Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

The atmosphere in the mystical forest thickened as Torin licked his lips and gave a lupine smile while salivating over me. His desire infiltrated the air in sickening waves. He wasn't used to being rejected, nor was he the type to take no for an answer.

I folded my arms while casually watching the other three wolves. "Leave before you do something regrettable."

Torin stroked his length. "I won't regret shoving you to the ground and fucking you at all."

My gut roiled, and it took all of my control not to puke. "I'll rip that tiny thing you call a dick off if it gets anywhere near me. And did you forget that I have a mate? Fane doesn't share."

"Like I told you on the dance floor, he's busy with a visitor."

"I don't give a damn." The lust coming off him threatened to choke me. "He'll skin you alive for even thinking about doing this."

Cracking bones and snarls caught my attention just as the gray wolf finished transforming into his human shape. Gray, one of the shifters who cornered me in the kitchen a few weeks ago, eyed Torin .

"I told you this was a bad idea, T," he said, glancing around the darkened forest. "Fane will be pissed."

Torin chuckled. "By the time Fane finds out, it'll be too late."

Frost crawled over me, and it had nothing to do with the cold temperatures. Torin intended to force his claim on me. And to do that, he had to bite me during sex. My gaze flicked to his friends, realizing he brought them along to help hold me down, knowing I'd put up one hell of a fight.

They had no idea.

While I was still processing the situation, Torin bolted forward, slamming me into the tree so hard my skull cracked against the bark. As the forest spun, blood collected in the back of my mouth. His teeth grazed the other side of my neck free of Fane's tattoo.

I shuddered at the feel of Torin pressed against me, my gag reflexes engaging as his hot breath rushed over my flesh. "Get the hell off!" I pushed him away as the demon amulet tried to grab hold of my control, that dark power sluicing through my veins.

Oh, shit. If I allowed the Infernal Sol to influence my mind, these four wolves would end up begging and screaming before finally succumbing to death. The desire to harm them, especially Torin, for thinking they could tear me away from Fane turned my vision hazy scarlet.

But Torin, ignoring the danger pulsating around me, gave a malicious grin that twisted my stomach in knots. "I love it when they play hard to get."

This wasn't me playing hard to get. This was me trying not to become a raving lunatic.

I'm coming out whether you want me to or not.

My evil half's whisper sent alarms blaring through my mind, drowning out Torin's excited howl as he rushed at me. The tree's rough bark dug into my spine as the back of my head bounced on the tree trunk again.

Bright spots danced in my vision as a sharp throb tore into my skull.

Hell, that hurt.

"You're making a huge mistake," I hissed, my voice already deepening as the amulet rose forward.

His teeth scraped over my throat. "The only mistake I'm making is not toying with you a little more first. But that's okay. Once you're my mate, I'll have all the time in the world to play."

My last bit of control began to slip from my fingers as Gray, still in human form, stepped forward and gripped my hair. The two remaining wolves clamped their jaw around my legs to force me down.

A vicious roar erupted through the forest, and a massive black figure bolted out of the shadows, eyes smoldering like fiery ruby stones.

Torin staggered back and tried to shift, but Fane—in his demon wolf form—tackled him to the ground, his talons puncturing his chest as he snapped his teeth, saliva dripping. The sharp onyx spikes trailing down his spine shined in the moonlight, as sharp as serrated knives and ready to tear his enemies apart.

My beautiful beast.

Fane's presence gave me enough strength to push the demon amulet back before I flipped my shit and started feeding on their fears, not that they deserved mercy for what they tried to do.

I'll come out and play eventually…

But not tonight.

"Oh, fuck!" Gray stumbled away and ran from the scene as the two wolves released my legs, their teeth leaving behind shallow puncture wounds .

Catching the movement, Fane left Torin and shot after Gray, vanishing in the shadows of the trees. A painful yelp reverberated, and moments later, Fane dragged the other male shifter back to the area by his ankle. Blood dripped from the wounds.

"We were just messing around, Fane." Torin crawled to his knees, his voice shaking. "You didn't seem too interested in her, so I thought I'd have a little fun and?—"

The demon shifter shook his head and stood on two feet, quickly transforming into his human shape. "You thought you'd have some fucking fun, huh?" The menacing hint to his words sent shivers down every vertebra, and Torin looked close to pissing himself. "I'll show you fun."

Fane moved in a blur, grabbing the other male around the throat and throwing him into a tree with a thunderous crack . Torin staggered up, but Fane was on him in seconds, raking his talons down his torso again.

Shit. He'd really kill him.

I grabbed Fane's arm before he could take another swipe at Torin. "Stop! You're going to kill him."

"That's the plan." Fane's mouth curved into a snarl as Torin slumped against the trunk, whimpering. Movement caught his attention as the two males, still in animal form, tried to leave. "Stay right fucking there."

