the two people I know I’ll have to face now.

But there’s no sign of Noha. Or Samuel.

Silas reads my questioning glance. He shakes his head and finishes shoving his trunk into the van before pressing a quick finger to his lips and jerking his head at the dunes beyond.

I guess they’ve gone over there to talk.

“She’s okay,” Vane grumbles, and I whirl to find out who he’s speaking to, only to discover Gideon’s furious face just inches from my own.

While I’ve been giving everyone a once over, it seems the alpha has been doing the same to me.

“You ignored my orders,” he growls.

“Because they were going to get me killed!” I retort.

“Then you should’ve said something, rather than disappearing off on your own.”

“I’m not your subordinate,” I snarl back. “I spent decades of my life training and earning my place as a general in Cain’s army. Just because I submitted to you in the bedroom doesnotmean I’ll do the same outside of it. I told you that when I suggested the idea.”

Vane stiffens, and I’m momentarily distracted by the sensation of his dick hardening against my ass.

My head spins reflexively to stare at him in shock.

Of all my thralls, he’s definitely the most reserved. Aside from the wicked orgasm he gave me, he’s barely interacted with me at all. Most of the time, he’s justthere. A silent, glowering presence.

“That has no bearing on this!” Gideon hisses. “Frost and I are in charge of this pack. If you want to be a part of it, you respect that hierarchy.”

“I didn’t see you coming up with a plan!” I growl. “What would you have had me do?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“You had no better plan—”

“And your plan got a lot of people killed!”

“Enough.” Vane says the single word so harshly that it silences both of us.

Glancing back, I stiffen at the darkness in his eyes.

At times like this, it’s hard to remember that he’s a beta—a protector. Sometimes I swear he’s as alpha as Gideon and Frost.

“You,” he begins, and his voice has become calm once more as he addresses Gideon. “Should not blame her for the actions of one of Cain’s unhinged generals.” I relax for a second before he turns to look at me. “Andyouagreed to work as a team. You broke that promise.”

Swallowing down my argument—because, like it or not, he is right about that—I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but no one else had a plan, either.”

“Doesn’t matter. You could’ve asked for orders. Or suggested a better strategy. You shouldn’t have broken formation like you did.”

“You were keeping me from helping.”

“We were keeping you safe,” Vane says. “You are an outstanding warrior”—I try my hardest not to preen—“but that means nothing if you get injured early in the fight. Put your pride aside and think about it. You were always our best shot at killing Armin. Why waste your energy on the small fries?”

I raise a sceptical eyebrow. “You expect me to believe he intended to send me against Armin all along? I’m not an idiot.”

“It was one eventuality,” Gideon admits. “Not the one I was hoping for, I’ll admit. The plan was to keep you in reserve in case we needed you, and then you went off on your own and endangered everyone.” He’s shouting by the end, but I refuse to back down.

“If not for that grenade, I would’ve saved BakariandSamuel.” I retort, wrenching myself free of Vane’s hold and striding up to the alpha until we’re toe to toe. “If I’d waited for you to get your ass in gear, both of them might’ve been dead by the time we reached them.

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