Chapter 28

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Barric's voice boomed through the basement. "Ari, block the exterior door. Jax, do a sweep."

I scurried to the right, deeper into the basement since my path to the alley was now guarded. There had to be a flight of stairs to the bar, but after getting lost in a maze of dusty shelves, I hit a brick wall.

Literally.

Blood thundered in my ears, crashing against my skull as I beat my fist against the chilly surface. If Jax found me, he'd drag me back to their little racist gathering, and Barric would finally drop his pleasant, charming mask.

As I struck the bricks again, trying to figure out a way out of this damn mess, a click echoed, and the wall creaked opened.

My eyes bugged out as a hidden passageway emerged. Where the hell did this lead?

The beta's footsteps drew closer, and I silently cursed. I was cornered and out of options.

I dashed inside and closed the door behind me, my sweaty hands slipping over the rough-hewn bricks. Then, I sprinted down the narrow corridor. Thankfully, my supernatural senses kicked in, and the outline of walls appeared right before all the twists and turns, so I didn't run into one and knock myself out.

My breaths came in erratic spurts as I pumped my legs, pushing them to their limits. Like a monster from my nightmares, Jax's presence chased me. He must have realized I took the hidden passage.

Did he know it was me? Could he recognize my scent?

Sweat slicked my skin, and my clothes stuck to my body as the walls tugged at my long hair. Just when I thought I'd be lost in this damn maze, a door appeared, and I slammed into it. My clammy hands found a small latch within the brick, and I yanked it, setting off a wave of vibrations as the wall slowly opened.

Once I could fit through the crack, I pushed inside, spinning and closing the door behind me. I leaned against it, taking in my surroundings and trying to catch my breath. Shiny hardwoods, sage walls, pewter sconces, the comforting scent of pine…

My jaw hung open. I was on the basement level of the Silver Ridge compound.

Should I be surprised that Lunar Souls, a shifter bar, had a secret tunnel to the head alpha's house? How many other places around Savannah connected to that passageway?

Before Jax caught up, I bolted out of the room and found the stairs to the first floor. A few shifters eyed me funnily when I hurried past them, a red, sweaty mess.

Do I leave or hide in my room?

My legs already carried me toward an exterior door, but Jax suddenly appeared, and I dipped around the corner, slapping my hand over my mouth to quiet my ragged breaths. How did he get here so fast? Did I miss another entrance to the house in the tunnel?

I jogged through the hallway, finding a flight of stairs on the left. My hand trembled on the banister, pulling myself up each step. Fane had to have sensed my panic by now. Had I been too distracted while escaping to notice if he'd visited me in his phantom form? Maybe he was already in his car, speeding back to help me.

When I reached the landing, the hallway looked like the rest of the house with antique sconces illuminating glossy hardwoods and wainscoting, but I had no clue of where I was or how to find my room from here. There had to be somewhere to hide or a window to climb out of.

I jogged forward and bypassed the first three doors, stopping on the fourth. When I pressed my ear to the cool wood, nothing stirred on the other side. My clammy hand slipped over the knob as I attempted to turn it, but it was locked. Luckily, I had my lockpick kit—I'd been keeping it with me—and used it to break in.

The door creaked opened, and I slipped inside, locking it behind me. The stale, dusty air wrinkled my nose and had me holding back a sneeze. No one had been inside this place in years. I flipped on the light, revealing a boy's nursery.

A heavy boulder sank to the bottom of my gut as my gaze landed on the framed picture of Tamara and Barric on the dresser. This must have been Anton's room—or it would have been if he'd survived. A pang twisted my insides even though the head alpha was a lying bastard. He must have had a tiny sliver of a heart if he'd kept this room all these years.

My fingers dragged over the curtains shielding the dark sky that stretched over Savannah, sending dust motes flying. A picture of Tamara smiling for the camera as she cradled her pregnant belly hung on the blue wall. Barric kneeled before her, kissing her stomach like a doting husband and proud father-to-be .

Tamara's strawberry-blonde hair drifted in the wind while her kind green eyes beamed, and a faint smattering of freckles sprinkled her nose.

A chair sat in the corner where she would have rocked their son to sleep. My throat clogged at the sadness in the room. Losing his son and fated mate must have destroyed a part of Barric.

Still, it didn't make up for his participation in this disgusting secret organization. He'd even carved The Collective's symbol into the top of the rocking chair. My fingers reached out, running along the sculpted lines of branches digging into the wood.

A flood of fear suddenly slammed into my chest, and I stumbled back, breaking my hold on the icy surface.

What the hell was that? That wasn't from Fane or anything to do with the bond.

