Page 81 of Savage Torment

“Don’t be sorry, just distract me, please,” she says, and I nod, determined to fulfill her wish.

“If you want a distraction, let me show you my brother laying claim to our bestie here,” Minnie sings, pulling her cell phone out of her clutch before spinning the screen for us to see.

“Wait, your brother did what?” Bryony asks, shifting us both for a better view of the screen, and I gulp as the wolf in question appears.

“Listen up! I don’t give a fuck who you think you are or what you might be capable of. What matters is your allegiance to this pack and what it stands for. That not only includes every single person present here today, but also those who aren’t, those who are family, and those who are family by invitation. Polaris Beauchamp is family by invitation. Let that fact be known by every wolf. I’m aware someone decided to try to take matters into their own hands at the blood kin assembly and almost caused her harm. When I find out who it was, and believe me, I will find out, there will be consequences. But more than that, if I find out that anyone so much as looks at her with cruel intent, they will face the same repercussions. Any. Fucking. Questions?” His chest heaves, hands clenched at his sides as he snarls at everyone. I’ve never seen his eyes so bright, swirling with flecks of gold I never knew existed.

“Why are we protecting other factions now? It was strange when you did it protectively as a pack the second she stepped on campus because some fucking vampire was mean to her, but what’s this about? Are you claiming her?” someone calls out. I can’t see their face, but the voice belongs to a man, not Bianca like I would have expected.

“You’re damn fucking straight, she’s claimed,” he barks back, and an audible chorus of gasps rings out around the gathered crowd. I’m sure I can hear Minnie chuckling in the background, but a grunt quickly washes it out.

“But she’s a witch.”

“Does it look like I give a shit?” Lincoln cracks his neck from side to side, his nostrils flaring as he glares around the room.

“It’s not right,” a girl calls out, but it’s too far away for me to determine if it’s Bianca. If itisher, Lincoln doesn’t acknowledge her directly. He continues to speak to them as a group.

“I’m the fucking Alpha. I say what’s right and what’s not,” he bites, and the video ends.

Minnie gleefully places her cell phone back in her clutch while I stand gaping in shock.

“How does that make you feel?” Minnie asks, pressing her lips together to stop herself from chuckling, and I shake my head, unable to formulate an answer when Bryony does it for me.

“She’s embarrassed, but she loves it.”

I roll my eyes as I take a step back, dismissing them both as I stomp toward the door.

“Whatever, let’s go.”

26

WYLDER

Iroll my shoulders back, sweat already clinging to every part of me as I practice my swings. Tonight is going to be a good night.

Asher is nose-deep in his cell phone, like usual, while Tatum has been lost in his sketchbook for most of the week. Lincoln, however, is on his high horse, throwing weight around to try to get to the bottom of the wolf that tried to attack Polaris. He’s yet to find answers. I’m half considering offering him my position in the ring so he can let off steam, but I need it myself, especially with the vampire in question.

Did we make Lincoln acknowledge his place in Polaris’s life? Yes.

Have I thoroughly done it myself yet? Definitely not.

I’m furious—eager to rip his limbs off—but I know deep in my soul that he’s going to be a part of this whether we like it or not.

Besides, he saved Polaris in the assembly hall, and fuck knows what would have happened if he wasn’t there, but one thing is for sure: I’d rather live with him than without Polaris.

Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I tilt my head back as I take a deep breath, counting the minutes down, when a knock comesfrom the locker room door. My gaze snaps in the direction of the sound, but before I can consider taking a single step, Tatum stuffs his sketchbook in his backpack and heads for the door.

Excitement pools in my gut at the idea of my Little Witch coming to see me before the fight, but when the door swings open, my dream is shattered.

Blaze.

“The fight takes place in the ring, not here, asshole,” I grunt, and he cocks a brow at me.

“No shit,” he murmurs, rocking back on his heels as Tatum closes the door behind him. He’s a vampire among wolves, completely out of his comfort zone with no protection, but looking at him, you wouldn’t know it.

He’s relaxed.Toorelaxed.

“What do you want, Blaze?” Lincoln asks with a sigh, and the vampire swipes his tongue along his bottom lip, the only hint of nerves he reveals.

---