Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

Adrenaline hit my bloodstream, and my supernatural senses took over as I teetered on the edge of being caught in the captain's office. My whole body shook while I tossed everything back into the hidden compartment and returned the books to the shelf.

Coltrane would be pissed to find me here even if she didn't realize I'd discovered her secret hiding spot.

By the time she opened the door and cut on the light, I was leaning against the bookshelf, my arms crossed against my chest with a bored expression. Good thing she wasn't a nightworlder because she'd probably hear my frantic heartbeat.

When she noticed me, the captain halted, her brows slamming together. "How did you get in here?"

I gave a casual shrug. "The door was unlocked."

Her gaze roamed the space behind me, noticing how close I stood to The Art of War . "You have no business being in here. Have you been going through my things?"

"Why would I do that? Something to hide?" I gave her a twisted smile .

She strode across the room and waved me away from the spot, scrutinizing it to see if anything was out of place. "You're not fooling me, Tate. You're in here for a reason, and I want to know why."

On impulse, I grabbed a pen and notepad off her desk, drawing the tree symbol. This would distract her from realizing what I found, and it might give me some answers. "Do you know what this is?"

She snatched the notepad from my hand, her lips thinning. "This symbol represents The Collective Hunt. They believe born bloodlines are superior to turned shifters."

"What else do you know about them?" I asked, perching on the edge of her desk.

Coltrane didn't bother telling me to move as she studied the mark. "Apart from killing bitten shifters, they would also terminate any human offspring."

The blood drained from my face, and thankfully I was sitting because I would have fallen on my ass. "What?"

"They viewed the children as stains and sought to end their lineage to prevent any other mutations in the genes." She tossed the notepad on her desk and sighed. "Those children could potentially have shifter offspring, making it more difficult for The Collective to discern who was pure and not."

Human children didn't die because they were weak like Barric claimed. They died because these assholes slaughtered them.

Another realization crashed over me, and I pressed my palms into Coltrane's desk to keep from falling off. Holy shit . Was this the reason my parents hid me? Did they believe The Collective would come for me and kill me simply for being human?

"But they don't exist anymore," Coltrane said, her voice barely audible over the thundering of my pulse .

"Are you sure?" I asked, attempting to control my frantic breaths.

She marched to her minifridge and grabbed a bottle of water without offering me one. "Of course. The ravens would know if The Collective was still active."

Coltrane was so damn cocky she really believed that.

I slipped off her desk and dragged a shaky hand through my hair. "So you don't think this group of racist jerks could be responsible for the missing shifters? The only connection these victims have is that they were all bitten and not born."

The raven captain quickly shook her head, her slicked-back blonde ponytail shining under the lights. "We'd be finding bodies if The Collective was involved." She set her water down and propped her hands on her hips. "They didn't abduct their victims. They simply killed them."

A burst of adrenaline suddenly hit me, and I gripped the edge of the desk, scattering a few papers.

Son of a bitch. That was definitely from Fane.

My consciousness left my body, and my incorporeal form rushed through Corvin Manor toward him. Fane's head snapped in my direction when I materialized next to him outside the conference room.

"You should probably get down here." He spoke out loud, catching Jax's attention through the unfolding commotion.

The beta looked around. "Who are you talking to?"

Ruin suddenly sauntered down the hall in a tailored black suit that fit him like a second skin and a sultry smile with a hint of danger pulling at his lips. "Well, well, it's a party. All in my honor."

Gia cursed. "How did he get in here?"

More ravens rushed down the other side of the hall at the appearance of the high demon lord .

I slammed back into my body, stumbling off the desk.

"What the hell was that?" Coltrane asked. "You were in a daze."

Coltrane's radio crackled, someone probably alerting her to Ruin's presence.

"Shit," I hissed and bolted out of the room, heading for the flight of stairs. The ravens never allowed demons into Corvin Manor. If they needed to conduct a meeting, it was always on neutral ground, so Ruin casually strolling in could start a shitstorm.

I flew down the steps, passing a few stunned ravens on the way. When I finally neared the conference room, I had to bust through a group crowding one side of the hall, hesitant to attack the powerful demon.

That would be a bad idea.

"I heard you were having a little meeting about yours truly." Ruin dramatically bowed, his eyes a deep shade of navy instead of bright blue. "Here I am, in all my evil, sadistic, human-hating glory."

Fane caught my waist before I could rush to Ruin's side. "He's not in a good mood, fiera mika. Be careful."

"Did you call him?"

"No." The demon shifter gave a casual shrug. "I called Logan and let it slip. I should have known Ruin would break in. He does have a flare for the dramatics."

"And you think I cause trouble?"

