Page 42 of Just One Bite

Chapter Thirty-Four

Parker

Olivia’s feet dangle in the flowers as she swings.

I place a hand on her forehead, and she stops. “You’re burning up.”

“Something is coming.” She frowns, staring out the window where the storm clouds gather.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in so much pain in my life. This doesn’t even compare to getting my shit rocked on the daily and my skin torn open for afternoon fun. No. This is infinitely worse.

Once I scented her, it was like a bomb went off. I’ve never smelled anything so fucking good. She’s always smelled that way, but I wasn’t able to sense it. But now I can’t think about anything else.

It’s sweet torture to have her scent linger on all my clothes.

It’s knives in the heart, a sick aching in my stomach, and yearning that has me stealing little pieces of her clothes and stuffing them in my gym bag to smell after practice like a creep.

But I can’t tell her any of that, or I’ll add to her mounting pressure.

I have some weird ominous dream, and she sneaks out again in the early morning.

That’s my cue to get on the ice and subject myself to someone’s ice blade in my thigh.

It took no effort to take me down on the ice, and as I look up to the blinding lights, I contemplate never getting up again and letting the Zamboni bring sweet death.

That or bleed out on the ice. Both sound good .

Zant helps me off the ice and tries to give me his form of a pep talk, then tells me about council bullshit.

He doesn’t understand how my biology won’t let me focus on anything that isn’t Olivia right now.

Aster and Barrett have been oddly quiet since our talk in the woods, and that’s probably because the bomb that’s blown up the entire interweb says Olivia and I are linked mates. Who knows what they’re plotting now?

I should care. I do care.

But I care a little more about what the hell Olivia is doing right now.

Eating a scone in the library? Taking a stroll on the lawn? Lying in bed thinking about me?

I need to see her. It’s not stalking if it’s friendly, right? Just a quick glance to see she’s okay, then I’ll be good to go about my day of agony.

Okay, maybe it’s creepy either way, but I get a free pass to check on her once a day.

I don’t find her in Noxx House, but it’s a great way to trace her steps for the day. She’s easy to track, solely because we’re linked mates and her scent is so strong.

That term in my head is still taking some adjustment. Along with the fact that I remember all the dreams I missed out on. It’s like a whole lifetime worth of memories dumped in my lap all at once. Even more than before, Olivia is everywhere.

I track her scent to the dance studio, not that I needed to track her to know that’s where she went this morning, but she isn’t there anymore, and it’s nearly noon.

Next, I follow the scent into the castle.

It’s a little all over the place in the lobby, but I follow it to the left and up the stairs to a hallway I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a class in.

There are so many people muddying up her perfect scent.

There’s a dark-haired girl in Noxx House purple standing in the common area. The sun from the arched windows lights up her hair. It’s the wrong shade of brown, and this girl is taller, but why does she smell like Olivia?

I stand over her, leaning in to sniff her hair. It's so strong. I'm entranced by it, as I stumble forward into this random chick, and catch myself with my hands on her shoulders.

“Why the fuck do you have her shirt on?” It’s harsh, but the alpha blood is kicking my ass on self-control. Did they steal this from her locker ?

“Do you like it?” she says, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Pain shoots through the center of my chest like I’m getting rammed with a Rage stick right in the heart.

Then I smell her—my girl.

But it’s fleeting, moving away.

“Move.”

I brush past the girl and chase Olivia’s scent through the crowd.

The pain is growing, and my face heats as I walk past door after door.

I stop at a door at the end of the hall.

All my senses settle. She’s close. There’s a soft sniffling inside.

She wants space, so I have to use my full willpower to stay outside.

When she emerges, I’m both impressed and sad that she hides her tears so well.

The only indicator is the redness in her cheeks.

“I sensed it. Through the bond,” I say. “She had your shirt on. It wasn’t … it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“I know. I don’t know what I’m doing or why I’m crying.”

Olivia’s eyes well with tears again, and I haul her into a hug while she sheds the rest of them into my shirt. We’re getting looks, but I hide her face with my jacket.

“There’s a lot going on,” I murmur. “You don’t have to know how you feel about it all at once. Have you eaten today?”

I plant a kiss on her forehead, and she wipes her cheek. We haven’t talked at all. You don’t need to talk to hold someone while they sleep.

