Page 80 of Savage Claim

“Tell me why you broke into this room, Tate,” he demanded, his irises flashing gold as his wolf emerged.

“I, uh, just stumbled on it.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” Did he know I was the interloper in The Collective meeting beneath Lunar Souls?

“But you decided to snoop around anyway.” The head alpha slinked closer as heavy waves of power leaked out of him. “I’m beginning to think you aren’t being honest with me about some things, Tate. And after I opened my home and pack to you.”

My spine snapped straight, and alarms blared in my head the closer he came. If I backed away, it would show fear and vulnerability. And I wouldn’t submit to him. “Have you been totally honest with me?”

“I suppose not.” His humorless chuckle spilled frost down my nape. “I know you were the one spying on us. How did you find the place? Only members were invited.”

“Just lucky, I guess.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it.” He jerked his chin toward the chair. “Tell me how you can see that symbol. There’s no point in denying it.”

My hands curled into tight fists, longing to drive into his face and break his bones. “How about you tell me what you and The Collective Hunt are doing with all the bitten shifters? Are they still alive?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” His lips curled back to bare his teeth. “How can you see the symbols we draw in our blood and Arcanas dust? You were bitten, so you can’t be a descendant. Not unless you were a human born from one of us, and we sadly missed the opportunity to slaughter you as a baby.”

A bitter taste coated the back of my mouth at the casual way he talked about killing a helpless child. “You’re a sadistic asshole.”

Barric dragged his fingers through his russet hair and scrutinized me, ignoring my insult. “Is that why you were asking about human offspring?”

I gave a jerky shrug as my muscles tensed, poised for a fight. “I was just curious.”

“Stop lying!” The words burst out of Barric as his teeth sharpened, and fur sprouted from a few places. “If that’s not the case, are you using magic to reveal it? A spell you purchased or some kind of mystical dust?” He moved too fast, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me like a ragdoll.

As soon as he gripped me, the nursery evaporated, and I fell into Barric’s mind where his greatest fear suddenly played out.

A younger, thinner version of him held a silver knife to Barric’s heart, nostrils flaring and teeth gritting but no sign of shifting. “You knew this day was coming, Dad.”

Barric growled as fury turned his irises into molten gold. “You should have died when you were born, Anton. You’re no son of mine.”

My heart rate doubled, thundering loudly in my ears. Did Barric’s son survive? Was he out there somewhere?

I pushed farther, and with the help of the Infernal Sol, I slipped deeper into Barric’s mind to unveil another vision.

Blood splattered the very walls of this nursery as the head alpha leaned over a woman on the ground, scarlet staining her white nightgown.

“How dare you lie to me,” he snarled. “You knew our son was human this whole time, and you allowed him to grow inside you. And when you birthed him, you refused to end his life.”

The woman, Tamara, glared at him without blinking, blood staining her wild, strawberry-blonde strands. “You’re damn right I refused to kill my child. I hid him from you before your dirty Collective could sink their claws into him and rip his throat out. You will never find him.”

“Tell me where you sent him, Tamara, and I will spare your life.”

“I’d rather die.” Blood coated her teeth as she laughed. “But one day, he’ll find you. And you’ll beg for mercy when he wipes you from this earth. I’ll be waiting in the afterlife for you, dear mate.”

Barric’s roar shook the room as he transformed into a gigantic russet wolf. He clamped his jaws around Tamara’s throat, more blood splattering the ground as he shook his head. The snap of her neck reverberated with a sickening crack, and he dropped her lifeless body to the hardwoods.

I jerked back to reality as Barric shoved me away.

“Stay the fuck out of my mind!” He gripped the sides of his head, his nostrils flaring and muscles shaking.

The images flashed over my vision again, and my stomach soured. “You killed her.” My chest heaved as I tried to gain control. “You killed your own fated mate.”

More brown fur sprouted along Barric’s arms, and the scars on his face seemed to deepen and glow in the light. “You shouldn’t have seen that, Tate. I can’t let you leave here with that knowledge.” He dropped on all fours as he transformed into the same wolf in the vision, the same bloodlust in his gold eyes.

And then he lunged at me.

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