Page 95 of Forsaken Devotion: Part 2
He stopped and turned to me, dropping my arm.
“Stop being angry at me.” He cupped my jaw.
“Let’s talk about this later,” I gritted out between teeth.
“Josephine,” he frowned. “I understand why you’re angry.”
“Do you though?” I narrowed my eyes. “You realize, I was in more danger not knowing than knowing?”
“I realize that,” he shouted. His voice echoed off the cafeteria walls. I swept my eyes to the few people setting up the tables. They quickly looked away, eyes wide. “That wasn’t directed at you.” He said in a much more even tone and raked his hand through his hair, mussing it up. “I’m just frustrated. I fucked up. I keep fucking up.”
He sounded so tired. I studied his earnest expression. I believed him, but just because he recognized his fault didn’t mean I’d be all hugs now.
“Fine, I’ll take your apology under consideration.” I turned on my heel, turning away from him, but he snagged my arm again before I could take a step.
“Where are you going?”
“To help with the Blood Moon preparations.”
“You don’t have to,” he muttered. “They’ve handled it before?—”
“I want to,” I insisted, turning toward him and setting my mouth in a stubborn line.
His cell phone dinged like a sign from the Moon. “There you go, you have things to do.”
He sighed, and I finally managed to slip out of his grip. He growled frustratedly.
I crossed the cafeteria to the doors leading to the industrial-sized kitchen.
Sasha and Galina puttered around the counter, helping with the food prep. They hadn’t directed anything other than fearful looks at me. Which was fine. I preferred no fake pleasantries. We wouldn’t ever be friends, and the acceptance was peaceful.
The silver doors leading to the dining area swung open.
Verity entered, her face flushed and her scent very much indicating she had been claimed. It was a slight shift from the normal woodsy scent of shifters, a bit more bitter at the end.
“He claimed you,” I gasped and ran to her. We both jumped in place, squealing like little girls.
“He did,” she giggled, sounding more carefree than I’d ever heard her.
We stopped squealing and hugged each other.
“A little help over here,” Galina called. I turned in time to see her struggling to balance the tray of food while trying to open the door. The tray was too large.
I dashed forward to steady the tray of pasta before it spilled over. Verity went around and opened the fridge. Galina and I slid it in.
“Thank you, Luna,” she mumbled and backed up to return to prepping the rest of the pans.
“Fuck me, then,” Verity muttered. Galina hadn’t even turned to look at her.
“I expected a bit of solidarity since she’s human,” I mused.
“Maybe she’s shy?” Verity raised an eyebrow with her comment, and I mimicked it. Neither of us believed it.
“Anyway,” I drawled and shuffled closer to her.
“Will you be here for the Blood Moon tomorrow?”
“I just need to call Deedee and let her know I can’t work.” She frowned. “It’s the second time I’ve done it last minute, hopefully she doesn’t fire me.”
