Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

I peered through the glass French doors that led to the wooded backyard, absentmindedly searching for enemies. Camus said they had a tight schedule of patrols day and night to keep foes out, but Venna was no ordinary demon. What if she discovered I was here and demolished their defenses to get to me?

People would get hurt, and their blood would be on my hands.

When the meeting ended, Camus insisted I stay for refreshments. I had no idea why. No one talked to me except Julia and Ephraim. Fane brooded in a corner while Marissa sneered at me, and Dominic undressed me with his eyes as he shoveled down food at the table with Amelia.

No wonder that woman hated me. Julia informed me that she was Dominic's mother.

"Excuse me, Tate, is it?"

The reflection of a tall, gorgeous guy behind me almost had me choking on my spit. "Uh, yeah." I turned to face Alpha Saint .

"We've never met before." He extended his large hand as a kind smile pulled his lips apart. "I'm Saint."

For someone as powerful and good-looking as him, I expected him to be a total douche, but he seemed polite, respectful, and gentle. Of course, if he was an alpha, he wasn't always gentle. "Nice to meet you."

He picked up the two glasses he'd placed on a nearby table and passed me one. "I thought you might like some lemonade." He gave a shy laugh when he noticed my perplexed expression. "I saw you drinking some earlier, and you seemed to enjoy it."

Ice clinked against the sides of the glass as I took it. So he'd been watching me? "Thanks."

"Camus told me you aren't actually a member of the Mohan pack." He sipped his rum and coke. "Actually, you don't belong to any pack."

I shook my head. "Not really my thing."

"Maybe you'll change your mind if you visit Blackwater Falls." His teeth flashed as he offered up another sexy smile. "You might find that my pack suits you. And maybe you might find that I?—"

"She doesn't need a pack." Fane appeared out of nowhere, tension rippling through his body as his side pressed against mine.

The alpha didn't seem intimidated by the demon shifter or his prickly attitude. "Hi, Fane. It's been a while." He placed his glass on the table and extended his hand. "Glad to see you're back with your family."

Fane looked like he'd rather bite Saint's hand off than shake it, but he acted like a civilized person and returned the handshake. "I'm here for now. "

"Camus mentioned you had a mate. Is it Tate?" Saint pulled out of Fane's tight grip and motioned between the two of us. "I smell your scent on her, but you don't exactly seem—together."

A vein in Fane's neck throbbed. "Why do you care?"

Saint scoffed. "I'm sure you can work that out, Maverick." His gray eyes flicked to me again, the heat in them making me blush. "I can tell you haven't officially claimed her yet so?—"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

Fane pushed between Saint and me, releasing a low, threatening snarl. The air shimmered around him as ebony fur sprouted from his flesh and spikes tore through his spine, ripping his shirt.

Saint's face blanched, and he stepped back. "Holy shit. I shouldn't have asked." He lifted his hands in surrender. "I get it. She's taken."

Fane was on the verge of shifting into his beast and tearing Saint's throat out.

Conversation halted in the room, and everyone's attention landed on us.

"Fane just challenged an alpha," Torrance whisper-yelled to Julia. "He wants to take his pack."

Saint gave a nervous laugh. "There was no challenge. Not like that." He put more distance between him and Fane. "I crossed a line with his mate, and Fane just put me in my place. No one's fighting."

Camus arched his brow at me as if to say I told you so while a few murmurs circled the room. Fane would have every right to flip out on another male shifter if he tried to steal his mate.

We weren't mates, though.

Marissa's deep scowl brought a smile to my lips. Dorian probably never acted that possessive over her. Fane nearly ripped an alpha's throat out even when he wanted to end my life.

The demon shifter easily shook off the transformation, earning a few envious looks for his ability to shift into either form so quickly, and then he marched out of the back door. Now that I was in the spotlight alone, I set my glass on the closest table, gave Saint an awkward wave, and darted out the back door.

The humid summer air engulfed me and already had my tank top and jeans sticking to my skin. I wandered through the dark yard and into the patch of forest. Fane clearly wanted to be alone, so I didn't tap into the bond to find him. Plus, I'd rather not be around him when he was this angry in case he couldn't resist that killing urge.

"Well, that was exciting."

I groaned and turned as Dominic slithered out of the shadows. "What do you want?"

A cocky smirk curved his mouth as lust pooled in his green eyes. "Maybe I want to see what all the fuss is about." He stalked closer, zeroing in on his prey. "You've got Fane Maverick by the balls and even piqued Saint's interests. There must be something special, and I want to experience that."

My teeth mashed as the shifter invaded my personal space, barely more than a few inches away. "You wouldn't like what I have to offer, Dominic. In fact, you'd choke on me. I'd make sure of it."