My erratic breaths filled the air as I tried to shake off the terror. I'd feasted on fears and savored them plenty of times, but this was entirely different. I'd felt fear just now as if it were my own.

I slowly inched to the chair, my hand trembling as it rested on the dusty back.

The same terror erupted in me, but I didn't break away this time as distant shrieks echoed in my ears. The briny scent of blood choked my senses, and the feeling of death coiled around me.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?"

Barric's harsh tone yanked me out of the trance, and I released the chair just as he shut the door, locking us in his son's nursery. So much tension rippled through his body that he looked like a stone statue set on a vibrating stand.

"Tell me why you broke into this room, Tate," he demanded, his irises flashing gold as his wolf emerged.

"I, uh, just stumbled on it." I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. "I didn't mean to upset you." Did he know I was the interloper in The Collective meeting beneath Lunar Souls?

"But you decided to snoop around anyway." The head alpha slinked closer as heavy waves of power leaked out of him. "I'm beginning to think you aren't being honest with me about some things, Tate. And after I opened my home and pack to you."

My spine snapped straight, and alarms blared in my head the closer he came. If I backed away, it would show fear and vulnerability. And I wouldn't submit to him. "Have you been totally honest with me?"

"I suppose not." His humorless chuckle spilled frost down my nape. "I know you were the one spying on us. How did you find the place? Only members were invited."

"Just lucky, I guess."

"Luck has nothing to do with it." He jerked his chin toward the chair. "Tell me how you can see that symbol. There's no point in denying it."

My hands curled into tight fists, longing to drive into his face and break his bones. "How about you tell me what you and The Collective Hunt are doing with all the bitten shifters? Are they still alive?"

"You'll find out soon enough." His lips curled back to bare his teeth. "How can you see the symbols we draw in our blood and Arcanas dust? You were bitten, so you can't be a descendant. Not unless you were a human born from one of us, and we sadly missed the opportunity to slaughter you as a baby."

A bitter taste coated the back of my mouth at the casual way he talked about killing a helpless child. "You're a sadistic asshole."

Barric dragged his fingers through his russet hair and scrutinized me, ignoring my insult. "Is that why you were asking about human offspring?"

I gave a jerky shrug as my muscles tensed, poised for a fight. "I was just curious."

"Stop lying!" The words burst out of Barric as his teeth sharpened, and fur sprouted from a few places. "If that's not the case, are you using magic to reveal it? A spell you purchased or some kind of mystical dust?" He moved too fast, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me like a ragdoll.

As soon as he gripped me, the nursery evaporated, and I fell into Barric's mind where his greatest fear suddenly played out.

A younger, thinner version of him held a silver knife to Barric's heart, nostrils flaring and teeth gritting but no sign of shifting. "You knew this day was coming, Dad."

Barric growled as fury turned his irises into molten gold. "You should have died when you were born, Anton. You're no son of mine."

My heart rate doubled, thundering loudly in my ears. Did Barric's son survive? Was he out there somewhere?

I pushed farther, and with the help of the Infernal Sol, I slipped deeper into Barric's mind to unveil another vision.

Blood splattered the very walls of this nursery as the head alpha leaned over a woman on the ground, scarlet staining her white nightgown.

"How dare you lie to me," he snarled. "You knew our son was human this whole time, and you allowed him to grow inside you. And when you birthed him, you refused to end his life."

The woman, Tamara, glared at him without blinking, blood staining her wild, strawberry-blonde strands. "You're damn right I refused to kill my child. I hid him from you before your dirty Collective could sink their claws into him and rip his throat out. You will never find him."

"Tell me where you sent him, Tamara, and I will spare your life."

"I'd rather die." Blood coated her teeth as she laughed. "But one day, he'll find you . And you'll beg for mercy when he wipes you from this earth. I'll be waiting in the afterlife for you, dear mate."

Barric's roar shook the room as he transformed into a gigantic russet wolf. He clamped his jaws around Tamara's throat, more blood splattering the ground as he shook his head. The snap of her neck reverberated with a sickening crack , and he dropped her lifeless body to the hardwoods.

I jerked back to reality as Barric shoved me away.

"Stay the fuck out of my mind!" He gripped the sides of his head, his nostrils flaring and muscles shaking.

The images flashed over my vision again, and my stomach soured. "You killed her." My chest heaved as I tried to gain control. "You killed your own fated mate."

More brown fur sprouted along Barric's arms, and the scars on his face seemed to deepen and glow in the light. "You shouldn't have seen that, Tate. I can't let you leave here with that knowledge." He dropped on all fours as he transformed into the same wolf in the vision, the same bloodlust in his gold eyes.

And then he lunged at me.