Triumph Over Fate (The Curse of Bearclaw Castle #5) - Emilia Hartley Page 0,1

mistake but had no idea how to undo it. Hell, she had no intention of backing down now.

“You don’t have to be an arrogant self-centered asshole like every other man on the face of this planet. It doesn’t make you special or unique. It just makes you pointless.” Stormi couldn’t stop herself. “So, if you’re done smothering me with your nasty breath, you can get out of my way and let me eat my emotions in peace.”

The man rocked back on his heels. Eyes slightly wide, he raised a brow. “Damn, woman. Who hurt you?”

“Kai!” Mimi stormed into the room.

He snarled in response. Stormi guessed she wasn’t so special. That must have been how he greeted everyone.

“I didn’t do anything,” he grumbled.

“My ass,” Stormi muttered.

“I certainly didn’t do that,” he said. “Not that I would say no if it was offered.”

Stormi was glad she had her back to Kai. Her face warmed. Despite her dark skin, her blush would be obvious to everyone in the room.

Behind her, a shuffle ensued. When she turned, she caught Kai being dragged out the door. His eyes were still on her, right up until he disappeared from view.

“What an insufferable ass,” Stormi said under her breath.

She was so glad she’d sworn off men. They were the worst.

While Stormi picked all the chunks of pepperoni from the pasta salad, Morgan found her and claimed a seat at the kitchen table. The two shared a look that would have spoken volumes months ago. Now, Stormi wasn’t sure if she and her best friend had the same kind of connection anymore.

Until Morgan’s lips lifted into that trademark knowing smile. The tightness in Stormi’s chest eased. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, the twists now laying heavy against her back. She needed to get them done again soon. She needed a change.

“What are you grinning about?” Stormi asked while spearing a piece of pepperoni with her fork.

“What do you think about our visitor?”

Stormi paused. If Morgan had that smile and was asking about Kai, that meant Stormi had to read between the lines. Morgan was the town psychic. She and Stormi ran a small fortune-telling shop in town where Morgan read fortunes for a fee and Stormi sold metaphysical items.

While some scoffed at Morgan’s readings, Stormi knew her best friend was the real deal. Morgan could trace the lines of your palm or draw a card from her deck and know exactly what a client needed. From time to time, Morgan even had visions of the future. As Stormi understood, they were chances to avoid disaster.

Which could only mean that Stormi had another disaster ahead.

She wished that Morgan could have warned her about her impending divorce. Maybe then it wouldn’t have hurt so much when Zeke took off. If Morgan had warned her, then maybe Stormi could have done something. She could have gotten Zeke to go to couple’s therapy with her. She could have at least prepared herself for the hurt that would eventually come her way.

Instead, Morgan had remained silent. She told herself that was because Morgan hadn’t received a vision. It wasn’t like Stormi had let Morgan read her future every day at work. Though Morgan had offered, Stormi had always turned her down.

So, what had triggered the vision? Because surely that smile meant that Morgan had a vision about Stormi.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re hinting at?” Stormi viciously bit the pepperoni off the tip of her fork.

Morgan raised a shoulder, that grin still on her face. “If I meddle too much with a possible future, it might not happen.”

Stormi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn’t stupid. Morgan’s hints led her to believe that the vision had something to do with Kai.

“He’s so charming,” Stormi said sarcastically. “He’s such a gentleman that he offered to fuck my ass.”

Morgan burst out laughing. Stormi couldn’t hold it back and ended up joining her.

Though he’d been named Malakai at birth, no one called him that unless they were pissed. He’d never heard his full name leave his sister’s lips until today. The submissive shifter he’d grown up alongside had changed. She stood tall now, her hands on her hips as she fixed him with a furious glare.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “Your human needed to learn her place.”

Mimi’s jaw dropped. “She’s not my human! She’s a friend who came over to have a good time today. You can’t go around harassing our friends.”

While Kai gathered his thoughts, he