Page 6 of It's in His Bite
I tucked away that bit of information, hoarding it in the small mental folder I pretended didn’t exist, that deplorable part of me that desired my best friend’s daughter.
“And besides, everyone got stuck on the other side of the pass. Dad convinced everyone to wait and leave together.” Her focus returned to the book, and she turned a page. “The snow came in too heavy and windy for the crews to keep up with it all. Even the town is shut down right now.”
Panic flashed across my skin, a wildfire raging across dry scrubland.
No one else was here? And the town wasn’t open, either?
My throat burned all over again, stronger than even yesterday afternoon. As if my body knew she was the closest vein, the only reasonable possibility for the foreseeable future, and ratcheted my thirst higher at a rate I hadn’t felt in years—decades.
All at once, the cabin transformed from a place of tranquility to a snowed-in, forced proximity nightmare, a test of willpower I couldn’t hope to survive. Like Eve with that apple, I would break down at some point. I would listen to the wretched voice inside me that begged to taste her—to know just exactly how her dhampir blood would taste against my tongue—consequences be damned. It had been hounding me for months, and the first test of fixing those damn bites was nearly a fail in its own right.
“Ah, I see,” I said, my voice hoarse.
She frowned, her eyebrows lowering in confusion, but I didn’t trust myself anywhere near her. Not when my throat already held the steady ache of thirst.
I backed out of the room. With shaking hands, I left the mug of tea on the kitchen island. I didn’t bother to grab my coat before fleeing into the heavy snow. Again.
Chapter Five
Harlowe
The morning inched by in minutes that seemed to stretch longer with each accumulated hour. The book I’d brought served as a decent distraction for the first hour or so until Landon stepped into the living room. All at once, those butterflies filled my stomach and made it near-impossible to remember how to breathe. His blatant panic at being stuck here with me for the next day or two was a real hit to the self-esteem.
“Yes, just what every woman wants: an attractive man that can’t stand the idea of being anywhere near her,” I muttered. “The cherry on top is that he’s been your crush since you could realize what exactly those were. Just freakingperfect.”
I turned the page, trying to settle back into the viking history book. Tessa had gotten it for my birthday the previous month, and it was shaping up to be one of my favorites on the subject. Unfortunately, it was impossible to focus on the words anymore. All I could manage to see when I stared at the pages was the look of utter horror on Landon’s face.
With a sigh, I finally admitted defeat and dropped the book onto the end table.
The healing wounds on my neck itched something fierce. I clasped my hands behind my back to keep from messing with the newly formed scabs. I had no interest in bleeding anymore on this holiday trip if I could help it. My phone lit up with a notification where it sat in silent sentinel beside my abandoned book.
A whole new wave of nerves hit my chest and stole my breath. Racing up the stairs, I called Tessa, knowing she was better at answering than Rhiannon.
She answered on the second ring. Her hair was pulled back, and she was in an oversized sweater.
“Did you get it?” she asked without preamble.
“I haven’t opened it.”
She sucked in a breath, and then she was moving, too, the background blurring with her vampiric speed. There was noise on the call, and then Rhiannon’s voice cut through.
“Did she get it?”
Tessa nodded and urged her over. She was dressed similarly to Tessa, an oversized sweater and flared leggings. Her hair is pulled back again, a messy pile on the top of her head.
“Oh my gosh!” Rhiannon said. “What did it say?”
“She hasn’t opened it,” Tessa explained.
I closed the door to the large bedroom even knowing I was the only one here. With careless hands, I propped my phone against the nightstand’s lamp and then dug through my bag until I could grab my laptop. My hands shook, and my breathing was way too shallow. God, I was going to throw up.
Maybe this internship really was what I was missing. It certainly seemed like it based on my sudden, overwhelming anxiety over the result sitting in my email at the moment.
“Breathe, Harlowe,” Tessa said, quiet but firm. “Whatever it says, it’s what the universe wants of you right now. You are strong and capable. You are destined for whichever choice the panel made.”
“Yes, exactly,” Rhiannon added. “The moon guides everyone, knowing or unknowing. This will be good news.”
I took a steadying breath and closed my eyes, focusing my own affirmations. I double checked that my best friends could see my screen, and then I opened the email.