Chapter 30

Chapter

Thirty

How could I take on two shifters, one of them an alpha, when I had no clue of how to fight in this form?

As much as I loved that I could shift into a wolf, I needed to return to my human shape. I wasn't an idiot. There was no way I could win this without using the amulet.

I clenched my jaw and tried to push my wolf down like I did when I wanted to regain control from the Infernal Sol.

But nothing happened. I didn't feel myself changing back at all.

Oh, hell.

I was stuck!

As Barric and Jax drew closer and panic settled in, a tingle crept over my neck seconds before the door crashed open.

Fane burst inside, and his mismatched gaze went straight to me, unsurprised to find me as a wolf. He'd probably felt the change through the bond.

I sagged in relief, thankful that he came for me.

"Fiera mika, always getting into trouble, even as a pretty wolf."

If I could flip him off, I would .

When Fane's nose lifted in the air, breathing in the scent of my blood, dark shadows descended over him, and the onyx tattoos visible on his arms, hands, and neck violently twitched. His snarl started low and deep, building with every passing second as he stalked closer to Barric and Jax.

The floorboards shook beneath my paws, the vibrations traveling up my legs and bones. By the time Fane was a foot away from the two shifters, his growl had reached a crescendo, and I gritted my teeth when he finally let the roar loose.

Jax dropped to his belly first, and then Barric finally stumbled back, hitting the ground as the weight of Fane's power crashed over him.

"Did you really think you could hurt her and I not retaliate, Barric?" Long, lethal talons protruded from Fane's fingers, and his teeth extended, the fury pulsating around him palpable.

A storm of footsteps echoed in the distance, my wolf ears detecting them faster than my human ones would have.

"Fane, we need to leave before we're trapped!"

His head cocked to the side, hearing the approaching pack members.

He gave Barric one last death glare before bolting toward the door with me on his heels. Fane wanted to kill Barric, and he could have. But killing an alpha had consequences, and he had no intention of being an alpha or challenging anyone for the position.

Would I become the alpha if Barric died?

That was the last thing I wanted.

As we rushed into the hall, a group of shifters stormed after us. Fane cursed and motioned me to the right. We took off down the hall as shouts erupted behind us.

"Stop them!" Barric yelled, his voice garbled as he tried to transform into his human form. "Kill him but keep Tate alive. "

Kill him.

A lethal combination of panic and fury tore through my bloodstream as we ran, searching for the quickest exit out of the house. Fane's life held no importance to Barric, and he either wanted to hand me over to his mysterious partner, or he simply wanted to kill me himself.

"I can't change back," I told Fane through our mental link as we dashed down a flight of stairs.

"I know." He cursed when another group of shifters appeared at the landing. "Jump!" Fane effortlessly tossed me over the railing, my paws hitting the ground a few moments after his boots.

We took off running, a mob of shifters on our heels.

"Barric's my father."

"That I also know. You pulled my mind into the room but were too preoccupied to notice."

How could that man be my father? All the times I spoke to him, sat across from him and never knew. Neither one of us ever suspected. That enchantment had obviously worked wonders. Shifters could usually recognize their own children by their scent.

"Stop!" Two male wolves blocked the hall, but Fane and I didn't stop. We barreled right into them, shoving them aside as we carried on.

"They'll have the place surrounded by the time we make it outside. We'll have to fight our way out." He peered at me, frowning.

This had to be the worst time to be stuck as a wolf.

As we turned a corner, a door opened a few feet away, and Valeria stuck her head out. "In here."

Fane peeked at me. "Do you trust her?"

"Yes." We really didn't have much of a choice.

The old healer ushered us in and then shut the door. "There's a tunnel." She hurried to the bookshelf and slid it aside. "Quickly, before they backtrack and follow your scent. This leads right to the street at the back of the compound."

Fane darted into the dark tunnel but stopped when I hadn't budged. "What are you doing?"

"Ask her if she knows who I am."

A frustrated sigh hissed from his mouth. "Do you know who Tate is?"

Valeria nodded and lowered to one knee to bring her closer. "I knew the moment you stepped into this house."

All of the strange, lingering glances made sense now.

"Tamara knew you'd return, so I stayed." She brushed a hand over my fur, studying the strands. "You were born with copper hair, but the spell changed you. The enchantment made you look so unique while simultaneously hiding you, keeping you under the radar and washing your presence from people's minds."

The spell that had hidden me had also given me my little talent to go unnoticed.

"Tate, come on," Fane snarled, losing his patience. As if he had any. "We have to go."

I turned back to her, silently urging her to come with us.

She shook her head, understanding my silent plea. "I can't move that fast. I'll only hold you up. Barric doesn't suspect I'm involved because he used his alpha power to keep me quiet." She smirked. "Of course, there are ways around it."

Fane rested his hand on my back. "They're going to find us if we don't go now."

His gentle tone shocked me and finally knocked the sense back into me. I turned and followed him through the tunnel, much to his relief. After a few minutes, we emerged onto the street, and the door slammed shut, vanishing into the brick wall.

I looked left and right, waiting for a gang of shifters to materialize. "Now what? "

"We need to get as far from this street as possible. Running around with a black and red wolf will draw attention." Fane jerked his chin toward an alley. "Let's cut through there, and then we'll steal a car."

He couldn't see my flesh, but he could sure damn feel the flood of embarrassment through the bond. I finally shifted—and got stuck. Why couldn't I ever do anything normal?

"It happens," Fane muttered, peeking at me out the corner of his eye. "It was your first time."

Something like pride swelled from him, and my steps lightened, my talons rhythmically clicking along the concrete.

He tried to mask his smile. "You're a pretty wolf, Tate. No need to strut."

