Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

Barric slowly bent over and plucked the scroll from the ground, examining the sealed wax. "Where'd this come from?"

I shrugged even as my heart slammed against my ribs in a frantic staccato he could definitely hear. "No idea."

His expression remained blank while he analyzed the scroll. "The wax is unbroken."

"Well, I should probably get back to bed." I rested my hand over my healing stab wound. "I don't want to reverse any progress in my healing."

Barric blocked my path and lifted the scroll toward me. "Have you ever seen this before?"

Sweat ran down my nape as he pointed to the wax seal. Was this one of their hidden ones I shouldn't be able to see?

"Uh, a wax seal?" I gave a dry laugh, playing dumb. "Of course."

He backed me up against the bookshelf until the wood dug into my spine. "When you were in my office a few weeks ago, did you?—"

"You need to back away from her. Now ."

That tingle in my neck exploded a few seconds before Fane's low, lethal voice invaded the archives. I peeked around Barric as the demon shifter moved toward us, his eyes glowing while the tattoos on his bare chest twitched.

Barric tensed, and he slowly swiveled around. "Relax, Fane. We're just talking."

"You're standing too fucking close." He rolled his head, cracking his neck. "All my inner beast sees is you cornering my mate. My instincts are to rip your throat out, so I suggest you move before I lose control."

The head alpha lifted his hands and stepped away, allowing Fane to slip between us, pushing me behind him. "You're becoming more territorial of her every day. Perhaps you should actually claim her. Your shifter side would calm down."

"There is no calming that side of me." Fane's hand curled around mine, our fingers lacing together. "I can't help it, especially when another male is trapping her. Even you."

His presence had some of the fear and tension draining from my body, and I leaned into him.

Barric gave a light chuckle. "I would never hurt Tate. She's becoming part of the family here."

"Thanks for coming," I said into Fane's mind.

"Like I could ignore the panic racing through this link." His fingers tightened. "What has you so freaked out?"

"I just found a bunch of scrolls with The Collective Hunt symbol on them, like the one Barric is holding. Can you see the tree marking on the wax?"

Fane covertly examined the scroll in the head alpha's hand. "Looks like plain red wax."

"I figured out why I can see these hidden symbols and you can't."

Fane peered over his shoulder at me, his face hard as his patience thinned. "Please don't keep me waiting. What is it? "

"I think it's some kind of blood magic. Either your blood has to be added to this collective thing, or you have to be a direct descendant of someone whose blood has been added."

His head fully snapped in my direction as curses in a demon tongue flowed into my mind. "Your parents."

"Bingo."

Lines developed across Barric forehead as he studied us. "You two aren't fully mated, but you act like you can read each other's mind. You've always been that way."

Fane shrugged, brushing off his observation. "It's late. We should get back to bed."

"Sure." Barric's smile didn't reach his dark eyes. "Get some rest, Tate. You're still healing. I wouldn't want you to get hurt again."

The duplicitous meaning in his words sent ice through my veins as Fane towed me away from the head alpha.

"This is why your parents hid you," Fane said. "The Collective Hunt would have forced them to allow your death."

"Do you think my parents are still alive somewhere?" I asked out loud when we returned to the room and Fane shut the door, locking it as if that would really keep Barric out. "What if they're in this very pack?"

He paced the glossy hardwoods, the tension in his muscles making his body look like a moving statue. "Anything's possible. But you need to be careful. Barric is definitely suspicious. If this group is still active and he's involved, he could want you dead like the rest of them."

"Then why was he so adamant about keeping me safe from Venna and Mykel?"

The demon shifter dragged his fingers through his tousled hair. "Maybe he wanted to do it himself when the time was right, or maybe there's some other reason." His jaw clenched as crimson flashed in his irises. "Either way, he's a danger to you, and you need to stay away from him unless I'm with you."

"Careful, Maverick. It sounds like you're worried about me. You wouldn't want me to think you care."

His brows slammed down. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

The rhythmic pounding of music pulsated through Wrath & Ruin while colorful lights flashed over the crowd. The glittering cave decor shimmered and popped like jewels. I inhaled the sweat, alcohol, and lust pumping through the air as I danced, losing myself in the music. My dark side unfurled and longed to come out and play.

Not now.

After learning my biological parents were in The Collective, I'd spent the week staring at every pack member that even slightly resembled me, wondering if they could be a parent, a cousin, or a sibling. I was going to go nuts if I didn't get out of that house.

So I freely walked out of the gates for the first time while Fane was brooding in his art studio—where I wasn't allowed—and found my way to Ruin's club. I tried to forget all the chaos in my life and focus on the music. The ten shots of tequila helped to numb me a little.

Would Fane be pissed when he realized I was gone even though Venna and Mykel were dead?

Probably.

I still had a hard time facing what I did to Mykel. I was glad he was dead, but I would have much rather chopped his head off than inhaled his life .

Ruin appeared on the second-story balcony of his VIP section, the piercings running along one ear catching the bouncing lights. Tattoos crawled over his visible skin except his face, which was flawless and as perfect as real life would ever be.

Feeling my stare, his vibrant demon eyes lowered, a smile tipping his lips when he saw me. He quickly surveyed the area, noticing the lack of a certain demon shifter shadow, and then he vanished from the balcony.

Moments later, the patrons parted on the dance floor, and Ruin strolled toward me, that sultry energy pulsating around him. He lowered his head to kiss my cheek. "Hi, beautiful. What are you doing here without your bodyguard? Are you being naughty?"