Fane released me, and I rushed to Ruin as he stared down Garrison, one of the veteran ravens.

"You look like you want to fight." Ruin laughed when Garrison grabbed a mystical hilt out of his pocket. "What are you going to do with that? Tickle me? "

I slipped in front of Ruin, resting my hands on his chest while power vibrated around him. "Let's all just calm down."

As he peeled his gaze from the raven to me, some of the hardness melted from his expression. "Hello, beautiful." Ruin kissed the top of my head and then roughly shoved me into Fane's waiting arms.

"Lord Ruin, you are not permitted in our headquarters." The ravens at the end of the hall allowed Coltrane to pass through, Hawk and Roxie on her heels. "You weren't invited to this meeting."

"I invited myself." He strolled into the conference room, analyzing the whiteboard. "I see you're blaming me for the strife occurring in the shifter community. How original."

Fane nudged me into the room, ravens giving us a wide berth. "Ruin, maybe you should sit down and speak your mind. You're making them all so nervous." The sarcasm in Fane's voice had me cracking a smile.

Ruin unbuttoned his jacket and sat on the edge of a table in the front. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. I simply wish to defend myself since I'm being accused of this horrible crime." He splayed his hands out in surrender. "It's only fair."

Coltrane stood a few feet away, arms folded and nostrils flared. "Say your piece, Lord Ruin."

He scrutinized Roxie as she sidled up to the captain, holding a hilt with the mystical blade deactivated. "How have you been liking the VIP area of my club, Roxane? I've seen you there plenty of times."

A few muted gasps sounded, and Roxie's cheeks burned crimson when Coltrane raised her eyebrow at her.

Roxie gave a dry laugh. "I have no idea what you're talking about. You must have me confused with someone else."

"So you haven't been to Wrath & Ruin lately?" he asked .

"Yes, but not in that room."

We all knew what happened in the VIP room. I'd seen it firsthand. It was also where I realized my two closest friends were assholes when I found them fucking.

Hawk stepped in front of Roxie, the black raven garb stretching over his taut muscles. "Stop accusing my girlfriend of something she didn't do, and say whatever bullshit you came here to say."

My heart skipped a few beats. If the demon lord tried to attack Hawk, I'd have to intervene. The raven might have become a total jerk, but I couldn't let Ruin hurt him.

Ruin cast a quick glance in my direction, probably seeing the warning in my expression, and sighed. "I'm here to let you all know I have absolutely nothing to do with any missing shifters. I'm worried about the state of Savannah as much as you."

"Captain, he's one of the Nightworld leaders of Savannah," Barric said, leaning against the wall on the right. "Ruin should be included in our discussions. If anything, it would be easier to identify any dishonesty in person."

"Thank you, Barric, for that backward compliment." He smiled, but there was no threat in it. "You're always so good at them."

The head alpha dragged his hand over the short, wiry beard covering his jaw. "You make it so easy, Ruin."

Coltrane lifted her hand to halt the ravens from advancing any farther. "Return to your previous positions, and any invited to this conference, please have a seat. I'd rather not make things worse."

As Fane and I sat at a table in the front, Ruin grabbed a marker, writing Venna's name in perfect handwriting across the board. "I've told you numerous times to watch out for this royal. "

"That's what I said, but no one wants to listen to me," Kortney mumbled under her breath at the table behind me.

The demon lord's sensitive ears picked up on her low words and winked in her direction. A blush spread over her cheeks, and she slumped in her seat under his attention.

"As you know, she took the throne in Vlehull after Karn died, but she hasn't done much ruling," Ruin continued. "That city is falling apart and overrun by sub-demons. That's why the gateway in Bonaventure Cemetery is so easily accessible now."

Barric folded his large arms over his barrel chest. "And you believe she could be the one taking shifters? For what purpose?"

"She has a lot of old, powerful friends, so she'd have the resources to set up an elaborate operation, but I have no idea why she would need shifters, specifically bitten ones at that." Ruin smoothed a hand over his navy hair, the tattoos on his fingers stark against his pale flesh. "She only pretends to be a flighty, chaotic creature with a short attention span. Really, she's psychotic and will do anything for power."

"How convenient that there is this other dangerous demon you can blame all of this on." Coltrane's nose crinkled like she smelled something rotten. "Am I supposed to take your word for it?"

Ruin shrugged. "I've been high demon lord of Savannah long before the ravens were here. And when you came, did I not welcome you and your little rules so we could all peacefully reside in the city?" He dropped the marker on the shelf with a thud. "I have never once betrayed you or allowed my demons to break the accords without punishment. Something foul is afoot, causing my demons to become crazed, and all you want to do is blame me when you have no proof."

