Page 12 of Savage Hunt

She kept the tongs out of my reach. “I don’t serve anyone on Sorin’s bad side.”

The realization struck me, and I held back my string of curses. That giant, oversized creep was already attempting to turn the inmates against me. It wouldn’t have mattered until the warden decided to drop me into gen pop instead of keeping me isolated.

Just perfect.

Fire bled through my veins, but before I could attack her—or at the very least grab a piece of sizzling meat—a guard at the top halted and rested his hand on the gun dangling from his belt. The weapon probably held magical bullets.

I ground my teeth and moved on, encountering three more inmates who refused to serve me. When I reached the end, I snatched a piece of burnt bread, two strips of meat, and a metal cup of water. The demon snarled and prepared to dart around the line to fight me, but I slipped away.

Every table was occupied, and as I neared each one, scathing glares greeted me. If I sat down, my tray with my puny dinner would end up on me or the floor.

A lone female inmate dressed in a gray uniform in the sea of red, blue, orange, purple, and green caught my attention and waved me over.

Gray? What the hell was gray?

I hurried over and sat across from her even though I preferred to be alone. “Thanks,” I muttered, hoping she hadn’t lured me here as a trick.

“No problemo.” She nibbled on something that resembled a French fry. “You looked like you needed a friend.”

My brows slammed together. “I don’t need—” The rest of the words stuck in my mouth as I studied her, not believing my senses. “You’re a raven.”

“Guilty as charged.” She motioned to her jumpsuit. “That’s why I’m in gray. And why everyone looks at me like they want to crack my skull open and suck out my brain.”

It took several moments for my mouth to regain movement. “How did you end up here?”

She shrugged, her long ebony locks sliding against her olive skin. “Long story.”

I searched the cafeteria for other inmates in gray. “Are there more of you?”

“Not currently. I’m not Heldrok’s first, but we are rare, considering we don’t normally enter the Underworld unless there’s a reason.”

Like going on a secret mission to retrieve a dangerous amulet.

“I’m Maddie.”

“Tate,” I blurted, still caught off guard by her presence. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-four, and The Calling spell still vibrated within her. At least she had her super senses. I couldn’t imagine a human lasting long in Heldrok otherwise.

Maddie sipped her water and then took a bite of her meat, wincing. “You get used to the food. You’re a shifter, so you probably like any meat.”

“I wasn’t always a shifter,” I muttered.

Her brows rose. “Oh, a bitten wolf. How long ago?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been here for a while, but they kept me separate from everyone else until now.”

A female in purple slinked toward us, scowling. “Don’t think you’re safe, Maddie, because you have a little friend. She’s on Sorin’s shitlist too.”

“Don’t be jealous, Carina.” Maddie leaned her chin in her hand. “Green isn’t your color, and that permanent frown makes you look constipated. If that is the case, I can understand the sourpuss expression. Maybe you can get something in the infirmary for that.”

I couldn’t stop the snort from slipping out as crimson bled into the witch’s face.

Her blue locks whipped around as she turned to me. “I heard you nearly got your ass kicked in the cages. You’re lucky Knox broke up the fight, or you’d be lying in a puddle of your own blood and piss.”

My fingers tightened around my fork. “You think so? Why don’t you kick my ass right now, witch?”

Carina opened her mouth, but a large shadow descended across the table. “Sorin, I was just telling?—”

“Leave, Carina.” The huge high demon shoved her away from our table and slapped a hand on it, leaning toward me. “Now that you’ve gotten a little taste of how your life in Heldrok will be, are you ready to apologize and pledge your loyalty to me?”

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