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“You will.”
I tossed the towel on the counter. “Maybe your bite is sterile. You’re just shooting blanks, Maverick.”
A low growl built in his chest. “You can’t seriously still be in denial about this.”
“It’s not denial if it’s true.” My argument was ridiculous because I knew damn well a mystical wolf lurked inside me. I’d felt it and tried to reach for it, but the Infernal Sol always took over.
“Tate?” Hawk’s sleepy voice echoed across the room, and he sat up. “Who are you talking to?”
I needed to remember to speak to Fane with my mind, so I didn’t look like a crazy person.
“No one.” I spun, shut the light off, and trekked back across the hardwoods to the rug.
Hawk lifted the covers for me, his mussed hair and sleepy smile, making him look adorable—the complete opposite of the rugged demon shifter following on my heels. “Come on, Strawberry Shortcake.”
My throat tightened at the nickname, one I never thought I’d hear again. I rested my head on the pillow, and Hawk curled into me, oblivious to Fane as he kneeled barely an inch from me.
“This is going to end in disaster, Teague.” He reached forward and brushed his thumb along my cheekbone, spreading a line of fire. “Don’t expect me to help you when it does.”
* * *
Invisible hammers poundedagainst my skull, and I winced as someone pulled out a wooden chair from a table a few feet away, scraping it against the hardwoods again as he sat. The sounds of the dining hall in Corvin Manor did a number on my sensitive hearing, and the smell of eggs and bacon overwhelmed me.
Fane could have warned me that my senses would go haywire in a setting like this. The room was large enough to fit several heavy wooden tables like a sizable café. Ravens and novices loaded their plates with food from the chafing dishes set up on a long table in the front.
I broke off a piece of omelet with my fork, tossed it into my mouth, and chewed, tasting nothing but sand as my appetite waned. The hot sauce I’d poured on my food didn’t even help.
When Hawk slipped out of my bed this morning, I pretended to be asleep to avoid him. As much as I’d missed him and longed to come home, everything was shaky and brittle. I couldn’t admit it out loud to anyone, even myself, but I didn’t belong here anymore. One wrong move and I’d become the enemy.
“I heard you were back.” Kourtney Tran dropped into the chair across from me at the small table. Her black bob had grown, brushing her narrow shoulders.
“Why are you sitting here?” I leveled a glare at her.
“Because I’m nosy.” She pointed her fork at me, a piece of pancake hanging off the end. “You seem different.”
Icy claws scratched along my spine, and my pulse elevated. Did she sense that I wasn’t human anymore? None of the other ravens, even Coltrane, could tell the difference. I hadn’t shifted yet, but maybe I’d slipped past the point of no return.
“Roxie was all over Hawk while you were gone. They’ve been hooking up.” Her lips parted in a sneer, flashing her straight, white teeth. “It’s disgusting to watch. She’s obsessed with him, way more than you ever were.”
“I know about them.” I pushed the hashbrowns around on my plate, my muscles burning from the tension they carried, waiting on Kourtney to call me a shifter.
The other raven stopped cutting her pancake and lifted her head. “Did you also know she’s literally trying to be you? She wants to take your place as Hawk’s partner, his bestie, Coltrane’s favorite pet, and the top raven in our rank.” She jerked her chin to something behind me. “She’s failing miserably at all those and looking like a fucking idiot.”
I twisted around as Roxie grabbed a bottle of hot sauce from the condiment bar against the far wall, dramatically laughing at something Axel said. She put a few micro drops on her omelet before setting the bottle down and running her hand over my ex-hookup’s shoulder.
Roxie’s attire—black leggings and a dark blue sports bra beneath an oversized cropped shirt—came straight out of my closet.
“She’s pathetic.”
Kourtney laughed. “I never thought we’d agree on anything, Teague.”
Axel’s emerald gaze landed on me, and his mouth slackened. He didn’t even bother ending his conversation with Roxie before hurrying in my direction. “Tate!” His tray clattered as he dropped it on the table and kneeled to pull me into his arms. “I never thought I’d see you again. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” How many times would I have to repeat that lie today? “Really.” I patted his arm when he wouldn’t release me. Axel was one of the few people that dared touch me outside of sparring.
He finally pulled back and sat beside me while Roxie pouted in the background. Why didn’t I notice how much of a hateful brat she was until now?
“You’re not harassing her, are you, Tran?” Axel frowned at the other female raven.
