Page 92 of Savage Hope

As soon as the vampire table comes into view, I bolt to the left, avoiding it the best I can, only to pay more attention to the humans’ table instead. As I make my way up the walkway between the witches’ and the humans’ table, I nibble at my bottom lip, considering whether to approach someone or not.

I fight with myself all the way up to the far end, and just when I’m about to forget about it and take a seat, a girl from the human table lifts her gaze. Before I can even think about what I’m actually doing, I cut the distance between us, rounding to a stop an inch or two way too close to her.

“Hi.”

Her eyebrows pinch together as she leans back slightly. “Uh, hi?”

“I’m so sorry, I just…I’m new, from Florentine’s, actually. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that or not, it’s just?—”

“I have,” she interjects, and I blink at her. “Heard of Florentine’s, I mean,” she explains, and I’m acutely aware that I was rambling like Minnie. I need to rein myself in.

“Good. That’s great. I actually came here with a friend, a few of them, and well…he was announced as a human when we did the whole hands in the water thing, but honestly, I haven’t seen him since we got here. I was wondering if you have?”

There, I finally got to the damn point.

“What’s his name?” she asks, and I smile, the curl genuine on my lips as I beam at her.

“B, uh, Benjamin. His name is Benjamin.”

I hold my breath, but the moment she purses her lips and shakes her head I know the words she’s going to say before her mouth opens.

“I haven’t heard of him, sorry.”

Damn.

She spins back around to face her table, effectively dismissing me as I stand frozen in place, letting the defeat settle in before I slink away to my own table. I don’t know why I’m so bothered by it. It might be related to the loss of Veronica. I can’t think too much about it right now, though. I need to focus on my surroundings.

Dropping down into an open seat, with an empty spot beside me for Bryony, I rake my gaze over the food on offer. Steamed salmon, vegetable gratin, burgers, hot dogs, lasagna. There’s too much to choose from. I don’t know what to settle on, so I opt for the closest option and load my plate with some lasagna and garlic bread on the side.

Snatching up my cutlery, I poise my hands, ready to dig in, when I sense someone taking the seat beside me. Relieved to have Bryony at my side again, I spin to face her, only to find someone else entirely.

She’s stunning. Brunette waves fall around her face perfectly, her green eyes bright, and the natural glow that enhances her features is undeniable. I haven’t seen her before, though, and the way she glares at me tells me I wish I weren’t seeing her now, either.

“Do you really think you can take my place at the head of the Alpha Pack?” she bites, sitting straighter in her seat so her breasts are almost in my face.

“I’m sorry?” I mumble, gaping at her as she bares her teeth.

“Don’t play dumb. It’s unbecoming,” she snaps, rolling her eyes at me.

Clearing my throat, I lower my cutlery, silently saying goodbye to my food as I tilt myself to face her better.

“Do I know you?”

She scoffs. “You should.” She leans closer, her eyes locked on mine as she presses her palm on the table. “Minnie is my friend,Lincoln is mine, and Wylder is mine too,” she reads off, and horror sinks into my gut.

Oh, God.

Her eyes widen as she takes note of my reaction. “So somethingdidhappen between you and them?”

I stutter, scrambling to make my brain work, but it seems something is broken up there, and she’s going to kill me for it. Literally.

“Bianca.”

She stills, peering to her right at the sound of her name, and I follow her line of sight to find Asher glaring down at her.

“Asher,” she snipes, her lips twisting in distaste. “We were just talking,” she adds, tilting her head back just enough to look down her nose at me.

“Fuck off,” Asher snaps, tucking his hands into his pockets as he glares at her.

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