Page 33 of Just One Bite

Chapter Twenty-Six

Parker

“This is the last night we’re apart.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel it. Something is changing.” I kiss her cheek, then her neck.

The other Rage teams have arrived on campus for training.

It’s one of many leading up to the moon festival, an offseason tournament that doesn’t affect the school ranking but still weighs heavily on me and my team.

There are a lot more Weres on campus than usual, and they’re all staying in the guest houses by the lake for a big party in the guest common room.

I’ve spent the majority of the day meeting captains and coaches.

The buildings next to the lake are all crafted and carved wood inside, each room decorated according to one of the houses in Doxlothia.

The main room has all four colors incorporated but oddly doesn’t make you want to throw up.

It is muted and murky, like Languid Lake that sits still in the dim light outside.

There’s a slight pull on my pant leg, and a head of dark curls is all I see before I’m bitten on my knee.

“Trying to bite my leg off?”

Coach’s daughter giggles and runs back to him.

“Mia,” Coach Zepheus scolds his daughter, “we don’t bite.”

He runs a hand through his wiry salt-and-pepper hair and sighs .

“She’s going through a biting phase.”

Biting phases for Weres are the worst. Even worse than vampire children, I hear.

“Tsk. Tsk. You’re going to be fully gray by next year, Coach.”

“You did good work today. Gonna have some fun?” Coach Zepheus hauls his daughter into his arms and pats me on the shoulder while giving me a sympathetic smile. It helps ease the constant knot of tension in my chest.

The diplomatic part of the day is over, which means the wildest party on campus is about to begin. It’s an exclusive party to the athletes from other schools participating in the tournament, but you can bring a date. And mine is almost here.

“Going to try,” I say under my breath.

It’s my team’s first test, and if we lose in the offseason, it won’t go unnoticed. I can already see the headlines: Owens Leads Championship Team to Ruin.

My dad would scoff at that, no doubt. Tell me to quit the team and deal with the damage control, put on a suit, and join him in the Werewolf Council. I’d rather do anything else than to have to go somewhere I’ll be reminded of my mom’s absence every single day.

I say hi to a few more people and check my team is behaving. She should be here any second now—

“Hey, Captain.” Ryker walks up sipping a beer, nervously eyeing the place Coach just left. “Can I talk to you?”

He’s hanging his head, barely meeting my eyeline. Oh yeah, it’s terrible, all right.

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“I … know this isn’t the best place, but I had some shit happen today, and I …”

He stops like he’s really holding back the last part, like it hurts to say.

“I think I should quit the team.”

“What? Why? What happened?”

He flexes his jaw, drawing his arms in. This is one of those rare times I see his tattoos on the tan skin of his forearms. They’re always covered by his jersey.

“It’s not a good time for me.”

“Bullshit. What’s the real reason?”

“I don’t want to make trouble for you, man. ”

I push his shoulder. “I get myself in trouble. There isn’t much you can do to damage my reputation that I haven’t already done. Just tell me.”

“Truthfully, I just think I’ll end up weighing down the team. My dad and my uncle are making some trouble for me and a lot of other people. It’s better I just let this go, I think.”

I don’t know much about Ryker himself, but I’ve heard of his family. He is one of the few who didn’t come here as a legacy. There was a lot of suspicion surrounding his entry into the school, including that his father just got out of jail and paid his tuition for all four years in cash.

“I’m not letting you quit. We need you.”

“No you don’t. I’m washed up anyway. I sucked this week in practice.” He chugs his drink and sets it down with a hard crack on a nearby table. “You’ll be better off without me.”

The rest of my team are lining the drink table on the far end of the room. From this angle, we’re starting to look like we have it together. Compared to the other teams that have almost full functioning packs.

I need to keep mine together.

“Let’s go to the ice and work out some drills. I’ve got energy to burn and can go till my fingers bleed. Get all that shit out of your head and just enjoy the game.”

I can see it in his face when we’re playing—even when he’s getting his teeth kicked in—that he loves it. Anyone willing to play such a painful sport does.

“I need the distraction anyway,” I say.

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, just give me—”

Olivia walks in with Octavia; in a violet dress that’s all sparkle. Short. Her legs are covered with wide-net stockings. My heart stutters. There’s never been a more beautiful woman in the history of Vviveren.

“Maybe … after. Yeah?” Ryker smiles, following my line of sight.

