Page 60 of Just One Bite

Chapter Forty-Nine

Olivia

“Hi.” The boy on the swing is waiting with a wide smile.

“Parker,” I say.

He turns, smiling. “I’ve been waiting for you. I brought this for us.”

Young Parker hands me an umbrella.

“I think it’s about to rain.”

“Parker.” I wake with his name on my lips. The rain has stopped and the light of dawn illuminates the room in a blueish gray, while I stare up at a ceiling made entirely of wooden planks, reeling.

Parker’s arms tighten around me tighten. “What’s wrong?”

“I remember. We met at the swing every day. There are so many times … too many to say. And when my mother died, you were there. You let me cry in your arms.”

It’s all swirling in my head. Every single dream we shared is there. We shared pain, tears, and highs and lows in our dreams, and we never knew.

No wonder he couldn’t stop staring the day after he marked me. How do you go back after knowing someone has been with you, caring for you every day since you were children?

“You remember the dreams?” His voice cracks.

I nod, and tears prick at my eyes .

“You let me cry in your arms too,” he says.

The early morning gets away from us. I can’t stop touching him. He can’t stop touching me. When we try, we end up connected again.

Once the light takes over the treehouse completely, Parker ushers us through grounds and back to the resort.

Zant and my sister are waiting. I ask Eva if I worried her, and she reminds me there are cameras.

There’s footage of all of it. Me stripping to my underwear and running through the trees.

Parker fighting Garrik. And the moment Parker hoists me over his shoulder and takes me to the treehouse out of sight.

Eva assures me I didn’t make a fool of myself, though I look like a wreck covered in dirt and blood running around in the rain with nothing but my underwear on.

The whole resort is abuzz with the news of the newly mated couples, and many of them are opting to stay for a few more days.

Tara practically tackles me in a hug and introduces me to her new mate, a tall man with golden brown skin named Austin. Parker seems to like him, and it brings me relief she found a good one. She asks us to stay at least one more night so we can have dinner, and I politely decline.

I’m desperate to get back to some sense of normalcy.

We take a private boat back with Zant and my sister, then sneak back into Noxx House. I don’t check the forums and only check my phone to call my father to tell him I won’t be coming home, and then my sister.

I remember her voice pitching on the phone.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?!”

“I wanted you to enjoy your trip. You deserved to go.”

“Well, don’t do it again. If I had known this was happening, I would have helped. At the very least, I wouldn’t have functioned as extortion bait. I’m serious. This whole stoic, I handle this on my own crap doesn’t work for me.”

“Trust me. I’ve learned.”

She must have been eating because there was crunching followed by a muffled change in her voice.

“There are so many things we need to talk about when I get back. I can’t believe you and Parker have been sharing dreams since you were children.

And you’re mated now. I’ll need details on that, and not your normal vague, keep it to yourself type ones.

You just casually have the best love story ever written in the history of Vviveren?

I’m so jealous it hurts. They’re going to write books about this. ”

I rolled my eyes. “ We’ll talk about it when you get back. ”

Emma’s booked on the first train in the morning from the city, along with Gavin who I’ll need to personally thank for putting her in a hotel and showing her the city.

We don’t leave Parker's bed all day. We deserve just one day—Parker and me, our blissful window, and the snacks stashed in his dresser. Aster and Barrett and their schemes are the furthest things from my mind as he traces circles on my skin and I throw popcorn into his mouth from the end of the bed. Who cares if they’re angry?

Who cares what they’ll try tomorrow or the next day?

Parker and I are solid. We can handle it. The bond between us isn’t fragile.

It’s late when I get a text from Mrs. Vix asking me to meet her to discuss moving forward in the program.

“I have to go to the studio and talk to the director, let her know I can dance,” I say, pulling on my school uniform. I’ve got clean ballet clothes in my backpack in case. “She wants to see me in person.”

I stop to look in the tiny mirror Parker has placed beside his door. The mark on my neck has changed. Once dark but now a light-blue crescent of teeth signifying the sealed bond.

“Let me go with you.”

I smile, biting my lip. “Don’t you have anything to attend to while I’m gone? Moon festival ringing a bell? Maybe you could practice. Gather your team. Talk to your coach.”

“Ugh. Quit reminding me to be responsible. You’re the only thing I want to think about today.”

I lean in to kiss him. “Then you can have a little time to miss me.”

“ Tell me everything while you’re away ,” Parker says in my head.

I snicker, pulling my hands through my hair to tame it before I disappear into the hall.

There’s a secret way through the back of Noxx House, and I take a detour through the trees to avoid any eyes.

Tomorrow, we deal with the press and the news.

Today, I only need to ensure I get to keep my role as Giselle .

“ Let me know if someone bothers you. I’ll come save you ,” Parker says.

“ I took the back way. So far so good ,” I say. “Are you hoping you'll need to come save me so you don’t have to do anything responsible today?”

“Definitely. I’m counting the minutes till you’re back in my bed.”

I smile. It’s going to take some getting used to having Parker’s voice in my head like a direct text line.

I double-check the time one more time before heading up the dance studio steps. It’s peaceful for a no-school day. I expect to see the door open, but it’s sealed with no light coming from inside.

Maybe she wants me to wait for her. I try peeking in the window and stop when I hear footsteps.

“Olivia!” Octavia greets me with a smile and a hug, and I’m instantly relieved. “I saw Parker claimed you at The Hunt. I’m so happy for you.”

“How did you see?”

“Oh, the footage from The Hunt gets leaked online every year to the forum. You need to update me. First, they said you broke up, then I saw news you’d been claimed, and you looked more than willing from the videos I saw.”

“How much time do you have?” I motion for the door. “I was going to meet with Mrs. Vix. Keep me company while I wait?”

“I have a key! She did mention seeing you tonight. She should be here any minute. She was right behind me when I left the castle.”

She reaches for the door handle, and I wait in the quiet of the hall while she unlocks the door.

“I take it you’re all healed up and ready for Giselle?”

“Yeah, I think she wants to see me in person to make sure. I brought my clothes to do some variations, but … I don’t want to stay too long.”

Normally, I’d pack it in for the night and resign the rest of it to practice. I’ve had more days off ballet practice than I’ve had in years. But tonight is for Parker and me.

“I don’t blame you. I bet Parker’s already missing you.”

She opens the door, and we file into the dark room.

“Do you think she’ll want to see me dance to prove I can finish my part? I got injured before The Hunt, and she wanted me to come back. But I’m fine now. I’m not warm though.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry. Even if she does, you won’t have any issues. You never do. Seriously, you pick up choreography faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

The sun is barely enough to bring light into the room, and Octavia steps forward in the dark.

“Do you want me to get the light?” I turn to the wall, searching.

Octavia is facing me, her smile gone.

“What are you—”

She holds out her hand and in one breath, blows a plume of dust and enchantment into the air. It glitters as it falls, leaving me lightheaded.

My vision blurs and I stumble back into weightlessness. Octavia’s frown is the last thing I see.

There’s nothing to catch me as my vision goes dark.