As I hugged him, I breathed in his familiar vanilla scent, comforted by his presence. Less than two years ago, I would have rather punched a high demon than hug one.

"Are you okay?" I asked. When he and Logan visited me at Silver Ridge while I was healing, something seemed off with Ruin. It still did. A melancholy atmosphere encased the demon lord since that disastrous meeting at Corvin Manor.

His head cocked to the side. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"That meeting wasn't fair to you." I pulled out of his embrace and put a few inches between us. "I know you don't have anything to do with harming shifters. You would never do that."

Ruin sighed, allowing some of his charming mask to slip, revealing the sadness surrounding him. "I'm used to it. I've been blamed for a lot in this city. It comes with the job, but at least it bolsters my fierce reputation where my enemies are concerned."

The demon lord could pretend Coltrane's accusations didn't faze him, but I saw beyond the arrogant smile. It actually hurt him .

"Is Fane still pretending he wants to kill you even though it's obvious he's madly in love with you?" Ruin asked.

"Love is too strong of a word for it. Lust for sure."

The demon lord wrapped my arms around his neck, moving us to the slow beat playing through his club. "Does that mean you're at least getting your needs met? Because if you're not, I would happily volunteer."

Heat sizzled down my spine at the sinful look the demon lord gave me as he dragged his finger down my throat, steering clear of my tattoo. If I wasn't careful with my emotions, I'd draw Fane right to me. "I'm good, but thanks for the offer."

"What can I say? I'm so charitable." His devilish smile made my stomach flip.

"No one knows just how charitable you are." If the ravens knew about Soulvation, they'd never accuse Ruin of harming a bunch of shifters.

He shrugged. "It's just the way it has to be. I can't reveal my work until the formula is finalized. Thanks to you and Fane, Venna and Mykel are dead. They posed a huge risk to my operation."

A sour taste coated the back of my mouth at being reminded of inhaling Mykel's essence.

Perry, Ruin's assistant, moved through the crowd, stopping beside us. His blue gaze roamed over me, the lights bouncing on his short silver hair. "Hi, Tate. Has Ruin convinced you to move back in yet? We miss your adorable angry face."

I flipped him off. "How's this for adorable?"

"Perfect."

Ruin chuckled and kissed my forehead as if it were the most normal thing to do. "What's going on, Perry? I'm assuming there's an issue if you're interrupting my time with Tate before I've had the chance to seduce her. "

The high demon winced. "There's a problem with one of the new employees." Perry's pierced brow arched. "In the lab."

Ruin cursed under his breath. "Finding good help these days is hard to come by." He reluctantly removed my arms from around his neck, kissing the back of each hand. "Stay as long as you like, Tate."

"You're not going to tell me to stay out of trouble like everyone else?"

The demon lord licked his lips. "You have my permission to get into trouble, beautiful."

He and Perry disappeared through the crowd, and I sighed, resuming my solo dancing, lonely without the demon lord's company.

"You really just can't fucking help yourself."

I yelped as Fane emerged from the shadows, his eyes burning like two mystical flames. "How long have you been there?" And why didn't I get a tingle in my tattoo to alert me of his presence?

"Long enough to see Ruin proposition you." His lips curled back to bare his teeth in a snarl. "That prick really knows how to piss me off."

My heart slowed to a normal pace. Fane wasn't actually here. Instead, his consciousness had found me in Wrath & Ruin. "Ruin didn't even know you were there. He can't see you."

Fane shrugged. "He knew it would get back to me."

I turned my back on him, swaying my hips and attempting to ignore his overwhelming presence.

"You shouldn't be here alone." Fane moved behind me, his hot breath blowing on the back of my neck. "Venna and Mykel might be dead, but you've got plenty of enemies, ones you aren't even aware of."

"I can handle myself, Fane. I'm not some helpless idiot."

"You're far from helpless, Teague." His arms wrapped around my waist to trap me against him. His hot body scalded mine, and when he tilted his pelvis, rubbing his hardening length against my ass, fire blazed down every vertebra. "Which is what I'm worried about." His gruff voice spread goose bumps across my skin.

My eyes rolled in the back of my head as his lips dragged over my throat. "Why are you worried about me fighting my own battles?"

His ghostly hands roamed my curves, drawing a whimper from me. "Because Barric is already suspicious of you. You can't afford to flip out and give him another reason to become an enemy right now."

I had a hard time thinking with Fane's touch setting me on fire. Anyone around me probably assumed I was high on drugs. "I don't plan to poke the sleeping amulet any time soon." My head turned as his lips skimmed my jaw, bringing them less than an inch from mine.

Fane's chuckle had my core throbbing. "You rarely plan on it, but it happens anyway." His hand ran down my stomach, his fingers dipping into my jeans. "Come back, and I'll?—"

He cursed and pulled away, peering over his shoulder. "Seriously?"

Come back, and he'll what?

"Someone's banging on the door." He angled back to me, smirking at my obvious disappointment. "I'll be there soon to get you."

My brows slammed together. "I don't need an escort home."

He licked the tattoo on my throat, shooting a dose of pleasure right to my core. "Stay there, fiera mika. Don't make me punish you for being a bad girl."

Fane faded, and I staggered back, sweating and shivering. The bastard knew exactly how to tease me. Well, fuck him. I wouldn't stick around to wait for him. I didn't need an escort or bodyguard.

Before I stormed out of the club, a familiar face caught my attention, and a flare of anger rushed through my bloodstream.

Roxie slinked through the crowd toward the VIP room on the left. Memories of catching her riding Hawk while they were high on Rapture flooded my mind, and I couldn't stop from following her.