“Yeah. I’ll be there. Give me an hour …” I focus on her ass in that dress while Octavia ushers her toward the drink table. Both are invited guests, but I’m not sure who Octavia is here with. “Maybe two.”

Our eyes shift to one another, like she can sense me, and a satisfying spark runs down my spine.

“Have fun. I’m going to go find Chase …You won’t tell anyone about this? ”

“About what?”

His smug smirk is back. All is well in Vviveren.

That’s one crisis averted. We really do need Ryker. He’s one of the most levelheaded strategizers we have on the team. Honestly, the best part of being captain is getting to lead. That, I’ll miss on a pro team.

“Have you heard anything from Aster?”

I hate that prick’s name in her mouth. Olivia’s lips are wet from alcohol, and her eyes are heavy while she stares at me with her back pressed against the wall.

She rubs her leg against mine. Teasing. Playful.

“Just this morning when he told me he hoped I'd drop dead after his speech to the school about what a great addition to the council I’ll be.”

“Do you think things are shifting? You’ll become friends and then the threat is gone.” She’s playing with my fingers, tracing the tips of each one. “Then this will be over.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, choosing instead to focus on how her fingers move up my arm. Even with the music blasting behind me, it just feels like me and her.

“Is that what you want?”

She stops, biting her lip. “I don’t like pretending.”

She’s going to break my heart. Fuck . Can’t I have this just a little longer?

“So maybe you should mark me.”

The words mark me on Olivia’s lips send my blood south.

Especially when she’s looking up at me like that.

Her hands have moved to the inside of my blazer, her eyes soft and anticipating.

She only gives me that look. I think. I’ve kept careful watch on her with other guys, and it’s never the same.

This is just for show, but she’s very convincing.

Ballet does require acting skills, I’ve learned, but this is different.

Or do I just want it to be? It has to be the alcohol.

“Uh, come again?”

“Maybe … you should mark me. There’s no arguing with that. It’s real. ”

“You believe in Were mating rituals now?”

“If I choose it, yeah.”

I cup her cheek and run my thumb over her lips. Her eyes widen. Does she really mean what I think she does?

“What about after? You know that means you’ll be bearing my mark on your skin, right? Even in your leotards.”

“I won’t be able to cover it with makeup?”

I chuckle while leaning into her neck to smell her. My mind is alive with the thought of that. My teeth sinking into her skin while I fully take what’s mine.

“No way. I love the enthusiasm, but marking is … well, it’s easy to put a mark on someone, but until they accept, it affects people in different ways. It can hurt, make you crazy with lust, all sorts of things. I want you to understand what you’re getting into.”

“How would I accept?”

“Uh … sex. That’s the only way to solidify the bond. And you have to bite me.”

“Oh.”

She looks down, thinking. She hasn’t told me about the dream, but I’m certain she’s had at least one sex dream about me. I wish I remembered my dreams and could say the same.

“You wouldn’t need to accept. We’d just have to ride out the effects until it fades.”

“I just wear your mark until we’re out of here? Easy.”

“Like end of year?”

“End of school.”

I bite my cheek to hide my excitement.

“You really want to do this? You’re not drunk?”

She shakes her empty cup. “This is water. I’ve heard Octavia does heavy pours, and I want to practice tonight.”

That means she’s been flirting with me for real. I grip her wrist, and she tilts her head as I wrap another around her waist so we’re hip to hip.

“Okay … then I will. Let’s do it this weekend. The sooner, the better.”

I can’t keep myself from smiling as I lean into her lips. My body hums with the satisfaction of how easy it is. How it’s never quick, and the way need drips from her tongue and scent. She can’t fake that .

I should ask her to be my girlfriend for real. I open my mouth but stop. This isn’t the right place or time.

Plus, what if I’m misreading this. Maybe she doesn’t like me, she just likes me touching her. That’s a thing. Then if I tell her, it might freak her out, and she’ll never talk to me again.

No. Parker, don’t be a fucking coward. I need to be a man and ask her. Tonight.

She snaps me out of my spiral when she says, “I don’t think it’s about me, anyway. I think it’s about you. Aster and Barrett obviously see you as a threat.”

“Other Weres have always treated me like a threat because of the alpha thing. Gavin told me … that he thinks I’m going to be something big and that one of the greatest pack leaders that ever lived four hundred years ago was a hybrid. I don't know what he sees in me."

“You don’t think you’d be a good pack leader?”

“I kinda thought I’d stay a lone wolf after my mom died.”