A loud laugh belted out of Mirella, and I looked back over to see her sitting in Grayson’s lap, playing with his hair. “Who’s the white-haired girl staring over here?” she asked, loud enough for anyone in the cafe to hear even if they weren’t paying attention.
My lips trembled, and I pressed them together as I lowered my head. I didn’t want to hear what Grayson would say, but with my enhanced hearing, I’d hear it even if I ran from the cafe right this second.
“She’s an orphan fox that my pack picked up as a kid. She’s terrified of humans, so she probably overheard you,” he said without an inkling of emotion, and the pain began radiating through the bond again.
“A shifter scared of humans?” Another laugh bubbled out of her. “That’s absolutely pathetic!”
My head shot up, and my gaze met hers. She smirked at me, and anxiety crawled up my throat.
I’d never experienced bullying directly to my face. Was this it? I was an outcast at the Arctic Wolf Village, sure, but they never went out of their way to make me feel like this. Besides, what did she know about humans? Had she ever seen them up close? Had she watched them hunt our kind for fun? Humans had weapons that could match our magic.
Heat licked up my spine, wrapping around my chest and raising my core temperature.
I tore my gaze from hers and locked onto Grayson’s, and smugness pulsed through the bond as he stared at me.
“Yeah,” he said to Mirella, not breaking eye contact as he spoke. “She’s nothing but a weak fox. No wonder she’s the last of the species.”
My chest tightened. I sucked in air, my lungs expanded, but I couldn’t seem to fill them.
Grayson was chosen by the Fates to be my mate. I never had much faith in the Fates, but they really messed up with choosing him. We both rejected the bond, so why wouldn’t the Fates let it break for good?
I wouldn’t forgive him for the words he’d spoken during the rejection or now.
Giggling, the girl next to them hushed her. “Come on, that’s mean!”
I bit my lip to choke back a sob, and a tear burned its way down my cheek.
Collective gasps rang out around my table, and Grayson’s smugness fell. There was a hint of guilt through the bond as I forced the hurt down it so he knew just what his words had done.
A warm tongue licked the tear away, and I turned my head to find Damien towering over me.
Dark gray eyes pierced mine as he leaned forward until his lips were less than an inch from mine. “Don’t cry, little bird. I’ll cut out his tongue and gift it to you tonight.”
A growl reverberated through the cafe, and I knew it was Grayson. Damien’s threat must’ve hit a nerve.
Damien pulled back, angling his head up to glare at Grayson. Two black horns protruded from his head as black smoke curled around his body and mine, as if he were claiming me.
I glanced around the table to see everyone glaring at Grayson. Thorn, Lachlan, Trixie, and even Kian. My gaze snagged on Alister’s, who was staring directly at me. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and there was something dark swirling in his red eyes.
What I would’ve given to know what he was thinking at that moment.
Grayson stood up and Mirella scrambled to her feet to avoid falling, placing her hand in his before tugging him out of the cafe with her.
The cafe was silent, and I could feel everyone’s stares on me.
I reached up and touched Damien’s cheek, and he turned to me, encasing us in icy shadows as he cupped my face and leaned forward to put his forehead against mine.
“Thank you,” I murmured, cupping his face in the same way he cupped mine. “But Damien, you don’t have to cut his tongue out. He’s not worth it.”
Not to mention, if harm came to Grayson because of me, I was worried Alice would be punished.
“Not worth it?” He blinked in confusion. “He hurt you.Disrespectedyou,” he growled. “Tell me why you don’t want him to pay the price.”
I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth before answering, “If he’s hurt because of me, the Alpha and Luna will take it out on the woman who raised me. It’s not worth it.”
“I will kill them too. Then there will be no problem,” he said like it was a simple solution, and I couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“Please don’t. You being there for me like that was enough.” I rubbed my thumb against his cheek.
