Page 79 of Savage Claim

Blood thundered in my ears, crashing against my skull as I beat my fist against the chilly surface. If Jax found me, he’d drag me back to their little racist gathering, and Barric would finally drop his pleasant, charming mask.

As I struck the bricks again, trying to figure out a way out of this damn mess, a click echoed, and the wall creaked opened.

My eyes bugged out as a hidden passageway emerged. Where the hell did this lead?

The beta’s footsteps drew closer, and I silently cursed. I was cornered and out of options.

I dashed inside and closed the door behind me, my sweaty hands slipping over the rough-hewn bricks. Then, I sprinted down the narrow corridor. Thankfully, my supernatural senses kicked in, and the outline of walls appeared right before all the twists and turns, so I didn’t run into one and knock myself out.

My breaths came in erratic spurts as I pumped my legs, pushing them to their limits. Like a monster from my nightmares, Jax’s presence chased me. He must have realized I took the hidden passage.

Did he know it was me? Could he recognize my scent?

Sweat slicked my skin, and my clothes stuck to my body as the walls tugged at my long hair. Just when I thought I’d be lost in this damn maze, a door appeared, and I slammed into it. My clammy hands found a small latch within the brick, and I yanked it, setting off a wave of vibrations as the wall slowly opened.

Once I could fit through the crack, I pushed inside, spinning and closing the door behind me. I leaned against it, taking in my surroundings and trying to catch my breath. Shiny hardwoods, sage walls, pewter sconces, the comforting scent of pine…

My jaw hung open. I was on the basement level of the Silver Ridge compound.

Should I be surprised that Lunar Souls, a shifter bar, had a secret tunnel to the head alpha’s house? How many other places around Savannah connected to that passageway?

Before Jax caught up, I bolted out of the room and found the stairs to the first floor. A few shifters eyed me funnily when I hurried past them, a red, sweaty mess.

Do I leave or hide in my room?

My legs already carried me toward an exterior door, but Jax suddenly appeared, and I dipped around the corner, slapping my hand over my mouth to quiet my ragged breaths. How did he get here so fast? Did I miss another entrance to the house in the tunnel?

I jogged through the hallway, finding a flight of stairs on the left. My hand trembled on the banister, pulling myself up each step. Fane had to have sensed my panic by now. Had I been too distracted while escaping to notice if he’d visited me in his phantom form? Maybe he was already in his car, speeding back to help me.

When I reached the landing, the hallway looked like the rest of the house with antique sconces illuminating glossy hardwoods and wainscoting, but I had no clue of where I was or how to find my room from here. There had to be somewhere to hide or a window to climb out of.

I jogged forward and bypassed the first three doors, stopping on the fourth. When I pressed my ear to the cool wood, nothing stirred on the other side. My clammy hand slipped over the knob as I attempted to turn it, but it was locked. Luckily, I had my lockpick kit—I’d been keeping it with me—and used it to break in.

The door creaked opened, and I slipped inside, locking it behind me. The stale, dusty air wrinkled my nose and had me holding back a sneeze. No one had been inside this place in years. I flipped on the light, revealing a boy’s nursery.

A heavy boulder sank to the bottom of my gut as my gaze landed on the framed picture of Tamara and Barric on the dresser. This must have been Anton’s room—or it would have been if he’d survived. A pang twisted my insides even though the head alpha was a lying bastard. He must have had a tiny sliver of a heart if he’d kept this room all these years.

My fingers dragged over the curtains shielding the dark sky that stretched over Savannah, sending dust motes flying. A picture of Tamara smiling for the camera as she cradled her pregnant belly hung on the blue wall. Barric kneeled before her, kissing her stomach like a doting husband and proud father-to-be.

Tamara’s strawberry-blonde hair drifted in the wind while her kind green eyes beamed, and a faint smattering of freckles sprinkled her nose.

A chair sat in the corner where she would have rocked their son to sleep. My throat clogged at the sadness in the room. Losing his son and fated mate must have destroyed a part of Barric.

Still, it didn’t make up for his participation in this disgusting secret organization. He’d even carved The Collective’s symbol into the top of the rocking chair. My fingers reached out, running along the sculpted lines of branches digging into the wood.

A flood of fear suddenly slammed into my chest, and I stumbled back, breaking my hold on the icy surface.

What the hell was that? That wasn’t from Fane or anything to do with the bond.

My erratic breaths filled the air as I tried to shake off the terror. I’d feasted on fears and savored them plenty of times, but this was entirely different. I’d felt fear just now as if it were my own.

I slowly inched to the chair, my hand trembling as it rested on the dusty back.

The same terror erupted in me, but I didn’t break away this time as distant shrieks echoed in my ears. The briny scent of blood choked my senses, and the feeling of death coiled around me.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?”

Barric’s harsh tone yanked me out of the trance, and I released the chair just as he shut the door, locking us in his son’s nursery. So much tension rippled through his body that he looked like a stone statue set on a vibrating stand.

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