Page 66 of Savage Hope

“You did more than I can even begin to say,” I admit, the words still not doing him justice as I earn myself another soft smile on his full lips.

My body acts on its own accord as I eliminate the remaining distance between us, pushing up onto my tiptoes to press my lips against his cheek. It’s a ghost of a touch, but the way my heart pounds manically in my chest is undeniable.

Desperate not to push my luck, I take a step back, smiling at him, acutely aware that the heat on my face has nothing to do with embarrassment this time.

“Goodnight, Tatum.”

He lifts his hand to the exact spot my lips touched as he stares at me with a hint of wonder in his eyes.

“Goodnight, Polaris.”

27

POLARIS

Breakfast alone isn’t as scary as I initially thought. At this point, I’ve faced far worse than eating by myself. Especially when exhaustion clings to me like a second skin. It seems I now have another reason not to sleep, but it’s not a priority I hold highly, not anymore.

After Veronica’s death, there’s only one thing I know for sure: I’ll sleep when I’m dead, and that could be far sooner than I want if I don’t focus.

Every time my eyelids closed, I heard a creak or a rustle in the distance, which sprung me back awake. I anticipated someone slipping into my room against my will, but no one came.

Not the Renegade coven. Not anyone.

Then, my mind would wander to the moment in the forest with Tatum.

I don’t know what I expected of him, but he was nothing like I predicted.

He was kind, considerate, and…gentle, like he knew pain himself.

The chair beside me scrapes across the ground, pulling me from my thoughts. I tilt my head to find Bryony dropping downinto the seat. Her gaze settles on mine as I drop my fork, my breakfast forgotten, and fold my arms over my chest.

Pressing my lips together, I bite back the surprise and snark as she has the audacity to give me a pointed look.

“How long are you going to be mad at me?”

How long? She’s barely given me twelve hours. “I don’t know, maybe forever,” I grumble, my fingertips digging into my arms as I hold her stare, refusing to shy away like I desperately want to and usually would.

“Forever?” she scoffs, breaking eye contact to reach for a chocolate croissant before settling me with another stare that is infused with a hint of humor she doesn’t deserve. “If you don’t think I’m going to irritate you every day until you give in, then you haven’t learned anything about me at all.”

I purse my lips. “I think I’ve learned enough.”

She shakes her head, taking a large bite of the fresh pastry before she speaks. “No, you haven’t, and we both know it.”

I want to ask her a million questions, and I want to understand, yet I also want to give her the silent treatment and pretend she doesn’t exist because maybe she doesn’t deserve the opportunity to explain herself.

Looking away, I finally break her eye contact, only to latch onto a sneering vampire.

Blaze.

He stares at me, his eyes almost pitch-black, and I quickly avert my gaze.

“I’m your friend, Polaris.”

It’s my turn to scoff, cocking my brow at her as I turn to face her once again. “You’re a part of the Renegade coven first.”

“No, I’m a victim of the blood kin curse first.”

Well, isn’t that the truth for all of us.

---