“I did.”

“At five this morning?”

She nods.

I take her to the dining hall immediately and fill a plate with a high-protein sandwich, fruit, and some fries. We sit in front of a window where it’s warmer. She keeps rubbing her hands over her legs like she’s cold, so I give her my blazer.

My worry dissipates when she takes a few bites of her sandwich.

“With everything going on, it makes my stomach hurt, so I haven’t wanted to eat a lot. But I think that’s making it worse.”

“So that’s why I feel like I want to puke every time I wake up?” I say, handing her a fry.

She nibbles it slowly. “Haven’t you seen the latest about Olivia Osborne?”

“No. I try not to check that stuff. ”

She slides her phone in front of me, and the entire feed is filled with her or us. Some are just full threads dedicated to her. The others are weird theories about our relationship. I stop when I read a headline: Olivia – The Master Manipulator .

The stealing is starting to make sense.

“I should say something.”

“No, that will just make it worse.” She sighs. “I’ll just let everyone at Doxlothia hate me right now.”

“I don’t hate you.” I move the hair gathering close to her food and push it behind her ear.

Stupid. So stupid. Of course she knows I don’t hate her. Now I look like an asshole who is pressuring her. I cringe internally at my own pathetic monologue.

The corner of her mouth twitches. “I know.”

She likes it.

“Everyone only started to like me when I won Rage games. When I first came, I’d scroll through the forums looking at all the things people had to say about me. They thought I was going to tank the team because I didn’t have a pack.”

I still remember the sinking anxiety of scrolling through all the comments.

Packless.

No way he makes it through the season.

He’ll never be pro.

Sometimes, those comments still pop into my brain.

“They always have an opinion. The minute the team tanks, they’re all going to turn on me. It’s just the way it is. I stopped looking at that shit.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m helping your reputation any.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Yes, I do. Everything is my fault. I make things harder for you.”

What does that mean? How could she think she makes my life worse in any way? She’s got to be referencing something specific, but there’s no indication she’s going to tell me what that is. I’ll just have to show her she’s wrong, and that takes time.

“Olivia, can I tell you something?”

She waits, eyebrows raised.

“Fair warning, everything that comes out of my mouth is going to sound like I love you, and I don’t want to add any more pressure to you. ”

She stops eating, blinking suddenly. “Tell me anyway.”

“You don’t need to be jealous of another woman.

Ever. Especially ones that steal your sweater.

I don’t think either you or I have even begun to process this.

I mean, you could tell me to go away and leave you alone, and I’d have to stalk you wherever you went.

Nonnegotiable. I’ll drop out of university and follow you.

They’ll have to lock me away to stay away from you. ”

A trickling laughter comes out of her throat when she sees I’m serious.

“That’s what makes you smile today? The image of me stalking you?”

“I’m imagining you peeking in my window and watching me sleep.”

“Oh, you like that thought, huh?”

“Like I’m ever able to sleep without you anyway.”

She leans toward me, and all the fear and worry that’s been tainting her scent is gone. Her attention floats to my lips, and I lean in, desperate to taste her lips again. It tells me what I knew before the bond. This thing with Olivia is real.

A tall man in a dark-brown suit and a velvet tie catches my eyes as he stalks toward us in the dining hall.

That man is my father.

“Why the fuck is my dad here?” I say, reeling back.

Olivia’s head shoots up as he nears. Accompanying him is a woman with her hair smoothed down in a sleek blonde ponytail. His dark hair hasn’t started to gray yet. I’m a little shocked. I haven’t seen him in months since I didn’t go home for the summer.

“This is your father?” Olivia looks up as he stands over us.

“You must be Olivia.” He nods, holding out his hand. “I’m Fredrick Owens.”

She takes his hand in a firm handshake. I can tell because his brow raises like he’s somewhat impressed.

“You look a lot like your mother.”

She squints. “You remember her?”

“I remember her dancing. We attended Doxlothia at the same time.”

Olivia blinks a few times like she’s registering that, and I take that as my cue to cut in.

“What the fuck?” I say.

“You didn’t expect me to see my son’s name at the top of the Vviveren City Newspaper and not be the one to come and register him into the linked mates’ registry. ”

“You could have called first.”

“What registry?” Olivia asks.