His laugh spilled frost over my nape. "Still, I'd like a sample. I'll take it if I have to."

I shoved my hand into his chest as he tried to extinguish the gap between us. "Back off before you can't." He had no idea how dangerous I could be. If I let the Infernal Sol out, he'd be on the ground in seconds, bawling over his worst fear.

"Fane's not here to protect you."

This guy couldn't be that dense. "Haven't you learned by now that I don't need anyone's protection? I'm quite capable of taking care of myself. Your bestie Dorian saw me in action the night those agrigons attacked. I'm sure he told you."

Dominic licked his lips. "I'm not a sub-demon. I'm a male shifter who's locked in on a female. I can be very persuasive when necessary." He reached up and brushed a lock of hair from my face. "I can make this easy or hard on you, whichever you'd like."

I smacked his hand away. "Touch me again, and you'll find out why I don't need Fane to protect me."

Dominic's head lowered. "Oh, I'm going to be touching you a lot while I?—"

The shifter was suddenly tossed into a tree like a ragdoll. My neck tattoo went haywire as Fane stepped in front of me, a growl twice as terrifying as the one he unleashed on Saint bursting from his lips.

"I've been looking for a reason to rip your throat out, Dom." Fane cracked his neck while talons sprouted from his fingertips. "You just gave me one."

Dominic climbed to his feet, sneering as he dug bark out of his brown hair. "You and I both know you won't kill me, Fane. You don't want to cause trouble for your family."

"I was ready to take on an alpha, and you don't believe I'll slaughter you ?" An ominous edge sliced his laugh.

Some of the blood drained from Dominic's cheeks. "Why do you even care? I heard you wanted her dead. "

Fane shrugged his massive shoulders. "Doesn't mean you get to touch her."

"You two really are screwed up." He dusted the leaves and dirt from his shirt and turned to leave, glancing over his shoulder. "You're going to pay for what you did to Dorian, Tate."

I scoffed. "Dorian got his title stripped all on his own. You can't blame me for his stupidity."

Dominic smirked and vanished into the shadows, leaving Fane and me alone.

The demon shifter glared at me, his nostrils flaring. "Trouble follows you everywhere."

"Excuse me, holier-than-thou demon shifter. I didn't ask Saint to come up to me or for Dominic to assault me. I sure as hell didn't ask you to come to my rescue in either situation." I shoved his shoulder, which felt like trying to move a mountain. "I could have handled both of them."

"I bet you would have handled Saint just fine."

A laugh burst out. "Jealous?"

"I have nothing to be jealous about."

He was correct. Saint was insanely hot, but no one could compare to Fane in my book. "Why don't you just go back to brooding somewhere and leave me alone?" When I tried to step around him, he moved in my path.

"You're not going anywhere, Teague." His teeth bared as his lips curled back. "We're not finished."

I tossed my hands up. "What else do you want?"

Fane grabbed my belt loops and yanked me into him. His lips were on mine before I could take another breath, his tongue invading my mouth and taking control.

My reaction was instantaneous, melting into him and surrendering to his rough, possessive touch. A moan slipped out of me as Fane continued to stake his claim. He tasted like warmth and cinnamon and felt like a fire, one I'd let consume me until nothing except ash remained.

His fingers dove into my hair, pulling on the roots to tilt my head. My scalp burned, and I whimpered, but he didn't stop.

I didn't want him to.

Fane crushed me into a tree, his hips rocking into mine. His hard length pulsed between us, and I wanted to tear his jeans off to take him in my hands. "Fane," I murmured, lost in the desire and longing crashing around us.

His fingers slipped under my shirt to caress my heated flesh, but when he skimmed the raised scars from Warin on my side, he turned rigid. Fane jerked away as if the marks reminded him of his need for revenge.

Our ragged breaths filled the air as rage flowed around him, battling with the lust. His hand lifted, fingers curling like he imagined wrapping them around my throat. Before he attacked, his gaze traveled over my head, and he smirked.

I spun just as Saint vanished into the shadows, flames converging across my cheeks. "Was he here the whole time?" I hissed. "Is that why you kissed me?"

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You thought I was overcome with so much desire for you I couldn't stand it?" His laughter punched holes in my chest. "I just wanted Saint to back off. I won't be able to kill you if he's sniffing around, trying to turn you into his mate."

Without considering the consequences, I slapped him, his head jerking to the side as a loud crack ricocheted through the forest. "Keep telling yourself that you hate me, Maverick. Maybe one day you'll believe it." I closed the distance between us and craned my neck back to look at his harsh face. "And you kissed me because you wanted to. At some point, you'll have to stop pretending."

