Page 29 of Just One Bite

Chapter Twenty-Two

Parker

“You’re going to give up on me,” she says.

The swing creaks, and she’s refusing to look at me.

“Never.”

“You don’t know that. I ruin things.”

“I do know. I’m not leaving.”

Part of being in Gavin’s pack involves meetings.

A lot of the time, we have to get dressed up and take the train to the city where we greet his dad, who scowls at me, and show general support while Gavin gives speeches on things concerning Were policy.

The only downside is I have to see my dad there. He loves Gavin.

Thankfully, today we don’t have to go to the city, but I do have to attend every student assembly.

I’m wearing a blue suit. Navy blue is Gavin’s family color, and during assemblies are the only times we’re allowed to wear anything other than a school uniform with our house colors.

Werewolf packs are all about respect and tradition.

Even though I despise school assemblies, supporting Gavin is important.

We stand in a crowd surrounding the tall stone podium that sits right in front of Languid Lake.

Black birds dive in and out of the trees, and the afternoon sun hangs overhead.

Some of the leaves have started to change with the semester stretching on.

A few yellow leaves fall and fade into the depths of the dark-turquoise water.

I pull at my collar as the sweat beads at my neck.

“Did you tell your sisters about the audition?” I lean down to Olivia’s ear.

It’s been an almost two weeks since, and she’s spent most of her time dancing or with me. Which I’m not complaining about, but she hasn’t mentioned her sisters once.

“No. Emma is still upset about not getting into the culinary club. She’s been shutting herself in her room. And Eva …”

“Eva has guy issues.”

I told her about the day I’d found Evangeline crying in the courtyard.

“Her boyfriend has been upsetting her every day. I tell her to break it off, and she won’t, then suddenly I’m the bad guy. She’s not any help with talking to Emma right now, so it’s all falling on me. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.”

I don’t think she realizes how much she does that. She thinks any problem can be solved by something, and when it’s not, she finds a way to make it her fault.

“But … they didn’t ask you how it went?” I tuck the hair blowing in her face behind her ear, which shifts the frown on her lips.

“They’re just distracted. I’ll tell them. I convinced them to come today. Maybe a little fresh air will help.”

After a few minutes, she excuses herself to meet them in the crowd.

Aria Hillard takes the stage to read the recent rule amendments after all the packs have finished their speeches. Aria is one of the human council members and often serves as the voice of the entire council for important events.

“It’s time to announce our council member nominees for the school year.

As you know, we have a vacant seat, and we take filling that seat in earnest so we may continue to serve this school and be the bridge between worlds.

We will announce the nominees and hold an election where we encourage all students to participate. ”

I shift my feet and stuff my hands in my pockets.

The nominee list is always long, and knowing Cane is going to be on the list makes the whole thing obsolete.

The packs will rally around him, and he’ll sweep the election.

A lot of people are nominated, but whoever is backed by a member of the council will get in. That’s how Zant explained it to me.

Zant is sitting next to the podium with his hips shifted forward and a bored expression on his face.

I subtly flip him off, and he crosses his arm, hiding the middle finger he’s flipped to me.

His rise to the council was easy. The vampire world of politics is different than Weres’.

Weres are pack-minded, and vampires just have to be charismatic and calculated thinkers. Both things Zant excels in.

“Cane Archibald,” Aria calls, and the pack members howl in unison. Cane is standing somewhere to my left, waving and bowing. He’s so full of shit.

“Dashing, Owens. Where’s your other half?” Gavin moves to stand next to me.

“She’s getting her sisters.” I nudge his shoulder. “Great speech, as always.”

“Yeah, I saw you whispering in Olivia’s ear during. I half expected you to take off.”

“Never. I would not embarrass you with such blatant disrespect.”

He smirks. “I get it. Mates are different. And you and Olivia … it’s obvious.”

“What’s obvious—”

“Parker Owens.” My name echoes through the speakers.

The crowd vibrates with color as they shift to look at me.

“Uh, what?” I say, but the crowd is so loud the only person that hears me is Gavin.

The students are whispering words of encouragement and praise, but my world is a blur.

What the fuck? How did I get a nomination?

All official nominations must be registered by someone in the council.

Zant.

I’m going to kill him.

“I didn’t know you were running this year?” Gavin’s voice is low. Hurt. He thinks I’ve planned this without telling him. I open my mouth to speak, but I’m itchy . Why would someone do this to me?

I move to push my way to the podium, and Gavin stops me with a hand firmly on my chest.

“Whoa, you good?”

“No. I didn’t do this. Someone nominated me. And I think I know who.”

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret. Stay here.”

“I have to find Zant and kick his ass.”

“No, you’ll stay and calm down. That’s an order.”

I grit my teeth so hard I think they’re going to break. The tug in our bond urges me to comply, and instead of giving into it, I spit on the ground. Yes, Alpha is the only reasonable response to his command, but I can’t get myself to say it. A part of me wants to, but that part isn’t strong enough.

“I know you’re trying to help.” I start and stop, clenching my fist and taking a steadying breath.

He’s patient and waits. “It’s okay, take your time.”

