Page 73 of Savage Fate

I pushed my plate forward and sipped the juice to force the rest of my food down my throat. “Sounds fun.”

“It was!” Sadie laced her arm around Saint’s. “We were two peas in a pod. More like two cubs, but you get it.”

Not really. I’d never been close to anyone until I met Jayla, and that all went to shit.

“Are you finished?” Saint asked, noticing that I’d set my fork down.

“It was delicious.” When I stood to wash my dish, Saint motioned for me to sit back down.

He grabbed my plate. “I got it. You’re the guest.”

As Saint meandered into the kitchen, Sadie leaned toward me. “So, you’re the one fate finally chose for him.” She pitched her voice low enough that Saint couldn’t hear it over the running water.

“Yep.”

She scrutinized me from head to toe. “He must be so disappointed.”

My head jerked back as claws threatened to tear from my fingertips. “Excuse me?”

Her mouth parted, and a blush swept across her cheeks. “I just meant that he must be disappointed because you’re already mated to someone else.” She twisted a lock of shiny hair around her finger. “I heard you and that hybrid shifter are together.”

If she didn’t seem so sincere, I would have punched her.

She obviously had a thing for Saint. Had they ever hooked up?

He wanted to find his fated mate, but a guy as sexy as him—an alpha, too—probably fooled around a lot. Maybe Sadie had been hoping to be his mate one day.

Why did the thought of that fill me with rage?

I shook the anger off and ignored the reason behind it.

A young male shifter strolled into the kitchen, grimacing at Sadie. “I thought I’d find you here. Didn’t you tell Mom you were going to Bonnie’s to get Grandpa’s tonic?”

Crimson rushed into the female shifter’s cheeks again. “I am, Xavier. I just had to make a stop first.”

“I’m sure.” He made a humming sound before nodding at Saint. “What’s going on? I heard your fated showed up. Is that her?”

My brows slammed down. “Yeah, and I have a name.”

“Tate.” His brown eyes, a few shades darker than his sister’s, drilled into me, and I definitely sensed some hostility. “And where you go, so does your demon shifter shadow. Is Fane Maverick here?”

I hopped off the stool and crossed my arms over my chest, forcing my talons to stay under. “If you have a problem with Fane, then you have a problem with me.”

Xavier smirked and flicked shaggy brown hair from his face. “Are you going to challenge me to protect his honor?”

“Xavier,” Saint snapped, a warning growl building in his throat. “Don’t take your anger out on Tate. Neither one of us asked for this.”

The other male lifted his hands. “I apologize.”

He didn’t seem all that apologetic.

Sadie marched toward her brother and grabbed his arm. “Why do you have to be such an asshole?”

“Why do you have to be so obvious?” He jerked his chin toward Saint. “It’s over, little sister. You lost. Trust me.”

She glanced back at Saint. “Sorry about my brother. He clearly hasn’t had his meds today.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Saint said. “Since Xavier wants to be rude to my guest, he can return later and help the others patrol the perimeter again. I’ll stick him with Helena.”

---