Fane released another roar with so much power behind it that my knees wanted to bend. Torin dropped to the ground along with the other two, and all four of them, including Gray, rolled onto their bellies, whining.

"What the hell is going on?" Barric stormed out of the trees, his irises glowing and canines sharpening as he scrutinized the four wolves, two bleeding and Fane growling over them with crimson staining his hands.

"Why don't you ask your male pack members?" The demon shifter angled toward me until his body brushed mine, his skin a blazing fire. "I found Torin trying to force his claim on my mate." Tremors rippled over him as his fury pulsated through the bond.

Torin scoffed. "He's lying. Tate led me out here. She propositioned me."

I nearly threw up in my mouth. "Now who's the liar?"

"Enough!" Barric shouted, his voice garbled by the massive canines protruding from his mouth. "All of you, in my office. Now ."

Fane refused to move his hand from my thigh as we sat on the couch in Barric's office while Torin and Gray—both dressed now—occupied the chairs in front of the desk, and Hank and Marcel stood along the room's edges.

"Maybe if you hadn't been busy flirting with that visiting she-wolf, Torin wouldn't have attacked me," I said, ignoring Fane's attempts to pull me closer. "The douchebag thought you didn't care what happened to me."

"How many times do I have to tell you I wasn't flirting with her, Teague? I was just trying to get a damn drink in peace when she cornered me."

"Aw, you poor, helpless baby. Did the scary she-wolf corner you?" My silent voice oozed sarcasm.

"This is ridiculous, Alpha Barric." An older male with the same tawny hair and golden eyes as Torin stood behind him. A vicious scar dug into his neck, definitely claw marks. "I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. My son would never attempt to steal another wolf's mate much less force a claim on one."

"Except he did," I said. "They followed me into the forest with that very intent. His friends were there to hold me down. "

Fane flinched at my words, and the rage still throbbed around him, heavy and choking. "If this ever happens again, let the amulet out and eviscerate the motherfuckers."

Fane had known I'd been trying to keep the Infernal Sol's power at bay. "And then what? Are you going to keep Barric from locking me up? Because that's exactly what he'd do."

He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. "No one is locking you up."

His fierce tone had my pulse rising. I wanted to believe him, but I'd been held prisoner because of this amulet so many times I lost count.

Torin's father narrowed a glare at me. "You're confused. You're a bitten wolf and haven't been here long enough to know the ways."

"But I'm not, Wes." Fane stared the man down, and even sitting, he was a hundred times more intimidating than Torin's father. "I know exactly what I walked up on, and I have every right to kill your son and the other wolves involved."

"My son isn't dying over some?—"

Barric popped his knuckles as alpha power throbbed from him. "Tell me the truth, Torin. Did you or did you not attack Tate?"

Torin swallowed thickly as all the blood drained from his face. "I, uh, I just wanted to mess with her. I wasn't really going to let it go that far."

A low growl built in Barric's chest, worked its way up his throat, and burst from between his teeth. "I don't stand for that kind of behavior in this pack. All four of you will be punished. We don't treat our females with such disrespect." The alpha turned to Fane and me. "I apologize on behalf of my pack. You two are excused while I deal with them. "

Wes scoffed. "This is bullshit, Barric. That girl wouldn't even be allowed here if The Collective?—"

"That is not something we discuss here," the alpha snapped, his jaw grinding as his eyes burned into Wes like they were trying to melt his flesh off. As he curled his hands, the white scars crisscrossing them widened. "You know I don't tolerate it."

My heartbeats tripped all over themselves, and of course Fane caught it, arching his brow. Barric clearly didn't like Wes mentioning The Collective Hunt.

Fane grabbed my hand as he stood, yanking me up with him. "If I see any of you near her again, I'll rip your throat out. I don't give a damn about consequences."

As we left the office, Wes released a string of curses followed by a hissed whisper. "I can't believe you allow either of them to stay with the pack. She's a troublemaker, and he's an unhinged beast. He's a half demon, worse than that bitten trash."

The demon shifter shook his head at the insults and trudged down the hall, his hand still firmly locked around mine like he feared I'd slip away and cause more havoc. "He's lucky I didn't rip his son's heart out and serve it to him for dinner."

I grimaced, but it was hard to mask the tiny bit of joy I found in Fane threatening such a morbid thing in my honor.

Wes and Torin definitely seemed like the types to be involved in a hate group, if it still existed. But Barric defended Fane's action and was pissed I was attacked. He didn't share Wes's views. At least, he didn't appear to.

People often lied, a lesson I'd learned many times over.

I needed to get to the bottom of this. I had a sinking feeling I'd only scratched the surface of sinister secrets within Silver Ridge. Why would that symbol be on Barric's painting or drawn on his son's death record?