Page 99 of Savage Sacrifice
“I’m knocking out of kindness. Don’t make me wait, boy.”
Polaris gapes at me in understanding and I hurry to give her the black sweatshirt she discarded earlier. She takes it, slipping it over her head before banding her arms tightly around her middle again. Last time it was uncertainty, this time it’s fear.
Fuck.
Hurrying to pull my t-shirt on, I glance around the room, making sure there’s nothing on display for him to see before I take a deep breath, exhaling so fucking slowly, and reach for the door handle.
I look over my shoulder at Polaris standing by the bed, her back ramrod straight, but she still nods eagerly at the door, encouraging me to answer.
The second it opens an inch, he pushes his way inside. His top hat is as obnoxious as ever, his mask firmly in place. The elongated nose makes my toes curl as his floor-length leather jacket crinkles with every step.
Rage coils in my veins, and it only heightens when he sets his sights on my Silver.
“Polaris, I’m glad to see you looking like yourself again.” His lips curl into a sinister smile, and I watch as Polaris gulps nervously, but doesn’t speak a word.
Opting to leave the door open, I clear my throat. “What do you want?”
The Crow tilts his head as he peers at me. “No pleasantries?”
“We’ve never done pleasantries,” I say with a scoff, and he hums.
“But now we’re in the presence of a woman,” he states, aiming a finger in Polaris’s direction.
My nostrils flare with irritation, but I tamp it down instead of exploding on him like I want to. “What do you want, Crow?” I repeat, and he sighs, folding his hands together in front of him as he glances back and forth between us.
“Isn’t that the question of the hour, huh?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhale slowly again, but staying calm is futile around this man. “I’m not playing your mind games right now.”
“Of course not.” His lips purse and I feel like I’m walking a tightrope, except he’s got ahold of one end of it. He’s never like this. Almost jovial. It’s off-putting.
“So, what do you want?” I repeat for the third time, desperate to get him far away from Polaris as soon as possible.
“Don’t speak to me like one of your fucking mongrels didn’t kill my right hand man,” he snaps, and I rock back on my heels.
There he is. The charade is over. But before I can say a word, Polaris gasps.
“Are you joking? You were going to kill Blaze,” she bites, furious at the man before us, and I hate that he’s there. I hate that I can’t tuck her behind me and defend her from his toxic stare.
He whirls his head in her direction. “I’ll get to you,” he growls, and I side-step him, coming to Polaris’s side, refusing to let her face this monster alone, but she seems unfazed by his intensity.
“This conversation doesn’t roll on your terms,” she insists, waving a finger in his direction. “You might be the big bad crow out there, but in our private space, you’re not. You will be respectful, or you’ll get the hell out.”
He bares his teeth, but that’s not what captures my attention.
No.
It’s his eyes.
His… glowing eyes.
What the fuck?
“Your eyes,” I blurt, grabbing Polaris’s hand as I pull her against my side, and The Crow looks away.
Disbelief floods my veins as I stare at him. Rage consumes him, I can hear it in his racing heart, feel it in the trembling of the floor between us, and see it in his coiled fists.
“You’ll be mindful of how you speak to me,” he bellows darkly, stealing the air from the room as Polaris squeezes my hand tightly, but instead of backing away, I step forward.
