Page 70 of Savage Sacrifice
“I’m also the girl you isolated based on a bargain with my parents, so forgive me for not believing there’s anything else I’m required to offer you. I’ve suffered enough at your hands,” she snaps, and pride surges through my veins.
“Now, now, Polaris. I was taking care of you,” he insists. “I understand it may not be the most heartwarming lifestyle, but you’re here now, and with your parents no less. Surprise.”
My teeth grind together in anger as I put one paw in front of the other, ready to pounce.
“Let her go, motherfucker,” Blaze snarls, arms banded behind his back by Finch, who kicks at the back of his knees, forcing him to the ground, but Blaze remains defiant, nostrils flaring as he glares at the man in charge.
“I believe your part of our bargain was to kill the first one to mark her,” The Crow snarls back, turning his beaked mask in Blaze’s direction, and the vampire frowns in confusion.
“Your letter confirmed that it was no longer necessary,” he bites back, but The Crow scoffs, waving his hand dismissively in his direction.
“You shouldn’t believe anything that doesn’t come directly from my mouth,” The Crow offers before nodding at Finch. “Finish him.”
The world around me drapes in black as Polaris’s scream echoes through the trees, and I’m moving.
I take the longest, fastest strides my wolf has ever reached, pounding the ground with unwavering focus and determination, jaw wide as I approach. Leaping as high as I can, my teeth sink into Finch’s neck before I even realize what it is I’ve committed to.
His howl rings through the air, quickly turning to a gargle as his hold on Blaze releases and he hurtles to the ground, but not before a sharp pain burns through my side. I can’t stop, though. The pain is no match for my rage.
Ripping, tearing, shredding.
It’s only when a firm hand splays across my forehead that I blink, pulling from the trance I’m caught in. A growl burns up my throat at first, but when I tilt my head, it’s Lincoln I find above me.
“It’s okay, Tatum. It’s done. It’s okay. It’s done. It’s okay. It’s done. It’s okay.” He repeats the words over and over again, his hand slowly brushing through my fur as I give him my focus.
“Tatum.” The sweet angelic voice of Polaris meets my ears, and I glance past Lincoln to see her eyes wide and jaw slack.
“Everyone’s okay, Tatum. Relax now. Come back to us,” Lincoln breathes as I feel a pool of liquid at my feet. Looking down, I startle at the sight of Finch’s lifeless body, mangled beyond repair at my doing.
I take a step back, but it’s wavering. I feel sluggish.
“You’re going to pay for this.” I’m certain the snarl comes from The Crow, the acid venom familiar, but my vision blurs and the sound is distorted as my legs give out.
My face lands an inch from Finch’s as Polaris cries out my name.
A shadow looms over me, but it’s not really a shadow, not a normal one at least. It’s light and beautiful. It’s her. I know it is, but I can’t see. All I can sense is whispers ofI love youbefore the world goes black.
25
POLARIS
Iwatch in horror as Tatum sways back a step, shifting from wolf to human as he crashes to the floor, eyes rolling to the back of his head, and I scream.
My throat burns as I launch to my feet, sidestepping The Crow’s outstretched hand before barreling toward my fallen wolf.
“You’re going to pay for this,” The Crow warns, but I don’t pay him any mind as I erase the distance between us.
Blaze is hovering above him before I get there, but he offers me enough space to drop to my knees beside Tatum’s face, stroking a curl of hair back from his forehead.
Cupping his cheek, I feel the stain of tears streaking across my cheeks as I whisper his name, but my pleas go unheard by the man I need to hear them the most. “No. No. No. No. No,” I chant, rubbing my thumb back and forth across his cheek as I sob. “I love you, Tatum. Everything is going to be okay. It is, I promise,” I insist when another sob racks through my body.
Blaze wraps his hand around my wrist, trying to nudge me out of the way, but I’m too scared to leave his side. “Help him. Someone help him, please,” I cry, and Blaze wraps his other arm around my shoulders in comfort.
“Everyone inside,” Lincoln orders with wide, panicked eyes.
“Will he make it inside?” I blurt, too scared to let go of Tatum, even as Lincoln tries to lift him in the air.
“Let me,” Blaze interjects, pointing at the dagger protruding from his side closest to Lincoln. “We need to see what we’re dealing with. I’m going to manage that better inside, Amica Mea,” he breathes, and despite the churning in my gut, I lift my hands, pinning them to my chest to clear space.