"I'm not strutting."

I was totally strutting.

Just as we exited the alley and turned down an empty street, a black SUV swerved and screeched to a stop in front of us. My heart jumped in my throat as the door swung open. I expected Barric or Jax, but a familiar face with porcelain skin and navy hair peered out.

"What are you waiting for? Get the fuck in."

How did Ruin know we were in trouble?

Fane shoved me into the back seat while he jumped into the front. As the car peeled down the road, he scowled at the high demon. "Should I even ask what you're doing out of Heldrok?"

His words had me lurching forward, my head between the front seat, analyzing the demon.

"That's Wrath?"

"Yep," Fane replied, the hint of trepidation filtering his tone.

Wrath's mouth curved into a crooked grin. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Tatum. Congratulations on shifting. You're such a pretty little wolf. "

"I thought you had to stay in Heldrok as the warden." Fane's eyes narrowed on Ruin's twin, warning bells screaming through the bond. "And how did you know we were in trouble?"

Wrath checked the rearview mirror to see if we had a tail. Thankfully, no one from Silver Ridge had seen us jump into his car. "A friend in the pack told me that you and Fane might need a ride."

"Valeria?" She was the only person who would have helped us, but how did she know Wrath?

"Was it Valeria?" Fane asked since I couldn't speak.

I really needed to shift back.

Wrath nodded. "I've known that beautiful creature for a long time. Don't let her fool you. She's a saucy little minx."

"How long have you been in Savannah?" Fane's mounting tension ricochetted through the bond, forcing my own muscles to grow rigid.

"As soon as Venna bit the dust, I could leave. Our deal was null and void then, and I didn't need to hide as Demarcus anymore." He gave a noncommittal shrug and turned down another road leading us out of the city. "It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you one day when we aren't trying to escape from a bunch of shifters. They're going to figure out you left in a car."

"Why are you helping us?" Fane scrutinized the high demon, his hands curling into fists. "You and I aren't exactly the best of friends, even more so after learning you're the fucking warden who allowed my mother to be tortured for years."

A long breath blew out of Wrath. "I didn't have a choice. And I'm doing this for Warin." His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "He was my best friend, and he'd want me to help his brother."

"You don't give a shit about what Warin would want if you let his mother rot in your prison. "

Dizziness suddenly swarmed me, and I stumbled on the seat. Now that I wasn't fighting an alpha—my damn father—and his beta or running for my life, the adrenaline quickly drained from me, and the angry thud of my injuries registered.

Fane cursed, and when I lifted my head, his gaze focused on the wet spots collecting on the black leather seats.

Blood.

"I'm fine," I said, even as my limbs grew heavy with fatigue.

The demon shifter ignored my protests and climbed into the back. "I knew you were hurt, but since you weren't feeling the pain, I didn't feel it either."

"I'm not hurt," I lied. "Stop making a big deal about it."

When Fane rested his hand on my shoulder where Barric's claws had gotten me, I flinched. Ruby-red stained his fingers. His teeth ground, the tiny muscles in his face twitching. He wanted to jump out of the car speeding down the scenic road out of the city, race back to the compound, and tear Jax and Barric apart.

"If you really want to help me, tell me how to shift back!" I snarled, my lips curling to bare my teeth.

"Pretty little wolf is pissed." Wrath chuckled, his irises shining in the rearview mirror.

I snapped my jaws at him. "If he keeps it up, I'm going to tear his throat out."

"Easy, fiera mika." Fane stretched his arm out to draw me back into the seat and keep me from lunging at the high demon. "You need to calm down to transform."

With a huff, I relaxed into him, letting his hands massage circles on my back. For shit's sake, he was petting me like I was a damn dog.

"Just steady your breaths and slow your pulse." Fane took several deep breaths, urging me to match him.

After a few minutes, my heart stopped treating my rib cage like a battering ram, and my muscles loosened as I leaned into Fane, my lids growing heavy. Warmth bloomed in my chest, spreading through my extremities. Faint vibrations traveled over my limbs as my bones started bending and re-forming.

I rolled my head and let out a groan as my body fluidly changed from my wolf to my human form.

My very naked human form.

A string of curses in a demon language burst out of Fane, but it had nothing to do with my nudity and everything to do with the blood covering me. Most of it was mine.

Crimson oozed down my arm and side from the cuts, and more ran down my leg, courtesy of Barric's talons. When I caught my reflection in the window, my hair stuck to the side of my face where blood coated it from the gash in my temple.

"Holy shit." Wrath spared a quick glance in the mirror before training his eyes on the dark country road. Fane would probably gut him if he stared too long.

"I didn't realize it was this bad." The demon shifter quickly unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it off, and helped me into it.

The warmth he left behind wrapped me like a hug, and I inhaled the leather and cinnamon scent that clung to him. "Thanks," I whispered, my voice hoarse after growling for the last hour.

As Fane ran his hands over me, concern hummed through the bond he didn't bother to hide. "I need to bandage these wounds." He gingerly pried the hair from the side of my face to inspect the gash on my temple.

"They look worse than they are." I choked back a whimper as Wrath hit a bump, but Fane felt the flare of pain anyway.

His lips thinned, but instead of threatening the high demon, he rested his palm on my cheek, poised to take my pain within him .

Wrath let out a curse, his gaze on the rearview mirror. "We have company."

I whipped around as a sleek black sports car emerged behind us, my pulse thundering. The windows were tinted black, so I couldn't see inside as it raced past our SUV.

Was Barric behind the wheel?

The car sped ahead and then spun sideways to block the road, tires screeching and smoke curling. With trees surrounding us on either side and the street obstructed, our escape from Savannah slipped right through our grasp.