Fate Forsaken by Chauntelle Baughman Page A

unwilling to see the reality of her situation. She’d given her life up for his, and she was okay with her decision. He needed to be okay with it, too. “Stop trying to be a hero.”
    He stomped over to the wardrobe and shoved a pile of shirts into a drawer. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “You keep trying to rescue me.”
    With a heavy sigh, he turned around and leaned back against the wood panel. “I won’t let you go that easy.”
    “I might die. You need to accept that.”
    “I won’t.”
    She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why do you have to make this so hard?”
    “I’m not.”
    She opened her eyes and he spun around to face her. His brows were drawn over his concerned gaze, the combination somehow revealing the pain of emotions she knew he kept locked away. “Why do you give up so easily? You have more fight in you than that.”
    She leveled him with her stare. Oh, she planned on going out swinging. But being a fighter and being in denial were two separate things. She just had to prepare herself that she might be going out. Period. Forever.
    “I’m not going to get my hopes up, only to fail at something I can’t control,” she said.
    “And I’m going to try and control it.” The cool logic in his tone made her want to smack him.
    She rested her arm over her eyes, trying not to be frustrated with him for caring too much. Hell, if that was the worst problem they had, they didn’t have real problems. “Arguing with you is exhausting.”
    “Do I smell victory?”
    “Don’t even think about it,” she said without moving her arm. “I’ll go see Trinador with you, but that’s it. And if she can’t fix it, I don’t want you to be mad.”
    A knock sounded at the door, and Rho popped up from the bed.
    “Sorry to interrupt.” Evette cracked the door open and poked her head through. “I have fresh coffee for you on the table. And your friends have arrived. I thought you would like to know.”
    “Thank you.” Rho smiled. “I’ll take a quick shower and then be right out.”
    “Take your time.” Evette backed out and shut the door behind her.
    Eldon strode by to press a kiss to Rho’s forehead. “Don’t be too long.” He pivoted around to head for the door.
    Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a fresh set of clothes. She needed a shower in a major way. Half an hour later, both Rho and Eldon were showered, dressed, and partaking in a blessedly hot cup of coffee at the petite kitchen table. The bitter blend hit the spot, warming her insides. Just the kick in the pants she needed. Kind of. She’d been so tired lately, she wasn’t sure what would liven her up anymore.
    Could the mark be the reason her energy seemed to be fleeting? She shook her head, unwilling to entertain the thought. They did not have time for her personal problems to interfere with their mission.
    Tim and Preshea sat across the table, shoveling croissants into their mouths. Shifters and wolves really could consume insane amounts of food. It was a wonder they were both so fit, as much as they liked to carbo-load.
    “We have a lead on the mover Kamen.” Preshea’s words were muffled between bites of bread. “Gotta go to the Sacré Coeur.”
    “Oh?” Rho had no idea where that was, but it sounded fancy.
    “Evette said she was hired to perform protection spells, and that’s where she’d been told to cast them.” Preshea chugged her coffee like a beer and pounded the empty mug on the table. Then burped.
    Rho wrinkled her nose. That shifter had the worst table manners on the planet.
    In contrast, Tim broke the flaky croissant gently with his hands. “We’re going as soon as we’re done here. You guys coming? Or were you going to go see that lady?” He shoveled the piece into his mouth without dropping a crumb.
    Rho nodded, but Eldon shook his head.
    “I’ve already made other plans.” Eldon pegged Rho with a stare that told her this wasn’t up for discussion. “We’ll have to meet up