Page 49 of Savage Claim

I rested my hand in his, and he gently pulled me from my kill. He pushed my leather jacket off and lifted my shirt to examine the bleeding wound. “She doesn’t feel a thing. The stars are twinkling, and the feathers are soft. She’s buried under blankets that keep her calm. No pain. Don’t fret my beast.”

“Why is she talking like that?” the raven murmured, watching me like a bird in a tree.

My head swiveled to him. “Stop squawking, birdie. Don’t worry about the soul within me. She’s perfectly content. Sleeping beauty will slumber until a kiss wakes her.”

Hawk’s eyes widened until they threatened to pop out, and he stepped away. “What are you?”

“Bring Tate back.” Large hands rested on my cheeks, angling me back to the beast. “She’s going to die if I don’t take care of that wound.”

“You know me better, beastie. I wouldn’t let her die.” I motioned my hand in the air. “It’s why I’m here. She didn’t ask, but I felt the mortal coil unraveling, so I came. She doesn’t perish on my watch.”

He stepped closer, his body brushing mine. “I need the real Tate in control.”

“I think I’ll stay longer.” My fingers slipped over his corded, tattooed arms. “I like being the one in front. Make no mistake, I call more shots than you think, but feeling the blood in these veins is different.”

Fane’s teeth bared in a vicious scowl. “There won’t be any blood left soon.”

Rivulets of ruby-red liquid still ran down my leg. “You can fix me up while I’m still driving. No need to pull over.”

A storm brewed in his gaze as it clashed with mine. His anger consumed nearly everything as he tried to mask the concern crackling around him and through the mystical link tying us together. “I need her back.”

The words burst between his teeth in a savage, pained growl.

And then his lips were on mine, his tongue slipping inside to twirl and taste.

The instant we connected, sparks erupted, and electricity popped over my flesh. This ancient power had existed for eons, but it had never experienced a flood of sensations like this. Warmth. Fire. Primal. Relentless. Unyielding. And never ending.

Fane devoured me, his arms trapping me against him in a cage of pleasure. The girl within yanked the covers off and darted forward, latching onto the ladder.

Let me back up!

Her voice was strong as was her desire to take control.

But she was never really in control. Not anymore. Like I told my beast, I called more shots than he knew. She didn’t know either. I whispered into her ear, steering her to what I wanted.

Fine. Take your wheel back. But I’m in here all the same. I don’t mind sharing. For now.

Tate—no, I—climbed to the surface and shoved the darkness away.

“Fane!”

He flinched against me when he heard my voice in his mind, but instead of releasing me, he kissed me harder. His fear that I was gone forever bled through our bond, and I nearly buckled from the weight of it.

How could he claim to still hate me when he reacted like this to nearly losing me?

After Fane was sure I wouldn’t slip back under, he drew away, barely putting space between us. “You’ve never been that far.” His hot, frantic breath spilled over my cheeks. “That wasn’t you at all.”

My fingers curled into his shirt as I licked my lips, my tongue brushing his mouth. “It just took over after Mykel?—”

Sharp, blinding pain erupted in my torso, and I collapsed into Fane, my cry muffled in his chest. Motherfucker. The throbbing of the wound finally registered, and it stole the air from my lungs.

“I need to get you back to the compound,” he said. “You lost a lot of blood.”

The Infernal Sol had kept the pain away and had started to heal the wound enough that I wouldn’t die. Probably. Hopefully.

What else had it done to me? The demon amulet gave me all kinds of extra strength and power. One day, it might ask for something in return, and I wasn’t sure it would allow me to refuse. It would take whatever it wanted.

Vague memories rushed forward, but they were distant, like I’d only watched from afar instead of lived them. And then I recalled straddling Mykel and…

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