Page 105 of Savage Fate

Marissa’s mouth remained shut, but she glowered as Fane and I sat across from her and Saint.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Tate,” Saint said, his tone polite and diplomatic as if we weren’t friends.

Were we?

I couldn’t have it both ways.

Fane gave a sharp nod and reached for my hand under the table. “We’re doing well.”

“How are you?” Why was this so awkward?

“I’m fine.”

Knots fisted in my gut as I studied Saint. Something was off. His cheeks were paler than usual, and dark stubble coated his jaw where he normally would have shaved it off. Shadows turned his silver eyes gunmetal gray.

“Do you want some lemonade?” Fane whispered as Greta carried in a fresh pitcher, smiling in our direction.

Camus’s housekeeper remained wary of Fane, but she’d made an effort ever since I fiercely defended him. Whenever we came over, she always prepared a pitcher of lemonade for us.

“Sure.” I waved at her as she placed the pitcher on the table of refreshments.

As Fane got up and crossed the room, Julia and Beckett walked in, taking their usual seats.

“How’s Hailey?” Torrence asked Julia, tapping his weathered fingers on his glass of tea. “Has she returned to work yet? She’s the only one who makes those damn tonics tolerable.”

Julia chuckled, sweeping her auburn hair behind her shoulder. “Not to worry, Torrence. She’s back in action and has a new batch just for you.”

“That’s good to hear.” If possible, the old man’s grimace deepened. “I still can’t believe The Collective had taken one of our own.”

“Technically two.” Ephraim tilted his head in my direction. “Even though Tate isn’t part of the pack, she’s part of my family.”

I could have melted in my seat. After feeling like an outcast and a freak my whole life, I wasn’t used to being included in anyone’s family.

Torrence grumbled under his breath. “That’s fair. The Collectivedidtake her from our territory.” His stared across the table to Amelia’s vacant seat. “I never thought these bastards would return, not in my lifetime. And to have some of our own people in it.”

Camus palmed the back of his neck. “Even my mate is part of it, and I had no clue.”

I jerked my chin toward Marissa, who was more interested in gazing at Saint than paying attention to the conversation. “How do we know you aren’t your mother’s little spy? Maybe you’re helping The Collective. Are you going to report pertinent information back to Reese?”

Camus was an alpha. Didn’t he consider that?

Marissa gave a bitter laugh. “My mother vanished and left me high and dry.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. “She picked her side, and I picked mine.”

Fane returned to his seat with our drinks. “So you wouldn’t drop everything and cast your loyalty with Reese if she contacted you?”

Her shoulders curled in as she absentmindedly picked at a scratch on the table. “Reese made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t a priority. I never have been, and I was an idiot for believing she’d help get my life back together.” Her lips thinned when she finally looked up. “I’d rather turn that bitch in than ever help her.”

Camus rested his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Marissa is loyal to me and not Reese, or I wouldn’t have allowed her here.”

I kept my mouth shut and tapped my fingers against my glass of lemonade. As long as I’d known her, Marissa only looked out for herself no matter the cost to anyone else. Her mate had finally seen that and left her ass. Now she had the crazy idea that she shouldn’t have rejected Fane in the first place.

She shouldn’t have, but her loss was my gain.

He wasmine.

She was either flirting with Saint to make me jealous and cause problems between Fane and me, or she was simply trying to bag an alpha.

How would she break her bond with Dorian? Maybe she planned to kill him. Maybe she already did. No one had heard from the disgraced former beta in weeks.

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