Page 67 of Savage Claim

The demon shifter jerked away as if afraid to touch me. “Don’t you understand, Teague? I couldn’t control myself. Something had taken over, and I wanted to slaughter you.” The anguish in him poured out with each word. “I can’t be around you right now. I have to get away before I hurt you.” He grabbed his jeans off the ground and shoved them on, each movement shaky and unsteady.

Tiny cracks spiderwebbed over my heart, and I sat up, attempting to cover myself as I suddenly felt too vulnerable. He was leaving, running away, after we had sex.

Hell, that had been more than sex.

“I’m not running away because of what we did, Teague.” He snatched his shirt off the floor but tossed it aside when he saw it was shredded. “If I don’t get out of here, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. And I don’t—I don’t want to kill you.”

My chest cavity ripped open, and my bleeding heart tumbled out as Fane finally admitted it.

His leaving didn’t hurt any less, though.

“Stay here. I’ll ask Ruin to get you.” His gaze dipped to my naked form and then my demolished clothes on the ground. He cursed and pulled the covers over me. “Maybe not Ruin.”

I jerked the blankets up to my chin, doing everything in my power to keep the tears at bay. It didn’t matter, though. Fane felt the approaching waterworks as sure as the aching in my heart. I couldn’t even speak because my voice would crack, and I’d shatter.

“I have to go.” Each word burst between his teeth in a hiss. He spun and vanished out of the door, leaving me alone.

As soon as he was gone, hot tears spilled over my cheeks. I buried my face in my knees as quiet sobs slipped out. We’d just shared this amazing moment, a definite breakthrough, and he left.

Part of me understood he was only doing it to protect me, but I worried he used that as an excuse to escape.

The beast cares. He wouldn’t be so upset if he didn’t.

It was strange having the unstable demon amulet trying to comfort me. But now that I was alone, the memories of nearly sucking Roxie dry in the VIP room rushed forward. I’d almost killed her. I’d wanted to consume all of her soul and watch as she took her last breath.

I leaned over the bed, dry heaving like I’d done after killing Mykel. In a way, this was worse. Roxie was a human.

Another round of sobs filled the room, fire erupting in my throat. But I wanted the pain. I deserved it.

Why didn’t Ruin stop me? If Fane hadn’t intervened, I would have killed Roxie. Would Ruin have let it go that far?

He would have stopped me, wouldn’t he?

The ringing of my phone distracted me from the dark thoughts, and I scrambled onto shaky legs to find my jeans, but the unknown number had my heart sinking. It wasn’t Fane.

“Hello?” My voice cracked over the line, and pain flared through my throat.

“Tate?”

My pulse spiked at the familiar voice on the line. “Hawk?” Panic tightened around my lungs, cutting off my airways. Did Ruin not compel Roxie’s memories? Did she tell Hawk what I did?

“What’s wrong with your voice?” he asked, noticing the broken, husky sound.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” My fingers shook as I dragged them through my snarled locks. “What’s going on?”

“I’m really messed up, Tate.”

The anguish surrounding his words had me stumbling back to the bed, wincing at the soreness in my body. “What do you mean? Do you need help?”

“I’m just—I haven’t been myself lately, and I can’t find my way back.” A shaky breath echoed over the line. “I need to talk to someone before I get myself killed. I’ve already done so much stupid shit that should have ended my life. I just got lucky.”

Sharp pangs tore into my chest, and I wrapped the blanket around my naked form. “You can talk to me, Hawk. I’m always here for you. Tell me what’s going on.”

“You could have died in that cemetery because I was a reckless idiot. When that demon stabbed you, I couldn’t handle it.”

“I’m fine.”

“But I’m not.” A pause stretched as he took a few deep breaths. “C-can I see you? Will you come to Corvin Manor?”

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