A cold tingle of fear slithered over my spine as I thought of another suspect. Ruin's twin, Wrath, had tried to convince me that his brother wasn't as kind as I'd thought. He even blamed his brother for the mad demons, but what if that was just a ruse to throw me off? What if Wrath was behind all of this?

The high demon was pretending to be Warden Demarcus, but was he always in Heldrok? He blamed his brother for trying to kill him. Maybe this was some master plan to steal the ruling position in Savannah from Ruin.

I placed the yellow lilies and Snickers bar—her favorite candy—on the small cement square in the ground. That little plaque and this lot, crammed so closely with others, was all I could afford.

Jayla deserved so much better than this mediocre, unremarkable memorial. She deserved one of those giant tombstones with a picture of her smiling face and a huge, winged angel standing guard over her final resting place.

No. She deserved to be alive.

Instead of rotting in the ground at thirteen, she should be with a loving family, dreaming about dances, college, and all the wonderful things life would bring. But she had to end up caught in my whirlwind of despair.

This was only the second time I'd visited her grave in Rosewood Cemetery, and Fane would kill me when he realized I snuck out of Silver Ridge. Again. So would Barric.

After we left that tense meeting at Corvin Manor, the head alpha had a few choice words for me. He was furious that I knowingly walked into Venna's trap, and he wanted to throttle Fane for not divulging all the gory details.

Like I'd expected, Barric assigned a shifter to tail me around the damn compound when Fane wasn't up my ass. Of course, the moment Ian stepped in, I gave the poor guy the slip. He had no idea I crawled out of my window, shimmied across the ledge to the next room, and snuck inside. Then I made my escape.

I never would have been able to do that with Fane. Once he realized I was gone, he'd probably use our astral projection ability to find me. But I needed to do this on my own. I had to confront the guilt eating away at me, and I couldn't do that with someone looming over my shoulder, even Fane.

My knees hit the cold ground, moisture soaking my jeans. "I'm so sorry for not coming sooner, Jayla Bear." As the pain I kept in a steel cage began to break through, tears streaked my cheeks, feeling like fire against my icy skin. "I was just…"

Afraid to face her.

I brushed dirt and grass from the headstone, tracing my fingers over her name. "I'm sorry for not visiting. I didn't forget you. I just had a hard time living while you weren't." My tears dropped onto the grass, and more fell from my chin. "A lot has been going on, but that's no excuse."

A sob tore through my mouth, echoing across the dark graveyard. Deep gouges ripped into my chest as all the pain and anguish I held onto poured out, drenching the ground like blood.

"Can you ever forgive me, Jayla? For leaving you that night, for not making it back in time, for not saving you?"

I hunched over, my hands digging into the soft soil as painful sobs erupted. The tears I wouldn't let myself cry because I didn't deserve to mourn her flooded down my cheeks. Her death was on my hands, and I should be sick with grief for the rest of my life. So I'd put her in a box in my mind and tried to lock everything up.

But that box, that prison, had been blown apart, and everything gushed out. Fane had to feel this, even miles away. I wouldn't be surprised if his phantom form popped up, called by my misery.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed while agony bled out of me and onto Jayla's grave. The wet grass soaked my jeans, and chills overtook my body, but that had more to do with the emotional storm than the wintery weather.

My legs were stiff as I crossed them to sit, inhaling a shaky breath, completely drained of energy.

I wiped the dampness from my face with my hands and then dried them on my jeans. The urge to curl up and take a nap wrapped my muscles, but I felt guilty leaving, no matter how much time I'd spent here. It wasn't enough.

"I think I'm done crying for now, Jayla bear." I stroked the soft lily petals. "I'll try not to do that again."

Jayla had rarely seen me cry, and even then, it was only watery eyes or a few stray tears. Nothing like this.

"I'm still getting into trouble, as usual." As an icy wind whipped through the cemetery, I twisted my hair back. "The guy I like wants to kill me—or at least he did. I'm not sure what's going on with him now."

When I told Fane about Coltrane's files of other runaways she sent on secret missions, he was certain her intentions with the Infernal Sol weren't as noble as she claimed. He didn't want me anywhere near her alone. He actually demanded it.

"Stay the fuck away from that woman. I don't trust her."

His words played through my mind again, so harsh and biting, but worry had laced each syllable. He couldn't hide it.

He also couldn't hide the concern when I shared what Coltrane told me about The Collective Hunt. Fane suspected there was more to the story, though. My parents went through a lot of trouble to hide my existence for years .

My nape suddenly prickled, and alarms blared through my head. Someone was creeping up on me.

"Look who's all alone."

Mykel's baritone voice had my head snapping around, and the sole of his boot brushed my nose as I narrowly dodged a kick to my face.