Page 79 of Savage Sacrifice
“Sorry?” I breathe, glancing at the kitchen table that Tatum was bleeding all over last night to find him seated between Wylder and Minnie on one side, while Lincoln, Asher, and Blaze line the other.
Asher waves off his friend as he turns to me with an apologetic smile. “We wouldn’t let him wake you.”
“It’s beenhours,” Lincoln mumbles, pushing a hand through his hair, and Tatum shakes his head.
“You’re being dramatic,” he insists, and Minnie nods in agreement.
“You’re right, and I feel like it’s been too long since I’ve threatened to castrate you,” she adds, wagging a finger at herbrother. “Just because you earned yourself some brownie points for sacrificing yourself for my bestie doesn’t mean I won’t,” she adds, and I watch as Lincoln’s Adam’s apple bobs nervously.
Minnie is a force to be reckoned with, even to him.
I grin, despite the tension threatening to fill the room, as I shake my head. “I’ve missed you and your madness,” I admit, eyes settling on Lincoln, who blinks twice in surprise before he smirks.
“Of course you have,” he mutters in response.
“Would you miss his left nut if I chopped it off, though?” Minnie sings, and I fake gag as she cringes at herself too.
“Hey now,” Lincoln hollers, lifting his hands in surrender as his chair scrapes across the floor, but before he can rise to his feet, Wylder whacks the back of his head and prowls toward me.
“Stop being a whiny bitch,” he grunts as he stops at my side, arm flung around my shoulder before I can catch my next breath.
He winks at me before wordlessly guiding me toward the table. There’s a spare seat at the head, but I’m pulled into his lap as he takes a seat. Tatum’s hand finds my lap instantly as Wylder nudges a plate toward me.
I hadn’t even realized there was food. All I saw was them.
A chocolate pastry and a bottle of water are placed in front of me, and I take a bite, enjoying the deliciousness before I address the room. “What conversation are we referring to?”
“What we do next,” Lincoln answers swiftly, and I nod in understanding.
At least it’s a conversation worth having.
“That’s a loaded question,” I state before taking another bite of my pastry, and Minnie hums in agreement.
“That’s what I said.”
“Where do we start?” Tatum asks, and silence drenches the room because right now, that’s the most challenging question there is.
“That’s what we have to figure out,” Asher states, leaning back in his seat as he thinks.
I clear my throat. “How about we outwardly discuss where we’re at, then we can figure it out from there,” I offer, and Lincoln nods.
“I like it. Let’s do that.”
Wylder’s hand runs up and down my arm in silent support while Tatum squeezes my thigh. “From my end of things, I’ve had no contact with Belladora at all,butone of her men is my professor at the college.”
“Wait, what?” Minnie gasps in surprise, and I nod.
“Yeah, and Jonah showed up at my last class too. So even though we don’t have direct access to her, I think we can push for the connection,” I offer, and they all nod eagerly. “Other than that, I still have three roommates who don’t remember a thing and parents out there who suddenly now want to know who I am. Otherwise, I have nothing.”
“That’s not nothing, we can work with that, Silver,” Asher insists from across the table, and I smile, letting the doubt wash away as I feed off his strength.
“What have things been like for you guys?” I ask before stuffing my face with the last bite of my pastry.
“Nothing from Whitmore, but there’s still a weird vibe,” Lincoln states, and the others nod along.
“The three of us still afflicted by the curse are still expected to attend classes, but those who have been freed have more leniency,” Tatum states, and my gaze drifts between the twins.
I know Minnie is without the mark on her arm, I made sure of that, but I know Lincoln and Bryony aren’t quite as lucky.Settling my attention on the alpha in question, I clear my throat and tilt my head at him.
