Page 37 of Hunting Savage
The alpha’s eyes blazed brighter as if whatever was said shocked him.
“Mmm, did your little buddy just tell you that my female is the same one he and your little crew tried to kill?”Savage asked.
“I’ll ask again, and this time I want a real answer.What the fuck is going on around here?”A growl rattled up from deep within the shifter’s throat.
Scepter moved forward, letting the others grasp the knowledge that Savage wasn’t alone.Although he could handle the males without breaking a sweat, he’d hate to kill them in front of Aurora.
“Why don’t you tell me why you came here with a female in tow first.And before you think to make demands of me again, should I remind you that I can, and will, kill all of you with the snap of a finger.”Savage narrowed his eyes but allowed them to turn the burning red of his beast.
The sound of their shallow breathing filled the room as they watched him.He couldn’t decide whether he liked their fear, which usually fueled his hunger, or if he detested them for making him flex his power and possibly make his female shrink away from him as well.They were the ones who’d come to him with a sacrificial lamb after they’d tried to kill an innocent woman.If they’d had their way, Aurora would’ve died on the side of a mountain.The thought of never getting the chance to meet his bond mate made him growl.
The shifters flinched back as if he’d shot them with flames.
“I’m right here, Savage,” Aurora whispered, wrapping her arm around his neck, the other she pressed against his chest, right above his heart.He hated that they’d tried to snuff her life out.If his mate hadn’t been the tough-as-nails female she’d been born, he’d never known about her.Hell, he’d never had her hunting him like she had.
“Oh, I’d have hunted you through this life or the next, Savage.Trust and believe that if you don’t believe anything else.”
He gripped the back of her head in one palm, bringing her face close to his.“Woman, you are going to get your ass spanked.”
She wiggled her brows but stayed quiet.
He should’ve been worried that Aurora could read his mind so easily, but like her, he didn’t have his walls fortified.
“I’m still waiting for one of you to answer my question, shifters.In fact, I don’t give a fuck which of you does it.Should I repeat myself?”Not like he’d give them a pink slip if he didn’t like their answer.Nope.They’d get a nice bite on the neck and a long sleep if they were lucky.There wouldn’t be a funeral or a farewell party with their closest friends and family paying respects.He thought of the scene from The Silence of the Lambs with Hannibal Lecter.“A census taker once tried to test me.I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
“Oh my gawd, you are a geek.”Aurora squealed.“If you had hissed when you said that, I’d have totally jumped your bones.”
“I’ll hold you to that after we finish with these boys.”He cut his gaze to hers.
“I got your boy, bloodsucker,” the alpha said, his voice a deep-throated rattle.
“You don’t want me to force your compliance,boy.Trust me, I am being much more patient with all of you than I normally would.If my female weren’t here, I’d probably have already drained all of you and been done with it.”Any sane being would’ve backed down, but the fool before him puffed out his chest like he had balls of steel.Savage kind of admired him for it.
“I wasn’t part of the killing of your females,” a male with a strong aura said from the side.
A memory flashed through his mind, so faint, half-formed, Savage wasn’t sure whose vision he saw or if it was real.He saw several males surrounding three of his clan.The females were young and vulnerable.Their fear was palpable.He’d promised to protect them, and so far, he’d failed.
“Continue,” he bit out.
“I believe our alpha told you about us finding the young female?”
Savage gave a nod, holding a firm hand on Aurora’s hip.“Let him speak, Vita Mea.”
“He wasn’t part of the group who...who tried to kill me.I think he tried to convince them I wasn’t a liability.”
“Every wolf needs a pack.I’m aware it’s not a good excuse, but for five years, I searched for a place to belong until I found it.For years, I tried to ignore my shifter side, pretending I was human when in truth I teetered on the edge of shifting in the middle of their world, hoping I didn’t burst into my wolf.Hell, there were days I could feel my wolf doing his damndest to crawl out of my skin while I fought to push him down.It was a struggle to control myself until I finally made peace with both halves.So, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I wasn’t born a shifter.I settled into this crew, thinking all shifters were like me.It didn’t take me long to realize, really fucking quick, I was the odd one out.”
“What’s your name?”Savage asked.
“You want my name before or after?”
Everything in Savage told him to trust the male and to tread lightly.He could delve within the male's mind and get the information he wanted, but that could fuck him up and cause him to have nightmares or worse, revert to a blathering idiot.Savage found he actually respected the former human, turned shifter male.In the flashing blue eyes, he could see kindness and shadows holding pain.Whoever this male used to be, he’d been good.
“Quinn.My name is Quinn, but they call me Graves.”He blew out a breath, then settled into a crouch, his elbows resting on his knees as if it pained him to admit the truth.
Savage nodded his head, hoping Quinn could see the truth in his face and hear it in his voice.“You’re good, Quinn.In life, we’re given choices, and sometimes, they feel more like shit than gold.Still, manure adds nitrogen to soil as it breaks down, supplying essential nutrients for plant growth and improving soil organic matter.Without good shit, you don’t get growth, my friend.”
“Sheot, Savage, don’t try and wax poetic on us, you suck at it.”Scepter let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
