Page 58 of Just One Bite

Chapter Forty-Seven

Parker

“Find me,” she says.

They say the first dual full moon after the shift as an accepted Alpha is the hardest. They weren’t fucking joking.

The rush of it is so intense I nearly throw up.

My skin flushes and I brace for what’s coming.

The throbbing in my skull. The stretching of my skin.

Any lingering bonds to Gavin’s pack vanish in an instant, and when it’s gone, there’s just me.

I thought I’d feel empty, but as I stare at my hands in the moonlight and the searing hot pain runs through my blood, I’m whole and free like never before. There’s power in my shifted form.

Shit, is this what I’ve been running from? I guess Olivia hasn’t been the only one running.

I’ve dreaded this moment, but this is what I was meant to accept. I am destined to be a pack leader.

With my nose to the ground, I search for her. The others have already scattered in a flurry of howls and dirt. It should be easy to find her, but my senses are off. I inhale and smell … nothing. Not even the trees or the soil.

I’ve never smelled nothing before. I growl, baring my teeth. Someone enchanted me. But how? When?

It could have been my food. Maybe someone had access to the kitchen? Olivia.

I’m already heading west like she mentioned, moving fast. Zant warned me someone would try to sabotage The Hunt. That means someone could have enchanted her too.

There’s no other option than for me to tune into the bond.

She’s scared. Her lungs are burning—she’s probably running and hurt. The rain turns from droplets until it’s pelting me and wetting my fur. I have to hurry.

Feel for her. I trust the bond. It’s all I have to find her. I stop at a riverbank, spotting a shoe floating by. It’s hers. I know it even if I can’t smell it. Every second, the enchantment wears off. The smell of rain floods my senses. Then the dirt, but it’s still faint.

I follow the footprints at the edge. Her heart is racing, and so is mine.

" Where are you?"

I stop. That’s Olivia’s voice in my head. I don’t have time to ponder why. She’s close. She needs me. I howl into the night as a warning to other Weres. I’m coming for her, and if they want to avoid a fight, they need to flee.

A broken branch in the distance catches my attention, and thunder cracks and rumbles through the ground.

Her scent hits me.

It’s the sweetest, most intoxicating thing I’ve ever smelled. Mine. Mine. Mine. The pull of it is so strong I break into a sprint of pure hysteria.

I need her.

I’ll have her.

She can’t get away from me. Olivia is mine. My muscles are numb to pain, my senses dull to anything that isn’t her scent. I need to claim her.

I stop when a rush of anxiety runs through the bond. She’s close. I sniff the air, and the hairs on my back stand on end.

Garrik walks into the clearing slowly. Two glowing orbs locked on me. He’s an enormous werewolf with black fur.

Then I see her. Olivia is lying in the dirt and rain, covering her ears from the thunder, then she ducks behind a tree.

“ I’m not backing down on this one ,” Garrik says.

“Good.”

I’ve never been bluffing. This is a fight I won’t allow myself to lose.

He keeps his head low to the ground and circles me. I always thought the most important moment of my life would be on the ice, not in the mud and dirt.

The rain falls between us, filling the ground in wet puddles, and the thunder cracks in a dull rumble.

He lunges and I dodge, but he’s on my tail and bites into my shoulder. I don’t howl at the pain. I don’t even feel the teeth dig into my muscle before I shove him to the ground and slash his chest.

I’m vaguely aware of my human senses dulling. That part of my brain is off as the alpha blood inside me relishes the crimson staining my claws. Let’s taste. Let’s tear. Let’s kill.

I go for his throat, biting into fur and skin, and the satisfaction of his blood on my tongue sends me into a frenzy.

A deep guttural growl rumbles from my throat, and I lunge at him again, barely missing as he squirms to get away.

I give way to the chase, but there’s nowhere he can hide.

Nothing he can do. He won’t get Olivia. He won’t win.

He’ll be lucky to make it out of this alive.

Elation. Pure elation at the hunt is a shot of adrenaline to my heart. I catch him by the hind leg and throw him into the dirt. Keep fighting . Let’s do this forever.

He flings a boulder at me that narrowly misses and takes out a few trees. There’s excitement in that too. I never get to play dirty.

Claws bending into the bark of a tree, I climb. Jumping. Stalking. Watching him look for her like a fool because I’m the one who can sense her. Her scent tunes me back into the bond. I need to see how far Olivia has wandered. I’ll have her. Only a few more minutes now.

I jump down onto his back, getting a good cut in before he throws me off.

I dig my claws in with full intent to maim him, and he mimics the move with a claw to my chest. With all my might, I clamp my arms around him and take a chunk of his shoulder.

Then his arm. He loosens, falling back and yelping, and I advance on him, ready for more.

“ Come on ,” I taunt.

He growls, so I prepare for him to lunge again, but he bows his head, then disappears in the trees, and the echo of thunder follows him.

I’m bleeding. Huffing, I smell for her and follow her scent through the trees. Mine. Mine. Mine. I need her. I’m close. Her blood, her heat, her sweetness are close. I want to taste her. Oh, fuck , I need her. I need her.

I’m going to claim her. She’s mine.

She gasps when I tower over her, and she stumbles till her back hits a tree. Those violet and gold eyes flutter while the rain wets her cheeks.

It’s see-through. The wet camisole clings to her breasts and the tops of her thighs. Her lips are a cool-pale pink. She looks cold.

I’m going to warm her.

I’m going to ruin her.

“Parker?” She steps forward, her legs bare and knees bleeding. I lean over to sniff her and run my claws through her hair. My mate. My beautiful mate.

