Page 43 of Savage Claim

Sixteen

Adrenaline hit my bloodstream, and my supernatural senses took over as I teetered on the edge of being caught in the captain’s office. My whole body shook while I tossed everything back into the hidden compartment and returned the books to the shelf.

Coltrane would be pissed to find me here even if she didn’t realize I’d discovered her secret hiding spot.

By the time she opened the door and cut on the light, I was leaning against the bookshelf, my arms crossed against my chest with a bored expression. Good thing she wasn’t a nightworlder because she’d probably hear my frantic heartbeat.

When she noticed me, the captain halted, her brows slamming together. “How did you get in here?”

I gave a casual shrug. “The door was unlocked.”

Her gaze roamed the space behind me, noticing how close I stood to The Art of War. “You have no business being in here. Have you been going through my things?”

“Why would I do that? Something to hide?” I gave her a twisted smile.

She strode across the room and waved me away from the spot, scrutinizing it to see if anything was out of place. “You’re not fooling me, Tate. You’re in here for a reason, and I want to know why.”

On impulse, I grabbed a pen and notepad off her desk, drawing the tree symbol. This would distract her from realizing what I found, and it might give me some answers. “Do you know what this is?”

She snatched the notepad from my hand, her lips thinning. “This symbol represents The Collective Hunt. They believe born bloodlines are superior to turned shifters.”

“What else do you know about them?” I asked, perching on the edge of her desk.

Coltrane didn’t bother telling me to move as she studied the mark. “Apart from killing bitten shifters, they would also terminate any human offspring.”

The blood drained from my face, and thankfully I was sitting because I would have fallen on my ass. “What?”

“They viewed the children as stains and sought to end their lineage to prevent any other mutations in the genes.” She tossed the notepad on her desk and sighed. “Those children could potentially have shifter offspring, making it more difficult for The Collective to discern who was pure and not.”

Human children didn’t die because they were weak like Barric claimed. They died because these assholes slaughtered them.

Another realization crashed over me, and I pressed my palms into Coltrane’s desk to keep from falling off. Holy shit. Was this the reason my parents hid me? Did they believe The Collective would come for me and kill me simply for being human?

“But they don’t exist anymore,” Coltrane said, her voice barely audible over the thundering of my pulse.

“Are you sure?” I asked, attempting to control my frantic breaths.

She marched to her minifridge and grabbed a bottle of water without offering me one. “Of course. The ravens would know if The Collective was still active.”

Coltrane was so damn cocky she really believed that.

I slipped off her desk and dragged a shaky hand through my hair. “So you don’t think this group of racist jerks could be responsible for the missing shifters? The only connection these victims have is that they were all bitten and not born.”

The raven captain quickly shook her head, her slicked-back blonde ponytail shining under the lights. “We’d be finding bodies if The Collective was involved.” She set her water down and propped her hands on her hips. “They didn’t abduct their victims. They simply killed them.”

A burst of adrenaline suddenly hit me, and I gripped the edge of the desk, scattering a few papers.

Son of a bitch. That was definitely from Fane.

My consciousness left my body, and my incorporeal form rushed through Corvin Manor toward him. Fane’s head snapped in my direction when I materialized next to him outside the conference room.

“You should probably get down here.” He spoke out loud, catching Jax’s attention through the unfolding commotion.

The beta looked around. “Who are you talking to?”

Ruin suddenly sauntered down the hall in a tailored black suit that fit him like a second skin and a sultry smile with a hint of danger pulling at his lips. “Well, well, it’s a party. All in my honor.”

Gia cursed. “How did he get in here?”

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