Page 5 of These Dangerous Fates

I stare at her. “And …”

“And he asked me to go to dinner with him tonight.”

I squeal loudly enough to draw the attention of the other people eating lunch.

Allie’s face turns bright red, and she makes a shushing motion with her hands. “Quiet,” she hisses. “I didn’t give him an answer.”

“What? Why not?” I rear back in my seat, brows furrowed in confusion. “You’ve been waiting for this for, like, forever.”

“I know, but why ask now?” She sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. “He’s had plenty of opportunities to ask before. Why ask after an incident in the gym?”

“Who cares why? Allie, come on,” I shake my head at her. “He clearly likes you. You guys make goo-goo eyes at each other all the time. He’s constantly finding excuses to correct your already perfect form. I’m sure he has a reason for waiting. Go to dinner with him, and maybe you’ll find out.”

She looks at her menu, but I can tell she isn’t really seeing it. Her eyes are glazed over and staring at one spot, unmoving.

“Allie,” I say quietly, grabbing her hand. “What’s up? Why the sudden fear of going on a date with him? It’s all you’ve talked about since we started training there.”

She takes a breath and looks at me, a mixture of fear and shame swimming in her eyes. “Because he’s a mage.”

“And?”

“And I’m a human,” she says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’m failing to see the problem here.” When she doesn’t respond, I reach across the table to grab her other hand. “Why don’t you go to dinner with him tonight? Talk to him. Let him know your concerns. He obviously doesn’t care about you being human if he asked you in the first place, right?”

She nods reluctantly, but the tiniest sliver of hope lights her eyes.

“Okay. So it’s decided.” I grin at her, and I see her fighting her own smile.

“Fine. I’ll text him,” she huffs and pulls her hands away from mine.

After we place our orders, we both scroll social media while we wait for our food. I enjoy the quiet chatter of the other patrons, the burbling of the river, and the sun warming my back. For a little while, I can pretend my life is normal. I can pretend I won’t have to go home to an abusive fiancé and a dad who doesn’t care. I can pretend that one day Allie and I will have a conversation about me going on a date with someone. Someone who isn’t Sam. It always makes it harder to return home after pretending, but if I don’t, I think I’ll drown in my despair.

“Oh. My. Gods!” Allie squeals. “Have you seen the newest picture of Malakai?”

I chuckle and reach my hand over the table, wiggling my fingers for her phone. “No. Let me see.” I glance at the screen and my mouth goes dry. “Holy sexy vampire,” I mutter.

My eyes can’t move over the picture fast enough. Malakai Thorne is a Lustros celebrity, along with his two best friends, Sterling and Cade. And in this picture, the vampire is positively edible. My fingers itch to trace the grooves of his abdomen proudly on display under an open leather jacket. With his tousled black hair and bedroom smirk, he looks as if he’s just been debauched. Allie snorts when I attempt to tilt the phone like I’m trying to get a better look inside his unbuttoned pants.

Grinning, I toss her phone back to her. “He’ll make some girl very happy one day.”

She blanches. “If he doesn’t eat her first.”

We’re still giggling when our food arrives at our table, and I’m halfway through my meal when a commotion draws my attention to the sidewalk outside of the cafe.

“Allie,” I kick her under the table, and motion with my head to the cause of the ruckus.

Sterling Harrison. One of Malakai’s best friends, a wolf shifter, is striding down the street. His rugged looks, tight jeans, and flowing silver hair gain plenty of attention from the ladies. And that scar cutting through his right eye, gives him a dangerous air. As he passes the cafe, his gaze snaps to mine, landing on me without err. For a second, I’m sucked into those icy blues and everything around me disappears. It’s like a fog has surrounded the cafe, and only Sterling and I exist. The sounds of the cafe are muffled, like I’m sitting under water. And my heart pounds erratically, the force of it echoing all the way to my fingertips. There is nothing I can do to pull my gaze away from his.

When he looks away, reality crashes into me. Sound returns, seeming louder than it had been before. I sag in my seat and suck in a lungful of air, as sweat drips down my back and between my breasts. No one around me seems to have noticed what just happened, and I tuck my hair behind my ear with a shaky hand.

“Now, that one I would gladly go home with,” Allie whispers dramatically.

I smile, but it’s forced. What the hell just happened?

Malakai

Screams, blood splattering, and the thump of bodies hitting the floor are nothing new to me. I’m used to the copper scent of blood and the foul stench of shit as bowels let go in fear and death. What isn’t normal is the amount of rage coursing through my system after completing one of my father’s missions. It rides me so hard my arms tremble and my hands ache from how tightly I’m clenching them.

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