Traumatic childhood memories bled through the nightmares of Fane chasing and killing me. Or sometimes I was the one with a lethal dagger impaling his heart. And then the scene would fade, and I'd be back in a foster home or on the streets, at the mercy of some horror.

I woke up with a start in my room at the Anders, my cheeks wet from tears and throat hoarse. A few days had passed since Fane returned to Mohan Wilds. I never saw him at the house, but I felt his presence taunting me.

Was he trying to drive me crazy, wanting something I could never have?

The tonic Julia gave me hadn't done shit to soothe my turmoil. The demon amulet still longed to take control, hoping I'd slip up one day soon. Part of me wanted to. Maybe then I wouldn't have to feel this heartache so acutely.

My tattoo prickled as a pair of glowing crimson eyes gleamed from the shadows, and Fane emerged in his beast form.

Air caught in my lungs as his massive shape moved with a lethal grace that rivaled a jungle cat. The moonlight glinted on the onyx spikes running down his spine and protruding from his paws. As he approached my bed, I breathed deeply, realizing he wasn't really in the room. He was projecting himself here.

"I see you figured out how to leave your body," I said, keeping still so I didn't reach out and touch him. "You've never done it in this form, though."

"Why does my art studio smell like you?"

His voice breaching my mind for the first time since Heldrok squeezed my heart in a vise grip. Even though his tone was harsh, it was still like a caress to my soul, and I had to fight to keep the tears from brimming over.

"You also figured out how to talk into my mind," I said.

He shook his head, brushing off my words. "Again, why is your scent all over my art studio? I go there for peace, but instead I'm reminded of the creature I'm not allowed to kill."

"I was sleeping in it earlier." Since his bedroom was off limits, I'd collapsed on the couch in his art room a few times, burying myself in his scent covering the cushions.

"Why?"

"Because I missed you." Usually, I wasn't too keen on admitting my feelings, but what was the point of lying?

He jumped on the bed, trapping me between all four paws as he leaned over me, making my pulse hammer. "You can't miss something you never had."

With a frustrated grumble, I struggled into a sitting position, forcing him back as our faces came inches apart. "I've never known you to be stupid, so don't start now. You can't possibly still believe we haven't been together when an entire pack of shifters, including your family, has shown you otherwise."

Fane snarled, his teeth so sharp they could slice my skin with hardly any effort. "You really want to antagonize a dangerous beast who wants to kill you?"

"Kill me then."

A sound similar to a scoff burst from his mouth. "You're really not afraid of me, are you? Even like this?" His surprise traveled through the bond, mixing with something he tried to hide.

Hope.

Everyone feared Fane's beast, but I welcomed it. Not many people truly accepted him.

I reached out and ran my hand over the soft fur on his side and then down to one of the spikes on his paws. "I've faced a lot of monsters in my life, but you're not one of them."

"Are you sure about that?" His teeth gleamed in the moonlight from the windows.

"You've seen my nightmares. You tell me." I leaned away from him and crossed my arms. "Are you like the things in them?"

His growl rattled the space around us. "Are you pushing them into my head on purpose? Do you want me to feel sorry for you?"

I scowled. "I'd rather you not see them."

"Then why do they invade my mind every time you sleep?"

"Blame it on the bond that formed when you bit me." I shimmied back down on the bed and rested my head on the pillow, not caring that his huge form still hovered over me.

"So it's my own damn fault that I have this connection to my enemy?"

"Exactly." I rolled onto my side to get comfortable. "If you want to be mad at anyone, look in the mirror. I was a raven and had my whole life mapped out when our paths crossed. You stole that future, and now you want to murder me."

His nostrils flared as battling emotions built within him. "How am I supposed to get any sleep if your nightmares keep interrupting it? "

"Fuck if I know. I don't sleep well either." Not unless he was with me.

With another rumble, he silently hopped from the bed and vanished into the hall.

A shaky breath poured from my lungs, and I closed my eyes, trying to find any semblance of calm. Just when Fane and I had admitted we couldn't fight this pull toward each other, Venna forced us to Heldrok and then ripped us apart.

Seeing him so confused and torn was just as bad as feeling his hatred and wrath. Fane really couldn't understand why he'd be with his brother's killer. Most of the time, I didn't either.

My scalp prickled, and Fane, in his real body and human shape, appeared in the doorway in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. The green stone, speckled with scarlet like drops of blood, dangled in the center of his chest. I heaved a sigh, so exhausted from lack of sleep. "What now?"

Fane didn't speak as his head tilted to the side, exploring me. My flesh prickled from the intensity of his gaze and the prolonged silence. Finally, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.