“I want to be respectful here, but respectfully, I need to find my best friend and beat him within an inch of his life.”

“As if you could.” Zant’s smiling as he makes his way through the crowd.

Nominee announcements have concluded, and students are breaking from the huddle.

I step forward and roll my shoulders.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s happening?” Zant puts up his hands in surrender.

“You nominated me for council? We’ve talked about this about a thousand fucking times.”

“Wait, what? I didn’t do it. I was coming to ask you why you didn’t tell me.”

“Bullshit!” I move forward and Gavin grabs me. “You’re on the council. You know something.”

“It wasn’t me! You know me. I wouldn’t do that without asking you.”

“If it wasn’t you, who else would it be?”

“I don’t know.”

My phone chimes, but I ignore it. The whispering and shouts are muffled by the roar of blood in my head.

“You weren’t on the nomination list I saw at the start of the week. Someone must have recently added you.”

I’m not letting him off that easily.

“Parker, you’ll want to read this.”

Gavin nudges me with his phone.

“Not now.”

“Look.”

I squint to see past the glare on his phone, and the headline on the latest blog forum reads: The Osborne Sisters: Three Little Liars .

Underneath are four lines:

These sisters have secrets. Who do you believe and who can you trust?

Fake relationship .

Little thief.

Cheater.

“Shit.” All the anger runs out of me.

There’s a stirring of emotion in the pack. Gavin’s nostrils flare, and I feel the faint flicker of it in my chest. He wants to ask me if I’m lying. I can’t worry about it now. I have to find her.

“Sorry, both of you, for being a dick. Really. But I … I have to go. Olivia needs me. Can we reconvene?”

They nod, but I’m already backing into the crowd, searching for her in the wash of house colors. I’m swimming in the movement and the heightened emotion of everyone around.

Her fear is like a siren in my head that leads me right to her within a sea of people.

“This isn’t happening.” For the first time, Olivia’s voice breaks from the calm, calculated smoothness.

“I know. It’s okay. We’re going to figure this out.”

“No, how did this happen? How did they figure it out? We—” She spins around, and I grab her shoulders to stop her from being pushed away in the crowd. It was dispersing, but now they’re gathering around us. “Emma ran and Eva followed. But I had to find you. I … I …”

I grab her hand and spin her to face me. “We’ll figure it out.”

“What’s going on? Who nominated you for council?”

Her words cool the heat in my chest. I didn’t need to tell her. She already knew.

“I don’t know.”

“Everyone is giving me dirty looks.”

When she faces the crowd, she’s calm, but when I look into her eyes, I see them glimmering and touch her cheek. “I’ll protect you.”

Camera flashes blind us from both sides.

Autumn from the newspaper has her phone out, ready to take notes.

“Olivia, do you want to make a statement for the paper? Is this fake relationship referring to you and Parker?”

Olivia glances at me.

“It’s not true,” I say. “It’s not fake. Olivia is my girlfriend.”

“Do you want to comment more on the rumors?” Autumn asks .

I press my lips to Olivia’s, with my thumb on her chin, and she responds with a desperate parting of her lips. My tongue slips in her mouth, and I lick the taste of her off my lower lip when I lean back.

“That’s what I think.”

“Oh. Okay. Noted.” Autumn smiles and types something into her phone.

I wrap an arm around Olivia and lead her through the crowd, growling at the men lingering too close to her. My teammates are the only exception when they come up to congratulate me on the nomination. The damage control of that can wait till we find her sisters.

Scenting for them leads us into the boat house. An older building on campus, with crafted moss stone and a rotting wood door. I run my fingers over the iron door handle and breathe in the scent. Inside, there are two heartbeats and soft sobs.

“They’re in here.”

“It’s me, Olivia. And … Parker is here too.” Olivia opens the door, and the sunlight shines on the girls hiding at the back of the room. They’re nestled between the boat slips next to a broken rowboat and a couple of oars.

She runs to them, and they collapse into the deck. I stay at the door, deciding protecting the boat house is the best way to help.

I turn my attention back to the lake to give them privacy. The water is shimmering, and the rowers are out practicing and grunting.

Evangeline is crying inconsolably, and Emma’s voice is a whisper. “It was just a notepad from the lounge. That’s all. That’s all I took. I promise.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“All my friends are texting me and asking. But I just … I want to go home.”

I glance, and they’re both crying into Olivia’s shoulders. She doesn’t say anything but moves her hands through their hair and hums like a mother would.

That’s when I see her. How tired she looks. How she’s the only one who isn’t crying. I know it’s not the only time she’s done that. How many nights has she spent awake being the comforter? Her sisters need her, and despite her world falling, she’s holding it all up, along with them.

Sometimes, we have roles we don’t want to take but we’re born into. And she’s proof of that. Only, she doesn’t fight it.

I think of the nomination, and what it means—opposing the two strongest pack leaders on campus. Aster and Barrett will fight to ensure Cane gets that seat.

And even if I don’t want it, that seat means power.

Someone has to stick up for people like Olivia and her sisters. If protecting them means stepping up, I’ll do it. I’ll sit on the council. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.