Page 22 of Savage Fate

As we sat at an empty table near the corner, I resisted the urge to shove the hood of my sweatshirt over my head.

“What’s it like living with shifters?” Kortney asked before biting into her wrap.

“Like living with regular people. They just happen to change into animals.” I chuckled and then corrected myself. “Wechange into animals.”

The female raven raised an eyebrow. “Do they fight all the time?”

“Not at Silver Ridge or Mohan. They’re the most normal homes I’ve ever lived in.”

Kortney cocked her head and used her finger to push a piece of steak back into her wrap. “I always pictured shifters hanging out in the woods or backyards, brawling all day.”

“I used to think the same thing until I became one.”

A familiar face appeared in the crowd, doing a double take when he spotted me. The last time I saw Axel, he wasn’t all that friendly. In fact, he hated me almost as much as Hawk had.

Knots fisted in my gut when the raven headed in our direction.

“If you came over here to start trouble, you can turn your ass back around, Axel.” Kortney motioned her hand between us. “We’re trying to have a nice lunch.”

Axel palmed his nape, his jade eyes cast down. “I deserved that. And worse.”

“Damn right,” Kortney mumbled under her breath.

It was hard to believe Kortney Tran had been my biggest hater at Corvin Manor just a few years ago. Now she was standing up for me against those who used to be my friends—or pretended to be.

Getting The Calling spell and becoming a full raven had definitely changed her outlook.

I sprinkled several drops of hot sauce on my plate. “What do you want, Ax? I’m already the center of attention, and you lurking at the table is making it worse.”

He cursed and dropped into the chair on my right. “Look, Tate, I just want to apologize for being such an asshole.”

“And why exactly were you such a jerk? All because I was bitten and turned into a shifter?”

Axel jammed his fingers through his purple hair. “I let outside influences affect my opinions. Coltrane, Hawk, and Roxie were so adamant that you were this terrible creature, and then when I saw you fight those sub-demons…” He shrugged. “You aren’t exactly a normal shifter.”

“I’m still me.” I absentmindedly broke off a piece of my wrap and dunked it in hot sauce before popping it in my mouth and letting it sizzle on my tongue. “You kicked me aside because of something that happened while I was doing my job. Demons were kinder to me than you.”

He swallowed hard as the color drained from his cheeks. “I’m so sorry. You have every right to hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” I’d trusted him enough to let him in my bed, and he’d practically stabbed me in the back.

But I forgave Hawk, and his betrayal had hurt infinitely more.

A loud clatter erupted through the dining hall as someone tossed an empty tray back on the stack. “Who the fuck let you in here?”

My blood boiled as Roxie stormed in our direction, crimson spreading into her cheeks and hands curling into fists. She was ready for a fight.

Chapter

Seven

Every ravenin the dining hall stopped to watch the drama unfold, and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife as Roxie marched toward me. My flesh tingled, and the urge to sprout talons and claw her pretty face off hemorrhaged through my bloodstream.

Would she still be so confrontational if she remembered that I almost sucked her soul out at Wrath & Ruin?

Of course, I couldn’t do that now.

Don’t you wish you could?

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