Nuzzling into her neck, I rub at my mark there, then lick at her wounds. The small cuts on her neck and chest. They heal instantly, and she stares at me in awe. The taste of her blood almost sends me into another frenzy.

“You found me.”

With a wild growl, I hoist her over my shoulder, and she gasps, but her scent is calm as I let out a victory howl. The entire forest erupts with the howling cries of the disappointed in the cool night air.

She doesn’t seem to mind that she doesn’t know where I’m taking her, there’s no fighting. I remove her from my shoulder to hold her bridal style as we near the treehouse, and I climb the stairs. She doesn’t even shiver when the thunder rolls through the night.

The treehouses are off-limits during The Hunt and only for rent for resort guests, but I can’t wait for the resort room. They’re going to have to bill me for damages.

I break the door and move her to the upstairs loft, with all clean furnishings, including a ready-made bed. The loft overlooks a small living room area and has a window that takes up the entire wall. It leads outside to a deck being soaked with rain.

I drop her to the wood floor, and lightning illuminates the bedroom.

Finally, I can let go. The adrenaline subsides, and I shift back into my human form, leaving me naked in front of her.

“Mine.” The first word that falls from my lips comes from the wolf within. I sniff her neck and groan. “I found you.”

She’s entranced as I roam her, melting into my touch. Her tattered, thin camisole has holes, and I brush over the skin there. On her breast. Her stomach.

I finally have her all to myself .

“You’re bleeding,” she says.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“But—”

“Tell me you want this now. Talk to me.”

Her vow to the Secrecy Stone should be settled.

She tests the words. “They … were framing you. They made it look like you bribed your way to team captain—”

“Wait, this is about … the Rage team?”

“The folder was slipped under my door, and it had all these falsified testimonies that you were involved in some illegal gambling scheme so you’d never be able to get into a pro team.

I wanted to tell you, but they bugged my phone, and the file was enchanted for my eyes only. ” Her bottom lip quivers.

“You … did this for me?” I blink. “You seriously thought I cared more about getting into the pro league than being with you? That I’d rather you risk everything you worked for so I could play? You were going to become someone else’s mate for me .”

“It would have ruined your entire life and reputation, and I couldn’t be the reason something terrible happened to you again.

I didn’t know if I was making the wrong choice and all I wanted was to go to you, but I couldn't risk it. You were right. I should have just told you. I might be the worst linked mate ever, but I want this more than anything and I love you. I’m so—”

I wipe the tears streaking down her dirt-stained face. “Stop. Don’t you dare say you’re sorry.”

I kiss her salty lips, and it’s like that first time in Noxx House. Like electricity free flowing through my veins while I caress her face.

“It’s okay now. I’m here. I’m never leaving you. We’ll fix it all together,” I say.

I can’t even begin to think of how with the fresh taste of her on my tongue, but we will.

“I want to be mated to you. Let’s seal the bond. Right now.” My eyebrows shoot up as she drops her camisole to the floor. “Please.”

I kiss her again. “Whatever you want.”

Everything else can wait till we’re bonded. Complete.

We’re wet and covered in dirt and blood, but none of it matters. Our bodies meet in a feral frenzy of lips and tongue.

I need to be inside her .

My shoulders shake as I lift her off the floor by her knees and lay her on the bed.

She’s completely bare in the moonlight. My skin is on fire, and my teeth hurt.

I feel so unhinged. Raw. The wolf in me wants to ruin her.

To hear her scream and drain every ounce of pleasure I can from her body.

I don’t want her to be sore … but the wolf in me does.

I want to fuck her till she can’t walk straight.

“It’s the first dual full moon tonight after accepting my alpha blood … tell me if I’m too rough. I’m going to try to be gentle, baby. But I …” I lean down to kiss the inside of her knee, but that only makes me hungrier.

“You won’t hurt me,” she breathes.

“I won’t hurt you,” I repeat, already more sure.

I’m licking her stomach when she says, “What do I need to do to complete the bond?”

“I need to bite you again and then you’re going to bite me really hard too.”

“Then what?”

“Then I’m going to eat you out, drag you to the edge of the bed, and take you that way.”

“You’ve … thought about this,” she says, gasping when I bite her breast.

Fuck yes, I’ve thought about sealing our mating bond. I wanted to take her to a fancy hotel room and do it after she had a bath and a glass of wine, but we’re both covered in blood and mud, hungry for each other, and I can’t wait another second.

“I need those two things to happen, but the bond is going to make you uncomfortable, and I don’t want to prolong it. Do you understand?”

She nods, so I move to the bed, hovering over her. A faint cry leaves her throat when my teeth sink into my mark on her neck, and it turns into a moan as I drink. The blood bag I was given earlier today doesn't compare.

My ears ring as she cries out. It’s just her and me in the middle of the woods. We can be as loud as we want. My inner wolf marks her while the vampire in me is satiated by her blood.

I lick the mark closed and cradle her till she’s sitting. The wetness of her lips grazes my shoulder, and I guide her head there.

“I don’t want to hurt you …” Her sigh sets the hairs straight on my arm.

“You won’t.” I trace her ear. “It’s okay.”

Her teeth dig into my shoulder. Heat jolts inside me, and I drag my fingers through her hair, groaning from the sudden rush of pleasure.

“How do you feel?” I say, admiring my blood on her mouth.

She licks it from her bottom lip, and the smell of her arousal grows. My girl is turned on by the taste of blood. My blood.

“Hot. All over.”

“That’s how I feel.” The heat in my body is growing. The itch spreads from my shoulder down my spine. The bonding process has started.